Search on for mystery woman after 1947 yearbook photo surfaces
HONOLULU (KHON) – A picture is usually worth a thousand words, or so the saying goes. But for one photograph, it’s not about the story – not yet anyway.
Jess Fernandez says it started with a trip to Walmart.
“My mom went shopping at Walmart Keeaumoku one night and it was stuck in the bottom of the ice pops box,” she said.
That night was this past Saturday, and that’s when the questions started. Who was this woman? How did her photo get on the bottom of an ice pops box? Most importantly, who does this photo belong to?
Fernandez took to the Internet to find out.
“It went crazy,” she said. “People were telling me what school they went to. Everyone was trying to help me find out who she was. Plenty of people were digging out yearbooks out of their moms’ attics and it was kind of crazy.”
Fernandez was so determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, she even gave the woman a temporary name until she finds out what her real one is.
“I named her Lucy, because she kind of looks like a Lucy,” Fernandez said.
We do have two clues. One is a tiny emblem that says Class of 1947. The other is light embossing in the mat around the picture that reads “Williams Studio Honolulu.”
Fernandez tracked down Matt Williams, a fourth-generation photographer who lives on Oahu. He says his grandfather took the photo.
“My grandfather used to shoot all the schools and I’ve come across a lot of those type of photos in my years of working over 30 years now,” Williams said.
But is the mystery solved? Not quite.
“The little emblem on there could be from Roosevelt,” Williams said. “I’m not positive, because it has the year and stuff, but I went and did some research in the state archives.”
Williams found that in those archives are thousands of photos, many from Williams Studio, similar to ones that were taken by his grandfather and now reside on his website.
But, he says, even if the negative of the photo is down there, it still might not have the name.
Fernandez isn’t giving up. “I would want to have this picture back if it was mine,” she said. “I mean, sentimental value, it has to be to someone.”
If you know the woman in the photo, or know of someone who does, email Alex.Zannes@khon2.com.