Preserving a Piece of the Past

By Kelley Barrett, Vegas Ancestor Hunter

After my mother-in-law passed, we found ourselves in the possession of a small cardboard box containing three tightly rolled photos. Looking similar to rolls of ancient papyrus, each of the 7” high rolls was brown with age, dust, cigarette smoke, and other environmental damage stemming from decades of improper care and storage. Upon closer examination we noted broken pieces, deep cracks, tears, yellowed transparent tape, and pin holes through which the photos had once hung on walls.

Unrolling them would undoubtedly cause further irreparable damage, so we hesitated. By first gently removing the remains of the rubber bands that had once held them in the tightly-bound rolls, we were able to loosen them a little. Then we were faced with a difficult decision. Do we attempt to unroll one of them… just a little bit… in order to try to determine what they were? Knowing that doing so might cause the photo to further break into pieces, we decided to take the risk with a single photo.

Without making any attempt to straighten or flatten the photo, we gently loosened the roll until we were able to peek inside the outside edge. Peering back at us we saw the faded faces of what appeared to be a group of American soldiers wearing WWI uniforms. The soldiers were posing, those in back standing with those in front kneeling, in what appeared to be a formal military group photo. We didn’t dare open the photo further, but could see the words ‘74th Engineers’ written along the bottom edge. With that information, we had enough clues to identify the family member who would possibly appear in one of more of the photos.

The damaged WWI photos after removal of the rubber bands.

Source: Kelley Barrett

Carl Delazon PAXTON was a 21-year-old farmer when he enlisted at Fort Walla Walla in September 1917. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1896, his family was living in Missouri in 1900 and moved to rural Washington State while he was still a youth. Okanogan County, where Carl grew up, is the largest county in Washington State by total area. However, it is also one of the most sparsely populated. According to the 1910 U.S. Census, the county had a population of just 12,887 people. Little did his family know that less than ten years after they were enumerated on that census, Carl would be half a world away fighting in a war known for the rise of new technologies, trench warfare, and unprecedented carnage.

According to Carl’s “Certificate in Lieu of Lost or Destroyed Discharge Certificate” which remains safely snuggled in its brown leather holder, Carl was a Private First Class in Battery E, 146th Field Artillery. A bit of research into Carl’s service record and the history of the 146th Field Artillery Regiment clarified that Carl was initially enlisted into the Washington National Guard, assigned to Company B, 29th Engineers which was then transferred to the 74th Engineers.

Monthly reports and morning reports place Carl in Company B, 29th Engineers. Carl can be found listed in the roster of the 1st Battalion, 74th Engineers as of December 17, 1918. This roster is reported in anappendix of Sergeant Jesse Rolen Hinman’s 1919 publication Ranging in France with Flash and Sound: An Official History of the Second Battalion 29th Engineers in France During the World War (p. 267). It should be noted that flash and sound ranging uses sensitive, complicated instruments to locate the positions of an enemy’s artillery. This undoubtedly involved some of the new technologies that appeared during the war.

Remaining service records for Carl D. Paxton at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis show obvious signs of damage from the disastrous fire of 1973.

Source: National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri.

Carl spent Christmas 1917 overseas having arrived in Europe on Christmas Eve. He remained overseas for 443 days. According to Sergeant Hinman’s account, during the last eight months of the war, ‘Flash and Sound Rangers’ were in active service at almost every point on the Allied front. In addition, Hinman notes that “one of the sections participated in every offensive against the enemy during that critical period” (p. 16). Carl and his fellow soldiers, friends, and countrymen must have seen a lot of action in the days, weeks and months leading up to the armistice of November 11, 1918. The artillery on the Western Front fell silent that day thus ending the need for the ‘Flash and Sound Rangers’.

Carl did not return to the United States until arriving in Newport News, Virginia on March 11, 1919 aboard the Nansemond. The voyage from France had taken about two weeks. More than 5,000 soldiers were abroad the Nansemond when she arrived, including Carl and other members of the 74th Engineers.

What a range of emotions they must have felt: joy and relief for the end of the war, hope for their swift return to their families, sorrow and guilt for those who had been lost. Interestingly, the Nansemond had been built in Ireland the same year that Carl was born. Having served her purpose, she was scrapped just five years later, in 1924. After receiving his honorable discharge, Carl returned to Washington State, married, raised a daughter, lived his life, and passed away in 1961 at the age of 64.

The U.S.S. Nansemond, “The Boat that Brought Us Home.”

Source: https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~cacunithistories/military/USS_Nansemond.html

Back in the present, we were faced with a difficult decision. Should we potentially sacrifice one of the 100+ year old photos in order to potentially save the image for future generations? The decision was further complicated by the expense involved and not knowing for certain if Carl was even pictured in whichever photo we might select. Few records and souvenirs of Carl’s service during WWI remain: a uniform, a dog tag, his replacement discharge certificate. It seemed important to find a photo of him from that time. If we did nothing, the photos would continue to deteriorate and whatever details the images contained would be lost. A Conservator with the National Archives and Records Administration pointed me to the Washington State Historical Society. An inquiry about a potential donation to that Society (for the purpose of preservation) did not receive the courtesy of a follow-up response.

Then one day during a CCNGS monthly meeting, fellow member J. T. Stevens recommended Patchin Pictures as a local resource for photo restoration. Based on J.T.’s strong recommendation, we decided to take the box of photos to Patchin Pictures and get their expert advice. While we hadn’t intended to make an irrevocable decision that day, after meeting with Steve Patchin and Rod Koepp, reviewing the results of other highly damaged photos that they had successfully restored, and asking a lengthy list of questions, we entrusted one of the three irreplaceable photos to them.

From end-to-end, the entire restoration process took Steve and Rod about four or five weeks. Steve insists that Rod did most of the work. When I opened the low-resolution before-and-after thumbnail that Rod sent for approval, I was speechless. Even at a significantly lower resolution than the final product, the quality of the restored photo far exceeded our expectations. We had prepared for the worst, the utter destruction of the photo with restoration then beyond our grasp. Instead what followed was our absolute delight when my husband was easily able to pick out his great grandfather kneeling in the front row (sixth from left). The photo taken just two days after their return from France on the Nansemond shows a group war-weary young men experiencing a broad range of emotions.

Before (top) and After (bottom) restoration by Patchin Pictures, Sound Ranging Section #3 - 74th Engineers – Formerly 29th, Engineers from France.

Camp Stuart, Newport News, Va. March 13th, 1919.

Source: © 2024 VAH Consulting. All rights reserved. Photo may not be copied, duplicated, exhibited, published or distributed in any manner without prior written authorization of VAH Consulting.

Obviously, based on my experience, I have the highest praise for the photo restoration work of Patchin Pictures. And like many others, I was very disappointed to learn that the studio in Las Vegas had closed. With more photo restoration work needing to be done, I reached out to Steve for a referral. Once again, Patchin Pictures exceeded my expectations. It turns out that Steve moved to Colorado to live in the mountains and be closer to family. He still has the company, but his main focus is writing fiction. He loves doing photo restorations, and while this work won’t be highlighted on his new website, he can and will do this type of work upon request. The one worry that we share is that there is the possibility of an original photo being lost or destroyed during shipping. It’s not likely, but the reality is that it could happen. Depending on the unique circumstances of your situation, this may be a risk that you are willing to take to preserve a piece of the past. Anyone interested should contact Steve at: info@patchinpictures.com.