MPW.65 / 2013 Raising Roots by RJ Sangosti
Photographer
RJ Sangosti Denver, Colo.

Team Gilka

Story Summary

Gerry Newman stops weeding around a row of carrots to explain that he and his wife, Lisa, are like the green stems of a carrot protecting and delivering nutrients to the sweet roots, which are their children. As conservative Christians, the Newman family moved from Phoenix, Arizona to Trenton, Missouri looking for a moral place to raise their 11 children.

The Newman children, who are home schooled, spend much of their day doing chores and helping their parents on the family farm. "We may not have a lot of money, but we always have something to eat" said Gerry Newman.
"Wisdom is knowing that a tomato is a fruit…knowledge is knowing that a tomato does not taste good in a smoothie," said Gerry. He often tells little anecdotes like this to his children, making them laugh and learn, during long hot days of work.