"Well they say you never know where you're going unless you know where you came from," said Jack North.
He's more than a history-buff. He's known as the unofficial historian of Abilene.
"It's an honor," he said. "I'm tickled to death to visit with people and talk about the old stories. And in turn, get some old stories back from them."
North has copies of over four thousand pictures of Abilene's past. Though a hobby now, the funeral home owner says it originally was an advertising move for his business.
"A funeral home in San Francisco was doing stories on old buildings, and I adapted that to pioneer families. And so that's when I started collecting stories of old pioneers here in Abilene," he explained.
That was in 1968. And he hasn't stopped since then.
"I quickly realized it was a wealth of information. Especially to actually have the pictures that go along with it," North said.
Now he's published his second photo-history book on Abilene. Calling it "Lost Abilene," the book depicts buildings and businesses that are no longer in the Key City.
"Well people like to know where we came from; what was here before," North explained. "I get calls all the time wanting to know what was at specific locations and do i have pictures of something that used to be there and there's a lot of interest in past history."
Now only pictures and stories remain, he says it's important to know where we came from to appreciate where we are today.
He's more than a history-buff. He's known as the unofficial historian of Abilene.
"It's an honor," he said. "I'm tickled to death to visit with people and talk about the old stories. And in turn, get some old stories back from them."
North has copies of over four thousand pictures of Abilene's past. Though a hobby now, the funeral home owner says it originally was an advertising move for his business.
"A funeral home in San Francisco was doing stories on old buildings, and I adapted that to pioneer families. And so that's when I started collecting stories of old pioneers here in Abilene," he explained.
That was in 1968. And he hasn't stopped since then.
"I quickly realized it was a wealth of information. Especially to actually have the pictures that go along with it," North said.
Now he's published his second photo-history book on Abilene. Calling it "Lost Abilene," the book depicts buildings and businesses that are no longer in the Key City.
"Well people like to know where we came from; what was here before," North explained. "I get calls all the time wanting to know what was at specific locations and do i have pictures of something that used to be there and there's a lot of interest in past history."
Now only pictures and stories remain, he says it's important to know where we came from to appreciate where we are today.
