Naomi Twining still remembers when she met Martin Luther King, Jr., during a reception at the Maumee home of industrialist Ed Lamb nearly 38 years ago.

It was Mr. King's lone visit to Toledo and came on Sept. 22, 1967, 6 1/2 months before his assassination in Memphis. He spoke to a crowd of 3,500 at Scott High School after arriving at Toledo Express Airport by charter plane.

Photos of that reception, before Mr. King spoke, are rare, but 20 years after the event, Ms. Twining, a researcher, went looking for some. She was successful, and a collection of those photos is framed, mounted, and hanging in her West Toledo home.

They represent probably one of the most complete sets of pictures taken at the reception.

Now, Ms. Twining wants to share them with the public. She would like to give them to an institution where the photos will be safe and where the public can enjoy part of its local history.

"[Mr. King] was distinguished, but he was very personable," said Ms. Twining, who had four tickets to the event from Anderson Cheeves, a former Toledo branch NAACP president. "He was on a distinct personal mission, not just for his own people, but for everyone."

Ms. Twining said she contacted the late Rev. A.L. Roach, who helped organize Mr. King's visit as part of the Toledo chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, about the reception photos. He shared his photos, and she made copies.

Mr. Roach was president of both the local Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Toledo branch of the NAACP at the time, according to newspaper reports. Mr. Roach can be seen in a picture with Mr. King.

The former minister at Mount Nebo Baptist Church, who died in 1993, helped Ms. Twining identify people in the photographs she obtained. She found other photos of Mr. King's visit at the Linques Neighborhood Center in the central city and made negatives of those photos as well.

"I didn't start to examine the photos until 20 years later," Ms. Twining said. "We had a difficult time identifying many of the people in the photos."

E. Randel T. Osburn, executive vice president of the SCLC in Atlanta, traveled with Mr. King on that trip and was one of the last people Ms. Twining was able to identify. She said she gave copies of the photos to Mr. Osburn in Atlanta in 1993.

The photos have significant meaning for African-Americans, said Robert Smith, one of the founders of the African American Legacy Project.

"The pictures of Mr. King's reception and visit can easily lead to the next piece [or memorabilia] and the next piece and so on," Mr. Smith said. "Most importantly, those pictures can serve as hard evidence validating the experience for generations to come."

Eddie Turner, a former Toledo police detective, was part of Mr. King's local protection with the late Joe Carnes, also a Toledo policeman. Mr. Turner, who retired last year as a court deputy in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, is proud to have a picture of himself with Mr. King at Toledo Express as he arrived.

"I remember after his speech at Scott escorting him offstage," Mr. Turner said.

"I was on one side and Joe was on the other side. We didn't think about it much then, but after he was assassinated, you really thought about how special that moment was."

Mr. Turner said he didn't even know about the photo of him and Mr. King until years later. It is in Ms. Twining's collection.

Ms. Twining said after the reception, Mr. King gave a stirring speech at Scott, as he talked about economic empowerment for African-Americans, the need for additional civil rights laws, and his opposition to the Vietnam War.

"Just between you and me, he rocked the place," she said.

She said she believed the photographs will help a new generation share the vision Mr. King had for the people of Toledo and the country.

Contact Clyde Hughes at: chughes@theblade.com or 419-724-6095.

First Published January 17, 2005, 3:23 p.m.