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A community divided over the president In rural Ohio, co-workers at a factory have become encamped into groups over divided views toward Obama and the country.
Jan. 17, 2013
Bill Herr pauses beside his truck in front of his home in Fremont, Ohio. Herr's truck has a custom-designed emblem — a Father's Day gift from his daughter — that bears a saying he likes: "All gave some, some gave all."
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
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Jan. 16, 2013
Madonna McDonald prays for Sally Herr in the Herrs' home. Herr recently had heart bypass surgery. Bill Herr believes his wife’s heart problems are aggravated by the stress and disappointment over the presidential election. The Herrs are not supporters of President Obama or his policies.
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 17, 2013
Bill Herr laughs after finding a photograph taken of him during Fourth of July festivities. Herr considers himself a patriot. An Iraq War veteran, he wears patriotic symbols, such as his cap, and has American flags throughout his home. The flag on the wall was purchased by his wife, Sally, when Bill was serving in Iraq.
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 17, 2013
Bill Herr kisses his wife, Sally, before heading off to work. Lynne Russell, left, with the Herrs' dog, Olive, is a childhood friend of Sally Herr. In the background the sign on the Herr's front door reads: "America Needs God's Help. Prayer Our Only Hope."
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 16, 2013
Bill Herr plays with Olive in the back yard of his home. The Herrs consider the nation in decline, and in large part blame Obama. "The first time he won, I really just considered him inexperienced and misguided," Sally Herr said. "This time I think he is purposely taking us to a place we don’t recognize."
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 17, 2013
A cross hangs from the rearview mirror in the Herrs' sport utility vehicle. Churchgoers, the Herrs have a framed flag hanging just inside the entryway of their home, displaying it under three words that summarize their philosophy: "God Bless America."
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 17, 2013
A sign mocking President Obama is displayed in a cornfield outside Old Fort, Ohio. The field is near the Arm & Hammer factory where Bill Herr works. As with the rest of Ohio, Seneca County was almost evenly divided among voters in the 2012 election.
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 17, 2013
A basketball hoop affixed to a barn between Fremont and Tiffin on State Route 53 in Ohio.
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 17, 2013
The factory where Bill Herr works, packaging Arm & Hammer products as they come down the line, rises seven stories in a landscape that is surrounded by cornfields. Herr has been employed at the factory for more than two decades.
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 17, 2013
Clouds glow from the light of the setting sun outside Fremont, Ohio. Farmland surrounds the small cities in the area, and the region offers big sky views.
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 16, 2013
Breena Lofquist holds daughter Della as they visit with Cathy Morris, Breena’s mother, in Morris's kitchen in Tiffin, Ohio. Morris works at the Arm & Hammer factory with Bill Herr, but she doesn’t share his convictions about President Obama. She supports the president and his programs.
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 16, 2013
Cathy Morris, center, works out with daughter Bracy McCool, 22, foreground, and friend Ashley Bishop at the YMCA in Tiffin, Ohio. Morris said because of health-care reforms championed by President Obama, her daughter is allowed to stay on her company health insurance plan. That is one of the reasons Morris cited as the reason she supports Obama and sent contributions to his reelection campaign.
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 17, 2013
A fast-food spot glows in the night in Tiffin, Ohio. The region is largely rural, and the area surrounding the small town is mostly farmland.
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 17, 2013
A train passes through Old Fort, Ohio. Some of the trains provide freight transportation for the Arm & Hammer factory, where baking soda is packaged and prepared for delivery nationwide. Orders at the factory have increased 5 percent and the company is once again hiring workers, bolstering the optimism of Cathy Morris and other Obama supporters at the factory.
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 17, 2013
While the Arm & Hammer factory may be doing better, not everyone in the area is feeling the benefits. A man who wouldn't provide his name but says he lives in a place that doesn't have electricity passes a row of vacant storefronts — including a sign that reads "We Have Jobs. Apply Inside" — in downtown Freemont, Ohio.
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
Jan. 17, 2013
Like many Rust Belt towns, Freemont has been hit hard by past recessions. But the unemployment has dropped in the area from 13 percent to just more than 6 percent, and employers beyond the Arm & Hammer plant are hiring.
Bonnie Jo Mount
/
The Washington Post
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