Despite not having a room of her own, Chloe Tool finds a way to make a poster for her dad’s 46th birthday--using the floor of their kitchen as a desk. Dallas Tool (46) lives together with 8 of his 9 kids in a house where he was raised by single mother Mildred Tool (83).
For the last 4 years the Tool family has lived in the same Mountain Grove home in which their father grew up. This houses located in a quiet corner right next to Mountain Grove High and Elementary Schools. Spacious backyard filled with some toys laying here and there, it also has slides, swing sets and place for a campfire. Her father Dallas was raised with other 4 of his adopted brothers and sisters at this place.
Chloe Tool browses on her mobile phone.
Morning light shines in through small window next to the kitchen’s sink on the right, while living room on the left is lit up with fluorescent light of running TV where 5 kids sleeping on the sofas and floor. Dallas Tool leaving to work at Mountain Grove Water Department around 6:40am after that elder daughters Michaelyn(18) and Brookelyn(15) taking care of the house and waking up other kids for school. Four room of their house couldn’t occupied by elder brothers and sisters, and mostly she sleeps on a couch in a living room with some of her little brothers, where they usually falling asleep watching TV in the evening.
The only picture of Dallas Tool together with his ex-wife and their first son Dylan in their house. It hangs in the Mason's (16) room next to the drawing that he made for his father's birthday couple of years ago.
Chloe, Cemdon (8) and Heston (10) leave the house for school early in the morning. Chloe goes to 6th grade at the Mountain Groove Middle School, and two other boys studying at 3rd grade of Mountain Grove Elementary School. Unlike her brothers Chloe really enjoys studying and have a chance to let go all of her energy, meeting with friends and working on a homework, that’s is also important.
Fall mornings bring foggy weather on Chloe’s way to school. Some mornings, Chloe finds it hard to get up. Brookelyn, her older sister, shakes her shoulder and send her on her way.
Chloe runs during her physical education class at the Mountain Grove Middle School. As any child she likes active games with her classmates and planning to join Mountain Grove basketball team next year.
Chloe during Language Arts class at the Mountain Grove Middle School.
Mail box and Welcome wreath covered with spider web on the facade of their house.
Dallas Tool watches as his daughters Chloe and Brookelyn doing cartwheels and the playground of Mountain Grove Elementary School that’s located right beside their house. Dallas spends all of his free time with his kids, trying to give all of them equal amount of attention and care.
On his 46th birthday, Chloe’s loving dad Dallas enjoys the evening with his children. He tells his children not to make him any presents and that his birthday is just a regular day for him. However, his kids still woke him up after midnight with kisses and happy birthday wishes. Only his oldest son Dylan (20) has the ability to buy him a present.
Chloe stands in a doorway to one of four bedrooms in her house with a 2-month old little kitten that her brother Heston (10) found on the street. Some of the dents beside her on the plywood walls are from times when her father and his brothers were rough-housing as teenagers.
Chloe raises her hand enthusiastically to answer a question during bible study class.
Tool family takes group shot at on of the rooms at Church of the Nazarene for their annual parishioners book.
Kids running around and having fun outside of the Church while their parents having conversation after Bible study class on Wednesday evening.
Kids running around and having fun while their parents
Chloe thinks there is no better place to be than Mountain Grove and hopes someday to be a veterinarian. She takes special care of all the animals around the house (3 dogs and 2 cats). The dog here belongs to Michaelyn and unfortunately lives life chained to the tree in the family’s backyard. Chloe might be the one who could make it better than any other members of Tool family but after long day and hours she spend taking care of her younger brothers, kitten and dogs, she's quickly falls asleep in the living room that lit with fluorescent light of TV set.
Being Chloe
At 11 years old, Chloe Tool falls roughly in the middle of her eight siblings age-wise, with five older and three younger. But she has a chance to accomplish something her older siblings have not.
After her parents divorced in 2010, Chloe and seven of her eight siblings have been living with their father, Dallas Tool, in the house where he was raised in the small town of Mountain Grove, MO. It makes for a crowded house, and while her older brothers and sisters have bedrooms, Chloe and her little brothers sleep on the living room couches. Despite the chaos of their family life, the home is filled with love. Their grandmother, Mildred (83), enforces a strong religious lifestyle. She teaches bible study classes at the local church that the family attends.
It’s not easy providing for a family of 10, but Dallas does his best to make ends meet. For the past 18 years, his job with the Mountain Grove Water Department has provided a steady income and health care, and he encourages his children to develop self-respect and behave responsibly. “I hope they will not repeat some of the same mistakes I’ve made,” he says.
A sixth-grader at Mountain Grove Middle School, Chloe enjoys her time there with friends and even the assignments she brings home. That’s a contrast to some of her older siblings, who have dropped out of school or experienced problems and are now in a ‘home-school’ program. With her love of school,l Chloe could be the one Tool sibling to make it to high school graduation.
The project was done while attending the Missouri Photo Workshop at Mountain Grove, MO in 2018. Read more HERE.
Coaches: MaryAnne Golon (The Washington Post), Randy Olson (National Geographic)