Patty chats from the foyer of
her studio among several prize-winning photos. Her specialty
is children’s portraits.
A
visit to Patty Oakley's portrait studio in McKenzie is a
trip to a fantasy world designed to bring out the essence of
her subjects' personalities.
"I like them to capture the soul," she says of her
photographs, leaning forward in heartfelt sincerity at her
declaration. She relaxes again as she talks from the
upstairs office alcove of her studio, located on Broadway
Street, near the library, in McKenzie. Downstairs, some of
her many awards are displayed in the store window, while, in
the foyer, a collection of artful photographs displays her
skill, silent testimony to the truism that a picture is
worth a thousand words: dirty, little boy faces at play,
moms and daughters in shades of white, and much more,
including the prize-winning photograph of her newest
grandchild nestled inside a honey pot.
It's the following room, however, where the magic really
begins. Here, among sets ranging from elegant to whimsical,
is where personalities are captured for posterity in
treasured portraits.
"I just want to take pictures 'til I fall over, I love it,"
says Patty, talking about her future plans.
One of two daughters born to Sybil and the late Chandler
King, Patty was raised in McKenzie for the most part after
her 1944 birth in Florida, where her father was stationed as
a pilot for the U.S. Navy. Her late sister, Kay, was born in
Washington state almost three years later and the family
lived in Paris briefly before moving to McKenzie when Patty
was five.
She recalls a time when McKenzie, like all small towns, "was
a lot safer."
"We had slumber parties and would go down to Carroll Lake at
two or three o'clock in the morning and not have a thing to
be scared of," says Patty.
Neighborhood kids played hide and seek and other games
outside, until they were called in at "probably nine or ten
at night, even at six years old," Patty says, astonished at
the changes over a few generations.
She recalls as well her mother making pillowcases for the
girls to use while picking cotton for pay at Kermit
Holland's farm.
"We had two horses that I loved, and lots of dogs and cats,"
she says, smiling in reverie. "And I was a tomboy, I guess.
I climbed trees, walked the ditches looking for tadpoles,
stuff like that."
As a high school student, she and her friends hung out at
Frank's Dairy Bar, formerly Sam's Dairy Bar, at the end of
Highland Drive where Adrian's Car Stereo is now located.
"We all worked there and, after school, that's where we
lived," Patty says, recalling as well watching movies at the
drive-in theater on the old Highway 22 between McKenzie and
Huntingdon and neighborhood basketball games.
She attended Ole Miss for a year, and spent another year at
Memphis State before finishing up at Bethel, in her
hometown, with a major in English.
"Bethel had the best teachers I had," she says, singling out
three for special accolades: social studies teacher Dr.
James L. Potts, and English teachers Mrs. Mary Holmes and
Mrs. Dorothy Parnell.
In the meantime, the week after her 20th birthday, she and
some friends ventured to Sewanee, the University of the
South, for a weekend of fun. Immediately upon walking in the
door, she spied Thomas Oakley, a member of the band that was
playing.
"I told my date, 'I'm going to marry that guy,'" Patty
grins, noting she was "just friends" with the man she was
with.
True to her word, she and Thomas dated for about three years
before their marriage, after which they moved to Bunker, "a
small town in the middle of Missouri," where Patty taught
English for grades seven through 12 and Thomas taught music.
From there, they moved to Memphis where Thomas earned his
master's degree. Then it was back to Missouri--this time
Kennett--two doors down from Cheryl Crowe's family. There,
sons John and Mark were born in 1967 and 1969.
Thomas traded in his career as a band director to return to
McKenzie after eight years, where Sybil and Chandler in 1961
had founded Southern Biological Supply company, known later
as Southern Scientific.
Patty's interest in photography began after her girls,
Heather and Holly, were born.
"We thought we were through and then, in '75 and '77, the
girls showed up," she laughs. "I would be getting pictures
made at professional studios and paying a fortune for them
and telling them when to hit the shutter," she continues,
describing how she would find herself telling the
photographers, "That's what I want, right there, get that
one!"
She started taking her own photos, then pictures for her
friends. "When I started taking pictures for their friends
is when I started charging professionally," she says.
Unable to afford the camera she needed, however, she taught
folk dancing at Bethel for a semester in order to raise the
money, notwithstanding the fact that she didn't know how to
dance herself.
"I had to learn it and then teach it--it was just a
nightmare!" she shares. "I went to the first class crying, I
was so scared. I'll bet I spent 24 hours a week getting
ready for each class."
Her propensity for photography is apparent in a photo she
took of Holly when she was two or three years old, before
she had any instruction in the field. Standing in the
doorway of a rustic structure in a calico dress, she
reflects sweet innocence and bright-eyed curiosity.
Nonetheless, Patty studied photography in Iowa for two weeks
after purchasing her camera and, in the ensuing years, has
attended many classes in diverse places around the country.
She received her master's degree in photography in Las Vegas
after having 13 photos accepted by the Professional
Photographers of America (www.ppa.com).
She traveled extensively at first, taking photographs mostly
of children, but stopped when Holly entered kindergarten. By
the time Holly was in junior high, Patty was ready to begin
once more. She opened Oakley Photography, which was
originally located behind Carroll Bank and Trust, and moved
to her current location some 12 years ago.
She talks about how trends in photography have changed:
"When I first started I wanted to do black and white. I
tried to get customers to try it and they wanted color. Now
they all like a lot of black and white again, which is
good."
Among Patty's honors have been the acceptance of seven
photographs in the PPA traveling loan collection, and six in
the PPA's annual, corporate publication.
"One was displayed at Epcot in 1994, that was exciting,"
Patty says. The same photograph, taken of Holly on the steps
of a worn building that has since been torn down (and which
can be seen at Patty's studio) was also purchased by Kodak.
Concerning her frequent photography of Holly, Patty laughs,
"Holly was always willing."
Her favorite subjects to photograph are children.
Patty’s family passion is
every-other-year trips to the beaches of Florida. From their
2004 vacation, pictured, l-r, are: (front) John and Amanda
Oakley and children: Laura Kay, Cameron, Libby, and Aaron,
and Mark and Kristi Oakley and children, Chandler, Henry,
and Carter; (back) Patrick Holly and Holly Yarbrough, Patty
and Thomas Oakley, and Rob and Heather Mansson and baby
Jake.
"Family and children, that's about all I want to do," she
says, adding with a laugh, "In your 60s you do what you want
to do."
Her 14-year-old "sidekick", Dodger, who has been a part of
the family since he was a puppy, is her frequent companion
in the studio.
"He comes to work every day unless I have a sitting, then he
thinks he's supposed to be in the pictures," she says,
smiling at Dodger.
Her only regret is that she doesn't have more time for her
eight grandchildren, four of whom live in McKenzie.
Regarding time, she says, "You have to just steal it to get
anything done."
To that end, she and Thomas have scheduled time to visit
North Carolina soon, where they will spend time with
Heather, who is now a pharmacist, and husband Rob Mansson, a
financial advisor. The couple have no children as yet, but,
Patty chuckles, "They have two kitties and they are like
babies, I'll have to take presents."
Holly and her accountant husband, Patrick Yarbrough, live in
Memphis with their new baby, Jake (Jacob), the subject of
Patty's award-winning photo. Mark Oakley is a musician in
Nashville where he and wife Kristi Barlow Oakley, live with
their three boys: Chandler, Carter and Henry. John Oakley
works at New Generations Furniture Co. in McKenzie. He and
Amanda Newman Oakley's four children include Laura Kay,
Cameron, Libby, and Aaron.
At home with Thomas and Patty, she says happily, is her mom,
who moved in with them in November last year.
"We're just enjoying a lot her living with us," Patty
declares. "It took us two or three years to get her to do
it."
In addition to spending time with her family, Patty ponders
her and Thomas' favorite pastimes. "We like movies, eating
with friends; we love to go to real nice restaurants--
though we don't do that often anymore--and plays... Oh, and
our passion is Florida!"
With smiling eyes, she tells how, every other year, "the
entire brigade" gathers in Florida. "We all pay our own way
and we just have a ball," she says. On alternate years, she
and Thomas generally make the trip alone, perhaps with
Dodger tagging along.
"He is the ocean boy, he loves to go," she says.
Another passion for Patty and Thomas is taking their five
oldest grandchildren camping each year in June, an activity
enhanced by their purchase of a pontoon boat.
"We go pontooning and fishing," says Patty, excited about
the improving weather with its opportunity for fun on the
boat.
This year, the couple may not make the trip to Florida as
Thomas works diligently to assemble a marching band at
Bethel, an endeavor that has Patty nearly as excited as her
own career that is blossoming with her full time efforts
since the family chose recently to close Southern
Scientific.
"Thomas loves his job back in music again," she smiles, "so
we've come full circle."
