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“I know you; you took my wedding pictures”!
After graduating from Antonelli School of Photography in 1949, Frank “Kayo” Bacon returned to Springfield, Mass. to begin capturing memories on film. His initial customers were friends and family. In fact, the only family wedding he didn’t shoot was his own, the following year.
In 1950. he acquired both a wife and a partner. Carole Bacon spent much of her life working in the office of her grandfather’s business and had graduated from Springfield’s High School of Commerce. Together, they began building a photography business that grew from weddings and anniversaries to portraiture, commercial, advertising, legal and public relations work.
For years, besides chronicling the weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries of generations of families, Mr. Bacon’s photographs documented the progress of patients treated by the Springfield Unit of the Shriners’ Hospital for Crippled Children. He also photographed celebrities visiting the area for events at the
Big E, The Shrine Circus, Symphony Hall, and the Basketball Hall of Fame, among others. Two of his favorite pictures are a portrait of “Benji” and circus trapeze artists in mid-air performing a signature move. He was the first to get that shot.
Dedicated to their community, Frank and Carole Bacon gave generously of their time and talents from visiting patients in hospitals and nursing homes to playing Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus for kids of all ages during the holiday season. Their Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary project was to donate a marker to The Kids Around the Corner Veterans' Park in Springfield. Franklyn Bacon actively supported the Elks, the Shriners, Veterans' and Church groups.
Retiring to let his son, Charles, take on the challenges of the digital age, Franklyn has definitely left his mark:
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