Banning Scans Its Past

It began as a Banning library grant project to collect 200 old photos and scan them. But now hundreds more photos have been found, more keep coming in, and Banning is rediscovering its history.

Bill Bell, who is spearheading the Banning Public Library District photo project, sat by his library desk and scanner the other day, pointing to the latest photos brought in by a long-time community resident. 

“It’s exponentially changing every week,” he said.

The Banning library project began with a $5,000 grant, given by the California State Library through the federal Library Sciences and Technology Act. 

The state library program helps libraries scan local historical materials into digital files. The California Digital Library, run by the University of California, then shares the materials with the public. 

Thousands of rare photos and other materials now are accessible through the Local History Digital Resources Project. Many of these photos and documents previously lay for years in obscure places throughout California — places like Banning.

“The reason we got the grant is because nothing like it has been done in this area,” Bell said. 

Early Banning downtown scenes, apricot-processing, and a roller-skating donkey are among about 200 images from the Banning library that soon will join the online collections from about 65 institutions throughout California. 

State library officials say the records are invaluable to researchers.

A late 1800s church on Morongo Indian Reservation, 1930s workers on the Colorado River Aqueduct, 1970s Stagecoach Days parades, modern Hmong dancers —  Banning’s photos show a wide slice of community life through the decades.

The $5,000 grant provided the money for equipment, such as a scanner, and training workshops to get Bell started. Bell said a separate, local Barker Family grant given to Banning library in the 1970s supports his part-time wages through the end of this year.

His work was cut out for him.

When he began, many of the Banning library’s photos lay, unsorted, in half-forgotten boxes and binders. Over the years some sadly had disappeared from the library.

When Bell began looking through the photos, he began uncovering the treasures of Banning’s past, decade after decade. 

When people learned what he was doing, they began bringing their photos to him.  He has uncovered hundreds of photos. More and more came into the library.

Details, such as a photo that shows someone eating an ice-cream cone from Hal’s Drugstore, also prompted memories to come streaming in. 

When Bell encountered mysteries, he began inviting people publicly to share what they remembered. 

Like a detective, Bell uses a magnifying glass to pore over backgrounds for identifying evidence. Details, such as cars or clothes, help date some photos. He sometimes goes to a location to see whether a building in a photo still stands, or to look at the profile of the hills in the background.

starting at 6 p.m. in a Dragonfly Lecture at Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, 17 West Hays St.  Donations at the door will benefit the 501(c)3 nonprofit, which saves and shares Native American cultures, languages, history and traditional arts.

The Learning Center has a theme this year of Shadowcatchers: Old Photographs and is seeking to add Native American photos to history archives. 

Bell also is searching for more photos for the Banning library. The area’s populations of Native American, Hispanic, African-American, Hmong and other cultures remain underrepresented in the library collection, he said. 

Along the way, the project has skyrocketed past the 200 photos that soon will appear on the state digital library website. 

“The library wants to create its own website,” Bell said. Librarians envision photos, videos, audio files that all help tell the stories of Banning. City leaders also have invited Bell and the library to participate in planning for the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of the city of Banning, in 2013.