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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Saturday
Dec252010

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, from Wasilla and Anchorage, Alaska, with lyrics and verse from Cambridge, UK; a Christian Shrine in Tamil Nadu

On Christmas Eve, Margie discovered that she was short on the yeast that she would need to make the rolls. Carr's and Fred Meyer had already closed, but Wal-Mart was open until 8:00 PM, so she sent me on a 12 mile round trip to get some.

I had the radio on, tuned to 91.1 KSKA. A Christmas program titled, "A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols," was being broadcast from The Chapel of King's College, in Cambridge, UK, founded by King Henry VI. It had been on for awhile. As I drove past Wasilla Lake, where this Nativity scene sits on the frozen shore, the narrator recited Lesson 9 and I shot the above picture.

 

Lesson Nine:

 

St. John Unfolds the Great Mystery of the Incarnation

JOHN 1

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light.

That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

Thanks be to God.

 

I continued on to Wal-Mart, where I bought yeast, and oranges, too. As I drove out of the parking lot, I saw this couple headed toward their car and then hopefully home to a Merry Christmas.

Unfortunately, as I would learn when I got home, I bought the wrong yeast. Margie had sent me with a packet of the right yeast, but still I bought the wrong yeast. And I couldn't go back to get more, because it was after 8:00 and Wal-Mart was closed.

On the way home, I suddenly decided that I would park the car, walk to the Nativity and take a close-up picture. This is our 29th winter in Wasilla and I believe this scene has been up for every one of those winters, but I had never done this.

As I pulled into the parking lot at the end of the lake, a familiar Christmas carol was being sung. I do not know if it was still part of the Festival or not. I think it was, "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful," but I do not remember for certain. It might have been, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," or maybe another one.

I had brought only a light jacket and it was fair walk from the car to the Nativity scene. It was cold. The wind was blowing. I could feel the sting on my ears, and my nose. I wasn't worried. I wouldn't be out there long.

My hands are very well cold-conditioned. I can work my camera bare-handed for hours in conditions that most people can only bear for a few minutes. Even many Iñupiat hunters have commented on my hands when they have seen me work for extended periods of time without gloves.

But they got cold in that wind. They stung, and headed in the direction of numbness.

My ears began to feel like they might drop off. So I headed back to the car.

A truck came roaring up the Parks Highway. American commerce, blasting away in frozen Alaska on Christmas Eve. Where was the truck headed? Fairbanks, maybe, or Deadhorse?

I wondered about the driver and where he or she would be on Christmas Day. With family? Camped out in the cab in the - 30, - 40, and -50 -> degree temperatures now resting over the Interior along the way.

As I pulled onto the Parks and turned toward home, the radio choir began to sing "Silent Night." They sang beautifully. And I will not tell you what happened to me. It was too hard and I don't want to go through it again.

I took this one for Jacob, Lavina, Kalib and Jobe right after Thanksgiving, so they could make a family Christmas card out of it. They made me promise not to post it until Christmas Day, so that the friends and family members they sent it to could see the card first.

As for me, to my friends and family, I apologize. I am not quite certain how it happened, but Christmas has arrived without me being ready for it. I did not make any cards. I did not send any out. Maybe Margie did, maybe she didn't. I don't know.

But, just the same...

"Merry Christmas!"

And if Christmas is not your holiday, then Happy Holidays.

And if you do not celebrate any kind of holiday at this time of year, enjoy the season.

 

And this one from India:

I shot this through the window of the cab that Vasanthi had hired to drive her, Soundarya, Anil, Buddy, Melanie and me to and from Ooty, Tamil Nadu, a mountainous place where tea is grown and the air grows cool at night. Somewhere in the vicinity, we came upon this shrine.

Somewhere in Bangalore there is another church. Hindu though she was, Sandy would sometimes visit that church and find peace there.

Thank you, Suji, for sharing with me.

I promise you that on this Christmas Day, I will find joy and happiness with my family. I promise. We will all hold you and your family fast in our hearts.

 

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Reader Comments (10)

Merry Christmas & a very Happy New Year to you and your family. :)

December 25, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterFunny Face

Wonderful blog...lovely Margie..saw her pic from old days....Boy! she IS beautiful!
Merry Christmas to all my family and friends in Alaska and States.
My special hug to Jobe and Kalib. I want to hug Margie also now... :)

December 25, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterSuji

Merry Christmas to you and your family. I hope your day is wonderful!

December 25, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterKathryn

Merry Christmas to you and your family, Mr Hess.

December 25, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterjuicyfruityy

A very Merry Christmas to you and yours Bill!

December 25, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterLisa J

Merry Christmas, Bill, to you and yours. Your spirituality shows through in your posts and your photos even though you consider yourself no longer a religious man. It's easy to see that you are truly a very good man.

December 25, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterGrandma Nancy

Two things..

Jobe is SUCH a big boy in his XMas picture.. He's sooo darn cute I can hardly stand it. They are a beautiful family..

And I hope that you and Margie and the kids all have a great holiday..

December 26, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterRocksee

Merry Christmas and have a great holiday season. The family Christmas card pic is lovely.

December 26, 2010 | Unregistered Commentercawitha

Funny Face - thanks and good to see you again.

Suji - I hugged her for you.

kathryn - I'm behind but it was good. I hope yours was as wel.

juicyfruity - and happy New Year to ou.

Lisa - same to you and I hope that one day in the coming year we meet in person - be it a chance encounter at Family Restaurant or wherever.

Thank you, Grandma - I'm not so certain about all that myself. It's good of you to say, though.

Rocksee - yes, and I hope you have been enjoying the Interior Deep Freeze. I haven't seen any northern lights down here lately. It seems odd. I hope you have been getting some there.

Cawitha - thanks, and enjoy all of your days of celebration. It seems that there are more there than there are here.

December 27, 2010 | Registered CommenterWasilla, Alaska, by 300

Love the Christmas pajamas in the snow!
And, most especially, I love John Ch. 1 wherein John speaks of the Incarnation.

December 27, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterWhiteStone

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