Bill Friend Collection

William John “Bill” Friend (1927-1999) was one of Plant City’s leading photographers for over 40 years. Friend grew up in Lakeland and developed his interest in photography while in high school. After enlisting with the Marines Corps in 1948, Friend returned from duty abroad in 1952. He followed his brother George – who worked as a station manager at WPLA – to Plant City, where he purchased photographer Ray Kramer’s Studio in 1953. Originally located on Reynolds St., Bill Friend’s Studio eventually moved to Palmer St. in the 1970s and remained operational until Friend’s passing in 1999.

Along with fellow photographer Gladys Jeffcoat, Friend became an official photographer for the Strawberry Festival, provided photos for The Courier, and photographed local school and organizational events. In 1962, he notably documented a shipment of strawberries from the farms at Parkesdale Farms to their loading onto an Eastern Air Lines plane. Passengers had the chance to enjoy some of the berries during the flight to Pennsylvania. Friend then continued to capture the journey of the crates onto trucks for delivery at an Eat ‘n Park coffee shop where the berries were prepared and served as delicious strawberry pies.