Every so often, a box of strangers’ photographs finds its way home. The photo collector behind @shotandforgot bought a box of old pictures at auction, did some research, and ended up reuniting the images with the family they belonged to in Minto, New Brunswick. The collector calls it another successful reunion of lost photos and memories, and the details that came out along the way make it a warm story about small towns, family and the stories hiding in a stack of prints.
@shotandforgot
Finding the Family
The collector says the box was bought at auction the week before the update was shared, and that research made it possible to work out who the photos had originally belonged to. The original owners, the collector says, were Murray and Inez McMahon of Minto, New Brunswick.
Then came a surprise. The couple’s grandson reached out before the collector had even made contact. Five other family members also got in touch, saying they had seen the series and would love to have the photos back. The collector says that is the most family members who have ever come forward for a collection. Because Minto is a small place, word traveled fast, and the collector describes it as the cutest thing to witness. People following along were even discovering that they were cousins.
Barry Tells the Family Story
The collector then spoke with Barry, the son of Bob McMahon, who appears in one of the photos surrounded by trophies. Barry shared how the news reached him. A former neighbor sent him the posts after her daughter saw them online. He says he shrugged them off at first, since she did not usually send him things like that, and he wondered whether it might be a scam. Then someone else messaged him and told him it was definitely not a scam and that he needed to see it.
When he looked, Barry says he immediately recognized the man shoveling snow as his grandfather. Other photos showed people from the Minto school, which did not surprise him, because his grandmother Inez was a teacher in Minto and loved photography. Then he saw pictures of his mom and dad, and he knew it had to be real.
A Bowling Legend
Barry says his father, Bob, was an avid bowler and an avid golfer who rarely did anything halfway. According to Barry, Bob was known as one of the best bowlers in the province for many years and still holds some New Brunswick records in candlepin bowling. He remembers that the family home held hundreds and hundreds of trophies. Bob was also, he says, a local legend as one of the best pool players around, and some of Barry’s best childhood memories are of playing pool with his dad.
Teacher, Pianist, Grandparents
Barry describes his grandparents, Murray and Inez, as amazing. He says his grandfather worked hard his whole life, and so did his grandmother, who taught school in Minto for many years. She was also a very active member of the church, he says, and played piano right up into her nineties.
A Small Town Responds
Barry says people in Minto are definitely talking about the series, and that some of the posts were shared in local forums. His mom has been getting a lot of messages too. Just seeing some of the photos, he says, took him back to his childhood. He thanked the collector and said it was very neat to see the trail traced from one coast of Canada to the other.
The collector adds a thought about small towns, saying they are full of care for one another. Within an hour of posting, messages arrived from people all over Minto who said they knew the family, had worked with them or had been neighbors. The collector thanked everyone in Minto for being part of the story.
The photos have already traveled a long way. According to the collector, they went from Vancouver down to Austin, Texas, and the next step is packaging them up and sending them to Canada, back home to Minto.
What Is Candlepin Bowling?
Since Bob’s records were in candlepin bowling, it is worth explaining the sport for anyone unfamiliar. Candlepin is a style of bowling popular in the Maritime provinces of Canada and in parts of New England. It uses tall, thin pins and a small ball that fits in the palm of your hand, with no finger holes. Fallen pins stay on the lane between throws and can be used to knock down others. Scoring well is hard, which is one reason a local champion with records that last for years is a big deal.
How to Trace the Owners of Old Photographs
This reunion offers a handy lesson for anyone who has found a stack of anonymous prints at a sale or in a relative’s attic. Here are some general tips.
Study every detail
Look for writing on the back, studio stamps, street signs, storefronts, school banners and license plates. Clues such as a school or a family name can help, and even small details can narrow down a place and a decade.
Sort by faces
Group photos by the people who appear again and again. A box usually revolves around a few core individuals, and finding names for them gives you something to search.
Use local resources
Small town newspapers, historical societies, libraries and church records can be wonderful. Obituary notices and local forums can also help you find the descendants. Always take care with privacy, and consider sharing a few safe images rather than the entire box.
Share the search
As this story shows, sometimes the best approach is to let other people help. Posting a series online can bring in neighbors, cousins and old friends who recognize a face in seconds.
Keeping Old Photos Safe
Once a collection reaches the right hands, preservation is the next step. Store prints in acid free sleeves or boxes, away from heat, sunlight and damp. Avoid sticky tape, rubber bands and metal fasteners directly on the photos, and handle them by their edges. Scanning each print gives the family a backup and makes it easy to share copies with cousins near and far.
Why These Reunions Matter
It would be easy to see a box of old pictures as clutter. In this story, it became a bridge between a collector in one part of North America and a community in another. Murray, Inez and Bob appear in the story not as strangers but as people who were remembered, from the school to the bowling lanes to the church piano.
You can follow more reunions like this one at @shotandforgot, where the collector posts the series. The next time you come across a box of faded photos, remember that somewhere, someone may be hoping to see them again.
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