More than 70 people showed up in 2023 to look through binders filled with old photos to help Westfield Athenaeum identify photographs of the city and surrounding areas in its collection.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
WESTFIELD — The Westfield Athenaeum is once again asking Westfield residents to “take a trip down memory lane” to help the library identify photographs of the city and surrounding areas in its collection.
The library is seeking the public’s help to identify thousands of photographs in its archives. Last year, more than 70 people showed up to look through binders filled with photos. Called the I-Spy: Photograph Identification Event, it’s a collaborative idea between Max Vivacqua, the Athenaeum’s archivist, and Heaven Pajala, the local history and reference librarian.
“This is the second year the Athenaeum is hosting the event. Last year’s event was so successful that we decided to turn it into an annual event because of the support we received from the Westfield community,” said Pajala.
There is no cost and no need to register. Participants can just show up Aug. 27 between 10 a.m. and noon. The event will be in the Elizabeth Stewart Room and Athenaeum staff will be on hand to hear stories related to the photos. The Athenaeum is at 6 Elm St., Westfield.
Pajala said 10 binders of photographs will include some of the same photos from last year’s event as well as new ones chosen from the Atheneum’s archives for this specific event. Among the photos will be collections from former Westfield residents Bob Watson and Donn A. Robinson.
Watson lived in Westfield starting in the 1940s. He owned the well-known restaurant Bill and Bob’s on East Main Street, and also the Hillbrook House on North Elm Street. Robinson was the last professional photographer in Westfield to rent out the studio space above Ross Conner’s stationery store in the city’s downtown.
“Bob was a photographer whose collection shows what life was like in Westfield in the ’60s and ’70s,” said Pajala,
Vivacqua said the Athenaeum doesn’t have a lot of information about Robinson, other than a binder of photographs that were earmarked by a previous staff member as the Donn A. Robinson Photos that needed to be identified.
“We do know that Donn worked extensively with local newspapers, and that many of his photographs within our collections relate to political groups and various community organizations of the 1950s and ’60s,” Vivacqua said.
Pajala said there are about 400 photos in the binders, but an unknown number have already been identified.
“Our collection also has numerous photos from the archives that show parades and other community events in the 1960s and ’70s,” Pajala said. “All the photos were donated to the Athenaeum, including the Watson and Robinson collections, which were specifically donated with the hope of having the photos identified by the community.”
Vivacqua said the Athenaeum is fortunate to have collections from newspaper and event photographers. “The photos are quite granular and extensive in their coverage. We also have a wide range of historic photographs dating back to much older formats such as daguerreotype portraits,” he added.
There are also many pre-1920s photographs and portraits that are currently unidentified, but Vivacqua said the many military photo scrapbooks in the archives from World War II add to the wider range of photos in the collection. He noted that because of the success of last year’s identification event, the number of post-1950s photographs that are still unidentified has shrunk considerably.
Pajala said being able to identify people and places in the Athenaeum’s photo collections will help the library connect them with some of its larger photo collections, such as parade celebrations or family histories.
“The goal of any library and archives is access and information and access to information. Building these bridges of connection within our collection will help any future community member to find an ancestor or relative or forgotten location more easily,” she said.
