A rare video collection resurrecting 8 mm and super 8 mm film has been donated to USC Aiken's Gregg-Graniteville Library.
"Graniteville Memories" offers a glimpse into the past, where you will see acquaintances from toddler through adulthood as well as scenes from the mill village. The video collection preserves the history of the area.
"This project is about the families that donated their personal video archives from the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s. In addition to the families, many landmarks are captured on film," said Kirk Bennett, director of "Graniteville Memories."
The quest for memorabilia from Graniteville began in 1995 when Bennett was putting together a film for the 30-year class reunion of the Graniteville High School Class of 1965. As items began to come forward, memories surfaced, and Bennett recalled his family being present when video was taken.
After approaching the first video donor and reviewing the tapes, Bennett realized he had a much larger project.
"I thought, boy, there are truly nuggets here that I've got to share with the community," he said.
Bennett collected old videos stored in attics and shoe boxes from Graniteville.
"I was born, raised and educated in Graniteville. While I've been physically removed from the community, my heart has been with it, preserving what is now seen as a simple life. I want to preserve what I can," said Bennett.
The videos currently in the "Graniteville Memories" collection come from the private collections of Dud Cook, Bill and Virgil Conaway, Gerald Boyd, Lonnie Barton and Christian Heritage Church. Each of the 8 mm and super 8 mm reels were commercially digitized and preserved for future generations.
"The films are very valuable as they recorded our community that we will never be equal to again," said Bennett.
He encourages everyone to search their attics and old shoeboxes for photographs and film to preserve before it is too late and they are damaged from time.
A copy of the film collection was donated by all participants to the Gregg-Graniteville Library and is now available for public viewing. A limited number of copies are available for sale by visiting the contact section of www.ghscentral.org.
Contact Rachel Johnson at rjohnson@aikenstandard.com
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