Cornelia “Neal” Hunt Matthews pictured working at the Allis-Chalmers Company in the 1950s.

For years, Marcel had been wondering how to preserve two photos taken of her grandmother, Cornelia “Neal” Hunt Matthews while working at the Allis-Chalmers Company back in the 1950s. Her grandmother retired from Allis-Chalmers in 1975 after working there for over thirty years.

These photos represent a family tradition of working hard that Marcel had inherited and she wanted her own children and grandchildren to recognize the influence her grandmother had been in life.

Cornelia “Neal” Hunt Matthews pictured working at the Allis-Chalmers Company in the 1950s.

We recently saw Marcel’s dream come true when she brought her photo to a community photo scanning event held at the Charles Allis Art Museum located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As her photo was being scanned, she said, “I am on cloud nine that I can be doing this for my grandmother and for my grandchildren.”

At this event, museum staff interviewed Marcel about her grandmother’s story so that both the story and the photo will be a part of the museum’s archives on the history of Allis-Chalmers Company.

The team preserving The Allis-Chalmers Legacy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Charles Allis founded the Allis-Chalmers Company in the early 1900s in Milwaukee and it subsequently grew into a corporation that touched the lives of many over the next eight decades. John Sterr, the Executive Director of the Charles Allis Art Museum states he’s heard, at its height, Allis-Chalmers employed one out of every four people in Wisconsin.

In 1911, Charles Allis built his unique mansion and art collection with the sole purpose of bequeathing it to the public to delight, educate and inspire. Over the past 60+ years, the museum has been a jewel on Milwaukee’s East side. But Sterr recognized that while the museum’s art collection was extensive, there was little history of the impact the Allis family had in Milwaukee. He pondered how he could obtain photos and stories from people in the community who were bound to have some pictures in their old family photo collections.

The Solution? A Photo Organizing Company!

Little did Sterr know Milwaukee is home to its very own photo organizing company, Pixologie! And we were on a mission to scan photos in the community, to help individuals and families save their photos and their stories in September – the month of international Save Your Photos Day.

My business partner Ann Matuszak and I founded Pixologie. Simply put, we speak the language of photos that people need help with – translating their photo mess into something that can tell family stories, preserve traditions, inspire and connect generations.

We realized we were on to something after we spoke with Sterr and he explained what he wanted to accomplish. Thus, the event “Through the Years with Charles Allis,” was scheduled so we could put a call out to the community to find their old photos and help Milwaukee save an important part of our history.

Click HERE for a television interview about the event where we put the call out to Allis-Chalmers retirees and their families. You’ll hear the story related to his photo below!

Did you know about International Save Your Photos Day? What photos and stories are hiding in your closets, under beds and in the basement? Imagine what those photos say about your parents, grandparents and other relatives long gone…and the communities they lived and the places they worked! If you’ve been wondering when you are going to get to them, now’s the time! Learn more about future Save Your Photos events happening near you so you can get involved and start saving your family memories, one photo at a time.

Our team from the Charles Allis community scanning event: John Sterr (Charles Allis Art Museum), Mollie Bartelt and Ann Matuszak (Pixologie), Rick Lippert (EZ Photo Scan)

We are so grateful for the opportunity to share our story and our work with the Save Family Photos community. We’d love to be a resource for you whether you want to get your own photos saved or if you want to learn more about a career or business in the photo organization and management field.

About the author: From working with peers in social service and nonprofit fields, helping families save their photos, traditions and memories, singing in her church choir and being a strong wife and mother of two, Mollie Bartelt wants to help make the world a better place. You can learn more about her and the team at Pixologie by clicking HERE. If you’re interested in being a professional photo organizer, click HERE.