In the 1950s, Strato-Lab balloons were launched to gather meteorological, cosmic ray and other scientific data necessary to improve safety at high altitudes.
Richard Carlson didn’t always plan on becoming a photographer. Once, he studied engineering, a field he left to become a photojournalist.
“I’m finally making the amount of money I would have made as a new engineer,” he said, laughing.
But he doesn’t regret his choice. The self-taught photographer left South Dakota State University in the 1980s to become a photojournalist. After working in that field for 20 years in Aberdeen and Sioux Falls, he moved to Lead, where he does freelance work and teaches photography classes. He also manages the Fassbender Collection, which includes more than 800,000 photographs dating back to the 1920s.
“The vast majority of the collection is portraits, weddings and school photos,” Carlson said. “But the rest document things like the construction of Mt. Rushmore, the Stratosphere Bowl balloon launches, the murder investigation of George Sitts and the Devil’s Tower stunt by George Hopkins. It’s really interesting.”
At the next Deep Talks, which will be held Thursday, Feb. 14, at the Visitor Center, Carlson will give a presentation on the collection. “Stories of Yesteryear” will start with a brief overview, then take an in-depth look at some of the prominent stories from the 1930s and 40s, especially those focusing on Lead. Guests will have the opportunity to look through an antique wooden camera, and several photographs from the collection will be on display throughout the Visitor Center.
The collection was purchased by the cities of Lead, Deadwood and Spearfish in 2010, after it spent years in storage, and is managed by a board. As the digital archivist, Carlson coordinates a team of volunteers who meticulously go through the “boxes and boxes and boxes of negatives and prints” then catalogue them into a “friendly storage” system, complete with labels.
“We log all of the photos into a digital database but also make digital copies of photos that are of special interest to the public,” Carlson said. “People often want to hang historical photos in their home or business.” Digital files cost $20.
Deep Talks is held at the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center, 160 W. Main Street, Lead, South Dakota. It begins at 5 p.m. with a social, which is followed by the presentation at 6 p.m. Free beer for those 21 and older is available. The event is sponsored by Crow Peak Brewing Company of Spearfish and Lynn’s DakotaMart of Lead.
