A Quarter of a Century in My Corner

/ Richard R. Barron
The Ada High School Couganns dance team take the field in this previously unpublished October 29, 1988 image. Everyone in this picture is in her 40s now.
The Ada High School Couganns dance team take the field in this previously unpublished October 29, 1988 image. Everyone in this picture is in her 40s now.

October 24, 2013, today, marks 25 years for me at The Ada News. Much had changed here in my corner of photojournalism, and much has remained the same. That also applies to my personal life.

Things that have changed about my work…

  • My photography has gone from 100% analog to 100% digital
  • The Ada Evening News changed to The Ada News
  • Since 1988, we have been pwned by three parent companies
  • We added Ada Magazine, and I am the editor

Things that have remained the same about my work…

  • My office and studio in the southeast corner of the building remain the same except a computer sits where once sat an enlarger
  • Our coverage area still remains one of the best to cover for both news and sports
  • Our mission remains essentially unchanged: to bring the news to our community

My personal life is too complex to summarize with bullet points, so I will say this: I once was lost, but now am found. I’ve spent nine of my 25 years in “Greater Ader” very happily married to Abby.

In one of my most recently published images, Dusty Westmoreland, Piper Kirkwood and Paylyn Kirkwood take a snack break at the Konawa vs Tishomingo football game in Konawa Thursday night, Oct. 17, 2013.
In one of my most recently published images, Dusty Westmoreland, Piper Kirkwood and Paylyn Kirkwood take a snack break at the Konawa vs Tishomingo football game in Konawa Thursday night, Oct. 17, 2013.