Mt. Prospect Historical Society seeks old photos

As Mount Prospect gears up to celebrate the village's centennial in 2017, the historical society will hold its first February Photo Scanning Days from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6 and 7, at the Dietrich Friedrichs House Museum, 101 S. Maple St.

"Bring a photo taken in Mount Prospect to the Mount Prospect Historical Society and let us scan it for our digital collection. We'll hand you back the original and give you a coupon for a free scoop of Oberweis ice cream," said Lindsay Rice, executive director. The Mount Prospect Oberweis store at 80 E. Northwest Hwy. has donated coupons for the first 50 people to bring in photos.

"The society is looking for any photos involving Mount Prospect: family photos, block parties, school plays, sports events, church events, your house when you first moved in, big snow storms, parades, birthday parties, you name it … the society is probably interested, especially if the photo was taken many years ago. The only photos we're not looking for are those taken within the last year.

"The images from personal collections are a great way to document the history and changes in Mount Prospect," Rice said. "We will add them to our digital collection of images so they will be available to anyone interested in the history of Mount Prospect. The Mount Prospect Historical Society may also use them in educational displays or publications, but you will retain the copyright to the images."

The society staff and volunteers will digitize your photos using a scanner. An immediate turnaround is guaranteed on up to 10 photos. If you want to bring more, they will be returned the following week. A digitalized version of the scanned photos can be emailed to participants.

You also will have the option of donating the original photos for the permanent collection. "The society would then own all rights," Rice said.

For more information, call (847) 392-9006 or visit www.mtphist.org.