Identifying Photographs
Alice Peshlakai Gorman and Nelson Gorman, Sr.
A Special Collections staff member came across this photograph while performing daily archival duties and noticed something oddly familiar. The individuals in the picture were unknown, but they struck a particular resemblance to the staff member's relatives. After a bit of research, several phone calls, and comparison to old family albums, Cline Library's persistent employee identified the photograph as Alice Peshlakai Gorman and Nelson Gorman, Sr., indeed, relatives somewhere on the family tree. The moment exemplifies the serendipity that tends to spill from the archives, but also highlights another, small (and human) way Special Collections helps records reach beyond the vault and into the greater public community.
In Progress
Some recently donated materials, tentatively called the Michael French Collection, contain numerous photographs of unidentified individuals in the Flagstaff area with some relation to a man named Carlos Trujillo. Archivists and staff continue to interview local community members to better label the images, increasing access to the archives. In this case, identifying photographs might also help bring families together, as many of the images are of parents and children. Yet the Michael French Collection is remarkable in other ways as well. Stay tuned for Episode 4 to find out more about its amazing journey to the archives.
Unidentified girl with dog, Michael French Collection, Cline Library Special Collections and Archives, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona.