SCHERLING PHOTOGRAPHY

The bustling 13th Avenue South corridor in Fargo has seen immense development over the past several years, resulting in the increased presence of box stores and trendy restaurants. Which is one reason why busy commuters may not give more than a passing glance to the nondescript, brown brick building on the corner of 28th Street. The subtle exterior belies, however, the intricate compositions and memories being captured and created within.

As the home of the locally and family-owned Scherling Photography studio since 1980, and as the last remaining full-photography studio in the Fargo/Moorhead area, Scherling has been at the epicenter of thousands of community members' milestones since Arvid R. Scherling opened the original Scherling in 1920 on Broadway in downtown Fargo.

Arvid, born in Pillager, Minn. in 1898, interned with Dewey Studio in Fargo in 1919 prior to opening his own studio one year later. During his internship he married Sophia Wagner and ultimately had three children, Daniel, Mary and Orlando. It was Orlando who then took over his father’s business in 1949, having amassed years of schooling at both NDSU and the School of Modern Photography in New York City, along with an eventual Master’s degree in 1956 from the Professional Photographers of America. Orlando and his wife Billiette had five sons, two of whom—Patrick and Larry—entered into the family business. Larry’s daughter, Tara Scherling, also joined the team ultimately becoming the fourth generation to stand behind the camera. As Larry explained, one of the things that makes Scherling Photography so unique is not only “the quality and service that we give to our customers” but the family legacy and the heart behind the pictures. “We all care so deeply about it and about carrying it on from generation to generation.”