One of the best things about being out in the community daily is the good luck that comes when you run across a great story. Earlier this year, I was at Belmont Baptist Church for a community section story when I came across the foot care clinic. The clinic began in 1990 after an elderly church member fell and hurt her arm while trying to clip her toenails. Today the clinic, which meets once a month, opens its doors to anyone who needs foot care.
Some days it seems to me that we have all had our lives impacted by cancer in someway. Before I was even born, my paternal grandmother Irene Duerscherl passed away from breast cancer. In honor of breast cancer awareness month I wanted to do a project looking at how relationships are changed, shaped and formed through breast cancer survivors, their families and friends. The series is running every Tuesday in October. Click on the link to view the two completed stories and watch for the next two stories to come. http://www.roanoke.com/multimedia/221450
"How exactly did you get hit by a paintball gun at work?" a nurse asked me as I made my way through the Occupational Medicine hallway.
"Well, I am a photographer for The Roanoke Times," I said.
One of the greatest things, and sometimes painful things, about being a photojournalist is that we are in the middle of the action. I am lucky to be able to say that I have been up in a hot air balloon and a helicopter while simply doing my job. More painful experiences would include getting kicked in the head while photographing a bowler ( a story for another time) and being hit six times by paintballs. Four on the right shoulder, one on the left forearm and finally one in the head.
As I stood in the middle of a holler in Troutville and watched men hide behind bunkers and aim for one another I knew there was potential of being hit, but a picture taken safely from up on the hillside just wouldn't do.
Around 3:30 in the afternoon as I watched Jeremiah Keeler climb the side of a hill and position himself to shoot I felt a stinging sensation on my right side, and in my head. I looked down to see orange paint and heard Keeler yell, "Hey man, she's just trying to take pictures!"
I continued to photograph the rest of the game....while hiding behind a bunker.
I decided to go to the doctor when my headache didn't go away the next afternoon, but realized that my pain would be worth the story in the end.
As the doctor looked into my ear and literally told me my brains were not leaking out he excitedly asked me where people were playing paintball. Apparently, his sons are huge fans of the game and haven't had anywhere to play. I told him I couldn't remember the phone number off the top of my head at that moment, but that he could keep a lookout for the story in the Roanoke Times Extra section.
PRICES FORK — Charlie O’Dell chuckles as he hands out pails from the back of an old white truck.
“Follow the trail down behind the evergreens and over to blueberry hill,” he says.
On the hill, heads peek out over rows of bushes as hands of all ages drop freshly plucked berries into white buckets.
Crow’s Nest Farm, in Montgomery County began in 1970 when O’Dell and his wife Wilmoth started their first U-Pick strawberry farm. O’Dell retired from selling strawberries in 2001, but the Prices Fork farm continues to offer raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.
“I’ve never met a berry I didn’t like,” says O’Dell, 74, who eats berries on his cereal all winter long.
Amelia Mohler, who has been coming to Crow’s Nest Farm since she was knee–high, offers these tips for picking blueberries: “The bigger the better, avoid the black ones and the squishy ones aren’t good either.” Also, after picking berries it’s best to let them sit out for 24 hours to fully ripen.
If customers feel guilty for eating too many berries while filling their bucket, O’Dell has a “sin box” hanging by his truck on the way out for contributions.
For Crow’s Nest Farm hours call 552-4195.
-- By Jeanna Duerscherl
Jeanna Duerscherl is a native of Minnesota who has been working at the Roanoke Times for three and a half years.
Summer moments: A slice of life as seen through the lens of a Roanoke Times photographer. Summer Moments will publish each Monday through the end of August. Got an idea for the photo column? E-mail natalee.waters@roanoke.com.
