(Sweetwater County, Wyo. – July 19, 2024) Diane Butler, a volunteer at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum, recently reached a major milestone in her archival work. She has completed digitizing the museum’s “Album Collection,” consisting of 21,000 photographs organized into 198 three-ring binder albums.

Photo #1: Diane with the Album Collection of 21,000 images. Photo #2: Grand Theater entrance, Rock Springs, 1921. Photo #3: The New Studio on South Main Street, circa 1950 — still operating today.

“Diane isn’t missing a beat,” said Executive Director Dave Mead. “She has already begun her next project — digitizing the museum’s New Studio Collection, some 100,000 negatives and glass photographic plates.”

The New Studio is believed to be the oldest continuously operating business in Rock Springs. It opened in 1919 under owner Charles August, who ran it until 1945. His sons Mike and Anthony took over until 1976, when it was purchased by Oliver “Bud” Tebedo. In 1994 it passed to sisters Diane Butler and Susan Knezovich, and in 2000 Diane became sole owner. After retiring in 2019, she passed the studio to current owners R.J. Pieper and Angela Thatcher.

The museum acquired the New Studio Collection in 2015. “The collection represents over a century of Sweetwater County history,” Mead said. “Diane is uniquely qualified to take on the work of digitizing it.”