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Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
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Morning Star, January 9, 2026, pg. 5 Albion has had many professional portrait photographers in business here, beginning with Hillery S. Cassidy in the 1850s. Some of them were located at 414 S. Superior St. through the years. Edward Vandenberg (1892-1958) was Albion's photographer from 1947 to 1957, a period of 10 years. Take a look at your professional family photographs or portraits from that period and see if you have any labeled as originating from his studio. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Edward came to Michigan and served his photographer apprenticeship in Grand Rapids. He then moved to Lansing with his wife Alma (1893-1978), where the duo both opened and operated Van's Photo Service for many years. They subsequently operated a commercial photo studio in Hillsdale. Edward came to Albion in 1947 and purchased the Harlan A. Ludwig studios at 414 S. Superior St. on January 31 of that year. It was named the Vandenberg Studio & Camera Shop. In the following decade his firm took photo for many events at the Albion Public Schools, and Albion College. Photographs he took appeared in the annual yearbooks of those institutions in the form of senior and class photographs. Assisting he and his wife in the business was his niece, photographer Shirley J. Vandenberg (1922-2008) (later Mrs. Victor Romero). Many persons in the Albion area had their portraits produced by the Vandenbergs. In those days, most professional negatives were 4 x 5" in size, and were used to produce multiple copies ordered by the customers. On March 16, 1957 Edward sold the photo business to Earl D. Austin of East Lansing, who continued at the S. Superior St. site under the name Austin Studio. Edward, in the meantime, opened up the Camera Shop at 201 S. Superior St., located in the Bohm Theatre building, tucked away on the south side. He specialized in film developing and camera sales there until his death on October 7, 1958 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN due to a heart condition. Edward (Findagrave #135497928) had been in the photo/portrait business for a total of 45 years. His wife Alma (Findagrave #135498158) passed away on August 21, 1978, while Shirley Romero (Findagrave #165899597) died February 20, 2008 in Albion. All three are interred in Deepdale Cemetery in Lansing in Eaton County. From our Historical Notebook this week we present photographs of Albion's 1950s photographers, Edward, Alma, and Shirley Vandenberg. How many of our readers remember the Vandenbergs?  Edward Vandenberg
 Alma Vandenberg
 Shirley Vandenberg
All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic | Artwork copyright Maggie LaNoue © 2026
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