Mystery Rogersville photo album from 1940s offers rare peek into town history

Local historian Wayne Glenn is known online and across the Ozarks as "The Old Record Collector." He regularly shares his Ozarks history findings on his Facebook page with more than 19,000 followers. But Glenn recently found a record he just couldn't keep: an 80-year-old scrapbook from a Springfield estate sale.

It was a photo album of Rogersville in the late 1940s. Glenn said the album was incomplete, with about three-fourths of the original content remaining. But the photos were "high-quality." The book has given a new glimpse into the town's life and history.

"I was glad I bought it, but I have no reason to keep it," Glenn posted to his Facebook page. "It needed to go to Rogersville — where it came from!!"

Glenn posted many of the photos on Facebook last week with clues that could point to the photographer's identity. He believes the book documents a teenage girl's high school years in Rogersville from 1946 to 1949. Many photos are high-quality, resembling yearbook shots. Some even identify the subjects — just not the photographer.

"There wasn't quite enough information there," Glenn said. "Her name apparently does not appear in any of the booklet. But she must've been a high school student."

He believes the student must have been on the yearbook staff at Rogersville High School (the "Logan" was added to "Logan-Rogersville" in 1965 when the districts merged). He says the photos of parades, choral groups, and band members resemble the work of talented Springfield photographers of the day.

There was one hint as to who the photographer could be: a sepia-toned photo of two cows in a pasture. Behind them is a vast orchard. In handwriting on the back, the photographer wrote, "orchard at home." But Glenn said neither he nor his followers have been able to identify the orchard. Plus, the landscape could have changed in the past 80 or so years.

"Although I did see a number of people responding to some of their family members that would have been in school at Rogersville in the late '40s and were still living," Glenn said. "But believe me, if they were in high school, they'd have to be 90 years old currently."

After posting the photos to Facebook, Glenn looked into the Johnson family, who held the estate sale where he bought the book. He said the Johnson family was not from Rogersville, and it doesn't appear that the photographer was a Johnson either.

"It does not appear that the photo album was Mr. or Mrs. Johnson's work," Glenn said. "And that's why it would be confusing or uncertain as to say whose book it was. Again, probably 25% of the pictures had been taken out."

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Although the photographer who created the book was not identified, many Rogersville locals commented on Glenn's Facebook posts identifying their own family members. Others saw teachers and family friends they remembered. The names of some individuals are lost to time, as Glenn says is often the case.

"Folks, identify your own photos if you know who they are," Glenn said.

According to Michelle Black, branch manager for the Webster County Library in Rogersville, the book's binding is damaged and is currently being repaired. She also said the library is considering passing the book on to the Webster County Historical Society.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Ozarks historian rescues Rogersville photo album with mystery creator