CUYAHOGA FALLS:
The 38 photographs tell the story of the baptism of Sofia Elizabeth.
Among the various images are close-ups of the little girl looking right into the camera lens.
But who she is and how an album with the photographs found tucked well inside the pages ended up at the Village Discount Outlet thrift store on State Road remains a mystery.
Carleen Gleason said she visited the store a few days before Thanksgiving and discovered what appeared to be a new photo album for $2.50.
“I thought it looked unusual,” she said. “It was very pretty.”
After picking it up, Gleason discovered nearly 40 photographs, mostly color, some in black and white, in the back section of the album.
“I can’t believe these are here,” she said.
Gleason bought the album and is determined to find Sofia and her family to return the photographs.
She has been able to determine that the photos were printed in 2008.
But other than that, Gleason, 71, who worked at Hickory Farms and at the Cuyahoga Falls Library in the circulation department, said she hasn’t been able to decipher much else.
She fears whoever donated the album missed the photos.
“Somebody doesn’t even know they don’t have them,” she said. “You just know that you don’t throw this stuff away.”
As a mother of four, Gleason said, you treasure memories of events like baptisms.
Her husband, Roy Gleason, 73, agrees.
“They are such beautiful pictures,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the Village Thrift, who asked not to be identified, said items sold at the Falls outlet are donations collected in the city and its surrounding area.
“We don’t believe it is possible for the album to be from a different part of the country,” she said.
Among the various snapshots are images of a baby, her two sisters, pictures of the family together with a minister and the baptism.
“I didn’t even need an album,” Carleen said. “I just picked it up because it was pretty.”
To inquire about the photographs, contact Beacon Journal reporter Jim Carney at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.