Historical Society Receives Burns' Photographs
The family of Cyril (Cy) Burns recently gifted his remaining photographic record of Mt. Horeb area residents and everyday small-town Wisconsin activities and events to the Society's Archives. Cy, as he was best known locally, was born on March 21, 1931, at Dodgeville, Wisconsin, and spent his youth at Hollandale. After high school, Cy attended Milwaukee Vocational Technical College, until he was inducted into the Army in 1951.
After his return from Korea, Cy completed his degree in photography in 1957, and after his marriage to Betty in 1958, the couple moved to Mt. Horeb and opened Burn's Studio of Photography. Cy photographed extensively, capturing the faces that adorn local living room walls, and receiving numerous awards along the way from the Wisconsin Professional Photographer's Association, until the early 1990s, when he became too ill from cancer to work. Cy died on June 14, 1999, and is buried in the St. Ignatius Church Cemetery.
In his early years in Mt. Horeb, Cy captured many of the community's major small town events, such as the April 1, 1960 presidential primary speech of John F. Kennedy; held in the Ivy Room above Olson's Restaurant, and the 1961 Centennial, with its huge parade down main street and musical pageant at the high school, or the 1969 visit of Crown Prince Harald of Norway. Cy's involvement in the Lions Club, St. Ignatius Church, the Knights of Columbus, the American Legion and VFW Post prompted him to permanently record these small-town activities as well. Most will remember Cy's contributions to their weddings, while others, quaffed and dressed in their best, or in more recent years, their favorites, patiently posing for a high school graduation memento.
Because of the extent of the Burns' gift, it will be some time before the collection is properly processed, contained in acid free materials, and housed in the Archives. The Historical Society gratefully acknowledges the Burns family for contributing this fitting memorial to their father.