Schulke on hand for honor

Speaks at German Park paver dedication

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Internationally renowned photojournalist Graeme Phelps "Flip" Schulke spoke his mind Saturday at a formal giant paver stone dedication in German Park.

Under his name on the paver stone read the words "If you can find a job you love, you'll never work a day in your life."

"I believe so strongly in that quote," Schulke said. "I know many men that took jobs to make a lot of money but hated the work."

Schulke and 50 of 96 graduates of the New Ulm High School Class of 1949 attended the ceremony. They held their 55th reunion Saturday night at Turner Hall.

Master of Ceremonies George Glotzbach, Schulke's classmate and long-time friend, read a brief speech about him in German and English.

Born in St. Paul, Schulke moved to New Ulm and lived with his grandmother at age 15. His grandfather, Adolph G. Schulke, founded Schulke and Sons Department Store before dying in 1932. The store was located where Herberger's is now.

Schulke lived with his grandmother until she died in 1947. He lived with New Ulm High School history teacher and athletic director Vern Zahn and his family until high school graduation.

Flip's love affair with the camera began in New Ulm. He photographed school and community activities for the school newspaper. His first photo, of a crucifixion scene in a visiting Black Hills Passion Play, published in The Journal.

He admitted to stealing about every photography text book from the NUHS library. He returned them 25 years later at a class reunion. The librarian wasn't angry because she "knew they were taken by someone who put the knowledge to good use."

Schulke got the nickname Flip from classmates because he enjoyed playing on a trampoline.

With financial help, he attended Macalester College in St. Paul and enrolled in photography and joined the National Guard. His studies were interrupted by mobilization of his unit. He taught photography as a staff sergeant with the U.S. Army Signal Corps.

Seeing the effects of discrimination in the Army, he returned to Macalester with a keen interest in race relations. His studies specialized in journalism, sociology and political science.

Teaching at the University of Miami and helping with its picture magazine, he worked with a former Life magazine editor that arranged for him to work with some of the top photojournalists in South Florida.

Schulke began a free-lance photography career in 1955. His early assignments included a young boxer named Cassius Clay, who later became Muhammed Ali. He later photographed Fidel Castro's triumphant march into Havana, Cuba and the first space launches at Cape Canaveral.

Flip developed a close friendship with Martin Luther King Jr., which resulted in intimate photographs of King, his associates and family. Schulke, who now lives in West Palm Beach, Fla., covered John F. Kennedy and did a pictoral history of the Berlin Wall that became his eighth book.

Many of Flip's photos appeared in Life, National Geographic and Ebony magazines.

He and his wife Donna operate Flip Schulke Archives. Over a three-year period, they transferred his collection of more than 300,000 images to the Center for American History at the University of Texas in Austin. A duplicate set of images went to Macalaster College.

New Ulm City Hall contains images Schulke took at Heritagefest in New Ulm about 30 years ago.

Schulke's stone is one of six giant pavers that will grace the historic walkway. The others honor Dr. Norman Borlaug, Dr. Albert Einstein, Dr. Louis Fritsche, Dr. Ted Fritsche, and Wanda Gag.

Standard granite pavers, with three lines with 18 spaces, can be purchased for $100. Forms are available at the New Ulm Chamber of Commerce, City Hall and the New Ulm Park and Recreation Office in Vogel Arena.

Fritz Busch can be e-mailed at fbusch@nujournal.com