The Valley News photo staff — Alex Driehaus, Jennifer Hauck and James M. Patterson — tirelessly work throughout the year to document life in the Upper Valley. Here are a few of their favrotes from 2024, with the story behind the picture.

An inevitable conflict

In February 2024, seven Dartmouth College students signaled a serious commitment of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and with their fellow Palestinian American students during the ongoing war with Israel with an eight-day hunger strike. Demonstrations and dialogues continued in the Upper Valley through the winter and spring. As the weather warmed and the end of academic terms came into sight, protest encampments sprang up on college campuses around the country. Given the ongoing criminal trespass trial of two students arrested in October 2023 for protesting in a tent on the lawn of the college’s administration building, protesters here took a more measured approach. On May 1, the graduate students’ union announced a strike and held an International Workers Day rally. The focus of the gathering shifted in the evening to Gaza as students quickly erected tents and others linked arms around them in a protective ring. Negotiations between activists and representatives of the college administration were ongoing on the outskirts of the crowd, but events progressed as if the expectations for conflict were predetermined. No event has the simplicity or clarity of a single image, but this picture represents the inevitability and potential energy of that conflict, during which, among many others, two credentialed journalists and two professors were arrested.

— James M. Patterson

A walk in the woods

Working as a newspaper photographer regularly puts me in unexpected situations. Staring up at a 50-foot glider caught in the trees at the top of Hogsback Ridge was a gratifying end to a mission that was beginning to feel increasingly Quixotic after several hours of bushwhacking through the woods. Valley News reporter John Lippman recounted in great detail how Henry Swayze’s aircraft came to be lodged in the secluded location, but readers don’t always hear about the legwork that goes into getting the story — in this case, wandering off-track through thick brush with about 500 feet of elevation gain and a thorough tick check afterward.

— Alex Driehaus

Playing in the mud

To state the obvious, visuals are really important in journalism. Driving along Goose Pond this year the change in the pond has been huge. A draw down on the body of water to make dam repairs left behind a muddy, stinky mess. For people living near the pond it was a very different summer. I spent a few weeks looking for situations to photograph at the pond, one day lucking out to find a family making the best of what was left behind. I liked this photograph, the starkness of the change in the pond, yet some things stay the same, kids being drawn to mud and water.

— Jennifer Hauck

Farming uphill

Over the past year the Valley News has covered a number of dairy farms selling their herds. The Miller Farm in Hartford was one of them. Leading up to the day the cows would leave the farm I spent time with George and Linda Miller along with their family. Though it was a challenging time for them, the Millers were welcoming and gracious and let me record the last few days before the cows left. When I think of being a photographer at a small rural paper this is the kind of work I am most proud of. Small farms like the Millers’ are rapidly decreasing in number in New England, and changing the atmosphere and landscape of the region. Journalism, like small farms, is also under threat; being able to tell stories of people in our community makes all of us better.

— Jennifer Hauck

Sideline life

I guess you could say the sports shift is not always my favorite. Not because I don’t like sports, I played three sports in high school. I’m just not a great sports action shooter. What revolves around the game is often what I like best. When Hartford lacrosse coach Heather Hartford’s granddaughter Mckenzie Borgel, 3, jumped up to be part of the team, having her stick checked before the game started with the players on the team, was a moment that made me happy.

— Jennifer Hauck

A small gesture

Covering the Upper Valley’s response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war has been marked by tense situations where emotions run high, from protests to cease-fire resolutions. That coverage is important and newsworthy, but as a photographer I’ve always been drawn to quieter scenes. On the first day of the trespassing trial for Dartmouth students Roan Wade and Kevin Engel, between a demonstration outside and a packed courtroom, I found Wade, on the eighth day of her 12-day hunger strike, sitting on the floor in the hall while her friend braided her hair. That small gesture of care stood out to me among the rest of my protest photos from the year because it adds an additional emotional layer to the story, which we don’t always get to see.

— Alex Driehaus

Signs of age

Wind and wet snow on Saturday, Jan. 13 brought downed trees and power outages to the region. After a morning of photographing linemen and brush-cutting crews, I was on my way to warm up when I came across Palestine solidarity marchers returning to Hanover from Norwich. I stopped to photograph their soggy walk back to their homes and parked cars. Now thoroughly soaked, I went to grab lunch at Dan and Whit’s before heading to the office. At the cash register, it was impossible to miss the sign taped to cashier Asher Albrecht’s hoodie, “No Alcohol At this Register Please.” At 15, he was too young to handle any wine or beer that came through his lane. The sign had been taped to a box on the counter, but it was thrown away, so Albrecht grabbed the sign and attached it to himself. When Kathy Wyle arrived to purchase supplies to get her mother-in-law through the power outage, it was a moment that could tell the story of the weather, with a little good humor.

— James M. Patterson

A place of rest

Andrew and Marilyn Chatlos were mostly quiet for more than an hour when I visited their White River Junction home in March. When they did speak, they mostly shared stories about their daughter Christina’s love for horses, and a little about her struggles with addiction.

Christina died at age 38 after being shot in what her parents believe was a botched drug deal. As I was leaving, Andrew Chatlos mentioned he planned to visit Christina’s grave that afternoon in nearby Mt. Olivet Cemetery and agreed to let me come along.

As Andrew said, it was peaceful there, even with the wilted flower arrangement, lack of sod on the grave and nearby traffic noise — somehow more so than in the house surrounded by photographs and memories of his daughter when she was well.

— James M. Patterson

A fulfilling story

One of my favorite stories I worked on this year was the opening of the new Visions for Creative Housing Solutions home in Hanover. Following residents Olivia Guziewicz and Sarah Peters as they prepared to live independently for the first time highlighted to me the importance of creating opportunities for people with disabilities to live in community with others in a place where they can access jobs and activities that make life fulfilling. It was a joy getting to know both women, learning their personality quirks and watching them pursue the interests they are passionate about.

— Alex Driehaus