THE ADVENT of digital cameras will have been the bane of most millennials’ childhoods, with parents forcing them to strike a pose at seemingly every opportunity.
Too busy welcoming in the 2000s with the Sims, Harry Potter and the iPod, many would have failed to appreciate how valuable these snaps would later become.
Whitley Community Museum receives some of its highest interaction when posting childhood photos, providing ideal opportunities for group members to remember the ‘good old days’.
Museum curator, David Turner, said: “When we showcase school photographs, they are always met with a huge response. Recently a Harvest festival photograph was featured that was held in St Agnes Church in 1999. It resonated with many residents from that era.
“It is so important to retain these photographs and show them occasionally. It brings families and neighbours together again, allowing them to reminisce which is so important on so many levels.
“It can help people who perhaps feel insecure or lonely, as well dementia sufferers who more often than not lighten up and start talking about times gone by. So many reasons to continue saving these Way Back When photographs.”
This picture was taken at Whitley Park Infant School’s final Harvest festival before the turn of the millennium at St Agnes Church.
Reconnecting members of the community is a heartwarming byproduct of the museum’s work, with many recognising themselves and their friends in the pictures posted on its Facebook page.
With over 4,600 followers on Facebook, the Whitley Community Museum is an accessible online and in-person resource.
The group serves as a platform for residents past and present to share memories through photographs and comments.
It also allows group members to reconnect, with members reacquainting themselves with friends and schoolmates from decades ago.
The museum held a Whitley Way Back When event at the Community Cafe on Northumberland Avenue earlier this year to showcase its photographs and exhibits in-person.
For more information, search: Whitley Community Museum on www.facebook.com
