Restoring Media Memories in Manasquan

Everyone has those relatives that we absolutely love, but when their birthday or a holiday rolls around you wonder what to possibly get them that they don’t already have. What can you bring to them to warm their hearts? Recently, I was told by a dear relative that I had given them the greatest gift they had received in some time. They couldn’t get over it; they cried, laughed and were filled with joy. What I gave them was a chance to see and hear the voices of their loved ones who had long passed, to laugh along side them, hear them talk and sharing their opinions, anecdotes and conversation.

It was a visit they never thought they’d have again. And the reason they did is because of Alicia Wagner, a talented, caring woman who has found a way to take the media we have long forgotten, packed away and somehow always lugged with us,  and revive them and make them playable on portable devices and a private you tube channel for you to share with your family and friends.

Alicia revived about 50 mini discs I had kept through two moves. My husband would always ask me why I was hanging on to them, and I would always say, “someday someone is going to figure out a way to play them again”. When I met Alicia Wagner through a mutual friend and found out what she could do I immediately ran to that box.

She revived all of my videos from 20+ years ago, it was a visit with people I never thought I would see or hear again, and also a revisit of precious family memories with my loved ones. Alicia Wagner has a gift. She has found the loophole into reviving these forgotten, outdated forms of media that have long left the shelves of any store, and with that talent she is able to bring you back in time and restore moments with people who you can still wrap your arms around, and those that will never lose their grip on your heart.

It may be an echo of your past, but to watch a video of my grandmother and grandfather who have long passed and listen to them talk, laugh and joke definitely felt as close to a visit with them as I could expect to have again.

Alicia began her special career after leaving behind her life as home stager for a real estate agent in Los Angeles and desiring a change. She wanted the freedom to be mobile and work anywhere and also find a way to help others. She came upon an article that advised her to make a list of 20 things she felt proud about, and one was keeping the memory of her husband Tres alive, who sadly passed in 2002 from brain cancer. Alicia then made a list and researched photo and video organizing, something she had always loved to do. It was then that she located a group called “Photo Managers”.

That group offered education and community. She studied hard and learned the tricks of the trade and made it her own. That was about seven years ago. Since then she made the move to Manasquan, here at the Jersey Shore close to where she grew up in Spring Lake Heights. Alicia is a technical wizard, restoring VCR tapes, discs, old photographs, you name it and I am confident Alicia can restore it. She named her company “Orderly Photos” and it is a local company based in Manasquan. She finds joy in organizing people’s memories and bringing them back to life.

A lot of her clients have had loss in their loss and Alicia compassionately and skillfully helps them lovingly restore their memories to be kept safely and easily shareable. She recently had a client who is a mother of five with 140,000 photos on her iPhone. She wanted to organize them so Alicia went into her Apple photos and organized separate folders for each child. This allowed the Mom to share the photos with her children and have them organized the way she wanted them, but she didn’t know where to begin without Alicia.

Orderly Photos also makes wonderful, high end coffee table photobooks. They are linen covered books that make beautiful center pieces for your sunroom or living area. Alicia also makes gallery walls for stairwells, businesses and any area of the home or office. She can even restore a damaged tangible photo using her digital magic! Recently, a friend hired her to do a book about her parents and she converted hundreds of old slides to make a book. Her friend’s father was a naval officer in Cape Cod. Sadly, he died last year and her friend was so grateful that she had this precious memory of her father that would always be a comfort.

Alicia, nor anyone, may be able to bring back the people that we have lost, but through her work I personally was able to share new moments with loved ones I never thought I’d see again. That is what sparked me to write this article and to share Alicia’s gifts with my readers. The moments Alicia restored my my father and grandparents was more than just a service, it was a kindness, and I am forever grateful for it.

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