NORTHERN MICHIGAN, (WPBN/WGTU) — A woman from Charlevoix County possesses a historical artifact and is seeking the family it was meant for.
Jenny Halteman acquired 30 film reels from the 1930s and 1940s through eBay.
What Halteman was unaware of, is that the reels featured scenes from northern Michigan.
How It Started
Halteman mentioned that she has been involved in converting videotapes from her parents into digital format.
I began chatting with a colleague at work, and he said, ‘Oh, I have something for you,’ ” recalled Halteman. “He ended up giving me an 8-millimeter projector. And I thought, what am I going to do with that?
It turned out the projector was in excellent shape, and Halteman mentioned she fell in love with running old film reels through it. This is what inspired her to begin placing bids on nearly 100-year-old film reels available on eBay.
What I hadn’t anticipated was coming across something originating from Traverse City.
The individual selling the film reels mentioned that he acquired them from an estate auction in St. Petersburg, Florida, and that inscriptions on several of the reels indicated they contained footage of Traverse City, Interlochen, and Houghton Lake.
“It was a complete collection of Michigan memories from the 1930s and 1940s,” stated Halteman.
But those memories remain trapped inside the Kodak film reels
“Someone likely didn’t anticipate anyone being able to digitize them or view them once more,” said Halteman.
That’s due to the fact that the movies are not in optimal condition. They are very fragile, and some exhibit “vinegar syndrome,” which is a chemical degradation of the material.
Otherwise, I could just start it and return in half an hour, and it would be finished,” said Halteman. “But for every second of this, I need to be present and guide it through.
The Process
Halteman begins with a segment of the film measuring 2 to 10 inches. She then employs a hair straightener to slightly enhance the film’s pliability, after which she feeds it through the digitizer to generate approximately 2 to 3 seconds of video at once.
“It likely requires me five to six hours to complete a 30-second segment,” said Halteman.
The film reels measure five inches, equivalent to 200 feet of film per reel, and Halteman has 30 of them, totaling 6,000 feet of film.
“It might take me years,” said Halteman.
However, Halteman mentioned that it’s a labor of love for her, and she chose to document the process and share it with others through social media.
The Search for Answers
Trying to recognize the people smiling back at her in the footage, Halteman uploaded the digitalized films toFacebook.
“I believe it was within 24 hours that we became familiar with the family. We knew the location, and at first, I was simply trying to determine which town it was from,” said Halteman.
Get to know the Sawyer family. Census documents and neighbors verify that the Sawyers resided at 510 6th St. in Traverse City. This home appears several times in the movie.
Halteman and others she has connected with on social media think that Mozelle Sawyer Bell and her mother are the two women shown in the film that has been digitized so far.
Halteman mentioned that she recently purchased additional film reels believed to be from the same batch, which could contain footage of the Sawyer family at Mackinac Island. She stated that she has attempted to locate relatives of the Sawyer family to share the films featuring their mother and grandmother.
If you have any information or wish to track Halteman’s progress in digitizing the reels, she regularly updates herFound Media social medias daily.
A journey that began with an eBay gift card concluded with a glimpse into history. It wasn’t only about recording the Sawyer family, but also preserving an earlier version of Traverse City.
I believe it’s significant because no one would have ever seen these if I hadn’t digitized them,” said Halteman. “I discover a lot of history, particularly the small stories of each individual person, which is truly important. And those individuals can now be remembered. So, bit by bit, we’re accomplishing it.
