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Galen Clarke via MediaStorm
Countless metal racks line the basement, garage, and two tool sheds in the backyard of Walter Backerman's house, holding his collection of more than 7,000 antique seltzer bottles.
From MediaStorm: For Walter Backerman, seltzer is more than a drink. It is the embodiment of his family.
Galen Clarke via MediaStorm
Standing in the kitchen of his Parkside Hills home in New York, Walter Backerman holds a picture of his father and grandfather.
As a third generation seltzer man, he follows parts of the same cobblestone route his grandfather began in 1920s Manhattan.
Walter maintains a collection of more than seven thousand antique bottles that he circulates to his customers. Many bear the family name, a tribute to his father and his grandfather before him.
Now, after 90 years of the Backermans being in the business, Walter knows all too well that he may be the last of the family's seltzer men. Watch the video below to meet Walter and find out more about what his family's seltzer legacy means to him.
We are publishing this story as part of a new partnership with MediaStorm to share some of their award-winning multimedia with our Photoblog audience. Their work is not new to us -- the founder of the company, Brian Storm, was the first director of multimedia for msnbc.com. This story is one of several produced at a recent MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop where they teach character-driven, documentary storytelling.