Richard C. Shacklett's Show Now - Jan.4th At Patterson Center

Dec 07, 2021 at 08:46 pm by WGNS

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(MURFREESBORO)  The Washington Theater lobby at the Patterson Community Center (521 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard) was the site of an opening reception that honored a century of local memories captured by the artistic talents of Richard C. Shacklett. He was known as Murfreesboro's photo documentarian. The display is free and open to the public daily through January 4, 2022.  

His son, Bill Shacklett commented . . . 

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When Did It Begin?

On a July day in 1935, Richard Claude Shacklett walked into Leo Ferrell’s Photography shop and asked if there was anything he could do. Mr. Ferrell, one of our community’s early photographers, offered Shacklett a job processing roll film. Sometime between 1936 and 37, at the age of 16, Shacklett became a local photographer creating and documenting some of the most memorable images of Rutherford County in the 1930’s and 1940’s.

By 1938, he was an independent businessman operating out of the old James K. Polk Hotel building. Richard (“Dick”) Claude Shacklett, a man of many talents, was known to his legions of friends as a man for all seasons. Notable is the official seal of Rutherford County affixed on every Rutherford County vehicle, the Rutherford County parking garage, and the Judicial Building. His deep love for this County flows in Mr. Shacklett’s original design. His spirit for recording the history for future generations will be honored throughout the month of December.

During his lifetime and profession, Dick Shacklett captured thousands of one-of-a-kind images. He was more than a professional photographer, his sensitivity and passion extended way beyond his brief 73 years into another generation inspiring countless family and friends. It is his zeal for recording and documenting the history for the future lives has long outlived him. Without a doubt in Mr. Shacklett’s lifetime, this generous soul used his mechanical genius to capture the natural world.

His unique ability together with his favorite camera, the Speed Graphic, coupled with many hours of patience and fortitude, created some of the most breathtaking images in wildlife of the 1950’s— “Mallard Ducks in Flight”, “The Buck”, and of course, “Strike”, a rainbow trout hitting a fly. In 1952, “Strike” received national recognition by taking first place in Lucerne, Switzerland at the World Exposition of Photography. All these treasures will be featured in the exhibition.

Again, the photos and painting of Richard C. Shacklett are on display daily now through January 4, 2022 in the gallery at the Washington Theater. 

 

 

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