Blink twice and Zaleski, Ohio is gone; it’s a blip on a map surrounded with curving trails colored by changing leaves of Zaleski State Forest. Its population, less than 300 people, is slowly declining. The people are aging and the youth rarely plan on staying. Everything moves slowly. People speak of events that happened ten years ago as if they happened yesterday. The biggest news is the sewer system currently being installed.
For older generations, Zaleski has been a lifelong commitment. Many of the residents are descended from immigrants looking for work in mines or supporting sawmills during the mid 1800’s. Their families never left when the industry declined. They are part of the land.
Zaleski's Masonic Lodge is reflected in an empty store's window. The Lodge is the tallest building in Vinton County and was once used as a community space for plays and meetings. Now it is locked up and used as storage.
Joan Heitman helps her two great-grandchildren, Jackson, 4, and Claire, 2, Alfred read the bible during a Zaleski Methodist Church service.
Construction equipment used to put in the new sewer system sits across the street from an old home. The sewer system is controversial for the village as some Zaleski residents are concerned that they will not be able to pay the higher water and sewer bills that the change will bring.
Jerry Neff stands outside his rented home during a yard sale. He is slowly working to purchase the property, but believes that he will sell it and move once it is paid off.
Autumn Adams lifts up Alexis Wallace as they walk the streets of Zaleski to entertain themselves. Few of the children raised in Zaleski plan on staying once they finish school.
Sierra Herrold, Eric McWhorter and Trint Stutler, 14, talk in Zaleski Tavern, one of the village's two bars. The Tavern tends to draw a calmer crowd while the Village Inn up the road was a biker gang hangout during wilder days.
John Riffle, an alcoholic who has been sober for about 4 years, stands in Zaleski State Forest and reflects on his past.
Zaleski's Methodist Church sits just outside the warm glow of a streetlamp. The church has been maintained to look just as it did when it was built.
Kaydence Erickson,11, stands up to receive her winnings after her number was pulled from a bag at a chinese auction during Park Day, an event held to raise money to maintain the park. The land was once the site of Zaleski-Brown High School that closed in 2007.
Grace Perry, 11, holds her sister Sophia, 2, while Mia Erickson, 3, piles on top of them in a bouncy house during Park Day.
Kyle McKieben, 8, sits alone on a table in Zaleski's park after Park Day.
A nearby tree is lit by Zaleski Tavern’s fluorescent sign.