LIVING HISTORY
about politics or religion.
Wilson, 55, is also co-administrator of a similar site for his
hometown, Vero Beach, which boasts about 3,000 followers.
Photographs posted to the site — more than 2,000 — now
make up the largest available archive of historical photographs
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of Vero Beach.
“People in their 60s, 70s and 80s are scanning pictures
and posting them on line,” says Wilson. “It is so cool to see
because maybe you see their family posing in the foreground,
but behind them is a famous landmark that no one has seen
because there are no photographs of it.”
With Baumker and Wilson joining forces on the Fort Pierce
site, the archive is sure to grow. Baumker is a longtime
photographer and Wilson’s hobby as a devoted “picker” has
him scanning auction sites and local spots for old postcards,
restaurant menus, matchbooks and photographs.
Baumker, 71, grew up in Fort Pierce. From the age of 7, he
was interested in photography and went around town with
a little Brownie camera around his neck. He still carries a
camera everywhere to this day. “Even to church,” he says. As
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“Growing Up in Fort Pierce” administrator Jim Wilson is a longtime photographer in the area and co-administrator Tom Baumker is a devoted “picker”
who scans auction sites and local spots for old postcards and other memorabilia. Their efforts have helped preserve and share photos of the New Fort
Pierce Hotel, Fort Pierce Airways, an early ranch campfire, a Florida Sailing Association Regatta in Fort Pierce and the “Pineapple Princess.”