Photographer visiting Jasper County to document changes after Maytag closure

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She has been walking among us, taking photographs and asking questions, cataloging the changes in Newton since the closure of the Maytag Corporation. April Friges, a native of Ohio, became interested in the story of Maytag’s demise when she heard about it on public radio in 2006. “Growing up in Ohio, I understand the plight of people losing their jobs,” Friges said. She continued to research the Maytag story and was disappointed with media coverage on the west coast, where she is a student at the University of California - Irvine. So she got a travel grant to come to Iowa for a project involving her master’s of fine arts program in studio art and arrived in Newton on Dec. 28 last year, just in time for the caucuses. The proposal for her research was to document the changes the closure of Maytag has had on Newton, both through photographs, in videos and through interviews with local residents. “I’ve been photographing the changes, talking to people who have been fired, those who have retired, as well as business owners and Mayor Chaz Allen,” Friges said. “I’ve got a lot of good stories.” The first time she was here, she noted that people were more reluctant to talk with her, more fearful of the future. She took what she gathered back to California on Jan. 7, where her work was critiqued by her fellow students and three of her instructors. Now, she has returned for more, and this time, she said, the Newton residents she talks with are more relaxed, more confident of their future. “The story speaks against the mass media,” Friges said. “They tend to spark interest and inquisitiveness, but never follow up on it.” The intent of her gathered information is to create a gallery setting over many successive shows, utilizing photographs, stories of the workers, and what she calls “found videos,” such as instructional videos of Plant 2. She is hoping to have a good body of work by 2010 when she graduates from UC Irvine, and then show her work in Newton sometime that fall. She is still looking for stories from Newton residents about Maytag, such as incidents in the plant, when the plant closed and what former employees are doing now. She also is looking for more of the found videos taken at Plant 2. Anyone with information or videos for Friges may call her at (330) 760-5409, or e-mail her at afriges@gmail.com. She will be in Newton through Sunday, Sept. 7.