Sunday’s Daily Leader contained a special surprise for Brookhaven resident Bill Sones and his family – the “Reflections” photograph on page 2A was a long-lost photograph of his parents.

“I was surprised to see it,” said Sones, who explained his mother actually brought it to his attention.

“I took her to lunch,” Sones said, “and she asked me, ‘Have you seen the picture?'”

The black-and-white photo of the attractive young couple was taken in 1945 about a week before Sones’ parents, U.G. and Edna Sones, were married, according to Sones. U.G. died in 2000, and Edna resides in Brookhaven at The Inez.

“None of us has ever seen this picture,” Bill Sones said. That fact is made even more amazing since the photograph is apparently from the John H. Williams/State Bank and Trust Photo Collection at the Lincoln County Public Library. Sones was instrumental in saving that photo collection for posterity some years ago prior to going to Bank of Brookhaven, where he is now president.

Sones said his parents met while his mother, who was originally from Isola, was attending high school at Union Church.

“My daddy had a brother who taught at Union Church, and he met my mother on a visit to see his brother,” Sones said.

The couple corresponded for about a year, during which time U.G. served in World War II. He is wearing his Army uniform in the Reflections photo.

“He helped build a railroad from the Persian Gulf to Russia during the war,” Sones said. “Russia was our ally then.”

Sones’ mother still has the year’s worth of letters the couple wrote during their courtship. They got married while U.G. was home on a furlough from the Army when his mother passed away.

The couple lived most of their married lives in Eupora but moved to Brookhaven in 1984.

Reflections, which features photographs from the collection at the public library and reader-submitted pictures that are at least 25 years old, runs in each edition of The Daily Leader, usually on page 2.

To identify or submit photographs for Reflections, contact The Daily Leader at P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, MS 39602, call (601) 833-6961 or email news@dailyleader.com.