A photo album that has remained shrouded in mystery in Victoria for 30 years might be just an e-mail away from being returned to its rightful owner.
The well-thumbed book, full of black-and-white and sepia pictures of smiling families and friends, has sat in a locked office at the Inn at Laurel Point, left behind by a guest.
Initially, it was lack of technology that prevented staff from tracking down the albumB次元官网网址檚 owner. Today, technology has allowed Melanie Arscott and Diana Gaiger of the Victoria Genealogical Society to identify a woman who appears in some of the photos.
B次元官网网址淚t was a guessing game,B次元官网网址� said Arscott, society president, who was thrilled to match one of the names in the photo album to a woman living in Fairfield.
B次元官网网址淪he is a sleuth,B次元官网网址� Molly Whitelaw Reid, 84, said of ArscottB次元官网网址檚 ability to track her down, a crucial step in identifying the bookB次元官网网址檚 owner, whom she believes is a friend of her father.
B次元官网网址淚 think the family would be very pleased,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲hen you get old enough, you want to know what your roots are.B次元官网网址�
When Arscott telephoned Whitelaw Reid three weeks ago to confirm her identity, the mystery of the book began to unravel. More details unfolded Friday when Whitelaw Reid arrived for tea at the Inn, where she poured over the keepsake album.
In one of the albumB次元官网网址檚 pictures, Whitelaw Reid stands smiling as a teenager wearing a skirt she remembers vividly.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a significant picture of what the puzzle looks like,B次元官网网址� said Scott Hoadley, hotel manager. B次元官网网址淭he mystery is getting closer to being solved.B次元官网网址�
Once word spread publicly earlier this year about the albumB次元官网网址檚 existence, Arscott contacted the Inn to volunteer her expertise.
Now, thanks to Whitelaw Reid, they know the photos depict the Starks. Her father and Jimmy Stark were both Scottish immigrants who worked in eastern Canada as civil engineers for the former Grand Trunk Railway.
ItB次元官网网址檚 believed the album, featuring snapshots from the 1910s to 1940s, belongs to JimmyB次元官网网址檚 older brother, David. Arscott has already been hard at work attempting to contact the grandchildren of Thomas Stark, Jimmy and DavidB次元官网网址檚 brother, whom she believes are the surviving heirs.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 waiting for e-mails back,B次元官网网址� Arscott said smiling. B次元官网网址淚 wish my family was that easy to track down.B次元官网网址�
emcracken@vicnews.com
