About three years ago, Jeff Phillips, a Chicago-based photographer, was browsing through an antique mall outside Saint Louis when he came across a stack of 30 bright yellow boxes filled with Kodachrome slides. The first slide he pulled out was a snapshot of a middle-aged woman, perfectly centered within the frame, wearing a long, frilly pink dress and standing in front of a group of pine trees. The second slide was almost identical to the first, except that the woman was wearing a yellow dress. Phillips was impressed by the quirkiness of the composition. He bought all 30 boxes and hauled them home.
He set up a Facebook page called “Is This Your Mother?” and resolved to post a photo a day until the mystery was solved. He estimated he had enough to last three years. The page quickly attracted a devoted following who carefully combed the photos for clues to Harry and Edna’s identity. They cracked the mystery in just three weeks.
That doesn’t mean he’s not grateful for digital technology. “In our age, Facebook is bringing more and more people together. There will be more and more of these kinds of stories. I think it’s great.”
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