The number 2020 is associated with vision and this year the Haverhill and District Local History Group is going to take a yearlong ‘snapshot’ of Haverhill town. This will become a resource for the historians and genealogists of the future.
We are living at a turning point in history; society is changing, an increasing reliance on the internet has reduced the demand for physical shops – a change already evident with new outlets, supplying services rather than goods. The next twenty-five years is also expected to bring a significant change to the vehicles on our roads, and, even further ahead, future generations will be amazed that we actually steered vehicles ourselves.
The Group will be out and about in Haverhill, trying to photograph as much of the whole town as possible, including the rarely photographed industrial and housing estates. They will also record public events, so there are pictures of the people of the town, as well as buildings and transport. They are also hoping that the project will encourage the donation of other images to help to fill in some of the gaps in recent history, for example, the 1980’s era of chunky, green screen word processors in offices is poorly recorded.
The plan is to go beyond the visual record to include details of the jobs and homes of local people as well as details of the 400+ local businesses.
There will be opportunities for all ages and abilities to get involved, either to help with photography or the associated on-line research for this one-year project.
Perhaps your town or village could consider their own ‘2020 Vision’.
By Tony Turner