Century-old camera shop in Lehigh Valley to close

Family businesses don’t last for a century on their own. It takes decades of loved ones’ teamwork and effort.

But as Barbara Scattene said of her own century-old family business in the Lehigh Valley, “We’re older and the equipment’s older … so all signs are pointing to, ‘OK, it’s time to retire.’ “

Fisk Camera Shop will hold its last day of business Friday at 2115 Birch St. in Wilson, according to Scattene, who works there with her brother and shop owner William “Billy” Fisk IV.

The shop offers cameras, camcorders, lenses, flashes, tripods and services for printing or enhancing photos, according to its website.

Scattene said the shop opened in either the 1910s or ’20s under the siblings’ grandfather, William Fisk II, who was born in 1899 in Easton and died in 1952.

Fisk IV, started working in the shop when he was 12. He took over for his father, Fisk III, as a youth sports photographer in 1979 and took over the shop in 1993.

“I just turned 70 in January, so … I knew it was time,” he said.

Regarding how she and her brother feel about closing, Scattene said, “[We] both really kind of have the same sentiment. It’s bittersweet because we really, really love our customers, you know? But it’s time for us to retire, and so we know we have to go.”

She added, “We’ve been blessed with … the clientele that we have had. But the biggest blessing of all was that we were working, and we were around our family all the time. Because when my parents were still alive, they were … here.”

While the store will be closed after Friday, customers can still call for a while longer at 610-253-4051.

In a Morning Call article from 1995, Fisk III recalled the shop’s origins and his father.

“He started his trade when he was 14, working with a man named Billy Bixler,” Fisk III said. “He was delivering newspapers and that’s how he met Bixler, who asked Dad if he’d be interested in doing some work for him.”

When Bixler, a professional photographer, offered to teach Fisk II his work, “that’s how my dad really got started,” Fisk III said.

Fisk II worked with his wife, Myrtle, at the store, and Fisk III worked with his wife, Peggy.