In our last issue, we introduced the first installment of a series about Scott County, which has received media attention from around the country since news of an HIV epidemic rocked the community. While coverage of the outbreak is necessary, there are far more positive stories that deserve press. For this issue, we asked photographer Tyler Lizenby to show us the Scott County he knows and loves. We’ll continue our series in 2016. — Editor in Chief Angie Fenton
Photos and Story by Tyler Lizenby
When Extol Magazine asked me to photograph Scott County, I tried to show how I grew up here, how there are plenty of people who have had long and successful lives here, and how my wife and I are raising our kids here. The idea was to show a continuum of life in Scott County throughout the decades, and how that’s all just part of everyone here, just living their lives.
From left to right: ~ The photographer’s children played in the backyard of their home in Scott County.
~ Leroy Williams, 69, of Lexington, lnd., laughed at a joke his wife, Bernice Williams, made off-camera.
~ The “home” sign on a dugout at the baseball fields in Lexington, Ind., where the photographer played Little League Baseball as a child 30 years ago.
From left to right: ~Larry Maxwell, 77, sat in the office of the horse-trading business he has operated since 1963 on South Lake Road in Scott County. Larry recalls the time when the area near his home was nothing but open land, and it was still common to see people riding horses on the roads in Scottsburg. ~ Cars passed by a neon Dairy Queen sign in Austin, Ind.
From left to right: ~Leroy Williams, owner of Leroy’s Hardware and Grocery Store, chatted with a customer on a busy Sunday afternoon. ~Cars passed by the “goodbye” sign near the intersection of Hwy 56 and I-65 in Scottsburg.
From left to right: ~Ed Cozart posed for a portrait at his home in Johnson Township in Scott County. Ed is a two-time state champion liar, which is an oral story-telling competition held every year at the state fair in Indianapolis. Ed is a former mayor of Scottsburg and a life-long resident of Scott County. ~ The photographer’s wife, Rorie Lizenby, who teaches chemistry and engineering at Scottsburg High School, guided their children into church at the United Methodist Church, off Honeyrun Parkway in Scottsburg. ~Leroy Williams posed for a portrait with his wife Bernice. The husband and wife team share the duties of running their general store in Lexington, Ind. Leroy says he’s the face of the store while his wife is the brains and the bookkeeper. After 23 years of running the store, Leroy is hoping to find a buyer so he and his wife can enjoy retirement. “(The store) don’t get you rich, but you’ll make a living. You make friends and you help a lot of people. That’s always been enough for me,” he said.
