One person’s trash is often another’s treasure. Or in the case of a box of old picture frames up for auction, a woman’s missing memories from a day long past. So when Sandra Poindexter saw the bridal portraits among all the old frames, she was stunned.

“I just couldn’t believe how gorgeous they were,” said the Virginia resident. “The woman was stunning and the dress was stunning, and I could tell that they were professionally done.” So after bidding $5 for the portraits and winning, Poindexter took them home. But she never planned on keeping them for herself.

“I wanted to figure out how something so precious like that could end up at an auction,” said Poindexter, a retired nurse. Something told me these are special to somebody.” She was right. The stunning bride was photographed in 1959 and had spent decades searching for the lost photos. “I kind of just gave up,” said Harriet Galbraith, 85.

Harriet and Jack Galbraith on their wedding day, Aug. 24, 1959. Photo from the family

Poindexter posted pictures of the bride in a local Facebook group, hoping someone might know the woman or her family. The only clue was a name, “Harriet Elizabeth Marshall (Galbraith)” written on a piece of tape on the back of the picture.

Donna Reichard saw the post and went to work. She said she loves researching and used a search software to track down Harriet Elizabeth Marshall Galbraith, and her descendants. “I probably called 10 or 15 people,” Reichard said. “I kept going until I found one gentleman; it happened to be her son.”

I was so excited to find that the bride was still alive,” she said.

Reichard excitedly phoned Galbraith to let her know her long-lost portraits were found. Galbraith — who had been 21 years old when the pictures were taken — was stunned. “I was flabbergasted and thrilled,” she said.  Poindexter was stunned at how quickly the bride was found. “I was just blown away,” said Poindexter.

She spoke with Galbraith, who had moved to Texas in 2017 to be closer to her family following her husband’s death. Poindexter promised to ship the portraits straight to Galbraith. Galbraith told the women that the gown she wore was designed by Christian Dior and, interestingly, was given to her by her ex-boyfriend’s mother. “It didn’t fit her daughter,” Galbraith recalled. “It fit me perfectly.”

Harriet Galbraith, 85, after she was reunited with her long-lost bridal portraits. Photo courtesy of William Galbraith

The portraits of Galbraith were taken by Bradford Bachrach, a famous D.C. photographer who died in 1992.  Bachrach was known for his photographs of politicians, including many U.S. presidents. Gailbreth said she and her then-fiancé, William “Jack” Galbraith Jr., didn’t know Bachrach was famous – they just loved his photo studio. “We’d walk by and see the pictures, and I thought someday he’d do mine,” Galbraith said. And he did in 1959, right after the couple eloped at the Arlington Courthouse on Aug. 24. She wore the Dior dress only for the photos.

It took me a year and a half to pay off the bill,” she said. “I had no idea what I was doing.”

Galbraith said after they were married, her husband worked as a CIA officer, and she worked alongside him as a spy. “It was extremely stressful, but we were serving our country and we wanted to do that,” she said. The couple had two children, one of whom, a daughter, died when she was 16 of meningitis. When the couple retired, they became artists.

“We enjoyed our life on the Chesapeake Bay,” Galbraith said. She intended for the portraits to go to her two granddaughters, but had been unable to find them. Now though, the portraits are home with Galbraith. “It was just thrilling,” she said, adding that her family came over to see the photos. She still plans to give one to each granddaughter. “It’s so exciting.”

Seeing the portraits again “brought back wonderful, happy memories,” said Galbraith. “My husband and I were married 56 years, and we had a very strong, loving marriage; the old-fashioned kind.” For her part in the story, Poindexter says she’s just happy to have been able to help. It’s just unbelievably lucky that this all came to be,” she said. Watch below for a look at Galbraith and her long-lost photos!

Sources:  Washington Post | People