John Strickler has had many a photo make a strong impression in his soon-to-conclude 42-year career, but none compare to the moment he captured now-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The occasion? School supply shopping for Donald Trump Jr.’s enrollment at The Hill School in Pottstown.

“The one photograph that caused a media frenzy and my signature shot was of billionaire Donald Trump and his then-wife Ivana taken in 1991 at the Sanatoga K-Mart,” the Pottstown Mercury staff photographer said in a farewell column.

Strickler’s face-to-face with Trump in the store parking lot was not just a personal highlight, either.

“The Associated Press picked up the photographs and ran them worldwide. Within minutes of the photos being transmitted, the photo department phone in the newsroom rang off the hook.

“I talked to national magazines and newspapers around the country and received clippings from many papers, including full front-page blowouts in New York City’s Newsday and the New York Post.

“I watched Jay Leno on the Tonight Show that evening and was surprised when he used it in his opening comedy monologue. I haven’t had a reaction like that on any other photograph.”

And that’s saying a lot, considering Strickler also captured photos of five presidents.

Read more about his career and that fateful moment with the Trumps in the Pottstown Mercury.

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Publisher’s Note: This post first appeared on MONTCO Today in July 2016.