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Penticton woman hopes to reunite found 1930s photo album with owner

A lady named 'Mary' is seen in this old photo dated September, 1930.
A lady named 'Mary' is seen in this old photo dated September, 1930.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kandice Michelle

A Penticton woman found an old family album full of black and white photos dating back to 1930 and is hoping to return it to the family.

Kandice Michelle found the album while helping a friend move out of a rental house in the Skaha Lake area in the late summer. The album was found in a trash bin among a pile of old belongings that appears to have been left behind by former residents of which there could have been many over the years.

“It's still intact, it was a little wet but I’ve dried it out and have been looking after it,” Michelle said.

Her reason’s for attempting to reunite the album with members of the family go beyond an act of kindness. Michelle lost both of her parents at a young age and after moving around among other family members and foster homes growing up, precious photos were lost along the way.

“I have no pictures and memories of my own family from before and felt it was important to have them,” she said. “These photos are very old and show a husband and wife. It touched me because I know how it would feel getting so many cherished memories back.”

The main person in the photos is named Mary who appears to have been born in 1908 as she is shown in a photo in 1930 at the age of 22.

This photo shows two pages of a family album found in a garbage bin in Penticton.
This photo shows two pages of a family album found in a garbage bin in Penticton.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kandice Michelle

“I can’t find many last names on the photos,” Michelle said. “There's a photo dated in February 1958 that says ‘Mary cutting her birthday cake.’ It appears there were photos taken at an event in England in the 60s, and some taken somewhere called ‘Studio Charles.”

There are undated photos of a wedding of Helen Toohey to Reginald Norby, and a more recent photo of a lady named Carol born in 1982.

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Michelle could not determine whether the people in the photos were from the Penticton area. She is hoping to return the album to any living children or grandchildren.

Anyone with information about the album can contact Michelle here.

The front cover of a family album that was found in a trash bin in Penticton.
The front cover of a family album that was found in a trash bin in Penticton.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kandice Michelle

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