Family re-creates 16-year-old photo featuring Valley News Dispatch

Years ago, the Valley News Dispatch would print photos of people holding the newspaper while they were on vacation.

It’s still doing that today.

At least in one family’s case.

Cristine Kostiuk, 60, of Kiski Township said her family thought it would be fun to re-create a photo taken 16 years ago and see if the newspaper would run it.

“My brother in-law, he thought it would be fun to re-create it and he said, ‘I wonder if they’ll print it again,’ ” Kostiuk said. “I said, ‘Well, let me shoot it over to them and see what they say.’ ”

The family took the original photo in 2003, and the paper did indeed publish it as part of a “Valley on Vacation” promotion. Readers were asked to submit photos with them holding up the Valley News Dispatch while on vacation. There were hundreds submitted from all over the world.

The Kostiuk clan’s updated one was snapped this year. Both were at beach houses in Sandbridge, Va.

Kostiuk said her brother-in-law, Jeff Kostiuk, came up with the original idea.

“He took newspapers down to the beach the first year we went. He and his wife (Antigone) came up with the idea to re-create it just to see if the paper would run it.”

Both photos feature Cristine Kostiuk’s sons and her niece and nephews holding copies of the paper.

They appear in the same order. From left to right are Alex Kostiuk, Aaron Kostiuk, Sean McDermott, Allison McDermott, Matthew Jacob, Adam Jacob and Bruno Kostiuk.

Kostiuk said she doesn’t think the kids knew what was happening when the first photo was taken, but they were happy to be part of the re-creation.

In the original, all were holding real lobsters. With the exception of Aaron.

“I think they were just kind of like, ‘What are we doing here?’ ” Kostiuk said. “My youngest boy was like, ‘I’m not holding a lobster,’ so he doesn’t have one.

“But when Jeff brought it up again this time, they all thought it was a pretty cool idea and they really got into it.”

There are some differences. In the original, the papers are all from different days. In the re-created photo, all the papers are from the same day.

And the Valley News Dispatch is now an edition of the Tribune-Review.

Real lobsters didn’t make an appearance in the second photo — plastic ones were used this time.

As for the lobsters in the original photo, Kostiuk said, “They became dinner right after that photo was taken.”