Five friends have kept the same photo for more than 40 years: the promise they did not break

Since 1982, five friends from Santa Barbara, California, have taken the same photo every five years next to the family cabin in Lake Copco. That ritual, which documents the passage of time, regained national attention in 2012 and today is once again an example of how personal ties persist in the digital age; its next session is scheduled for 2027.

The protagonists—John Wardlaw, Mark Rumer-Cleary, Dallas Burney, John Molony, and JD Dickson—met at Santa Barbara High School and, as young adults, spent their first vacation together at Wardlaw’s grandfather’s cabin on the edge of Oregon.

A detail that became an emblem

The first photo, taken by JD, shows a jar that John Molony is holding in all subsequent shots. That container originally contained a cockroach that the boys caught on that first trip; the joke became a persistent symbol of the photographic series.

What began as a fortuitous snapshot ended up becoming a promise: although it was not a plan from the beginning, by 1997 the five decided to maintain the tradition no exceptions and since then they repeat the scene every five years.

Why the story is still interesting

• It documents a bond maintained over four decades and shows physical and personal changes over time.
• It contrasts with the speed and fleeting nature of many connections on social networks; there is a tangible continuity here.
• The media coverage of 2012 gave them an outside perspective on the unusual nature of their friendship and reinforced the group’s commitment.

Distances have not been a permanent obstacle: the annual meeting involves long trips for several of them—a trip that can take up to 12 hours by road—while only one of the five still lives in Santa Barbara. In recent summers they have met at the cabin although they have not always taken the photo, and some already enjoy semi-retirement that facilitates reunions.

For most audiences, the most striking element is not the continuity itself, but the normality with which these men have turned a youthful anecdote into a shared record of their history. The next photographic appointment, scheduled for the summer of 2027will be the tenth installment of a series that began as a casual image in 1982 and which includes, as a curious talisman, that bottle with the famous cockroach that appeared in the first take.

The friends acknowledge that the public attention showed them how unusual it is to maintain such a friendship. For them, tradition functions as a visual archive and an excuse to reunite, while each new image records the marks of time and, at the same time, reinforces the value of a sustained connection.

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Alonso Delgado covers the international news with rigor. You’ll find accurate and relevant reporting on major global events, from political crises to diplomatic breakthroughs.