Half a century of school memories preserved for Jefferson Union students by Nelson’s

RICHMOND, Ohio (WTRF) — Fifty years of Jefferson County memories, friends and youth preserved in wood and glass.

That’s what Nelson’s of Steubenville has done for former Jefferson Union students from the 1940s to the ’80s.

After months of work, the print shop has framed and digitized all of their oval yearbook pictures.

Many have hung in what is now Edison High School for decades, with mixed and matched frames and all different sizes.

Nelson’s individually cleaned each student’s picture over months of careful archiving.

But owner Mark Nelson calls it a privilege to rescue faded images from the ravages of time.

“We’ve had some people actually call and ask us to zoom in on different pictures and produce, you know, family photos of mom or dad or themselves or whatever. There’s a lot of history, a lot of pride.”

Mark Nelson, Owner, Nelson’s of Steubenville

He says a few were almost five feet across and they had to use acrylic covers for safety reasons.

You can see their work at the Richmond Community Center, and walk back through 20th century school life.

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