Mesa man digitizes historic Ariz. images

Tanner also discovered that his great-great grandfather was clerk for the Arizona Legislature at the time Arizona became a state.

When the images are digitized, Tanner said he is looking forward to sharing them.

He plans to make DVDs of all the images from the glass negatives for family members. He also plans to donate them to the archives of a university such as the University of Arizona or Northern Arizona University and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church History Library in Salt Lake City with the stipulation that the images can be freely made available to others.

"I believe it's important for people to have a connection to their past," Tanner said. "It doesn't matter to me that the people in the pictures are famous or not. What motivates me is preserving the records and making sure they aren't thrown away. I'm very glad we found the photographic collection and that it was in the good condition that it is."

Information from: East Valley Tribune, http://www.eastvalleytribune.com