A Harlem group is hoping some of the city's oldest residents can provide insight to the city's history.
Mayor Bobby Culpepper has helped organize the Harlem Historic Society, with the mission of documenting as much city history as possible.
"I've realized that we are losing the history of Harlem," Culpepper said. "We have a lot of older residents that I have identified that are 80 and 90 years old, and that know a lot of the history, and they have a lot of family memorabilia and pictures and so forth.
"They are going to be gone. If we don't do something to capture that, the families are probably going to throw a lot of that stuff away."
The society, which started meeting in August, is seeking photographs, personal recollections, documents and other relics, group member Phil Turner said.
Culpepper said the group plans to compile a chronology "in long-term anticipation of having a new Harlem history museum. ... That is the goal. If we do that, of course, we'd want more than just pictures."
Anyone with items to contribute is encouraged to see Denise Carter at the City Hall administrative building behind the Harlem Department of Public Safety or at the new City Hall addition on North Louisville Road.
The group will make copies of documents owners don't want to part with.
"They can do one of two things," Culpepper said. "They can donate them, if they would, and we're going to put (donations) in the vault at City Hall. Or if there are copies that they care about, we'll make a copy right there on the spot and hand it right back to them."
The society also is in search of members.
Betty Sargent, 81, is one of Harlem's oldest natives. She has offered many stories about the city and said she likely will donate a deposit slip from the long-defunct Bank of Harlem.
"It needs a home eventually," Sargent's daughter, Laurie Sargent, said.
"What I thought would be nice," she said, "was to get yearbooks from Harlem High School every year up to date."
Turner said he is searching for a photograph of the Linwood monument, which sat between the United Methodist and Baptist churches before it was moved to Fort Gordon.
"There has got to be one somewhere," Turner said. "That is the oldest confirmed Confederate monument in existence."
For more information or to join the society, call Carter at (706) 556-0043.
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