Fred Lynch retired in 2018 after capturing images for the Southeast Missourian since 1975, in that time moving from black-and-white to color, from film to digital and to video. The blog title is a nod to an earlier era of news photography and the 4x5 Speed Graphic: It's more important to be there for the shot than to worry about technical details.

Roses on Broadway

Posted Monday, September 13, 2010, at 7:30 AM

We believe G.D. Fronabarger took this picture after the following story was published in the Southeast Missourian on March 28, 1959. We do not know the names of the people. It was taken in front of the Chamber of Commerce building, next to First Presbyterian Church on Broadway.

Baskets of Roses To Go on Poles

Workmen will begin Monday placing the new decorative baskets of red roses along the various business sections and main traffic areas in the city if the weather permits. Fifty baskets have been obtained by the Retail Merchants Association and will be placed on utility poles by employees of the street and park departments.

This initial order is only part of the 125-175 baskets which the association plans to put on display in making the city more attractive. Roses were chosen to fill the baskets because of the fact that Cape Girardeau is known as the City of Roses.

Henry Ochs is chairman of the Retail Merchants Association which has announced that any individual or merchant wishing to order such baskets for their homes or places of business may contact the Chamber of Commerce. Their order will be included with the order of the association. The financial support of civic and service organizations is also being asked, it was announced. The baskets will be put up each year in time for Easter and remain up until Labor Day.

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That was a typical newspaper picture of that era.

Instead of shooting the workers actually putting the baskets up, which could have been interesting, you got together a bunch of dignitaries to line up and "look" at the target.

At least Frony didn't have them pointing at the basket. (That's what we photographers called The Pointing Man pose.)

-- Posted by ksteinhoff on Mon, Sep 13, 2010, at 10:27 AM
Also included in the shot is a view of the old First Presbyterian Church

-- Posted by semowasp on Mon, Sep 13, 2010, at 12:11 PM
On a recent trip out west, we went through small towns like Sheridan, Wyoming, where their downtown had all types of flowers hanging from baskets. It was such a pretty sight and made us, as tourists, feel good about visiting this little town (and other towns like it). Cape should revisit this hanging basket idea....speaks volumes.

-- Posted by Leenda on Mon, Sep 13, 2010, at 3:17 PM
My least favorite shot back in my newspoaper days was "The Firing Squad Shot." Line them up looking at the camera head on, shot 'em, and make sure to get their names left to right.

The other type shot I disliked was "Well, lookie here!" Place one or two people at a desk and line everybody else around them looking at a piece of paper on the desk. Remember to get the names!

It became a game to devise any other ways to make photos.

-- Posted by voyager on Mon, Sep 13, 2010, at 5:15 PM
That was called Two Men and a Piece of Paper.

How about the gimmick of The Big Check? I can't believe that's still being used.

Ribbon cuttings with big fake scissors?

Ground breakings with gold-painted ceremonial shovels (wielded by guys in suits and women in high heels, all wearing hard hats).

I finally got to a paper where we didn't do those kinds of things. If it was a construction project, we'd shoot real workers. If the dignitaries were who was important, we'd shoot nice portraits of them without the phony props.

If we got a call for a check passing, we'd say (a)we don't do those, but (b) how about if we photograph what the money is going to be used for? That'll be more interesting to the readers and will help the group the money is going to.

There's no excuse for PR folks to trot out photo ops that were already cliches in the 40s.

-- Posted by ksteinhoff on Tue, Sep 14, 2010, at 9:23 AM
Fred, at first I thought that basket was hanging from the power lines, prompting me to miss the Good Old "Dangerous" Days, when you could easily lose an eye to a toy.

I like big checks... But they're hard to fit in my pocket (far too many folds going on there)

-- Posted by Kllrfsh on Tue, Sep 14, 2010, at 12:33 PM

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