Man who captured life in Anderson County dies at 94 Samantha Epps / Independent-Mail June 25, 2003 Hearing about the death of longtime area photographer Lewis D. Moorhead Wednesday prompted many area residents to flip through photo albums and gaze at family portraits, reflecting on the man who captured those memories for nearly a century. Mr. Moorhead, who took thousands of photos of children and families in and around Anderson County, died Tuesday at Anderson Area Medical Center. He was 94. "One of Anderson's institutions passed away today," Anderson Mayor Richard Shirley said. "There is probably not a single family in Anderson that has been here for any length of time that does not have a Lewis Moorhead photo in their family album, whether it's of a family reunion, a wedding or a graduation. There are Lewis Moorhead photographs all over this city." Born in nearby Sandy Springs in 1908, Mr. Moorhead attended Pendleton High School and Clemson University and began taking pictures at Green's Studio in 1931. In 1942, he went into the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he earned sergeant stripes as a crash-site photographer during World War II. He had owned and operated Moorhead Studio out of his Power Street home since the mid-1940s. "He took pictures of more schoolchildren than anybody who lived in Anderson," friend and historian Fred Whiten said. "He took pictures of school classes for years and years. He was well-known and well-liked and just a fine person." Mr. Moorhead, who used a combination of old and new equipment, including a 60-year-old wooden-cased black view camera with a black cloth hood, was an anachronism, photographer Van Sullivan, of Anderson, said. "Stepping into his studio was like going back into time with the charm and tranquility of that era of time," he said. "He lived a quiet, simple, dignified life from which we can all learn." Some of Mr. Moorhead's photographs are at the Pendleton District Commission, a historic preservation organization. Paula Reel, director of the Anderson County Museum, called Mr. Moorhead "one of the preeminent documenters of life here in Anderson County." "Without his pictures, many families wouldn't have their lives chronicled," she said. "He had a talent to catch that right look, coaxing a smile and using the right lighting." Mr. Moorhead served as a photographer and reporter for the newspapers that later merged to form the Anderson Independent-Mail. He took pictures for the news and advertising departments, according to newspaper records.When he would run into people, Mr. Moorhead often would hand them a small card with a religious message on the front and a joke on the back, friend and historian Wayne Broadwell said. The joke listed different songs to sing while driving certain speeds, such as "Highways are Happy Ways" at 45 miles per hour. "At 75 miles per hour, sing 'When the Roll is Called Up Yonder, I'll Be There,'" the card read. "At 85 miles per hour, sing 'Lord, I'm Coming Home.'" Mr. Moorhead was a charter member of the Anderson Historical Society, American Legion Post 14, the Anderson Lions Club and Lebanon Baptist Church. According to his obituary, Mr. Moorhead was the last surviving member of his immediate family, but has several nieces and nephews. Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Friday in the Lebanon Baptist Church cemetery. Memorials may be made to the church at 5150 Gentry Road, Anderson, SC 29621.