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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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Sunday
Feb132011

Kivgiq is over, I missed Jobe's first birthday, the weather is getting bad, but I hope I make our anniversary

DateSunday, February 13, 2011 at 3:54PM

Just at quick note so that readers will know this blog is still alive and active. Murphy's Law went into overtime for me this trip and I had to deal with so many incredibe glitches that I had no time at all to post even the simplest entry the past couple of days - but, the most important thing is that I succeeded in working around every problem, with the help of friends like Marie Itta, Alex Demarbin of the Arctic Sounder and my host, Roy Ahmaogak.

So I have a huge Kivgiq take to edit and sort and will do so after I get home. As I do, I will make a series of Kivgiq posts - late, but better than they would have been had I tried to do it while Kivgiq was in progress - and it was a wonderful and magnificent Kivgiq.

I am scheduled to leave Barrow for Anchorage on tonight's flight and, as I walked across the small lagoon back to Browerville from Pepe's and took this picture, I was optimistic that would happen.

I just poked my head outside, however, and the snow was blowing so thick and heavy that I could not see across the lagoon to the main part of Barrow, so I don't know if the jet will be able to get in tonight or not.

Tomorrow is Margie and my anniversary, so I hope that jet gets in.

Yesterday was Jobe's first birthday and I missed it.

I don't want to miss this date, too.

We'll see what happens.

Now I have much sorting out to do if I am to be ready for that jet, should it come, so I have no more time for this blog today.

AuthorWasilla, Alaska, by 300 | Comment5 Comments |

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Reader Comments (5)

Good luck with your flight, Bill, and happy anniversary to both you and Margie! It's a shame you couldn't be there for Jobe's birthday, but I bet they've saved up some celebrating for after you get home.

I hope you manage to get some restful sleep soon.

February 13, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterFiona

Looking forward to pics of Kivgiq...
Hoping you make it home for your anniversary !
Sending warm wishes and hopes for Mr Jobe to have a special day with Granpa to celebrate his milestone...
( he's not a year old already.. he can't be... how did he get to be a year old? )

February 13, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterAlaska Pi

Here's to making it back in time for your anniversary! Congratulations to you and Margie..

Happy Birthday Jobe!

My friend Lena has shared some great video of Kivgiq on Facebook.. I can't wait to see your pictures and here your take on the feast! The dancing I've seen so far has been amazing!

I tried to link up and watch it live.. but no such luck!

Hope you make it home safely.. It's awfully cold here in Fbx today.. Bundle up if you stop in!!!

February 14, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterRocksee

good luck getting home

February 14, 2011 | Unregistered Commentertwain12

happy anniversary to you both. :) good luck getting home.

February 14, 2011 | Unregistered Commentervelma

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