ELLSWORTH, Wis. -- On the busiest street in Ellsworth a stash of treasure was buried in plain sight.
But now a long-abandoned photography studio across the street from the Pierce County Courthouse is giving up its secrets.
"Well these are high school graduation pictures," says Eileen Gulbranson as she holds up photos buried for decades in a shoe box. "This is a neighbor of ours when she was a teenager."
Gulbranson is among the volunteers with the Pierce County Historical Association who have spent their summer in the Lawrence Studio, a fixture on Ellsworth's main street, abandoned more than 20 years ago.
The studio was already operating, when H.W Lawrence, a photographer from southern Minnesota, purchased it in 1904.
His two daughters, Hilma and Opal took over in the 1950s, working in the business and spending their off hours in the living quarters above and behind the studio.
The sisters died a few weeks apart in 1989 and the studio was shuttered as a virtual time capsule - the table set and their clothes still hanging in the closets.
With the roof leaking and the village concerned about the building's deteriorating condition, last year a great-nephew living in Alabama offered to donate studio to the historical association.
Once inside, the historical society discovered a treasure chest.
"All these records, all these were in the Victrola," says volunteer Audrey Gilbertson, as she wipes mildew from the sleeves of several 78 rpm record albums. "The needle was still in. There was a record on."
Every room yielded rare finds. A lot of (photographic) chemicals are still left in the building, there's two darkrooms downstairs," says Dan Geister, as he holds up a gallon glass jug of Kodak sodium carbonate. "I mean, I don't know if eBay you'd even find that."
But most importantly, the historical society found thousands of photographs documenting eight decades of Pierce County marriages, confirmations, baby photos and high school graduations.
"If these people aren't living here now, they were born here," says Gulbranson. "They're part of Ellsworth history."
Volunteers are now sorting and working to identify as many people as possible in the photos, as urgent repairs begin on the roof. The floor was already rotted out in the room where most of the photos were taken and has been removed.
The historical association hopes to complete the project for Ellsworth's 150th anniversary next summer, when the studio and residence will be rededicated as a museum.
Geister says the effort was jumpstarted when the great-nephew, a physician, donated $20,000 and promised to match any funds the historical association could raise on its own.
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"They had no idea their house would become a museum one day, I don't know what Hilma and Opal would think of that now," smiles Geister.
It may be the only thing in Ellsworth the two sisters couldn't picture.
(Copyright 2011 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)
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