Sad Valley: Covering Joe Paterno's Death

For many Penn Staters, last week was a very dark time in Happy Valley history. 

Fans started gathering outside Beaver Stadium at the bronze statue of Paterno on Saturday night when a false report came through that Joe Paterno had passed. However, Scott Paterno, one of his sons, tweeted to let the public know he was still fighting for his life.

Joe Paterno died of lung cancer on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. 

Here are a few of the photos I captured throughout the week (in addition to my earlier post of a video at the statue): 

Two candles illuminate a few of the articles fans placed beside the statue of former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno while mourners walk behind the statue in State College, Pa. on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Paterno died on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Photo by Krista Myers

Students hang a banner to show support while waiting for the funeral procession of former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno at the 100 block of East College Avenue in State College, Pa. on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Paterno died on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Photo by Krista Myers

Two students hang out of a window waiting to see the funeral procession of former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno at the 100 block of East College Avenue in State College, Pa. on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Paterno died on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Photo by Krista Myers

The crowd on East College Avenue waits for the funeral procession of former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno to make its way through downtown State College, Pa. on Wednesday, Jan. 25 2012. Students, alumni, fans and community members waited for almost two hours to see the procession. Paterno died on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Photo by Krista Myers

Alphabet Portrait(s)

The assignment was to pick an alphabet letter out of a hat, find a person who held a job or career that started with that letter and make a few portraits of that person.


When I saw the hopeful "S" appear in my palm, I automatically thought, seamstress. I only knew of one. In fall 2010, I wrote a feature story about Shelley Banker, the owner of a vintage clothing shop in downtown State College, Pa. called the Rag and Bone. At the time, she had one other employee: a seamstress.


I strolled into the store last Wednesday evening with hopes that I had made enough of a good impression the last time I spoke with Banker and her seamstress. It turned out that Banker was camera shy, but Edna Rentschler, her seamstress, was not.


After two shoots - one in the shop and one in her home - I decided to turn these three photos in for the assignment:

Seamstress Edna Rentschler, of Boalsburg, Pa., threads a needle before sewing a dress at the Rag and Bone vintage clothing shop in State College, Pa. on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. In addition to working at the vintage shop, she does alterations for several clients in the State College area under her company name "Sew Sew Easy". Photo by Krista Myers

Edna Rentschler, of Boalsburg, Pa., alters a dress for the Rag and Bone, a vintage clothing shop where she works as a seamstress, in her home sewing room on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. The purpose of the tattoo was to cover up a scar from a wrist surgery. Rentschler will be back in the operating room in a few weeks to fix a tendon in her wrist again.  Photo by Krista Myers

Edna Rentschler, of Boalsburg, Pa., looks up from sewing a skirt in her home sewing room on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. In addition to working as a seamstress at the Rag and Bone vintage clothing shop, she does alterations for several clients in the State College area under her company name "Sew Sew Easy". Photo by Krista Myers

Here's one more for good luck:

I couldn't resist her dog, Gracie, but she kept her eye on my bulky camera during the entire visit.

Journalists have feelings too

Last night, a good friend told me that Joe Paterno was in critical condition. Ironically, I was on my way to the HUB-Robeson Center to see the movie "50/50"- a comedy/drama about a young man who becomes stricken with cancer.


Cancer.


It's all around us. My family experienced loss in October of last year when my uncle passed away from lung cancer. The image of my now 6-year-old cousin kneeling beside his casket will never leave my memory.


This morning, I woke up at 10:40am with texts from my mom and my boyfriend informing me that Joe Paterno had passed away. To be honest, I felt kind of numb. I was raised on Penn State. My parents met here and my sister went here, along with most of my relatives as well. I've been going to football games to sit in section SJ, row 17 every year for most of my life. I was never obsessed with "Joe Pa" or football, but the news hit close to home.


Shortly after I woke up, my multimedia editor at the Daily Collegian contacted me to ask if I would be available to go to the Joe Paterno statue outside of Beaver Stadium. I jumped on the opportunity. This is the response I gathered:

I am a journalist, and I know I'm supposed to be unbiased and separated from the situation, but I have feelings too. I am allowed to cry.

The best thing about Penn State

Our professor gave us an assignment to find "the best thing about Penn State". Without much explanation and virtually no guidelines, he set us free. The first thing I thought about was that I needed to get this assignment done ASAP because I was going home over the long weekend to shoot another story I've been working on for almost a year. I took my camera with me before class on Thursday in hopes to get a somewhat aerial shot of students dragging themselves to early classes in the rain, umbrellas in hand. It would represent the dedication of the student body as a whole. However, the sun decided to show its lovely face that day.


Walking through the HUB-Robeson Center that afternoon, I noticed there were students playing pool in The Break Zone game room and the vast majority of them were Asian. Ah-ha! went my brain. Diversity, opportunity, fun, friendship, etc. raced through my thoughts. I went back to the room that evening around 9pm.


Here is what I came up with after I asked a few people if I could photograph them:

Frank Meng, a freshman majoring in finance and mathematics, plays pool with his friend in The Break Zone game room in the HUB-Robeson Center at Penn State. Both he and his friend are foreign exchange students studying here from China. Photo by Krista Myers

Tyler Zhang, a freshman majoring in industrial engineering, plays pool with his friend in The Break Zone game room in the HUB-Robeson Center at Penn State. Both he and his friend are foreign exchange students studying here from China. Photo by Krista Myers 

Frank Meng, left, a freshman majoring in finance and mathematics, and Tyler Zhang, a freshman majoring in industrial engineering, play pool in The Break Zone game room in the HUB-Robeson Center at Penn State. Both are foreign exchange students studying here from China. Photo by Krista Myers

Once I overcame my own cognitive dissonance, I was able to talk to two very personable men studying here from China. Not only did I feel happy because I completed the assignment, but I conquered a silly fear of mine and had fun while doing so.