Photography is a relatively recent invention, only present for around 200 years of approximately 6,000 years (or a little over 3%) of recorded history. However, in those 200 years, photographs and films have proven to be an invaluable contribution to the historical record. Written documents can tell us what people in the past were up to and how they viewed the world around them; photographs and films can show us those people and their world. They are an amazing resource for researchers, for historical re-enactors, for anyone who wants a glimpse into another person’s life, past or present.
Whether they are looking into the past or the present, one subject that people seem especially drawn to is disasters. Disasters, both natural and manmade, tend to draw a great deal of attention, and so those whose living depends upon attention, such as news stations, are naturally inclined to document and speak on disasters with far more effort than they give to reporting safe, wholesome, but “boring” events. In modern times, where anyone with a cellphone is carrying at least one camera on them at all times and it is virtually impossible to venture out in public without encountering at least a dozen security cameras, even a completely untrained amateur can document a disaster with the simple press of a button. While this can be helpful in many ways, it also means that we are more likely to take for granted the professional photojournalists who quite literally risk life and limb to bring incredible footage to the public. One such professional, who had a particularly dangerous yet fascinating career, was a man named Joseph Franklin “J. Frank” McAneny.
J. Frank McAneny was born in 1922 to Joseph “Mac” McAneny and Ben Ava Melat McAneny. His interest in photography began in adolescence, when he started taking pictures around his high school and college campuses with his mother’s folding camera and developing the film in a bathroom. After graduating from Centenary College, he decided to go into news photography, which he began by “shooting spot news pictures” as a freelancer. He would listen to a police scanner to learn about crimes and emergencies, so that he could drive to them and capture pictures and film of them, sometimes as situations were still unfolding. He was often the first photographer on the scene, and police and firemen joked that someday he might beat them to a situation. Because McAneny was, as he put it in a 1999 interview, “the firstest with the mostest,” he met with great success when he submitted his footage to newspapers and news stations. He freelanced for the Shreveport Times for eight years, then for the Shreveport Journal for forty years, and became Chief Photographer for KSLA TV for 35 years.
Though a lifelong Shreveport resident, McAneny traveled all over the Ark-La-Tex and beyond in search of footage. He captured photographs and films of many events in Bossier Parish, including disasters both natural and manmade, such as the shootout in rural Bossier Parish that killed Shreveport police chief E.G. Huckabay, a tornado that swept through Plain Dealing, and a 1959 crash of a transport plane that had attempted to leave Barksdale Air Force Base with three hydrogen bombs. Elsewhere, he shot footage of everything from murders to wildfires to explosions. Throughout his career, he risked being shot, burned alive, gassed, swept away in floodwaters, and a dozen other unpleasant fates. Despite many close calls, McAneny continued his work for nearly half a century, ultimately retiring in 1999. He passed away in 2002, at the age of 79.
During McAneny’s 1999 interview, he noted that there were many occasions where he submitted photos or videos to news stations, and received little to no credit when the footage was released to the public. As he observed, “You risk your life, and you get no credit…the photographer always seems to be the unknown spectator.” Fortunately, McAneny was able to hold onto a substantial collection of his own work. In 2000, he formed the J. Frank McAneny Museum, Inc., which showcased both his work from his years as a news photographer, and the documents, artifacts, and memorabilia he had collected as a part of his interest in history. Though the museum’s contract with the city of Shreveport has since expired, the Northwest Louisiana Archives was able to obtain many of his “photographic negatives…prints, exhibit posters, slides and movie film.” The Bossier Parish Library Historical Center, meanwhile, has a copy of the 1999 interview, titled “Lifetime of Miracles,” where J. Frank McAneny himself talks about his incredible career and the many harrowing experiences he had during it; the video also includes some of his footage of these experiences.
Though we are fortunate enough to know the man behind the pictures in J. Frank McAneny’s case, there are iconic photographs and films whose creators will forever remain unknown. As it becomes easier to capture, or even falsify, footage, it will also become even easier to take photographers for granted, which is sure to exacerbate this problem. However, whether we know their names or not, people who risk everything to document pivotal moments are providing a vital service not just to the public, but also to historians.
If you have information about other local photographers who captured important moments in Bossier Parish history, we would love to hear about them. “Lifetime of Miracles” is in the Bossier Parish History Center’s collection, along with other videos showcasing fascinating characters that played a role in Bossier Parish’s history. However, the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center, located in the Bossier Central Library complex, remains closed while our new exhibits are completed. Watch our Facebook page or library website homepage for updates at www.bossierlibrary.org. You can also visit the website to use our online resources. You may call us at (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org.
For other local history facts, photos, and videos, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, and check out our blog http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/.
Images:
- J. Frank McAneny with mother’s folding camera, the very first camera he used. C. 1999. Screenshot from 1999 KTBS interview, “Lifetime of Miracles.”
- A 1959 crash of a plane carrying nuclear weapons, Bossier Parish, LA. C. 1959. Photo found in January 4, 1987 edition of Shreveport Times.
- McAneny and police in standoff that ended in Shreveport Police Chief Huckabay’s death, Bossier Parish, LA. C. 1954. Photo found in January 4, 1987 edition of Shreveport Times.
- J. Frank McAneny with flash bulb camera he used for news photography in 1940s. C. 1999. Screenshot from 1999 KTBS interview, “Lifetime of Miracles.”
Article by: Jaylie Rester
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