Aiken County wants residents to step back into the past and get involved in a little fun competition by helping to identify several photographs that used to hang in the former Shoney's on Whiskey Road.
Gayle Wolman, Aiken County's Human Resources director, said several County employees have tried to think of ways to make the Aiken County Government Center, 1930 University Parkway, more of a "friendly kind of destination where people would go and see things," and not just a place people walk in to pay their taxes.
"The thought occurred to me that when I was in the (Aiken County Historical Museum) a few months ago and they had just acquired the exhibit of vintage Aiken photos, going back to the 1900s," Wolman said. "But the photos came without text, and a lot of the photos have people in them, or groups of people, and it struck me that it could be somebody's grandmother or aunt."
Wolman thought about turning the photos into a contest, and with the museum's permission, all 106 photographs are now displayed in the first floor gallery of the County Government Center.
Individuals can pick up a ballot from the customer service desk on the second floor of the Government Center, then walk down to the first floor gallery, ID the photos and return the slip back to the customer service desk. The person who correctly identifies the most photos will receive a gift basket from the Aiken County Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department.
The contest will run through mid-June and the photos will stay on display at least until the beginning of July, Wolman said.
Wolman said these photographs will be just the first of many exhibits to come to the County Government Center.
"My goal is to have something on a quarterly basis," Wolman said. "We're partnering with the Artist Guild of Aiken to also help identify the photographs and help us with artwork on the first and third floor of the building. We plan to find sculptures, textiles, tapestries, oil paintings and more photography that we think would be a good fit for the County building to put on display."
Wolman said staff hope to bring more items from the museum on a more rotating business, helping to give those displays and the museum more exposure.
"Our desire is to make this a place where it feels warm, open and friendly to all citizens of their community," Wolman said.
Maayan Schechter is the local government reporter with Aiken Standard. Follow her on Twitter @MaayanSchechter.