[jsham9]

I have an old b&w photo of the family riding the Powder Keg Flume that came in a sleeve like this:



I'm wondering if it's possible to figure out the exact date it was taken going by the numbers on the back of the picture:



I'd always remembered it being '80 or '81 and this seems to say the former, but I can't find a pattern to the rest of it. The park was closed on 10/21 and 10/2. Could it have been the 102nd day of the operating season or something like that? Or could "E" be the month and the last numbers indicate its spot in the total series of pictures taken on that camera that day?

I sent a question to Carowinds about this, but didn't get a response. Then for a while I convinced myself that 10/21 was probably the date the photo was printed. Maybe you didn't get them on the spot, but paid for them and got them in the mail later. But then again, it says on the back:

Blow Ups Available
Mail Original To:
John Shawn Photographers
718 Bay Avenue
Toms River, NJ 08753

So why would I be sending the "original" they just sent me back for a blow up? Seems like they were probably printed on the spot then. Does anyone remember if I'm right about that?

Maybe if someone has a similar photo from around then and knows the date they visited the park we could figure out the numbering system. Hopefully I'm not missing something too obvious here. I'd really appreciate any help because I'm trying to figure out a timeline of events relating to my late father. Thanks!

[intimidator rider]

It looks like. 8/1/02. August 1st 2002

[jsham9]

Well, it's definitely not from 2002, unless it was taken in an alternate universe. I'm almost positive the year was 1980, but had been thinking it might be 1981 until I found the photo again. In case it's hard for anyone to read, it says "E801021", but the numbers are a bit off-set. Don't know if that's on purpose or not.

[intimidator rider]

Since you said that it might be Oct. 21st 1980.

[jsham9]

That's what I was thinking too, but then I found this old brochure that says the park was closed that day:

http://www.carowindsearlyyears.com/80.html

Same thing for '81. Plus, we are all wearing t-shirts and tank tops in the picture, so it must have been in the middle of summer. It may wind up being impossible to figure out, but I thought it was worth a shot.

[intimidator rider]

I have no idea you could try taking it to carowinds and see if they know but they may not

[Wormy]

jsham9, I see you have discovered the forum 'mascot' who seems to be quite proud of his 200 posts for some reason.

There are some Carowinds employees on here that have operated camera booths who may be of some help, and be patient while your park request makes its way through the proper channels. Good luck, and interesting post!

[jsham9]

Thanks, Wormy! I was wondering if there might be somebody around with some insider info. That may be the only way to get an answer. If anybody has pics from from back then they could check though, please do. Still hoping for a direct reply from Carowinds, but it's been about three weeks now. If I do hear something, I'll post it here.

[PhantomCat]

Hi!
Let me give you some Carowinds insider help.
I did a bit of snooping for you and found out the photo company has been in business for about 35 years or more and is still taking pictures, particularly with all USA theme parks. Since your picture was taken they've acquired a new address.

Follow this link and you will have their phone number as well as other helpful information.
http://www.manta.com/c/mm773p7/shawn-jo ... ctions-inc

Follow the www.johnshawn.com link from that site and you'll have access to their help about your photo code. To my understanding, the code was created by them, not by Carowinds. I believe the E in your code stands for East Coast.

Does this help at all?
Please let us know what happends?

[jsham9]

Thanks, PhantomCat! Really appreciate your help! I had actually looked into that angle a bit before posting, but decided to save it for a last shot because it became a bit confusing. Looks like the company has changed names at least once, from John Shawn to Shawn John (if that's accurate). And your link led me to photogra.com, which didn't seem like it was still the same thing, but who knows. Still might be worth trying, but I don't hold out too much hope. It's kind of an obscure question anyway, but may be even moreso for them if they're not the same operation anymore. Plus, I have bad luck when it comes to "official" emails like that. Will give it a shot though if nothing else works out. But actually, I Googled around a bit more for the company and found someone who says they worked for John Shawn at King's Dominion around then. Maybe I'll contact them and ask if they can decipher the code for me.

[PhantomCat]

Sounds good.
I hope I lead you exactly to the place you needed. Please let us know what happened. I love success stories, especially after a scavenger hunt.

[Correllbil]

The photo would have been from the first 2 or 3 seasons that the park was in operation. That logo was discontinued after the 75 season. John Shawn productions were in the park around that time but I can't remember if they were there when the park opened in 1973. A lot of things run together for me after my 33 years working for the park. I mostly go by the change in ownership (Pat Hall and partners, Family Leisure Centers, Kings Entertainment Co., KECO, Paramount, Viacom). The Photos were taken in the park and you would have been given a card. When you were ready to leave you could pickup the photos on your way out.

[PhantomCat]

Correllbil
You sound very knowledgeable about the park's history. Please introduce yourself. Inspiring minds want to know.

[jsham9]

Thanks for posting, Correllbil! I can say I do know for a fact that the photo itself was taken much later than '75 because that's the year my sister was born and she's obviously at least 4 or 5 in the picture. Do you think John Shawn might have still been using those photo sleeves for a while after Carowinds itself changed logos?

The only other thing I can think of is maybe this was a sleeve that once contained another picture from an earlier trip my parents took and somehow got switched with our pic from '80. I don't really think it's very likely, but I guess it's possible. I know they did go there during one of the first couple of years the park was open and I actually found another souvenir from that trip recently. Will post a photo of it in another thread I'm starting.