I've spent a few days recently in the Joint Archives (Hope College, Holland) looking through their photograph collection, and it got me to thinking about all the old photographs that still exist, stuffed away in attics and closets, that may some day end up in garage sales, or worse, in the trash. Before that happens, I would encourage everyone to find as many photos as they can and make copies. With the holidays coming up, this is the perfect time to ask around, to find out who has what. Have a local photographer make up a new negative, get laser copies made, scan the images and save them to disk, or at the very least run them through the photocopier. (I'm told one or two passes in the copier won't damage the photo.) Laser copies only cost about $1 per 8 1/2" x 11" sheet, and they look great. Even if you can't identify a person or place in the photo, make a copy. The world's getting smaller all the time, and some day you just might find someone who CAN identify them. The internet can be a big help in this. I'm not aware of any websites devoted to old photographs of Ottawa County (if one exists, please let me know), so I thought I'd start something. I've opened up a Freepages account on Rootsweb. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~penning/ At the moment, it's not much to look at - just a few tombstone photos and some old snapshots of my great-grandfather. But, I'm presently scanning about 200 photos from a relative's collection. With her permission, I'll post some of them on the site. Surnames include: Nederveld, De Vree, Wyngaarden, Hiemenga, Glas, Van Noord, Renzelaar, Kregel, Karsten... I have no idea if this will work, but I'd love to accept photo contributions on anything dealing with Ottawa County: family groups, individuals, schools, sports teams, city views, etc. Copyrights are an issue, so please be certain your submissions are not copyrighted. If interested, contact me at [email protected] Regards, Chris Penning