Couple reunited with 100-year-old family photo album

HORSHAM, Pa. (WTXF) - Ernie and Donna Wallander drove from Mechanicsburg to Horsham, Pennsylvania to be reunited with a precious piece of their family history.

Brenda Quick, a complete stranger, inadvertently found long lost photo albums filled with amazing pictures of the Wallander family of Mount Vernon, NY from days gone by...some dating back to the late 1800's.

Brenda discovered the albums while helping a friend clean out her home on Unruh Street in Philadelphia's Mayfair section. A now deceased cousin lived here and the albums were just sitting in the basement for 3 decades.

"When I saw them, it just felt like I really needed to connect these pics back with their family members," says Brenda Quick.

FOX 29 aired Brenda's story in the beginning of August hoping to make a family connection...and then this month... Donna Wallander reached out to us on Facebook. She had come across our story on the internet.

"I said oh my goodness, there's a video about your great grandfather," says Donna Wallander.

Ernie's great grandfather Adolph Wallander, originally from Sweden, immigrated to America and became a prominent taylor on fifth avenue in New York, an entrepreneur, and the fire commissioner of Mt. Vernon, New York.

Ernie says his father often spoke of him. Now he has pictures to put with the stories.

"Unbelievable, unbelievable, seeing my relatives from over 100 years ago…our family has not seen them in 50-years. I've never seen some of these. These are phenomenal."

Ernie was extremely close to his grandfather and says it is important to have these treasures back. The photos are in pristine condition. The couple really credits Brenda Quick for her efforts to find them.