Along the Way

Waiting for Daddy

When the Sasse family learned that Army Spc. Steven Sasse had his deployment with the Midland 1460th National Guard extended a second time, Karen Sasse tried to take it in stride and carry on with Christmas plans for thier children; but the unexpected news caused Gordon Sasse, 12, and his sister Olivia Sasse, 8, to withdraw from family and school.

Still King

After an unexpected Michigan state wrestling championship, all eyes are on Bullock Creek’s young and determined new leader Ryen Nieman as he tries to repeat the feat the following year. In a state that celebrates the sport of grappling as Texans celebrate the pigskin, the pressure was mounting on the high school student to deliver; in the build up to the division 3 championship Nieman realized he’d be facing another defending state champion with an undefeated record. “I’m getting kind to used to it down there,” said Nieman. “I get a bit nervous, but once you hit the mat, the adrenaline kicks in and I’m fine.”

In Motion

Under a dim glow of bare bulbs, a precocious tween rubs mascara out of her eye over the bathroom sink and shouts down the hall, pleading with her father that he has overreacted. It isn’t the first time Ashley Nicole Wilson, 10, has snuck make-up, a boy’s phone number or other preteen mischief into the house. Ten years ago, single father Jamie Gray was facing the possibility of dying from a brain tumor before his daughter was born. He survived, and after an eight-year battle with her mother, brought Ashley home just shy of her ninth birthday. “We fight like cats and dogs,” Jamie said.. “But I ask myself, what would I do without her?” What makes a man and woman? When her curiosity got the best of her she went in search of the chalk artist who had brightened so many of her days. She wasn’t prepared for what she found and soon it became her mission to save the man who had saved her.

Miller’s Crossing

Ralph Miller doesn’t complain about the back aches or the mice chewing up crops or the lack of hands around the farm. The 77-year-old retired minister knows what he singed up for and he wears it all with a smile. We are always building on the past, yet unified in our signaler endeavor of eking out a living. Generations come and go, but this simple fact never changes. For seven generations, the Miller’s have cultivated a small patch of land in Rockport, Maine, raising everything from cattle to berries to children and pumpkins. October is harvest time for Ralph. I met him during a VII Master Documentary workshop with Ron Haviv this past fall. This is Ralph Miller’s story and his hope of preserving a family tradition by passing it down to his grandson.  

Notes of Need: A photo column