I’ve always loved photos. They connect us to our past and remind us of who we are and where we came from.

Not long ago, I worked on a project to help my dad’s side of the family gather and scan all their old photos so everyone in the family could have access. It was an interesting process because everyone seemed a little territorial about the groups of photos they had.

While sorting through everything, I came across two pictures of my grandfather with his moonshine still. I had never seen the pictures before, and that part of his life was rarely discussed. A neighbor turned him in to the “Revenuers,” so it was considered a shameful secret. But for me and my cousins, it was fascinating!

After I scanned those photos, they quietly disappeared, and no one seemed to know where they had gone. I had my thoughts about which aunt had them, but she wasn’t forthcoming. Sadly, as time went on, my aunts began to pass away, leaving their photo collections behind for my cousins to sort through. When one cousin finally let me help, not only did those two faded original photos resurface, but I found four in total!

I knew FOREVER offered photo restoration services, but at first, I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend the money. I’m so glad I did. I had the photos both corrected in black-and-white and colorized, and they turned out beautifully. I even created a photo panel featuring the faded originals, the restored black-and-white versions, and the colorized versions.