Memories floated around the room as members of the Bulloch County Historical Society shared pictures of Old Bulloch County in anticipation of a pictorial coffee table book that will be released in November.
    In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the daily newspaper in its first form as the weekly Bulloch Herald, the Statesboro Herald will release "Statesboro Through Our Eyes," a quality publication that Statesboro Herald President Joe McGlamery called “ a cut above” other similar books.
    And, to make this a community project, he asked citizens for input in the form of old pictures.
    “The Statesboro Herald respectfully asks you to bring your photos to our office so we can look at them and possibly include them,” he said.
    Dozens of area residents came by the Herald office Tuesday to share images they have cherished and kept through the years to be scanned for possible use in the book. The Herald is partnering with Pediment Publishing to publish the book. Representatives from Pediment will be at the Herald office, located at 1 Proctor Street, on Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
    The hundreds of photos to be used in the book will include images from the collections of the Bulloch County Historical Society, Georgia Southern's Henderson Library and the Statesboro Regional Library, but those old photos in boxes or albums in the homes of area citizens are needed as well, he said.
    "There's so much history right in our backyard, and I know so many people have photos and images from the past that tell the story of our communities," McGlamery said.
    While the collection and scanning project has already begun, with people coming into the Statesboro Herald office Monday and Tuesday, there is still time to come in and bring your favorite old photos.
    Prints of photos, even photos in frames, can be scanned.
    All images will be scanned on site and returned immediately to the owner, who will then be asked to fill out a form giving the Herald permission to use the photo and also describing the image with as much detail as possible.
    The pictorial book will be a collector’s item in years to come, as well a conversation piece for display.
    Included in the book will be several photos from the late Smith Banks, a Bulloch County historian. The photos were discovered for sale on eBay, McGlamery said.
    The Bulloch County Historical Society, of which Banks was an active member, purchased the photos.  Hundreds of other photos were brought in for scanning Monday during the group’s meeting.
    Carolyn Gay held in her hands precious photos of her father, Grady Wilson, who owned a store and farm on Old Register Road.
    Some were of the family home when the tornado of 1982 ripped off its roof. Others were of her father and mother, Sarah, and of her grandfather, J.A. Wilson, at an area cotton gin in the 1920s.
    Portal Heritage Society member Jerry Lanigan also brought a handful of family photos.
    “This means a lot to share my relatives and what they did for the community,” she said.
    Some of her photos are of her grandfather, Dr. H. A. "Lonnie” Alderman, who practiced medicine in Portal from 1910 until 1948, when he was killed in a car crash, she said. “My grandfather delivered me, and I consider that a great honor.”
    There is no charge for submitting a photo and having it scanned. Photo forms are available to download online at statesboroherald.com and in the Herald office.  
   
    Holli Deal Bragg maybe reached at (912) 489-9414.