Obsession, addiction, passion, love … call it what you will, but I’ve spent way too much money “rescuing” anonymous old photos from bins in antique stores. It makes me sad to see pictures of all those hopeful, happy people, the babies and brides and soldiers and girlfriends, now forgotten and dusty. So I take them home. Clean them up. Admire them. Post them online and hope someone will recognize them.

I’m also a family history junkie. In my work as a (soon-to-be-certified) genealogist, I’ve seen firsthand the tremendous meaning that people find in discovering their roots. Putting faces to those bygone names can make those connections even more powerful.

Family photos are priceless and irreplaceable. It’s an honor to be trusted with them, to help families preserve and share them. And I also like to think I’m keeping a few of those old store bins empty.