Thurman C. Smith and partner Bill Alexander acquired Film Arbor Studio and purchased the image archives of Otis Johnson. Their works make up the collection.

A visual record of Shreveport’s history enters permanent preservation

It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Logically, a thousand pictures would then be worth a million words. Given that the average book contains between 50,000 and 110,000 words, you could fill a lot of books if you have enough pictures.

The Northwest Louisiana Archives at LSU in Shreveport can now fill those books with the collection it was given on July 24.

Thurman C. Smith donated the products of his lifetime in photography to the archives in a ceremony held on the third floor of the Noel Library on the campus. Mr. Smith, his son, Scot Smith, and Mike and Mark Mangham, the creatives behind Twin Blends Photography, were on hand to shepherd the collection into the archives’ safekeeping under the watchful eyes of Laura McLemore, the Weiner Professor of Archives & Historic Preservation at the Northwest Louisiana Archives.

Dr. McLemore told the gathering that the archives had been looking forward to this day since Covid. “The first day that Scot [Smith] approached me about this was two days after Covid. It has been through the help of Mike and Mark Mangham of Twin Blends that any of this, which we’ve looked forward to for so long, is made possible. I want to thank Thurman and Scot Smith, who have entrusted us with all this beautiful work that they have done over all these years. I want to thank Mike and Mark Mangham for transferring this material and curating this material, preserving it, and bringing it to us and facilitating this donation.”

Mayor Clyde Fant 1954

LSU-S Chancellor Robert Smith, no relation to the photographers, thanked them for their donation. “What a wonderful gift this is to not just LSU in Shreveport, this is a gift to northwest Louisiana. The Northwest Louisiana Archives will maintain this incredible collection in perpetuity. It is truly a wonderous thing.

“By preserving this for all time, we can tell the story of what northwest Louisiana was like in pictures. They are truly worth a thousand words. I want to thank the Smiths and the Manghams for all of the hard work that you did in producing these and for thinking to give them to the archives for us to preserve for the benefit of this community. Your gift is going to live on forever and ever and have a real impact on this community.”

Thurman Smith’s son and fellow photographer, Scot, explained why this collection of photographs is unique. “I always admired the work that my dad had done. It had to do with technical excellence.

“There was a time when photography was not just mashing a button on an electronic device. There was a whole lot of physics and a whole lot of choices made in cameras and lenses. There was a whole lot of factoring in light, balancing the flash and a whole lot of chemistry involved in developing the film. There was a lot of optics, photographic paper and chemicals in making a print.

M. Levy & Co. Dry Goods

St. Vincent Academy

“I’ve been burdened in my heart with my father’s life work, knowing the effort that each and every one of those images took to create. We take them for granted today. What these photographs represent as far as skill, craftsmanship and knowledge is unparalleled. I knew that it would be a horrible mistake for them to end up in a landfill.”

Mike Mangham, Scot R. Smith, Thurman Smith, LSU-S Chancellor Robert T. Smith, Mark Mangham and Laura McLemore, Northwest Louisiana Archives, LSU-S.

And so, they won’t, thanks to hundreds of hours of digital work by the Mangham brothers at Twin Blends. “I think this is what it culminated to and what we were meant to do our whole life,” Mark Mangham said. “We put three years of work. He put his lifetime in. These photos are very historic. I mean, if we had just one photo, it would be amazing, but to have thousands that we’ve been able to document and digitize, I don’t know how many thousands.

Early KOKA

Stan Lewis

“I want to say this man right here, he saved Shreveport history, because so many of these photos we could read about, but until you see it, you don’t understand it.”

Mike Mangham added, “We feel like anybody could have done what we did. But not too many people could have done what Thurman’s done with his photos that captured history. The most important part is what Thurman has done.”

Mr. Smith thanked the Manghams for their part in the project, as well. “Mike and Mark Mangham have done a tremendous amount of work. I appreciate their concern for the collection and the dedication they have had to it.”

The Toddle House

Streetcar on Market Street

Father and son photographers: Scot R. Smith and Thurman C. Smith

The Smith Collection originated from the merger of Smith’s company and the former Film Arbor Studio. Scot Smith said his father and partner Bill Alexander bought the images of photographer Otis Johnson, who was a previous owner of Film Arbor. They make up a portion of the collection.

Dr. McLemore informed the group that a major curated exhibition of the Thurman C. Smith Collection is scheduled for spring 2026.

Noel Memorial Library, Louisiana State University in Shreveport, One University Place, Shreveport, LA, United States, Louisiana. (318) 797-5378. Or, libarchives@lsus.edu, nwla-archives.org.