What Can We Learn from a Photo?

I love the photos that my friend, Julia Myers, shares.  She is a wonderful photographer, and her photos tell amazing stories. Whenever her family goes on a trip, I can't wait to see what Julia will post on Facebook.

Recently, they returned from a trip to Montana, and Julia did not disappoint. She posted photos that made me smile and others that were more pensive and serious. Amongst her photos was this gem:

Clearly, this was an old newspaper, but how old is it? And how can we find out? According to Julia, "The insulation in this old building was newspaper. Not sure of the date, but it is likely from the late 1800's to the very early 1900's. Look at the prices on it." 

Later, Julia's friend posted some information: "Looking at one of the advertisements in your newspaper that is upside down I traced the name back: I found the following. Larry Duggan, Undertaker and Embalmer, Butte, Montana (1901). you can find more on Flick'r. His calling card listed his phone number and address . . . and he also listed on his card that he was a Purveyor of fine Ladies Goods in the West and a ladies Assistant . . . hmmmm???" 

Julia then posted this business card of Larry Duggan, and when I did a Google search, I found out that Larry Duggan was a pretty important person after the 1917 Speculator Mining Disaster in Butte, Montana when 163 miners died, many from asphyxiation. As the undertaker, Larry Duggan estimated the cost of a "proper" burial so families of those miners could collect compensation from the North Butte Mining Company. 

Today, we can learn so much if we are curious and ask questions and explore to discover new information. That one photo that Julia took piqued our curiosity, and because of someone's eagle eyes in spotting Larry Duggan's name on that photo of the paper, we now know much more than we did before Julia posted that photo of the old newspaper. Isn't this what what we should be doing with our students? When they have questions, we help them find answers using different reference materials including a Google search.

One of the skills we are teaching our students is how to generate higher-level thinking questions as an important component of project-based learning. In order to do this, our teachers need practice in asking questions, too. Using photos or artifacts can be an effective way to practice asking questions and then researching to find the answers. 

I am surprised that this piece of newspaper has lasted this long, probably over 100 years. How is it possible that it could still be in such great condition? Amazing!

One photo - look at how much we learned from it!