RAVENSWOOD, W.Va. (WV News)– When Clara Weisheit was taking pictures in the early 1900s, she most likely did not realize what a present she was leaving for the town she loved.The abundance of photographs that were offered blindly in an estate auction in 1965 have actually partially discovered their way home. Three sets were offered, one to Rob Benson, who is the informal historian of the town. One was bought by another unknown local who donated them to the Jackson County Historic Society. The last group was purchased by someone in Huntington who is currently unknown.When Benson concerned Board of Parks and Entertainment
Director, Katrena Ramsey, and used the pictures to the city, she accepted them. Later, she got in touch with the Historic Society who also contributed its collection of photos.” I’m a history nut,”stated Ramsey.
“While some are more thinking about buildings and artifacts, I’m more interested in individuals and seeing them in everyday life.” With Weisheit’s pictures, Ramsey stated she hit the
proverbial motherlode.”If I have 200 negatives, I have 2,000,”she stated in awe
.”I need to confess I had a’what the heck am I going to do with these ‘minute. But then I realized what a treasure Clara had left us.”Weisheit left something almost as valuable as the pictures
. A big part of the photos were kept in envelopes with an inventory of each, detailing who the subject was and where it was taken.”In trying to determine the people and the time period, those
have actually been an important resource,”Ramsey said.”In some cases it would just be a first name but mainly it would be both very first and last.”Becoming a history sleuth, Ramsey said she’s had the ability to connect numerous of the photos to households still in the location and even to some that have actually moved away. “That has been so rewarding, “she stated.”A few of these images are ones that the family had never
seen. Sometimes, it’s the just one they’ve ever had in their possession.”Not a lot is understood about Weisheit. Her parents, Andrew and Louise, immigrated from Germany, eventually settling in
Ravenswood where he ran a tannery. Their daughter was born in 1885 in Ohio and died in 1965 in Ravenswood.”Clara never wed, however had a great deal of buddies,”Ramsey said.” She worked at a regional bank
, maybe the Jackson County Bank due to the fact that she took a great deal of photos of it. Living all her life in the family home on Race Street, she took tons of photos of her neighbors and people all over town.”One of her preferred subjects was a little woman who lived across the street, Donaldeen Whetstone. She can be seen in a number of photos.” She and Clara really communicated throughout the years,”Ramsey said. “With an uncommon name like Donaldeen,
I thought I could find her and unfortunately, I did discover her obituary. She still looked like the young Donaldeen, called after her dad, when he expected a kid and got a woman instead. Her husband is still living, and he now has a memorial of his partner when she was a kid. “Another of her favorite topics was her buddy Daisy Malone who was widowed and worked as a registered nurse. She raised her child, who likewise became a nurse, as a single moms and dad. “These were strong women,”stated Ramsey.”We don’t consider them in that period as having careers and
supporting themselves. Clara shows that belief incorrect.”Ramsey stated she had the ability to link the photos of Malone with her family. That, she states, is the appeal of this collection.”If we don’t link their stories to someone or something, they lose a little their value,”she said.”The good news is, Clara did her best to record a large part of her photographs.” Ravenswood local, Dee Scritchfield, was among those connections. Ramsey had the ability to share a picture of Scritchfield’s mom, Johnnie Mae Cottrill, as a kid in a photo with Weishiet’s preferred topic, little Donaldeen.”I wept when I saw that photo,”Scritchfield stated.” I had actually never seen it previously, and my whole
household was delighted. It is so terrific to see these pictures resurrecting the past.”To do that reanimating takes a great deal of time and effort. Ramsey stated that her co-op trainee from Ravenswood High School
, Braylin Tabor contributed in moving the job forward.The primary step
at the same time was to take photos of each of the negatives. That was Braylin’s task. She took each specific negative, put it on a white board and photographed it.It then went to Ramsey to’ make the magic take place ‘.”I utilized free software application that enabled me to crop, modify and apply results,”Ramsey described.
“Then I put them in individual folders on my laptop computer and the
research started. I’ve dealt with numerous of the images that I sometimes might recognize the people or the locations which helped.”A few of the areas were quite unusual since Weisheit loved to travel with various families.”She took an image of a special place in Marion
, Ohio,” Ramsey stated.”It was a gorgeous sanitorium where girls of that age would go to refresh
themselves. I was able to get in touch with the Marion County Historical Society which had never ever been able to locate a picture. Now they’re going to use it in a book. So, Clara will now be released.” When the job is finished, there will be an exhibit of Weisheit’s photography at the Riverbend Museum at Riverfront Park. One unique item will be consisted of.
“We will have a pair of Clara’s shoes,”Ramsey stated with a smile.” I believe that’s really proper. “Ramsey said she feels she’s familiarized the unique Clara Wiesheit through her photography.”She was daring, enjoyed flowers and kids, “she stated.”She had a natural ability
in photography that recorded people in their every day lives which really made her a storyteller. She didn’t seem to love official poses all that much. She liked candid shots of her buddies and neighbors. She probably traveled by train mostly, but there is evidence in at least one image that she may have flown. Most of all, she obviously enjoyed Ravenswood.”