WILSON BOROUGH, Pa. — For 100 years, a Fisk has been photographing the people and places of the Easton area.
That work, spread across three generations and based in a cozy residential neighborhood on a narrow Wilson street, is coming to an end.
Fisk Camera Shop, an institution at 2115 Birch St. that literally has taken the pictures of thousands of local youth, will close Friday.
For Billy Fisk and his sister Barbara “Sparky” Scattene — their grandfather, William H. Fisk Jr., founded the business in the mid-1920s — the decision was easy, but didn’t come without a deep appreciation of family and nostalgia.
They grew up next door.
“Bittersweet is really the best way to describe it,” said Scattene, 66, of Bethlehem. “But it’s easy because it’s time. Like, we know. It’s time.
“We were talking about it yesterday. The little burdens are going away because we are getting close.”
Each generation makes its mark
Billy Fisk, 70, said he’s been preparing for it for a year or two and thought Memorial Day this year might be a good time to call it quits.
“And then I thought, ‘Oh, we might as well make it through the summer,’" he said. "So I did take a vacation, and then we both agreed. We said you know what the time is? It’s when we normally close for Labor Day, but then we’re not going to reopen.
"It’s been a decision in the making since last winter, to put a date on it.”
The business was founded on portrait photography in a second-floor studio run by Bill Fisk Jr. When he died in 1951, Bill Fisk III — Billy and Barbara’s father — took over.
“This was part of just growing up. The basements to the house and shop connected through a doorway, and the upstairs connects through a doorway right here.”William H. "Billy" Fisk IV, third-generation owner of Fisk Camera Shop
It was under his leadership that the business became an Easton-area mainstay.
His specialty was industrial photography and business boomed as the region grew. He also transformed the shop into a retail hub, where folks could buy cameras, film, equipment and supplies.
Fisk III’s warm smile, friendliness and popularity turned him into a Wilson legend.
In 2004, the old Elementis Field off Wood Avenue was renamed Fisk Field in his honor. He died in 2023 at age 97. (His wife of 67 years, Peggy, died eight years earlier).
And then there was Billy — William H. Fisk IV. He has worked in the family’s shop since he was 12. Except for a college summer working at a Stockertown factory, it’s the only job he’s ever had.
“This was part of just growing up," he said. "The basements to the house and shop connected through a doorway, and the upstairs connects through a doorway right here.”
Color prints
Billy’s imprint on the business was color processing. Prior to 1979, customers who wanted color photography would have orders placed through Kodak and wait for shipping back to the shop.
Billy’s investments enabled color prints faster on site.
He also grew the business of team sports photos into a virtual year-round revenue stream, and expanded it by offering individual portraits, too.
If you played youth sports in Wilson or Easton any time between 1980 and 2023, Billy or his dad probably took your picture.
“I don’t remember when I started doing the individuals,” he said. “We were doing just teams.
"And then around 1980, I guess, I started doing the individuals. I had gotten some requests for it, so would do it here and there. And then I said to my dad, we're going to introduce that.
“We're going to sell this kind of package thing where they'll get a picture of the kid, and then, you know, a team photo. That became a very good business.
"I can honestly say I never solicited the photo business. It all came to me.”
The advent of the smartphone ate away much of Fisk’s retail business for point-and-shoot cameras. But Billy said Fisk’s maintained a robust film and print business — and even a resurgence in recent years.
“There was a drop off,” he said. “But if you remember, the CVS’s, the Walgreens’, Walmart, they were all pulling their processing equipment out because they didn’t want to pay for it anymore; it wasn’t generating enough revenue.
"That generated more volume for us because we were the only ones doing it in this area.
“And now it’s a younger age trying to find the 35 millimeter cameras and buying film.
"And I have to tell you, 80 percent of them don't get pictures. They get us to digitize the negatives, so they're ending up with a digital product, anyway. But it came from film.”
Last call
Barbara and Billy haven’t advertised their closing and they’re not on social media.
On Friday they plan to flip the sign on the front door to “Closed” one last time.
But they said they’ll continue for a while to take care of customers who call and they'll drop in and out as they clear out the shop.
As they chatted at the counter Tuesday, a longtime customer congratulated them on their retirements and mentioned a memory of their father.
No doubt he’ll be there in spirit Friday — and his father before him — when they turn the lock at the very same place where it all started.
“We had the two best parents I think you could possibly have,” Scattene said. “That’s a nice thing to be able to say.”
