PEA RIDGE — Three-year-old Autumn poses for a picture.

A few pages later, there’s Autumn as a teen-ager, then as a bride.

The images chronicle Autumn’s life, from infancy to adulthood.

More than four decades of a family’s photographic history - several generations - is recorded in the brittle pages of the album, which was found alongside Arkansas Highway 72 near Pea Ridge National Military Park.

Names - George, Dennis, Ann, Robert and John, sister Neala, mother down at Neala’s place, Fort Worth 1978 - all record the family and their friends. Sadly, few surnames are legible: The penmanship is just not good enough.

The person who found the album delivered it to the Pea Ridge Police Department in early December.

No one has called to claim the album or the two plastic boxes containing miniature soldiers - apparently a treasured collection - found nearby.

Police say the items appear to have fallen from a vehicle, but there is no information to enable them to locate the owners.

As the pages continue to turn, this family’s story unfolds.

A snappy pill-box hat adorns one of two young ladies walking down the street in Enid, Okla. It’s 1938.

Two young uniformed men hold rifles while they stand at“parade rest somewhere overseas.” It’s 1942.

“Mother” leans against a 1930s coupe on a suspension bridge over the Royal Gorge.

It’s 1948.

Photographs of “Mother” show her in California. It’s the 1970s.

A black and white 1919 photograph of Jess Coleman is on the same page as a color photograph of Jess Coleman sitting on the grass, straw hat on his head. Written on the back of the page: Life dates - 14 May 1894-11 Feb. 1981. Jess lived to be 87.

Smiling babies look up from blankets on the floor.

Several school photographs portray youngsters from the 1950s.

Children in Easter finery pose in the front yard with their Easter baskets.

On the back of one photograph, Autumn is described as a great-granddaughter.

It’s 1975.

A birth announcement proclaims Brandi Lee’s arrival - March 9, 1981.

A later picture shows “Brandi sneaking Autumn’s clothes while I snapped a picture.” The year?

Unknown: The picture is not dated.

Anyone with information regarding the owner may contact the Pea Ridge Police Department at (479) 451-8220, ext. 1, or The TIMES at (479) 451-1196.

Imagine the shock when someone - Autumn? Maybe Brandi Lee? She turns 29 in a month - realized the album was gone. Maybe the family treasure disappeared on a short trip across Benton County, or maybe on a trip from Enid, Okla., to who knows where.

News, Pages 1 on 02/10/2010