The Scoop

Fran "Scoop" Canavan was a Southie shutterbug.  Taking thousands of pictures in his lifetime, South Boston and its residents were his favorite subject.  His love for this town is captured in all of his photographs while preserving the evolution of South Boston.   He was a well-respected and admired member of the South Boston community and one of the friendliest guys around who enjoyed telling a story or two.  An adored father by his two children, he reciprocated that sentiment as he was a proud and loving dad. 


What's in a name:
Fran had one of those great Southie nicknames.  Because of the fact he always knew what was going on, he earned the name Scoop.  In other words, Fran was the man to get the scoop from, and from this a nickname was born.


Just the facts:

• Youngest of 5 children (brother to Mary, Joe, Catty and Tom) of Thomas and Catherine originally from Connemara, Ireland.
• Attended the Bigelow School, The Gavin School and South Boston High School class of 1959.  In high school he was an outstanding student and amazing athlete
• Grew up on West Fifth Street
• Father to Kristin (Heather) Tinlin and Sean "Shaka" Canavan
• Played South Boston Little League and Babe Ruth
• He also played basketball at the Boys and Girls Club and South Boston High

 

 

 

Old School Southie
After graduating from Southie High, Fran attended Boston State but then left to work to support his young family.  He took a job managing the Bay View Liquor Store with his good friends Bobby O'Connor and Joe Dillion.  In  the early 1970's, Fran, along with his brothers, opened Canavan's Pub (where Dorchester Street and East and West Broadway meet).   A sign of the times, it was a "gentleman only" bar that was packed with a local and colorful cast of characters including Ray Flynn, Leo Mahoney, Franny Coughlin, Jackie O'Brien, Peter Greene and Satch Crowe. Scoop enjoyed tending bar and entertaining the patrons with his stories.  Canavan's also formed a popular softball team in 1977.   At that point, an influx of younger people began to fill the pub.  According to a former South Boston Little Leaguer in the late 1970's and early 80's, Canavan's was the best place in Southie to go "canning" for funds.  

 

The pub and its patrons were a rich resource for Scoops photography but a great portion of his work was South Boston.  With the ever-changing landscape of Southie beginning in the late 1970's, Scoop enjoyed taking"before and afters" of local spots and has hundreds of photographs documenting a town in transition.  He captured facades being updated, old buildings replaced by new buildings, businesses changing hands and transformed into fresher and more modern ones. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But his artistic expression was not exclusive to photography alone. Scoop was also a published writer and poet.  Out of modesty, he often wrote under the nom de plume of Timothy Caulfield  - the last name taken from the main character Holden Caulfield from his favorite book, Catcher in the Rye.  

The unexpected
At the age of 33, Scoop discovered he had a tumor on his spine.  After undergoing surgery and radiation, Scoop was left paralyzed and bound to a wheelchair.  Southie rallied together and showed their support and generosity by organizing two "times" to raise enough money for an elevator for the Canavan's home and a customized van for him.  Scoop didn't let the fact he was in a wheelchair hold him back for long.  After a short hiatus, he went back to his camera.   One of his favorite places to shoot was Castle Island and in the warmer weather, Scoop could be found at his spot (the beginning of the causeway/Sugar Bowl) holding court with friends and passers by. Today, there is a plaque on a bench in his memory.  

 

Fran passed away in 2002 at the age of 60.   His legacy will live on in not only his children and grandchildren, but in his photography, and because of his work, so will the history and the growth of Southie - his hometown. Scoop Canavan was and always will be a local legend.