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A blog by Bill Hess

Running Dog Publications

P.O. Box 872383 Wasilla, Alaska 99687

 

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Wasilla

Wasilla is the place where I have lived for the past 29 years - sort of. The house in which my wife and I raised our family sits here, but I have made my rather odd career as a different sort of photojournalist by continually wandering off to other places to photograph people and gather information, which I have then put together in various publications that have served the Alaska Native Eskimo, Indian and Aleut communities.

Although I did not have a great of free time to devote to this rather strange community, named after a Tanaina Athabascan Indian chief who knew Wasilla in the way that I so impossibly long to, I have still documented it regularly over the past quarter-century plus. In the early days, my Wasilla photographs focused mostly upon my children and the events they participated in - baseball, football, figure skating, hockey, frog catching, fire cracker detonation, Fourth of July parade - that sort of thing. 

In 2002, I purchased my first digital camera and then, whenever I was home, I began to photograph Wasilla upon a daily basis, but not in a conventional way. These were grab shots - whatever caught my eye as I took my many long walks or drove through the town, shooting through the car window at people and scenes that appeared and disappeared before I could even focus and compose in the traditional photographic way.

Thus, the Wasilla portion of this blog will be devoted both to the images that I take as I wander about and those that I have taken in the past. Despite the odd, random, nature of the images, I believe they communicate something powerful about this town that I have never seen expressed anywhere else. 

Wasilla is a sprawling community that has been slapped down hodge-podge upon what was so recently wilderness of the most exquisite beauty. In its design, it is deliberately anti-zoned, anti-planned. In the building of Wasilla, the desire to make a buck has trumped aesthetics and all other considerations. This town, built in the midst of exquisite beauty, has largely become an unsightly, unattractive, mess of urban sprawl. Largely because of this, it often seems to me that Wasilla is a community with no sense of community, a town devoid of town soul.

Yet - Wasilla is my home and if I am lucky it will be until I grow old and die. Despite its horrific failings, it is still made of the stuff of any small city: people; moms and dads, grammas and grampas, teens, children, churches, bars, professionals, laborers, soldiers, missionaries, artists, athletes, geniuses, do-gooders, hoodlums, the wealthy, the homeless, the rational and logical, the slightly insane and the wholly insane - and, yes, as is now obvious to the whole world, politicians, too.

So perhaps, if one were to search hard enough, it might just be possible to find a sense of community here, and a town soul. So, using my skills as a photojournalist and a writer, I hope to do just that. If this place has a sense of community, I will find it. If there is a town soul to Wasilla, I will document it. I won't compete with the newspapers. Hell no! But as time and income allow, it will be fun to wander into the places where the folks described above gather, and then put what I find on this blog.

 

by 300...

Anywhere within a 300 mile radius of Wasilla. This encompasses perhaps the most wild, dramatic, gorgeous, beautiful section of land and sea to be found in any comparable space anywhere on Earth. I can never explore it all, but I will do the best that I can, and will here share what I find and experience with you.  

and then some...

Anywhere else in the world that I happen to get to, such as Point Lay, Alaska; Missoula, Montana; Serenki, Chukotka, Russia; or Bangalore, India. Perhaps even Lagos, Nigeria. I have both a desire and scheme to get me there. It is a long shot. We shall see if I succeed.

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Monday
Jun292009

Point Lay Nalukatak: blanket toss (part 9a of 10)

DateMonday, June 29, 2009 at 11:53PM

Jamie gets some air during the blanket toss, or, in Iñupiaq, "nalukatak."

Jamie takes a dive. She comes out of it okay.

Making plans for a fantastic jump.

Sometimes, plans go awry.

A new vantage point from which to study Point Lay.

Boy. It's a long way down.

Now  that he has participated in a successful whale hunt and graduated from high school, Lloyd is moving up over the world.

There were times when the children had the blanket all to themselves. They enjoyed it.

AuthorWasilla, Alaska, by 300 | Comment3 Comments |
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Reader Comments (3)

WOW! That is the coolest series of pictures I have seen in many years! I especially like the photo where Jamie takes a dive! That is so much fun! I am glad you took the time to head up north Bill! Take Care!

Charlie

June 30, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterCharlie Earnshaw

What is the origin and meaning of the Blanket Toss?

I look at these photos and to me they symbolize trust, community, cooperation, exhilaration and enjoyment.

I've read that the Blanket Toss symbolized the celebration of the whaling catch and distribution of the catch by Inuit and northern nations people, and that the distribution of the catch (wealth) is a highly valued attribute of the culture. Is this true?

I am a Toastmaster from Nova Scotia, born in Melbourne Australia, and am preparing a speech on 'Goodwill'. Toastmasters is a worldwide non-profit group of clubs that meet regularly in a mutually-supportive environment to support each other to become better communicators I was looking for something that best symbolized what Toastmasters is all about. I think it's the Blanket Toss.

July 30, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterEdward Wedler

I think that you've got the basic definition down fairly well, Edward. As to the origin, it goes way back before people these things down, but it is part of the whale feast and the feast is where the successful captain and crew feed the entire community, not only for the day but with large shares to take home and last as long as possible.

The toss itself is fun, but it is also an exercise in cooperation (pulling together), trust, and overcoming fear. Mostly, when it comes time for the toss, people want to have fun.

August 1, 2009 | Registered CommenterWasilla, Alaska, by 300

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