Sheldon Museum Director Jerrie Clarke is home in Haines following a decision to shut down this season’s research by the universities guiding an archaeological dig in Egypt. Jerrie was part of an archeological team in Abydos, over 300 miles south of Cairo. The team had been working for only two weeks on a project planned to last through late March. A U.S. State Department statement advising all U.S. citizens to leave Egypt precipitated the decision to leave early. Two teams of researchers flew out of Luxor on a chartered plane to Athens. Flying through London and on to Seattle, Jerrie arrived in Haines Sunday. Although there were no protests in her area, researchers felt effects of the unrest, including rising food prices and blackouts. Cellular phone service was erratic and access to the Internet was cutoff by the government, leaving the team to gather news through family members and friends in Cairo with land-line phones. Jerrie was able to phone her parents in Utah and let them know she was safe. She said she never felt that they were in any danger, and was disappointed to leave the project after only two weeks of work. She hopes to have the opportunity to return next season.
Elks Club leading knight John Winge says he’s hoping for a big crowd at Saturday’s Valentine’s Dance at the lodge, featuring live music by the local Fishpickers.“Everyone in town is invited to be our guest. The Fishpickers are local boys, and they’ve been to Italy, so they’re world-renowned,” Winge said.
Mary Ann Price traveled to Anchorage in October to meet her great-grandson Mason Joseph Price, who was born Sept. 26 to Mary’s grandson, Bobby Price, and Maryah Buren. Mason weighed 8 pounds, 11 ozs., and measured 20 inches. Mason’s grandmother is Nadine Price-Schruefer. Mason and his big sister Zhamira Le Ann McGee-Price, who is six, were baptized Dec. 18 at Saint Anthony’s Church in Anchorage. Mason’s godfather is his uncle Ronnie Price-Schruefer. Mason’s aunt Mandy Buren is godmother. Zhamira’s godparents are her uncle and aunt Russell and Chris Price. Mary made her great-granddaughter’s christening dress. She also took a class in octopus bag-making at the Alaska Native Heritage Center with teacher Helen Koenig of Sitka. Mary juggled her time among her five children, many grandchildren and her great-grandchildren including daughter Nadine and son Ronn; daughter JoAnn Price and husband Steve Smith; daughter April Hodges and husband Jason; daughter Cindy Clifton, Cindy’s husband Jerry and their children Lacey and Conner; and son Russell, daughter-in-law Chris and their children Nick, Cathy, William and Daniel. Mary had so much catching up to do with her family in Anchorage that she stayed through New Year’s. On her way home she stopped in Juneau to visit son Bill Price, his wife Angie and their children Haley Jo and Evan.
Anna Syzmanski is on board the 135-foot sailing vessel Corwith Cramer as part of the Williams Mystic field semester. The 10-day voyage through the Straights of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico departed Jan. 31. Anna was the first student to take the wheel and “steered the ship very well,” according to the blog detailing their trip. Onboard are 24 student crewmembers, 11 professional crew and three Williams Mystic staff people. The students are not permitted cell phones so mom Randa is looking forward to talking to Anna about her adventure when she returns. You can read more about the voyage at www.sea.edu/voyages/current_cramer.
Frequent swimmer Kathy Klinger hadn’t entered the Haines pool Iditaswim, but after Bill Annis was injured in a biking accident, she decided to swim Bill’s remaining laps. Bill was about halfway through the Iditaswim, and in second place, when he fell. Lifeguard K.C. O’Connor approached Kathy with the idea, and she was happy to take up the challenge. Kathy swam 80 laps every day, and sometimes logged another 50 in the evening, for a total of 780 laps (1,560 pool lengths) to secure Bill’s second-place finish. “I was motivated for Bill,” says Kathy, who has been swimming for fun and exercise since she was a girl.
Joan Snyder spent a week in Seattle catching up with friends. She visited Harriet (Sheldon) Brakken, Lib Hakkinen’s sister, and Lib’s daughter Betsy Galloway. Betsy moved from her boat in Scappoose, Ore. to a tiny house in Saint Helen’s, Ore. Betsy came up to Seattle to see Joan and her aunt Harriet. Joan also saw Cornelia Devlin of Yakutat, who was in Haines in the mid-1950s at Haines House. Joan often stayed with Cornelia in Yakutat during her travels as a public health nurse. Joan met up with Harriet Botelho, the mother of Juneau Mayor Bruce Botelho and saw her niece Rachel Kukull and her husband Travis, a former Hotel Halsingland chef.
Ramona Holmes writes, “It looks like we will be in Reno another month. Frank is out of the hospital, healing and gaining strength before open-heart surgery Feb. 22. Our thanks for the support, many thoughts, prayers and well-wishes from the Haines community.” Keep Ramona and Frank in your thoughts.
Chilkat Valley News reporter Krista Kielsmeier received three first-place awards from the Iowa Newspaper Association for 2010 reporting. For weekly papers with circulation above 2,235, Krista won prizes for Best News Story, for a story on Haitian orphans written following the earthquake; Best Sports Story about a local inductee to a college basketball hall of fame; and Best Series for a series about Iowa’s military honors funeral coordinator. Krista wrote for the Altoona Herald-Mitchellville Index before she came to the CVN in October.
Registration for the 2011 Sitka Fine Arts Camps is underway. Online registration is available at www.fineartscamp.org or by calling (907) 747-3085. Camp for current middle school students in grades 6-8 runs June 12-25. The High School camp for grades 9-12 is June 26-July 10. The camp offers dozens of classes in music, dance, visual arts, Alaskan Native Arts and writing.
Duly Noted
