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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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Tuesday
Mar162010

Shadow has no compassion; Tim is just about done; Metro Window Study; 8:14 to 8:28 PM, two days into Daylight Savings Time

DateTuesday, March 16, 2010 at 4:00AM

This morning, I was feeling very sorry for myself, so I took a walk with shadow. It looks like shadow is lighting up a cigarette, but he's not. 

Even if he wanted to, Shadow couldn't smoke.

He has no lungs.

Shadow didn't care about my troubles.

Shadow was completely indifferent to my plight. Shadow gave me no pity at all.

Still, it helped to walk with Shadow.

Well, sort of. If you look at the bigger situation, it didn't help at all.

It just felt good to walk, that's all.

As Shadow and I neared home, I saw Tim standing in one of the door ways to the shop that he began four years ago and then got serious about just this winter.

I think he will have it done, soon.

At the usual time, I got into the car, turned on NPR and headed to Metro. I was surprised to see a new barista behind the window.

She was surprised to see me.

Her name is Tracey, and she was happy to pose with the old hands for:

Through the Window Metro Study, #2,372

At 8:14 PM, I pulled up to the gas pump. Remember not so long ago, when it looked like this a bit after 3:00?

We are now two days into Daylight Savings Time.

And here is Pioneer Peak and Pizza Hut, at 8:18 PM.

And here I am, on my way home, drinking a Dairy Queen strawberry milkshake, at 8:28 PM.

The Season of Darkness is definately over. We are about to enter the Season of Light. 

We are not quite there yet, and political time as opposed to sun time can confuse the issue, but we are very close.

Very, very, close.

AuthorWasilla, Alaska, by 300 | Comment6 Comments |
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Reader Comments (6)

Pretty twilight pictures. What a contrast - Pioneer Peak and the Pizza Hut! Hope you're feeling a little better soon. Get your rest and a skip a blog day if you must to do it. I don't imagine anyone who reads here would be offended.

March 16, 2010 | Unregistered Commentermocha

I agree with Mocha. Take care of yourself rather than have change forced upon you when you least expect it ...I would rather read your blog fewer days per week then suddenly not being able to read any at all because you burned yourself out. No human can get by on very little sleep and live to blog about it............

March 16, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterFunny Face

I was not ready to post the above. Hit the wrong button while attempting to correct then to THAN (suddenly). Think I will stop commenting since I seem to have a problem getting my postings correct. LOL

........You are so talented, please take care.

March 16, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterFunny Face

Oh, plllt. Relaaaaaaaax. We'll be waiting when you get back to us. We're nearly as patient as shadow.

March 16, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterdebby

Very very close. Yes.

March 16, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMichelle

hope you feel a little better now , take care !

March 16, 2010 | Unregistered Commentertwain12

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