The Man Behind the Lens

Orville Brunelle. January 24, 1964. Galt Museum& Archives, 197529101715

Orville Brunelle. January 24, 1964.

Galt Museum& Archives, 197529101715

Orville Brunelle had a long and storied career in photojournalism. He began his career as a photographer in early 1933 for the Prince Albert Daily Herald and then for local Saskatchewan newspapers until 1942. Brunelle served in the military during the Second World War, reaching the rank of Captain in 1946. After the war, he worked at the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix as head of their Photography Department until he joined the Lethbridge Herald staff in August 1952.

Brunelle was present to cover the 1953 Valentine’s Day Ball at the Civic Centre. This ordinary event became extraordinary when Mayor A. W. Shackleford stepped up to the microphone in front of the 800 dancers to introduce the YMCA Teen Queen Contest winner Donna Glock and runner-up Shirley Parkinson.

There were two microphones on the stage that night, the house microphone and one from the local radio station, CJOC. As he began to speak, Mayor Shackleford grabbed both microphones at the same time, receiving a 50-volt electrical shock!

Mayor A. W. Shackleford is frozen to two microphones by a 50-volt shock caused by improper grounding. Assisting him is CJOC Announcer Joe McCallum (left), and City Alderman Cliff Black (right). Photo by Orville Brunelle.Galt Museum & Archives, 1…

Mayor A. W. Shackleford is frozen to two microphones by a 50-volt shock caused by improper grounding. Assisting him is CJOC Announcer Joe McCallum (left), and City Alderman Cliff Black (right). Photo by Orville Brunelle.

Galt Museum & Archives, 19871198000.

“The Mayor, stuttering furiously, reeled backwards while radio announcer Joe McCullum and Alderman Cliff Black tried desperately to free him. But the microphones held the frantic mayor captive until someone turned off the electrical power.”
— Alex Johnston and Andy den Otter, Lethbridge: A Centennial History, page 160

Brunelle’s “shocking” photo of Mayor Shackleford became his most iconic piece of work, earning him significant professional accolades and worldwide publication in 1,300 newspapers and magazines as far as Israel and Japan. The Canadian Press Picture Service awarded him the “Best Picture of the Year” Award in 1953. Life Magazine featured the photograph as their Picture of the Week in their March 2, 1953 edition. 35 years later, local historians Johnston and den Otter wrote in 1985 that Brunelle’s photograph “was, and is, unquestionably the most famous photograph ever taken in the City of Lethbridge.” (page 160)

Brunelle had a 14-year career with the Herald, and his legacy in Lethbridge and the paper lives on. Discover more about Orville Brunelle and the Lethbridge Herald with the Galt Museum & Archives’ exhibit Extra! Extra! Through the Lens of the Lethbridge Herald.

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ArticleHannah YuzwaGalt Museum & ArchivesExtra Exhibit, Extra, Lethbridge Herald, Archives, Photojournalism, Visual, Electricity, Photography, Brunelle, Lethbridge, NewspaperComment