Three seperate photo stories are featured below. Each story helped me learn about communities I likely would have never encountered had I not been in the role of photojournalist. I am grateful to those who let me into their lives so that I could share their stories with you.
See: An Incomplete List of What the Camera Person Enables by Kirsten Johnson
Wright
Murray City, OH
Emily Cook, left, lives around the corner from her sister, aunt and parents. Cook values how her neighbors look out for each other and her two daughters. Although Murray has changed in many ways since the years she was a child there, she still believes Murray is a safe and unique place to raise a family.
"WHERE THE HELL IS MURRAY CITY?" Murray City, Ohio, a former booming coal town of 1,118 residents in 1900, is now void of coal jobs and home to 495 residents. 21% of homes in the village were built before 1939 compared to 11% of homes around the U.S.
The Buckingham mine, owned by the Westmoreland company, operates in Corning, Ohio, about a 20-minute drive from Murray. There are a few Murray residents who make this commute to work at the plant. As is the case for coal plants around the country, the process has been mechanized at the Buckingham mine.
Coal being processed at Buckingham Coal in Perry County, Ohio. According to Bill Costello, a safety technician at Buckingham Coal, a single mine used to employ hundreds if not thousands of workers. Thanks to the mechanization of the industry the Buckingham Mine now runs on about 175 employees.
Aves “Meechy” McDonald has been getting her hair done at the hair salon Touch of Class in Murray City every Friday for many years now. Carol Easterling, who does her hair, has retired but comes in on Fridays for Meechy because according to Easterling, she knows how to care for Meechy’s hair best.
Carol Easterling (not pictured here) owns the shop but now rents it out for use. Business has slowed down over the years so a stylist will be at the shop by appointment only. The salon, like many areas in town, holds a sense of timelessness.
Sharon Koon, left, converses in the kitchen of the municipal building as she prepares the senior lunch that is served every Monday and Wednesday. Koon was mayor of the Village of Murray City for over 25 years. She is originally from Logan, OH, but moved to Murray over 50 years ago with her husband who has since passed.
Euchre, a card game, is played in the back of the American Legion Club every Friday night. Many of the attendees have been coming to the social gathering regularly for decades.
Seniors from Murray City and neighboring towns gather in the Murray City municipal building for lunch and social time on Mondays and Wednesdays at noon. 23% of the population in Murray City is over the age of 65 compared to 15% average in the rest of the country.
The Gautier family shops at the Walmart in Athens, OH, a 30-minute drive from Murray City. There is no grocery store in the village so they usually come to Athens to do their shopping. This week they did their shopping after their daughter Hailey’s (far right) softball games which were also in Athens.
Jameson, 8, plays in the street outside with his friends despite the chilly rain. Many families in Murray feel safe enough to let their children play outside without direct adult supervision. They know everyone is keeping an eye-out for each other.
Mike Cook, a Murray City native, drives his side-by-side for a fundraiser ride in Glouster, OH. Cook participated in the fundraiser for cystic fibrosis because he and his wife, Emily, are friends with the parents of two children who were born with the chronic condition.
The Gautier family, two of their five children pictured here, has put on an Easter Egg hunt for the community for the past five years. They collect donations from community members throughout the year to raise funds for the candy, eggs, and prizes that range from coloring markers to bicycles. Although the family does not advertise the event attendance has increased every year and families from outside Murray City have started coming.
Where there were once churches for different denominations of the Christian religion there are only three abandoned church buildings left.
Although there are no functioning churches left in Murray City pastor Larry Wolfe holds a service in the basement of his home every Sunday. According to Wolfe, what began as a bible study with his niece, Erin Gautier, and her family two years ago has turned into a multifamily non-denominational service.
Shirley Cox moved to Murray City in August of 2017 from Nelsonville, OH. Although relatively new to Murray, Cox takes pride in her land and her home.
“Dad was on the fire department. It’s something I have always been around and had a passion for. When it comes to the department, I take things personally” Ron Cook, the Village Administrator for Murray City, has also been a volunteer firefighter for 32 years. Cook’s father was a Murray City Volunteer Fire Fighter as well.
The Village of Murray City has not had a police officer for over a year. The village passed a levy for money to pay a new officer in January of 2018 but the selection process for a new officer has been contentious.
Susan Miller, fiscal officer for the Village of Murray City, sighs in frustration over the bickering that commenced at the city council meeting over the selection of a new police officer.
The plans to put in a sewage system will cost each household about $1,500. Some residents may qualify for financial aid. 198 homes will be impacted by the changes and construction.
A boarded up mine in Murray ruptured in February of 2018 and has been pouring acid mine drainage into the local creek. The creek has been the dumping site for sulfur from old mines and waste from septic tanks for as long as residents can remember. The Environmental Protection Agency has intervened to insist that a sewage system be put in through the town. Locals argue that until the acid mine drainage is also dealt with, removing the septic tank waste will not bring the fish back.
The two bars, one post office and a hair salon in the Village of Murray City don’t provide many opportunities for local work. Residents who are working make long commutes early every morning to get to cities such as Athens or Columbus. Those making a commute like this are willing to do so in order to support their family’s financial needs while allowing their children to grow up in a small, loving community.
Coal from the Buckingham Mine goes to the American Electric Power’s Conesville Plant in Coshocton, OH.
The historically Christian town is still home to Christians of different denominations. As the population of the city dwindled and aged, church attendance suffered. Because the denominations were not consolidated into one church all of the buildings eventually closed.
The natural spring in Buchtell, OH, has been hydrating locals and families in neighboring communities such as the Village of Murray City for as long as anyone can remember. Many do not trust the water that comes out of the tap for drinking so instead of paying for bottled water the natural spring in Buchtel has fulfilled their needs. On the far left, Lee Dearing, an 83-year-old Buchtel resident fills up plastic jugs from the same place he has been getting water since he was a child. Dearing frequents another watering trough, the American Legion, just minutes away in Murray City.
The last two standing. The two bars in town, the American Legion and the Eagles Club, are prime spaces for socializing, drinking, gossiping and celebrating.
The beauty of the Village of Murray City cannot be appreciated until one spends time with the residents who keep the town alive.
Mike Cook, holds his sleeping one-year-old daughter Taylor Cook on the patio of their home in Murray City, OH. Cook and his wife Emily are both employed so living near family who they can trust to babysit Taylor is important to them.
Although the glory of the coal days are only a memory, Murray City, Ohio, a town built on coal, continues to be home to a tight Appalachian community who prefer the brand of independence that only a rural town can offer over the convenience of living near cities.
Charlie & Buddy
As of Dec. 8, 2017, Charles (Charlie) Grubbs, 77, is one of the 33% of seniors who live alone in Athens County. Grubbs lost his wife of 50 years, Phyllis Ann (Cantrell) Grubbs, 73, to lung cancer after a yearlong battle. Grubbs now lives alone in the home they moved into together just a year before her cancer diagnosis. Mr. Grubbs is from Athens, OH and grew up learning to trap animals, hunt and fish from his uncle. After losing his wife he has tried to stay busy with work trapping animals and hunting and fishing trips with his sons.
Grubbs has never smoked and did not drink much except for his army days. He had few health problems compared to his wife who was a smoker for most of her life. Grubbs and his wife had three sons, Charles Jr., Brian, and Tony. Charles Jr. passed away in 2007 after struggling with addiction and depression. Brian and Tony live within twenty minutes of their father. Brian and his wife of over 25 years, Michelle, are around to help Grubbs the most.
Grubbs’ daughter in law, Michelle, saw an article in the Athens News about the arrest of a woman from Coolville, Ohio, who had evidently been breeding and hoarding dogs. On the morning of Saturday, January 20, 2018 Michelle called her father-in-law and suggested that adopting one of these dogs and giving it a good new life would benefit all involved. His family thought adopting a dog might be good for him in a lonely house. Grubbs adopted an 11 lb., brown dog who he has named Buddy. He and Buddy hit it off right away and he plans to bring Buddy with him on adventures.
Buddy was one of one-hundred dogs who were found in horrible living conditions at the home of Bernice Robertson in Coolville, OH. Robertson, 76, was found guilty of animal cruelty on Jan. 12 in Athens County Municipal Court. Robertson is required to undergo a mental health evaluation within 45 days and must also consent to welfare checks. She was allowed to keep one of the dogs. If she fails to do any of the above or fails to maintain a clean and safe living environment she will be fined $250 and may face jail time. The other ninety-nine dogs were taken to the Athens County Animal Shelter where they received medical treatment and were put up for adoption. Buddy and his ninety-eight companions were all adopted.
Grubbs is a veteran who has been a part of his community for many years and is well known for his outdoorsman skills. He is experiencing a kind of loss that we all hope to be so lucky to experience in that we do not all get to have marriages that last for over fifty years. Yet with this luck there is vulnerability and inevitable pain. His willingness to share his life during this difficult time is an opportunity to explore loss, how people cope and move on, and to reflect on what makes a life worth living.
Now that deer hunting season has ended, Grubbs’ next adventure is a weeklong fishing trip. On Feb. 16 he will hit the road with his best rods, some friends and his son, Tony, heading to Florida. Grubbs is worried about taking Buddy on the boat for so many days so his other son, Brian, will be watching the energetic little dog.