The Gerry Frank | Salem Rotary Amphitheater is lit for the first time on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Onlookers holding American flags watch for a convoy of emergency vehicles from an overpass Wednesday, Aug. 25. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Blaine Kuhn, 95, is all smiles as he waits for his flight over Salem during an Aug. 6 “Dream Flight” event for WWII veterans (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Basketball teams converged on the streets of Salem for the annual Hoopla 3-on-3 basketball tournament on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Hundreds of swimmers race down the Willamette River towards Riverfront Park in the first stage of the Ironman competition in Salem on Sunday, July 25. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Salem’s Riverfront Park is packed with hundreds of racing bikes stacked in neat rows waiting for competitors to finish the swimming stage of the Ironman competition held on Sunday, July 25. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
A Golden Retriever puppy that will soon begin training with Salem-based Joys of Living Assistance Dogs to become a service or therapy dog. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Gerry Frank, speaks at the dedication for the Gerry Frank | Salem Rotary Amphitheater on July 23, 2021 as Gov. Kate Brown and Sen. Betsy Johnson look on. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Dancers perform at Salem’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration in Riverfront Park on Monday, Oct. 11, 2021. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
South Salem High School turned its football field into a ceremonial grounds for graduation on Friday, June 11. The school allowed four guests per graduate, breaking the Class of 2021 into three groups for separate ceremonies. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Zena Church in Spring Valley on Dec. 27, 2021 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
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Photographer Ron Cooper and his wife Penny moved to Salem in 1969 to take a job as photographer at the Oregon Statesman (later the Statesman Journal). Their three children, Monica, Kimberly, and Christopher, attended and graduated from Salem public schools. Cooper retired from the Statesman Journal in 2001 but, has continued his passion for photography in many ways, including as a photographer for the Salem Reporter.
