It is said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. There is a way to make that true when it comes to memories we intend to embrace. Preserving the past can be done in several ways. Many people over age 40 will remember what picture-taking was like as a child. Some of my memories go back to the cameras before Polaroid. You recall the ones that looked like a box, some of which you bought bulbs for. Others you could eventually buy a track of flashbulbs for light. One of the oldest family portrait studios throughout the area was Olan Mills, and there were other private studios available then as we have now. Our family seemed to always be shoved before a camera. Schools usually had contracts with local studios for picture packages for classrooms. Everybody seemed to dress up for the occasion. New shirts. New pants. Little snap-on neckties. Little girls with curls. It was a grand occasion indeed. Sporting events was another time when local photographers were called upon to do their thing. But nothing seemed to take the place of home pictures. Birthdays. Christmas. Easter. There were all some of the moments our parents wanted to capture. Pictures were also taken when we took little family trips. Sometimes we never value those memories until something changes in our lives. In my case, all of my grandparents have passed away. My parents are also gone. My siblings live in Philadelphia and outside of Chicago (my twin brother). Thoughts of the past are more precious now. Some people don't want to think of the past, but it could be a measure of how things have changed. It could also be a way of gauging the kinds of changes we have individually made in lifestyle, size, etc. From my childhood years, I was always exposed to extended family members. We had family reunions that took us to different states each year. Often we would hear talk of family members who passed away before I was born. One such person was my maternal grandfather. I recall seeing pictures of him and hearing stories about the corner store he owned and the real estate business in which he dabbled. It is not possible to regain all things from the past, but pictures certain do help. This was true when I recently visited the self-proclaimed historian in our family in Massachusetts a few weeks ago. My plan was to invade his picture albums and bring back to the area some of our immediate family's past. And that I did. I made many copies of pictures not in our possession. Lots of pictures for my sister, who recently successfully ended all of her cancer treatments. She laughed and cried upon receiving copies of baby pictures, taking a stroll with her wonderful twin brothers, her elementary school days, even high school pictures once thought to be lost. Somewhere in the process I recovered and am getting restored an old photo of my twin and me when we were about five years old. We had just received blue football helmets, and guns and holsters with cowboy boots for Christmas. I also began to gather pictures just sitting around and placed them in picture albums. The more things change, the only way they can truly stay the same is by the preservation through some kind of print media. My daughters have come to enjoy all of their baby and childhood pictures. Pictures of their public school activities. Awards programs. Birthday parties from childhood. What a way to embrace the past. Every family ought to have picture memories. Every family ought to have a family historian. Even consider starting a family reunion on an annual basis or biannually. With parents gone, I can still enjoy the past though those pictures. One day you will want to look back on what has happened in your family, and taking pictures is one of the best ways to do that. The Rev. Mitch Nickols, pastor of Bibleway Fellowship Church, New Kensington, is a community columnist for the Valley News Dispatch. His column appears monthly.

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