Photos courtesy of Joe Manning The Hazel family, circa 1016, appears in photographs taken by investigative photographer Lewis Hine. His notes say the family, which lived in the Bowling Green area, was poorly educated - the children hadn’t attended school all year. Historian and author Joe Manning is looking for more information about the photos and the family.

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The old yellowed photographs show a typical agricultural family in early 1900s-era Bowling Green.

In one picture, a mother and children strip tobacco, seemingly unaware that they are being photographed. In another, a family of eight stands against a building for a portrait.

The family is the Hazels, and author, historian and genealogist Joe Manning of Florence, Mass., wants to know their story for an endeavor called the Lewis Hine project. The photos are two of more than 5,000 taken by photographer Lewis Hine, who worked as an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee and documented working and living conditions of children in the United States between 1908 and 1924.

“He was such an esteemed photographer,” Manning said of Hine, who died in 1940. “Seeing these photos by a famous man was amazing to the families.”

Manning has made it his mission to find out what happened to the children in the photos, and to interview their descendants. He plans to eventually write a book and possibly make the photos and research into a traveling exhibit.

“The faces become imprinted on your heart,” he said recently. “You see the names of parents and siblings. You follow them in the census. You find out when they died. You see an obituary and see living relatives and contact them.”

Manning became involved in the project in 2005 when he was hired by children’s author Elizabeth Winthrop to find the descendants of Addie Card, a 12-year-old cotton mill worker in Pownal, Vt., who had been photographed in 1910 by Hine.

“She had done a book called ‘Counting on Grace’ that was based on the photo. She was curious about what really happened to her,” he said. “She had done research and found a tiny bit of information. She asked me if I wanted to pick up the ball and run with it. It sounded like a really exciting thing to do.”

Within two weeks, Manning’s research led him to Card’s granddaughter. The family had never seen the photo; two weeks later, he was standing at the grave of Addie Card, who had lived to be 94. Later, Winthrop and Manning met to interview Card’s great-granddaughter.

“I was doing something important - covering a piece of American history by recovering the lives of these children,” he said. “I didn’t anticipate the emotional aspect.”

The Hazel family portion of the project isn’t the first time a search has led Manning to Bowling Green. He recently came across a photo of a boy working at a dairy farm.

“He was such a delightful-looking boy,” he said. “He was 13 years old. There were eight or nine pictures.”

Manning’s research led him to James W. Kitchens of Bowling Green. The photos were of Kitchens’ father, Edgar “Doc” Kitchens.

“I sent him photos and he was so overwhelmed by it. He loved his father so much,” he said. “He had heard stories about his father working on the farm but had never seen pictures of him doing it.”

Kitchens remembers the story his father told him about working at Shamrock Dairy.

“His mother and his youngest sister and one of his youngest brothers were still at home,” he said. “In those days older folks didn’t have any means of income, so he worked there to support his mom and brother and sister. I don’t know how long he worked there.”

Kitchens does know that his father worked 10 hours a day, seven days a week, and made about $3.30 weekly. He walked each morning from the family’s home on Chestnut Street to the dairy farm, which was located near what is now Beech Bend Park.

“All the cows were milked by hand. There were no machines,” he said. “He’d get there real early in the morning, milk the cows, bottle the milk, and he’d have to deliver it through town on a horse and wagon.”

Later in life, “Doc” Kitchens married and raised five children before passing away in 1972 at age 72.

“He didn’t get much education. He went to school off and on for three years,” James Kitchens said. “He never accumulated much wealth. He always said that if he raised his kids and they all stayed out of trouble, he figured he did a good job.”

Kitchens was surprised when Manning contacted him about the photos and sent him copies.

“I couldn’t believe it. I had no idea that the pictures were even there. It has really been fascinating to me,” he said. “I’ve got three sisters and a brother. We all got together and I showed them the pictures. We’ve told other kinfolks and showed them.”

In the process, Manning has gotten to know more about the Kitchens family.

“(James Kitchens) sent me pictures of (“Doc” Kitchens) later in life. It’s a small family album of this little boy who was filmed almost 100 years ago,” he said. “This reconnects people through the story of the boy to child labor. It’s like the American family album. For me to be able to add photos of children at a later age adds to that album. I’m compiling a history of ordinary people.”

Manning said he’s learned a lot since starting the project. In the beginning it would take him about five months to complete his task.

“This is sort of a new enterprise for me. I was learning basically on the fly,” he said. “I’ve learned shortcuts. It’s not uncommon for me to find a grandchild in 24 hours.”

Since then, he has found the descendants of more than 70 of the photographed children. His search has brought him in contact with people in 32 states and Washington, D.C.

“A lot of the families have become pretty good friends,” he said.

Manning hopes someone will contact him about the Hazel family and that he finds descendants of children in other photos.

“The thrill of searching for and finding families never goes away,” he said.

— To give information about the Hazel family or to find out more about the Lewis Hine project, call Manning at (413) 584-0679, e-mail manningfamily@rcn.com or visit www.morningsonmaplestreet.com/lewishine.html.