David M. Spear is a man who has worn many hats. He has been a journalist, businessman, photographer, and author. During the Depression, his New England family moved to Madison North Carolina (Rockingham County) where they purchased the Madison Herald, a weekly newspaper that the Spear family would own for fifty years. David, who as a young adult was known to enjoy life and have fun, took over for his parents after they retired. They agreed to let David run the newspaper after a six month trial, making sure he would make the high level of commitment needed to run a newspaper. Indeed, Mr. Spear had commitment; so much so that there were many years in a row where he didn't take a vacation to ensure that the paper would not suffer. While the Madison Herald was known for being liberal in a largely conservative community, the folks of Madison and surrounding counties quickly learned to love and depend on the paper. It gained the reputation of reporting facts as well as community news, the daily, slice-of-life news that people waited in line to purchase.
In 1984, Mr. Spear decided he needed a break from the intense life at the newspaper and he became a photographer. In his twenty seven years as a photographer, he published a photo book on the Nugent family, a rural Rockingham county family that lived very traditionally, not too much unlike how life was lived in the previous century. He garnered the family's trust and was able to photograph them inside the home and around their property. One day, they would be dipping their beagles to cure mange; another day, they would be working in the kitchen. Mr. Spear agreed to split evenly any revenue generated from the photos, and he held true to his word. To the delight of Mr. Spears and the Nugent family, NC State bought 70 of the photos! He also published a book of photos of his travels in Mexico as well as his travels in Cuba. His photography almost always features people and he masterfully captures people, either as portraits or in their surroundings. Many of his photos are in permanent collections in museums throughout the United States. He also published a book, entitled, "Playing with Dynamite," about the Spear family's experiences at the Madison Herald. Something he mentions in the book, but doesn't ever try to capitalize on is the fact that his grandfather was Sherwood Anderson, the Lost Generation writer from Ohio who wrote Winesburg, Ohio.
Mr. Spear has been spending his fair share of time in Greensboro and most recently spoke at Scuppernong Books. In the above photo, he was at a Greensboro home sharing his experiences and discussing "Playing with Dynamite" at Greensboro book club. If you ever get a chance to hear Mr. Spear speak, please do so. He is a wealth of history and information with first-hand experience during journalism's golden years. Next up, he has plans to return to Medellin, Colombia to continue learning Spanish and, if we are lucky, to continue writing and maybe even taking a few photos. If you want to know more, approximately 12.5 feet of linear shelf space are dedicated to Mr. Spear's work at the Wilson Special Collections Library at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. (See HERE).
Happy Tuesday!
An excellent portrait shot.
Posted by: William Kendall | Tuesday, August 23, 2022 at 04:12 PM