The Plant City Photo Archives & History Center has received some exciting new additions. These include a collection of photographs and a new book.
The entire collection of Kenneth Jameson Photography had been donated by Michael Jameson, his son. The collection of 31 boxes containing negatives, prints and miscellaneous photographic materials dates back nearly four decades. This amounts to neatly 31,000 photographs.
Ed Verner, Plant City Photo Archives & History Center president, said, “The new contribution of photos greatly adds to the total collection of the archives and expands its ability to tell the story of the history and heritage of the Greater Plant City community.”
Kenneth was born and raised in the Lithia area. Kenneth was a high school reporter and photographer for the Tampa Times and a veteran of the United States Army. Jameson was a pioneer in videotaping weddings with his son, Michael. He retired from photography from 2016 and passed away in 2018.
The Kenneth collection adds to the Plant City Photo Archives’ collection of work of local photographers. With many individual donations and family papers and documents, the Plant City Photo Archives total collection approaches 180,000, many of which have been digitized for preservation.
Jim Helms was born in the 1940s and grew up in Plant City. The Plant City native has written a book called Juvenile Impressions of Plant City – A Collection of Playful Stories. Jim lived on Ferrell St. and then Johnson St. He attended Wilson Elementary, Burney Elementary School and Jackson Elementary School. He graduated with the Plant City High School Class of 1965.
Jim also wrote about his grandmother, Zula Helms, who owned and operated the popular Helms Dress Shop on Palmer St. in downtown Plant City.
Jim said of the book, “These 35 stories offer a playful telling of my observations and feelings about growing up in Plant City.”
The 300-page book by Jim is on sale in the Plant City Photo Archive & History Center gift shop along with a number of other books by local authors.
The Plant City Photo Archives & History Center is a not-for-profit history organization. It is located at 106 S. Evers St. in downtown Plant City. For more information, please visit www.plantcityphotoarchives.org.
