In 2005, Marilyn Gunn recruited local veterans to sit atop bales of recycled aluminum and plastic for the local recycling group’s Fourth of July parade float.
“It was a great tie-in. It was very appealing. It was one of those things that factored into our decision to move here,” said Melissa Aronson, who had worked in recycling more than 25 years in the Lower 48 before moving here five years ago and joining the board of Haines Friends of Recycling.
Gunn’s dedication to her recycling job and her can-do attitude were hailed by friends in several organizations at a going-away party Aug. 22. Gunn packed up her trademark, 3-wheeled rig decorated with insignias of Detroit sports teams and left town Monday to return home to the Motor City.
The 19-year-resident was known for holding a string of part-time jobs and volunteer positions, including 10 years of half-time work at the recycling center.
“I’d guess a lot of different places are looking to fill their Marilyn jobs,” Aronson said this week.
As the group’s only paid employee, Gunn oversaw big changes at the center, including an increased workload as recycling efforts caught on, she said.
“We’re recycling one thousand pounds of material a day, so that’s a lot of work. (Gunn’s) job was to keep the material flow going, to take everything from the community, get it baled, and get the vans loaded and out. It’s a lot to do,” Aronson said.
Gunn’s other jobs were managing open gym, cleaning offices of Lynn Canal Counseling, running bingo games for the American Legion, selling pull-tabs for the Haines Chamber of Commerce, transcribing audiotapes at Sheldon Museum and doing the laundry for the Haines jail.
“I do like variety. You don’t get sick of something if you only do it a little bit,” Gunn said in an interview.
Gunn also volunteered at the local food bank, served on the Haines Arts Council board and played on local softball teams.
In 1991, Gunn moved from Juneau to Haines, a black woman in a town that had only occasional black residents, most of them men. “It was interesting, but cool. There were some rough patches, but nothing I couldn’t handle. I wanted to live in a small town.”
Heather Lende said she remembered when Gunn showed up to play softball.
“She had this Angela Davis hair and a tie-dyed shirt. We said, “Who are you?” She said, “I’m a hockey player, but this town doesn’t have a rink.” Amid the items strapped to Gunn’s rig this week were her catcher’s mask and a bin of softballs.
Finding work wasn’t a problem, Gunn said. “If you want to work, there’s work here. I could find a job here in 20 minutes.”
Gunn moved to Juneau in 1980, where she worked as a typesetter, started a women’s hockey team and worked on the campaign for a permanent rink. She moved to Haines in 1991 when she took a job in the steward’s department aboard the ferries, a job she held three years. “I liked the job but I didn’t like sleeping under the car deck. That was a little too under for me.”
The pull of home and an interview for a groundskeeping job at Comerica Park – home of the Detroit Tigers – are reasons she’s leaving, she said. “Plus, my mom is 87. That’s part of it, too.”
A lifetime Tigers fan, Gunn has made a pilgrimage to Detroit each fall for the past eight years. “They’re in third place, 10 games out, so they need my help.”
Gunn studied European history in college for two years, then decided to travel. She lived in Vermont and Connecticut before visiting Juneau and taking a liking to it.
When she went to work for Haines Friends of Recycling, the group was still baling cardboard in the basement of Howsers grocery store. “I started it out there at (the) Small Tracts (location). It’s a rewarding job even though it’s tough. I like being outside, so for me, it’s the perfect job.”
Gunn said her years in Haines reflect her affection for the place. “I’ve never lived anyplace longer than Haines. It’s a wonderful community. I’ll miss the people and the beautiful surroundings. I’ll miss everything about it.”