‘Photographic odyssey’ continues for Valley native

By Jon Moffett

YOUNGSTOWN — If a picture is worth a thousand words, Michael Lacivita has enough stories to tell for a lifetime.

That’s OK, though, because Lacivita loves to talk.

The 84-year-old Youngstown native has practiced his hobby of amateur photography for more than 60 years. He has received national attention for his photographs and has been featured in multiple magazines and other publications.

The highlight of his career came this year when his photographs were featured on the cover, inside spread and back of two magazines. Lacivita’s pictures were on the front and inside spread of the October/November issue of Rural Heritage magazine. Also, a photo of his then-4-year-old daughter, Sandy, was featured on the back of the autumn issue of Reminisce magazine.

Lacivita refers to his hobby as a “60-year photographic odyssey.”

“When I was a youngster, I never had a camera,” he said. “Friends of mine had cameras, but I didn’t have anything. So when I was about 16, my aunt and uncle came from Chicago, and they bought me a box camera, but I didn’t use it that much.”

His interest in photography heightened when he went to Japan after serving in the Navy during World War II. Lacivita and a friend went to a shop in Tokyo, and the owner refused to sell him a camera since he was an American.

By his own account, Lacivita has taken over 6,000 photographs. Many of his photographs have been used in magazines, calendars and pamphlets. He has had seven photographs named as finalists in the Kodak International Newspaper Snapshot Award, including one that was published in The Vindicator in 1951.

Lacivita focuses his work mainly on horses and the Amish culture. He has made more than 600 trips to New Wilmington, Pa., to photograph the Amish, many of whom are now his friends.

He said his fascination with the Amish lifestyle is based on his curiosity of the culture and his memories of growing up in the Great Depression.

“We had a garden with 300 tomato plants and 100 pepper plants,” he said. “I’d go out and pick up horse manure in a bucket and bring it home. And that’s what the Amish do; they recycle the manure. It brings back my childhood days.”

Inducted into both the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame (1996) and the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame (2004), Lacivita is, by his count, one of only 15 people to be members of both organizations. He is joined by prestigious company that includes Paul Brown, Bob Feller, John Glenn and Woody Hayes.

Lacivita said the reason he continues with his hobbies, which include photography, writing, inventing and gardening, is the challenge they present.

“Challenge, challenge, challenge,” he said. “I never quit. It’s been challenge, challenge, challenge since the day I was born.”

He added financial success isn’t what he seeks, and that he’s “put in more than I’ve gotten out of it.”

Despite the minimal income from the photos, Lacivita feels he is leaving his family something to cherish.

“My grandson said I’m going to leave a legacy of wisdom, not money,” he said.

Lacivita said his next goal is to photograph bald eagles.

“I’m still not done,” he said. “It’s hard to quit.”