The Council Room

[David Bentley]

What I am about to say is something I am sure we all have thought about, something we have all agreed (at least to ourselves) is necessary, but, for some reason, have never quite gotten to it. Believe me, this is not an earth-shattering statement, and certainly not one that will endure through the ages as a great pronouncement, but it is one of those things that you will agree is something you always meant to do, but... it just didn't happen.

Okay, here it is...oh, just one more thing. During the extended period of self-isolation we have all been through, I am sure I am not alone when I say I did a lot of little home projects, cleaned the garage, cleaned my office, and did more crossword puzzles than I care to admit, and it was during all the cleaning and re-organizing that I had this revelation.

Okay, here it is: Before it is too late, and carrying on from now forward, whenever you take photographs, identify the subjects, place, and time of the photo. In 25 years when all these details are "fuzzy" in your memory, you will thank me (or some members of your family tree will thank me).

Enjoy the summer, and thank you for letting me get this of my chest.
_________________
C-1 49 J-7 52 S-3 55 J-10 58
C-7 50 J-7 53 S-2 56 J-8 59
C-8 51 J-4 54 S-7 57 (JA) J-8 60 - 64
1965 - 1968 Military service
Pine Cone 68 - 75 (with wife,Sherry,
and daughter Tracey)
Wolfeboro - full-time since 1997

[DavidAyars]

That's great advice, David. I inherited many photos from my parents and aunt and regret that they didn't do that, particularly with photos of their trips I was not on, or with photos of their friends, neighbors, and even older relatives I don't know or remember now.

It pays to do some research on the method of labeling first, though, as ordinary pens and pencils can damage photo prints by either showing the impression of a pen or pencil point, or by ink etc. bleeding through (or onto the adjacent print). Here's some good advice on how to safely do it, and I'm sure there are other suggestions online:
https://www.familytreemagazine.com/premium/organize-preserve-photos-5-steps/

Also it's a good idea to rename digital photo files with at least the year-month taken and the names of people or locations when you import them to a computer, or when you export them after editing. If you stick with the default _IMG_7242 or whatever that your camera or photo scanner uses, it can leave you or your family confused later. Even if you use keywording or hashtags, these are often proprietary to one software program or website which may not be available later.
_________________
Camper: J-8 1965 (Kevin Ryan), J-8 1966 (Mike Freeland), S-6 1967 (Russ Hatch), S-3 1968 (Jeremy Cripps), and JA-2 1969 (Dan Mannis).
JC: J-2 1970 (Bill Bettison) and J-3 1971 (Gene Comella). Councilor 1972, J-5 1973, and JA-1 1974 & 1975

[Mike Freeland]

Ir always amazed me (and particularly now) that the Fetzers and the Bournes (?) never IDd theofficial camp photos. Not necessarily names, but at least Cabin 5, July 1956 or something. Even just the year would help.

In this day and age, when photos are taken more often and mean less and less because of their profusion, your advice is particularly well-taken.
_________________
'56-C-9 C. Mosher '57-C-9 Bill Feaster
'58-J-14 H. Peavy '59-J-11 G. Wood, C. Duncan
'60-S-8 R. Leavitt, D. Hemphill '61-S-1 E. Slocum
'62-JA-1 H. Dunbar '63-C-2 (JC)
'64-C-5, (JC) Councilor
'65-C-9 '66 - '72-J-8
'73-JA1 '75-J-6

[David Bentley]

For some reason I am roaming around this site. The question of Camp photos taken by the pros, and not being identified, is clearly a mystery. I may have spoken on the topic of archives before, but the topic of photo identification really came into focus during the "data collection" phase of Vol I and Vol II, and I freely admit that it was a mistake on our (Bentley) part to not have a system of keeping a record set of pictures from each summer, complete with dates, and the names of the people in the pictures (not the 'candids'). So, for this mistake, I apologize. Camp did such a great job of creating the annual registers listing each person, and the ancillary people (cooks, office, maintenance, etc.), but certainly didn't do well with the pictures. I have often looked at the registers on the Wyanoke site and find myself not able to remember some of the people listed. This may be an archive problem, but, I can also admit, it may be a personal problem associated with annual birthdays.
_________________
C-1 49 J-7 52 S-3 55 J-10 58
C-7 50 J-7 53 S-2 56 J-8 59
C-8 51 J-4 54 S-7 57 (JA) J-8 60 - 64
1965 - 1968 Military service
Pine Cone 68 - 75 (with wife,Sherry,
and daughter Tracey)
Wolfeboro - full-time since 1997

[Mike Freeland]

I just finished editing a book by Bob Fox on the history of Camp Wonalancet. Through it all, it seemed to me that the records on camp attendance were extremely sparse, and most of the history had to be gleaned from annual brochures, or inferred from casual references to events in periodic logs and letters to campers.

Wyanoke's Dining Hall Rosters held a wealth of information far beyond just names and tent assignments, documenting first and last attendances, events (even like the great Kehonka panty raid in '60 without even mentioning it, or Walt Scheirer's death).Without those rosters, the depth of information we scraped up for Volume 2 would have been far shallower.
_________________
'56-C-9 C. Mosher '57-C-9 Bill Feaster
'58-J-14 H. Peavy '59-J-11 G. Wood, C. Duncan
'60-S-8 R. Leavitt, D. Hemphill '61-S-1 E. Slocum
'62-JA-1 H. Dunbar '63-C-2 (JC)
'64-C-5, (JC) Councilor
'65-C-9 '66 - '72-J-8
'73-JA1 '75-J-6