If every dilapidated shack, historic home or rusty car tells a story about Alabama’s history, there are few who know it as well as Ruth Elder and Glenn Willis.

Elder is a librarian from Troy University and is the main researcher, writer and organizer of the Wade Hall Traveling Postcard Exhibition. Willis is a photojournalist and author of “Forgotten Alabama.”

Both will be the featured speakers Tuesday at a free presentation at Athens-Limestone Public Library. Elder’s presentation begins at 6 p.m., while Willis’ presentation begins at 7. They will discuss their efforts to capture images of Alabama’s history. Both speakers will have books for sale and will take questions from the audience.

While working on the postcard exhibition, Elder learned many interesting stories about Alabama’s past. “… I now know more about my adopted state of Alabama then my home state,” she said. “My hope is that visitors to the exhibits will come to appreciate the rich history of this state as I have.”

The Wade Hall Traveling Postcard Exhibition will be on display at Athens-Limestone Public Library through the end of August. It features Hall’s collection of more than 25,000 postcards.

The exhibition will tour the state as part of ongoing bicentennial. A companion book, “Greetings from Alabama,” also features postcards from Hall’s collection.

‘Forgotten Alabama’

Willis’ book is the result of eight years, 25,000 miles traveled and more than 10,000 photographs taken. He traveled to all 67 counties, photographing abandoned and forgotten structures.

Willis said his photos “are reminders of our past that we built, used and eventually walked away from.”

The inspiration for “Forgotten Alabama” dates back to a trip he took in 2007.

“I spotted a 1957 Chevy Bel Air on the side of the road between Childersburg and Sylacauga and stopped to check it out,” he said. “That led me to discover a junkyard that was an amazing collection of ancient, rusting automobiles dating back eight decades. Regretfully, I did not have a camera that day, and I never went anywhere without one again.”