Preserving Lives: An American Family’s Scrapbook, 1920-1950 is the story of two ordinary people living ordinary lives in East Texas almost a century ago. Presented by Kilgore-born Hank O’Neal about his parents, Harold and Sarah, he shares their stories from what he gathered from old scrapbooks, photographs, letters, postcards, illustrations, and bits of memorabilia of their lives together. The book takes readers through the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, World War II, and the emerging supremacy of what came to be known as the American Dream.
The story began and thrived in the rough and tumble world of the East Texas oil patch, making it all the more compelling.
The book is published by TCU Press and releases early this year for sale on Amazon. O’Neal — who frequently leaves his New York home to shoot photos of “Heavenland” as his father called East Texas — is planning several book signings in the region.
In addition to the new book, many of O’Neal’s East Texas photographs are in an exhibit at Maude Cobb Convention Center in Longview throughout 2018 from the Longview Museum of Art’s permanent collection.
O’Neal was born in East Texas in 1940 and the family moved to Fort Worth, Indiana, and New York. In 1962, he was about to graduate from Syracuse University when he was recruited by the CIA and worked for the organization as a contact specialist. He lived in Greenwich Village and immersed himself in Harlem’s jazz scene. His artistic interests overtook his world of espionage and by 1972 he founded a small independent record label called Chiaroscuro Records. In 1973, he published his first book and held a photography show, “Winona, Texas,” in Manhattan.
O’Neal has taken photographs all over the world, but none better than those in East Texas where he has emotional attachments.
One of O’Neal’s views of East Texas include a group of domino players at Starnes Store in Winona, 1972 with Price Killion, Horace Chaney, Dow Graham, Emmit Cagle, and Clyde Dale. See more of O’Neal’s photos of East Texas in a 2018 exhibit at Maude Cobb in Longview. Photo by Hank O’Neal
He’s collaborated on many other creative projects with the likes of Clint Eastwood, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and counted guitar legend Les Paul among his friends.
He’s photographed and befriended Andy Warhol, Elie Wiesel, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie, Cab Calloway, and Jacqueline Kennedy, just to name a few from his world in New York and beyond.
O’Neal’s photos from around the world are displayed on his website hankoneal.com. Under “Places” he has categorized his favorites into France, England, Norway, the Far East, and other adventurous lands. At the top of the list sits East Texas.
Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Center is located at 100 Grand Boulevard in Longview and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and during special events. Call 903.237.1230 for the best times to see the O’Neal exhibit.
