Lost History Rediscovered (in the Recycling)

The Photo Detective

When I saw coverage in The New York Times of a cache of slides and the attempts to identify the who, what, where, and when of them, I had to talk with the man who made this serendipitous discovery. Not all slides belong to be discarded some as my guest called it are “gold dust.” They document past local history and are cherished for that reason. Paul Moar is still stunned by the worldwide public interest in a bag or two of slides. It’s a feel-good story in a year of negative news. You’ll see what I mean. As a huge fan of the Ann Cleeves series set in Shetland and the inspiration for a television series of the same name, I couldn’t resist tracking down this guest and getting his perspective on his find and the islands. If you have Shetland connections, listen for details he shared about a special DNA study.

Related Episodes:

Episode 101: Rediscovering an American Community of Color

Episode 55: Photos of our Mill-Working Ancestors

Links:

• Paul Moar on the BBC
• Shared Shetland Memories on Facebook
• Promote Shetland
• Sign up for my newsletter.
• Watch my YouTube Channel.
• Like the Photo Detective Facebook Page so you get notified of my Facebook Live videos.
• Need help organizing your photos? Check out the Essential Photo Organizing Video Course.
• Need help identifying family photos? Check out the Identifying Family Photographs Online Course.
• Have a photo you need help identifying? Sign up for photo consultation.

About My Guest:

Paul Moar works at the Recycling Center in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland, and is a local historian. He’s passionate about life in the Islands and suggested any interested travelers sign up for Promote Shetland on Facebook. He reminded me that residents don’t actually consider themselves Scottish because of their Nordic history and heritage.

About Maureen Taylor:

Maureen is a frequent keynote speaker on photo identification, photograph preservation, and family history at historical and genealogical societies, museums, conferences, libraries, and other organizations across the U.S., London and Canada. She’s the author of several books and hundreds of articles and her television appearances include The View and The Today Show (where she researched and presented a complete family tree for host Meredith Vieira). She’s been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Better Homes and Gardens, The Boston Globe, Martha Stewart Living, Ge

I'm thrilled to be offering something new. Photo investigations. These collaborative one-on-one sessions. Look at your family photos then you and I meet to discuss your mystery images. And find out how each clue and hint might contribute to your family history. Find out more by going to maureentaylor.com and clicking on family photo investigations.

Support the show