The Rahimov family at home. Erkin and Limara with their two sons, Rasool, 7, and Murad, 16. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
Our Land Over the next several months, special correspondent Melissa Block and producer Elissa Nadworny will profile communities small and large to capture how people's identity is shaped by where they live. How does a community's identity evolve over time? What does the future look like to the people in that place?
Special Series
Our Land
The mail plane flies into Meyers Chuck. Meyers Chuck is off the grid, with no roads or cars; just a sprinkling of houses on the water. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
(Top) In downtown Hamtramck, teenagers hang out in Pope Park, which commemorates the Polish Pope John Paul II's visit to the city in 1987. (Bottom left) Co-owner Jamal Jawany poses for a portrait at Delite Cafe and Deli. (Bottom right) Ezzi Jawany, 74, waits for his order at his son's deli, Delite Cafe. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
Sally Chow shares a meal with friends and family in her home in Clarksdale, Miss., Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
Cheerleaders encourage the Independence Community College Pirates as they play the Coffeyville Red Ravens in Kansas. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
Klukwan, a small native village in southeast Alaska, is home to about 90 people. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
(Top) Howdy Holmes talks with employee Sandy Parker on the factory floor. Parker started working at Jiffy when she was 24 years old, nearly 38 years ago. (Bottom left) Historical photos line the walls of the factory entrance. (Bottom right) Employee lockers. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
How To Make Boring Sell: In A Jiffy
Terrence Johnson, a junior at the University of Mississippi, poses for a portrait outside his apartment in Oxford, Miss. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
A Student's Perspective On Mississippi: Beautiful, Engulfing And Sometimes Enraging
An opening in the border wall for cattle to move from Mexico to the States. Arizona has just three cattle ports along its entire border. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
When The Border Is Just Next Door, Crossing It Is A Fact Of (Daily) Life
It's clear the Wilbers take real pride in the quality — and sustainability — of their wild catch. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
A girl plays in the sand during the evening sunset stroll. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
PHOTOS: The Creamy, Sculpted Dunes Of White Sands National Monument
During the cruise ship season, tourists flood the streets of Ketchikan. The borough of Ketchikan is home to about 13,000 people. In just one day, Ketchikan may see 13,000 cruise ship visitors. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
Local Haines politics has gotten pretty intense lately. A group of Haines residents is trying to recall half of the borough assembly. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
What It's Like To Live In A Small, Rural, Politically Divided Town
First Mate Aaron Isenhour steers the MV LeConte, a ferry heading from Haines, Alaska to the state capital, Juneau. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
Dr. Adam McMahan has been practicing medicine in rural Alaska for three years. It's the kind of intimate, full-spectrum family medicine the 34-year-old doctor loves. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
Salmon troller Eric Jordan alongside his fishing boat, the I Gotta, on the dock in Sitka, Alaska. Jordan, 67, has been a commercial fisherman all his life. Melissa Block/NPR hide caption
Scenes from inside greenhouse No. 2 at Wholesum Farms Sonora. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
Amid Talk Of Tariffs, What Happens To Companies That Straddle The Border?
(From left) Rolando Herts, ‎director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University, Annyce P. Campbell, 92, and Eulah Peterson, 68, both from Mound Bayou, Miss. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
Here's What's Become Of A Historic All-Black Town In The Mississippi Delta
Red Paden in his juke joint in Clarksdale, Miss. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
A Night At Red's Juke Joint In The Mississippi Delta Is A True Blues Experience
John Ruskey, owner of Quapaw Canoeing Company in Clarksdale, Miss., paddling down the mighty Mississippi River. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
River Guide Wants People To Paddle The Mighty Mississippi, Not Fear It
Rowan Oak, William Faulkner's home in Oxford, Miss. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
Kress checks the pigs for signs of weakness or respiratory distress. "[We] try to make eye contact with every animal, every day," he says. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
Pig Farming In Iowa Means Dirt Under Your Fingernails And A Strong Sense Of Pride
A family from California visits the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Mo. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
Big Brutus is the world's largest electric shovel. It stands 16 stories high amid the fields of rural southeast Kansas. The coal strip mine it helped clear of rock and dirt has long been shut down, and Brutus has been turned into a museum. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption