Preserving the Past

     I have spent the last 3 to 4 months scanning slides and I have just finished. During the 60s, 70s and 80s, taking photos that were processed into slides was the trend. If you think that envelopes and even boxes of photos take up space, think about all the slide trays full of slides. More space is occupied. I also have many boxes of photo prints that were taken by my parents.

     My parents had many different cameras over the years and took photos of all sorts of things from their travels to other countries, family members and outings, gardens and many milestones in their lives.

Here is my Mom with her Kodak Brownie camera
in the 1940s. I still have this camera today. 

          Some of the photos they took really have no meaning to me and are sometimes out of focus or blurred, but some of them are beautiful. Of course, some of them I like because of the subject matter. Of the hundreds that I have scanned so far, (yes there many more boxes waiting in Ontario for me to sort and scan), I would like to share my favourite photos that were taken by one of my parents.

1960: Here are my two brothers and me dressed as pirates for
Halloween. I am the one in the middle. Note: the TV -- it was 
our first and it was black and white.  I also remember the book 
case behind filled with the books.

1966: My parents took photos of the Niagara Falls every year. 
Here are the American Falls.

1968: What a bunch of "hams". Here we are on the Cabot Trail on
Cape Breton Island posing for the camera.

1968: Although this is not the greatest photo, it shows
how posed we were for photos.

1969: This was the year the American Niagara Falls were dry.
To read more about the American Niagara Falls going
dry click here or here

1973: Cut glass made into an art piece

1973: An aerial view of the Canadian Niagara Falls

1975: The old Simpsons building with the reflection of the clock
 tower of Toronto's Old City Hall.

1975: The eerie reflection in a gold fish pool of a nearby
building in Toronto. 

1976: This is a beautiful photo of the trees, bushes
and sky reflected in the water of a pond.

1976: View of the Toronto skyline taken from the Toronto Island

1977: Fishing cages in Europe

1977: The score board of the first Toronto Blue Jays game played
 on April 7, 1977 at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium. It snowed that day,
delaying the game for hours (the Blue Jays won).  The Bulova tower, 
stadium and wooden roller coaster (the Flyer) have since been demolished.

1978: Me at my Uncle's farm. Nice colours in the pumpkins.

1978: An elaborate costume at the Toronto Caribana Parade

1979: My Mother worked as a nurse at the Lakeshore Psychiatric 
Hospital.  For years she worked in the department treating patients 
with Electro-Convulsive (shock) Therapy. Here with the cart of 
equipment used during the treatment.

1980: I like the colours and structure in this photo taken during to visit to Utah.

     There are many more I could have chosen but these are my top picks. It is nice going through these old slides and seeing where my parents went and the things they did during their lifetimes.