Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityShawn Thorpe and his sister, Dior Aduna, sit in their house trailer in The Plains, Ohio. “I’m like a father figure to her,” Shawn says about his sister. Dior’s father passed away three days before she was born. Shawn and Dior are raised by their single mother, Crystal, who earns just under $11,000 a year.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityCertified Professional Midwife Lauren Genter checks her digital midwife records before an appointment with an Amish client in Hamden, Ohio on October 12, 2020. Lauren works with clients living within a sixty-mile radius of Athens, and about half of her clients are from the Amish communities in Vinton, Athens, and Morgan Counties.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityKyah Hairston, 14, of Columbus, Ohio hugs her mother, Becky Hairston, at a peaceful protest in the wake of George Floyd's death in downtown Columbus, Ohio on June 1, 2020.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityJake King, 6, combs a pony's mane on a family-owned horse farm in Chesterhill, Ohio on September 14, 2020. Jack and his two older sisters come to the farm for free horseback riding lessons while they are not attending school in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityWhen Kate and her husband Seth of Dublin, Ohio found out they were expecting their first child together, they reached out to a local midwife to plan a home birth. The married couple relocated from Manhattan to Seth’s hometown in metropolitan Columbus in 2020. While just over one percent of all births in the nation are at home today, there has been a significant and continual increase in home birth rates: between 2004 and 2017 home birth rates increased by 77%.Caption: 7:55pm - Midwife Lauren Genter monitors the fetal heart rate during a contraction. Seth carries a stuffed animal in a baby holder to bring humor to the intensity of labor.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio University7:47pm - Seth supports his wife, Kate, through a strong contraction in their backyard in Dublin, Ohio. Their midwife encouraged Kate to walk around to help progress labor.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio University8:18pm - Seth gives Kate pineapple juice through a straw after she moved to the birthing pool to help soothe her contractions.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio University9:08pm - Lauren’s colleague, Lora Hart, monitors the fetal heartbeat. Lauren hires a second midwife to work alongside her at every birth in the case of a major complication for both mother and baby.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio University10:05pm: Just after getting out of the birthing pool, Kate labors while sitting on the toilet in her bathroom.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio University10:12pm - Seth holds Kate in the kitchen during a contraction. Midwives often encourage laboring women to try several different birthing positions to urge the baby to move in the right position for delivery.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio University10:34pm - Kate and Seth’s baby, June, is born on the couch in their living room on September 27, 2020.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio University12:30am - After cleaning up and changing into fresh clothes, Kate looks at June while Lauren conducts a newborn exam. During the exam, Lauren checks her overall appearance and skin for common birth defects and records her vitals and measurements.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio University12:37am - Lauren stamps June's foot on the couch she was born on just one hour before.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityIn 1843, when Ohio was still in early statehood, a group of Quakers from Belmont County purchased 100 acres of land at one dollar a piece from the Ohio Company Land Office. The Quakers were staunch abolitionists and the Friends Meeting House became a temporary sanctuary for slaves traveling towards freedom on the Underground Railroad. Former slaves also found protection from Native American tribes in the region, leading to a "tri-racial" population with black, white and Native American heritage. Positioned amongst the rural hills of Morgan County, Ohio, the village of Chesterhill’s bright and spacious landscape differs greatly from the surrounding communities nestled in lower elevations or hollows. For those who were raised on this land, and those who moved there for its peace and refuge, there is a common appreciation for the rural landscape and the lifestyle that comes with it. “If everywhere in the world was like here, the world would be a good place to be,” lifelong resident John Singree said. Caption: A horse grazes on a small farm on the outskirts of the village. Chesterhill’s founders saw the potential to build a self-sufficient farming community, but few residents today generate enough income from farming to sustain themselves.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityThe center of Chesterhill is quiet, with family homes that appear close together compared to the farmhouses on hilly backroads. The village’s small population of 270 has slowly diminished over generations as jobs, schools, and other community resources disappeared.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityWilma Dean Mayle raised her six kids in Chesterhill and has lived in Morgan County for the entire 90 years of life. When she was working as a housekeeper, she cleaned the house that she now lives in. When the owner passed away, the family wanted Wilma Dean to have the home and sold it to her for a reasonable price.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityKaye Hatzer, Denise Tate, Sue Hill, and Lori Norman chat over coffee and pancakes at the Chesterhill Lions Club Breakfast. Once a month, a steady crowd of current and former residents come together to reconnect and exchange stories with their family and neighbors.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityLarry and Gary Rush laugh with Erica Mayle outside of a friend’s house on the village’s main street. When the weather warms up, locals cluster on Chesterhill’s main street to enjoy each other’s company or share beers after work.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityBorn and raised in Chesterhill, Jeff Mayle has worked for the village as a handyman for the past 23 years. From landscaping to picking up leaves and garbage, he is often found going the extra mile to keep the streets and public buildings in good shape. “Everything is right here, I have all I need,” Jeff says.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityThe Amish community started in the 1980s when Amish families were drawn to Chesterhill’s cheap and available farmland. In the spring and summer months, Amish families sell produce and homemade baked goods at a local auction.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityJohn Singree hauls water in a 400-gallon tank he fills once a week to have water for plumbing, washing dishes, and doing laundry at home. There is a filling station in the center of town where residents who are not connected to the village water system can fill their bottles or tanks. “It doesn’t bother me, I’m used to it,” John says.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityCharles Bobo wears a Glock, three magazines and a knife on a tactical belt while he works the register at the gas station in the village. With no local law enforcement, residents feel a responsibility to protect their property, family, and the rest of the community.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityJohnny Singree is a recovering heroin and methamphetamine addict from Chesterhill who lives in a transitional home in Malta, Ohio. Every weekend, he comes back to the village to visit his parents on the horse farm he grew up on. Like other communities in southeastern Ohio, Chesterhill is burdened by the region’s drug epidemic.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityKaila Peters helps her daughter, Autumn, get ready for the school bus to pick her up outside their home. School-aged kids are bussed out to Morgan County Local Schools since the village no longer has a school. As a mother raising three young children, Kaila worries about drug use and the lack of community spaces for families in Chesterhill.
Third Place, Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year - Lauren Santucci / Ohio UniversityVickie Seiter kisses one of her horses, Popcorn, after feeding him. Vickie moved to Chesterhill four years ago to fulfill her dream of starting a life-coach business where she uses horses to support her clients. “This is my church,” Vickie says about her small horse farm.
