Southeast Missourian's 'One Shot Frony' posthumously inducted into Missouri Photojournalism Hall of Fame

Former Southeast Missourian photographer Garland D. Fronabarger posthumously has been named among the 2017 inductees to the Missouri Photojournalism Hall of Fame.

Fronabarger, who began working at the Southeast Missourian in 1927 as a general news reporter, was known as "One-Shot Frony" for his economical shooting style.

Fronabarger retired in 1986 after almost 60 years at the newspaper. He died in 1992 at age 88.

Mary Spell, who later worked with Fronabarger as a reporter and editor at the newspaper, said his work was ubiquitous in Cape Girardeau.

"When I thought about the Southeast Missourian, I thought about Mr. Fronabarger," she said.

Garland D. Fronabarger is shown working in the photo darkroom at the Southeast Missourian during the 1950s.Southeast Missourian file

Spell, who helped Fronabarger's induction bid by writing a recommendation, recalled meeting him as a schoolgirl, years before her time at the newspaper.

"He came down to take our class picture," she said. "We were all lined up, and he said, 'You -- little girl in the back row with the pigtails. The little chubby one; yes, you. Straighten up.'"

She laughs about it now, she said, because she now understands how Fronabarger saw things.

"He went to work in the middle of the Depression," she said. "You didn't waste film at that time."

But despite his conservative approach, few other photographers have documented the Cape Girardeau community as comprehensively as Fronabarger, Spell said.

"They were all really good photographs," Spell said. "He really made you feel like you were right there."

And, Spell said, he became as well-known for his professionalism as he was for his cigar or pipe.

"People trusted him. He was dependable, and he was honest," she said. "He was a grumpy old man, but he was a really responsible journalist."

Sally Owen, who also worked with Fronabarger at the newspaper and recommended him for the honor, called him "an intellectual who never stopped learning ... an eager participant in things new to his community -- aviation in particular ... and [an] indefatigable booster of Cape Girardeau and Missouri."

"The photos that remain from his vast inventory are priceless reminders of people, places, occasions, sad times and good times and the phenomenal growth of the community he so loved," Owen wrote. "There is no better recipient for this honor than Garland Fronabarger.

Missouri Press Foundation director Melody Bezenek said Fronabarger is one of four photojournalists chosen to be inducted in a ceremony to be held in October.

"I am certain of one thing," Owen wrote. "If Frony received this prestigious honor and was with us to accept it, he would most surely instruct the photographer recording the moment to 'just take one shot. Don't waste film.'"

tgraef@semissourian.com

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