Harness racing photographer mourned Friends and family remember Youngs

BANGOR – Frederick “Buster” Youngs will be remembered by many as the unofficial photographer of Bangor Raceway. Youngs, who died Sunday at the age of 83, spent almost 40 years selling the photos he took at the track.

But those who knew him well will point that there was much more to Youngs than a man who took racing photos.

“He was a good guy,” Ed Armstrong said.

Armstrong owns Snowman Printing in Hermon. Shortly after arriving in Bangor in 1970, Armstrong needed a camera and stopped by Youngs Camera Center in the former Westgate Mall on Union Street in Bangor.

“He sold me a camera. He knew I didn’t have much money and he sold it to me at a tremendous discount. You never forget a person who does a favor like that for you,” Armstrong said.

Youngs received his nickname from his parents when he was very young. He and his father carried the same first name, thus young Frederick was called “Buster” to lessen confusion at home.

He graduated from Bangor High School in 1938 and was in the Maine National Guard when his unit was activated in 1941 and sent to the Pacific. For three years, Battery D, 2nd Battalion, 152nd Field Artillery was involved in action in the Philippines, New Caledonia, New Zealand and the Russell Islands.

Before heading off to war, Youngs married Rita Seekins. The couple’s 60th wedding anniversary was on July 17.

“Two great things happened on July 17, 1941,” Jay Youngs, one of the couples’ four children, said. “My mother and father got married and Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak came to end.”

After the war, Youngs attended the Ray School of Photography in Chicago. He returned to Bangor after graduation and landed a job with the Bangor Commercial newspaper after selling a photograph to the paper.

In 1951, Youngs opened Youngs Photo Service in Brewer before later opening his business in the Westgate Mall.

He began shooting at Bangor Raceway and racing at the Skowhegan Fair in 1960, where he was a regular until 1999.

Jay Youngs said his father was “solid as a rock,” and a man who was recognized for his craft.

“He worked very hard. He was well-respected all over New England and well-known all over New England for his photography. There’s hardly a person around here who hasn’t dealt with him in one way or another,” Jay Youngs said.

Norman Martin, who designed the Paul Bunyan statue in Bangor, considered Youngs a friend.

“Buster was quite a guy. He was a good photographer. A good lensman. He was very good at [race photography] and a very decent craftsman. He was just a good guy,” Martin said.

Youngs was known for his work in restoring old photographs and working with tintypes. But his friends remember his sense of humor.

“He was always laughing. He always had a joke,” Armstrong said. “I’m going to miss Buster because of his sense of humor. You have to have a sense of humor to get by in life. You have to be able to laugh at yourself and Buster could do that.”