Eternal Flames

Like her grandparents’ love affair, Keri Pickett’s project began innocently enough. When she moved back to Minneapolis to battle cancer, she began casually taking photographs of the 90-plus-year-olds just to finish off rolls of film. A colleague saw a shot and urged her to continue. She did, and even won several awards for one. Later, another piece fell into place. Pickett had heard the story of how her grandparents’ love grew through the mail, but it wasn’t until her grandfather’s death that she went through their box of letters. In a yearlong correspondence, the two had written some 700 letters; Pickett had found a treasure trove of family lore, Depression-era sensibility and grand, enduring love. She combined them with her photos and knew she had something special. It became “Love in the 90s: B.B. and Jo: The Story of a Lifelong Love, A Granddaughter’s Portrait” (Warner Books).