Editorial, landscape and travel photography
Preparation Canyon State Park in Iowa’s Loess Hills is remote, heavily wooded and particularly beautiful in September and October.
Great weather, sunflowers and Monarch butterflies on the move at DeSoto NWR.
Blair Class of 2020 graduates finally were able to savor success and gain a sense of closure during commencement exercises held at Krantz field on August 1. Classroom learning and school sports, activities and events including graduation were all postponed or suspended during the final quarter of the school year.
In his commencement address, Principal Tom Anderson challenged graduates to think of positive lessons brought about by the pandemic. “Don’t take anything for granted. When you get to be around your friends, enjoy the moment. Slow down. It’s OK to enjoy nature and all the beautiful things around us.”
While many summer activities and events have been canceled due to covid pandemic concerns, the 2020 Washington County Fair was held pretty much as scheduled. Featured events included a rodeo, 4H shows, mud volleyball, tractor pulls and a livestock auction. Fair Board President Jason Cloudt said the 2020 fair was successful considering the circumstances.
This summer reminds me of the first time I retired many years ago. After a satisfying 32 years of teaching I was looking forward to new opportunities. Like most retirees I had a long list of things I was going to “get around to” after I retired. A good share of those things are still on that list.
One thing led to another. I was taking some advanced photo classes at Metro when I saw a help wanted advertisement for a reporter/photographer at the Enterprise. Soon after starting to work at the paper I took advantage of an opportunity to teach photojournalism at Metro Community College as well. A friend and fellow Metro instructor commented that my wealth of photo opportunities as news photographer was “an embarrassment of riches.” I had never heard that phrase before, but it fit my situation perfectly.
My career at the Enterprise has been rich with experiences and friendships as well as photo opportunities. As you may have noticed, my photos are still showing up in the newspaper. The beauty of my new arrangement is that my photo assignments are pretty much by invitation.
On the last day of June, the Fort Calhoun staff asked me to come down to photograph a teacher parade to honor retiring superintendent Don Johnson. I of course gladly accepted the invitation. One of my first beats as a reporter was covering Fort Calhoun Schools and Johnson was middle school and high school principal at that time. In my opinion Don was always the epitome of what a good leader should be. I could give a dozen examples, but what always impressed me was that no matter the time of place, if there was a significant project underway Don was there leading the charge.
The last day of June also commemorated the ten year anniversary of the closing of Dana College. Preparing my column gave me an opportunity to look through my time capsule of Dana images from 2010 to the present. While Argo and Elkhorn residence halls were demolished and others need to be renovated or removed, it is still a lovely campus. After so many false starts it is good to see that the Durham Center and Trinity Chapel have been renovated and occupied, and athletes are once again playing baseball on the ball diamonds.
While so many events have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 Virus, Arlington, Blair and Herman still were able to hold their annual fireworks displays. For me, setting up to photograph a fireworks show is kind of like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates. When I press the button for a long exposure I never know for sure what I’m going to get.
I was particularly happy with the results from the Herman show. My intent was to capture the spirit of that small town community celebration and I think the photo on the front page of the paper communicated that pretty well.
Another summer event that I regularly attend is the Wolfe Country Quilt Show and Garden Walk. On the third Saturday of July for eight of the last nine years, the Wolfe family has hosted this beautiful show as a free gift to quilt lovers and gardening enthusiasts. I’m not much of a gardener and know nothing about quilting, but strolling through the farm yard gives me an opportunity to make images that capture the mix of people, flowers and fabric. Thank you Wolfe family.
I don’t know about “embarrassment” but I do know that I am thankful over the years to have had a wealth of opportunities to make images in Washington County.
The Nebraska Press Association released the results of the 2019 annual Better Newspaper contest on June 30. The Washington County Enterprise, Pilot-Tribune and Arlington Citizen earned 24 first-place awards. The Citizen and Pilot-Tribune were both awarded First Place General Excellence in their circulation divisions.
Personally, I was pleased to earn the First Place Class D Breaking News photo award for “Semi swept into floodwaters” photo, First and second place photo page awards for Fort Atkinson living history days and Tower of the Four Winds, and first place feature series award for my North-West Adventure travel column series.
Congratulations to all Enterprise Media editorial staff, artists, and design team members for their outstanding work.
Current and retired faculty and staff formed a caravan which included a fire truck and school bus and paraded past the entrance to Feet Calhoun Middle School and High School to honor Dr. Don Johnson on his final before retirement on Tuesday, July 30, 2020.
Johnson served as Fort Calhoun high school and middle school principal for 20 years and superintendant for 10 years.
Family members and well wishers gathered at the school entrance to watch as the parade of 30 or so vehicles of waving faculty and staff passed by.
Ten years ago this week on June 30, 2010 the Dana Board of Regents and Dana Corporation abruptly announced that the 126 year old Lutheran institution would permanently close.
As photographer for the Enterprise newspaper I had regularly visited the campus to photograph the annual Sights and Sounds of Christmas, picturesque seasonal campus landscapes, and occasional sports, concerts, homecoming and other Dana events. One of my favorite subject for photo compositions was the Little Mermaid that greeted students along the walkway to the Durham Center. I have photographs of that little bronze statue in winter spring and fall from just about every vantage point that you can imagine. The statue was removed after the college closed.
During the days following the closing announcement, I was on campus to document the impact on the students, the faculty and staff and the community.
While the news of the closing came as a shock, it was not without warning. Everyone associated with the school thought the campus had been saved when the Board of Regents announced in March that the campus would be sold to a non-profit. The Dana Corporation had pledged keep Dana’s faculty and programs in place while working to double the enrollment to 1,000 students. Following the announcement of the sale, I was on campus to photograph and report on the reaction of students to the proposal.
Students Lindsay Fibranz and Brittney Naseman said they saw the change as a positive one, but they would like more details. At the meeting they were told that the change would lead to more students, and the old dorms would be fixed up. “For the future of the school, I think it’s good,” Lindsay said.
While not everyone in the community was comfortable with the idea of the school becoming a for-profit institution, pretty much everyone agreed that it was the best option available. The transition appeared to be moving along as expected until the news on June 30, that the plan was rejected and the school would close immediately.
Over the 2010 Fourth of July weekend I wandered the eerily quiet campus takin photos of campus landmarks.
One week after the announcement, managing editor Doug Barber and I drove to Midland College in Fremont to attend an information session and open house for prospective former Dana Students. As we walked from the parking lot, I remember two distinct sensations. The first was that the Midland campus could not compare to the natural beauty of the Dana campus. The other was that Midland was buzzing with life, energy and activity and Dana was not.
That afternoon on the Dana campus, students in search of school options filled the Durham Education Center where more than 50 colleges were represented. Smiling Dana students whom I recognized as former Blair High School students greeted the former Dana students and offered dana@midland tee shirts. By the beginning of the fall semester nearly half of the former Dana students were attending Midland.
In addition to leaving Dana faculty and staff without jobs, the school closing left the Danish American Archive Library (DAAL) without a home. On the following Saturday an army of more than 100 volunteers and a fleet of cars and trucks transported the critical contents of the archive to temporary storage at Professional Forms Inc. in Blair. The Archive also lost as much as $4,000 in endowment funds held by the college.
Less than two weeks after the closing announcement and one day before the school was officially closed, the Blair and Dana Community gathered at First Lutheran Church to bid the college farewell.
On that Sunday evening, members of the Blair and Dana College community filled the Life Center at First Lutheran Sunday evening to sing, tell stories, pray and just be together in the wake of the closing. As the service concluded, ushers lit candles and former chorus members were invited to come forward and lead the gathering in an emotional rendition of Hail Dana.
The following day, Dana College was officially and permanently closed.
If you can drive it, you probably could find it on the streets in downtown Blair on Cruise Night in May. Another cruise night is planned for July 4 before the fireworks show.
The event, organized by Blair resident Matt Saunders, drew hundreds of cars — both classic and modern — that cruised along Washington Street to South Highway 30 and the roundabout before looping back on the 5.3-mile stretch of road.
The plastic tiara I am wearing in a photo taken by my daughter announces that I am, “Officially Retired.” And I am. -Well sort of. The tiara was a gag gift from my kids when they unexpectedly showed up at my house to give me a surprise retirement party.
For more than seventeen years I have worked at the newspaper photographing just about every possible kind of news and feature story that I can imagine. For all of those years I have thoroughly enjoyed being the “photo guy” that shows up to photograph classroom of the week and other school and community events. While I will no longer work regular news beats, I still will be around working on special projects and regularly writing feature columns accompanied by photos from some of my wanderings. I am hoping this will allow me to travel when and where I want, and still work as a photojournalist when there is an interesting photo opportunity.
My first post-retirement adventure was a short visit to the Niobrara river valley near Valentine. Over the years I have driven along scenic byways in northwest Nebraska and gawked at the sandhills, but seldom actually left the main highways. I have been to Valentine a number of times, but generally on my way to somewhere else. This time I was looking forward to leaving the paved highways and get a feel for the timeless beauty of the region.
My first stop was Smith Falls State Park just 20 miles from Valentine. I have visited the falls before but never camped in the park. When I arrived on Thursday some camp sites were reserved for the weekend, but most were vacant. The campsites at the park are large and a number are located right on the river – perfect for groups who are planning to canoe, kayak or tube. The restroom facilities are modern style vault toilets and a new bath house is under construction and nearing completion.
Early in the morning I followed the trail to the falls as the sun broke through low fog along the river. It was a peaceful, quiet and meditative experience.
After leaving the campground I drove to the town of Merriman and to the Bowring Ranch State Historical Park. The ranch has been on my list of Nebraska places to visit for years. Due to Covid-19 the Visitor Center was closed, but the visit was a pleasant diversion and a chance to see what a working sand hills cattle ranch might look like.
Next I headed west to Gordon, and then south along state highway 21 into the heart of Mari Sandoz country. I have always been a fan of history and historical fiction and visiting the locales where the works are set. The region between the Niobrara and the Loupe river valleys is the area where Sandoz grew up, and is the setting for her book about her father, Old Jules. About halfway between Gordon and Elsworth there is a turnoff to Mari Sandoz’ grave and a Sandoz family ranch and fruit farm.
My plan had been to continue south to Crescent Lake Wildlife Sanctuary and then on to Ash Hollow State Historical Park. I bumped along winding trails linking sandhill cattle ranches and followed the directional signs to the refuge until I reached a spot where the road was underwater for maybe a hundred yards. Maybe I could have made it, and then maybe not. I decided to turn around and retrace my path to good old Highway 2.
It was getting late, so I returned to Valentine, and the next day toured Valentine NWR instead. The area is beautiful, but the water table throughout the sandhills remains high and some of the roads in the Valentine refuge are underwater as well. I followed the auto tour through much of the refuge and then walked a nature trail to the Civilian Conservation Corps Fire Tower built by the CCC in the 1930’s. During the depression the corpsmen worked in national wildlife refuges, national parks and national forests for $30 a month and part of the pay was sent back to the Corpsmen’s homes. The observation platform at the tower allows a panoramic view of a number of lakes in the refuge.
The trip was a pleasant getaway, and I look forward to going back to Crescent Lake NWR and other sites that I was unable to visit on this short trip. One of the pleasures I generally look forward to on these getaways is the chance to spend time in local cafes, taverns and restaurants. This was not possible on this trip due to Covid restrictions. As in Washington county, many of these local establishments are still closed, or open only for take-out.
Before ending this little travel essay, I want to say thank you to those who have wished me well and also to say that this is not the last time that you will read my byline or see my photo credit. My relationship with the newspaper is something like that of a substitute teacher who enjoys retirement but also looks forward to getting back in the classroom once in awhile. I have and still do enjoy my role as a community journalist and plan to continue working as a contributing photographer and columnist. As I facetiously mentioned in a Facebook post, if there is breaking news and managing editor Leeanna Ellis lights the bat signal, I will most likely show up.
