Friends and family celebrated the marriage of Nori Nash and Brian Pindel Sunday. Nori and Brian were married in a civil ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand in the spring and are planning their formal wedding in Portland next May. Over 80 people joined the couple at the St. Michael’s and All Angels church property at 1 Mile Haines Highway, where the rain cleared for the afternoon. The Haines A Capella Women’s Chorus, led by Nori’s mom Nancy Nash, surprised the party with a performance of a Mozart round and The Beatles’ "I Will." Brian’s parents, Jim and Mary Pindel, who live in Waterford, Wis., were in Haines for the celebration following a trip to Fairbanks and Denali National Park. The party gathered inside the chapel for coffee and dessert where Nori’s dad, Dwight Nash, sang "Love Me Tender." The couple performed "Love is a Rose" with Brian playing a banjo borrowed from Rev. Jan Hotze. Nori’s brother Adrian joined in the chorus and Nori sang an a capella rendition of "Come Rain or Come Shine." Among the well-wishers were Maisie Jones and neighbor Lola Vogel, Nori’s "across the street grandmother." Longtime friend Christina Smith Baskaya, who is visiting from Los Angeles, joined the party with her mom Annette Smith. Sara Fisher, who lives in Seattle and is in Haines visiting her mom Jeni Peters, also joined the celebration. Nori was surrounded by family including sister Amelia, aunt Carol Lawrence, cousin Becky Nash and aunt Diane Nash, who traveled from Juneau. Family friend Alan Traut took photographs. The couple resides in Bangkok, Thailand where Nori works in the U.S. ambassador’s office.
Jeannette and Alan Heinrich hosted Jeannette’s sister Carolyn "Midge" Brecher, Carolyn’s son Puck Brecher and his daughter Zoey for a week in early August. Puck is a Japanese language instructor at Washington State University. They filled their days with wildlife viewing, zip-lining in Skagway, rafting, and visiting family. Cousins Puck and Ashley Sage got reacquainted after 25 years.
Those near the waterfront couldn’t miss the mega-yacht anchored outside the Small Boat Harbor Saturday. Businessman Lord Michael Ashcroft purportedly owns the Lady M2, which overnighted in Haines before heading to Skagway Sunday. A self-described "star stalker" at the harbor identified Lord Ashcroft and wife Susan Anstey as they disembarked from a dinghy. The group took a tour to Chilkoot Lake and had a successful day fishing for sockeye and pink salmon and Dolly Varden. The Lady M2’s sister ship, the Lady M, is 164 feet long and leases for $180,000 per week, plus expenses.
Harvard University student Kirsten Jorgensen is writing her senior thesis on medical ships that visited Alaska coastal communities in the 1940s and 1950s and wants to talk to Haines residents. Kirsten has poured through the state’s archival records and traveled to many Alaskan communities to gather first-hand stories. The ships were fully functional medical facilities primarily commissioned to offer the tuberculosis vaccine in isolated communities. The M/S Hygiene visited Haines in the 1940s. She hopes residents may have stories to share. "It’s really the voice of the people I want." Kirsten grew up in Juneau and has returned to school in Boston. She can be reached at 907-321-4448 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Chris Kemp, Mark Battion and Chris’ brother-in-law Nick Olmsted of Tenakee Springs, rode in the Southern Lakes Bike Loppet earlier this month. The circuit race covers 173 km or about 105 miles and passes through Marsh Lake, Tagish, Carcross, Mount Lorne and Golden Horn. The start point rotates each year. Chris, Nick and Deb Kemp rode as a team last year and Chris, Nick and Mark rode as individuals this year. They were among 13 solo riders and 25 teams for a total of 100 cyclists. Chris appreciated the friendly mix of competition and support along the route.
Irene and Keith Stigen hosted daughter Ginger Wierzbanowski and Ginger’s family, husband Scott and children Calie and Ben, for their annual visit to Haines. The family lives in Arlington, Va. where Ginger works at the Pentagon. Ben celebrated his 11th birthday with a Carol Clifton cake at the Elks Lodge hamburger feed. "They come every summer around this time," said Irene. "Carol has made Ben’s cake for the last four or five years." Ginger and Scott helped Michelle and Gary Stigen with Elks and Emblem Club activities, including a Ducks Unlimited bar night and gun raffle fundraiser.
Residents of Haines Assisted Living and Haines friends celebrated the 90th birthday of Frank Drager Saturday with cake and stories. Frank was born Aug. 19, 1921 in San Antonio, Texas, delivered by his grandmother, a certified midwife in Germany and the United States. Frank’s wife Evelyn brought roses and a cake, and also surprised Lucy Harrell, whose birthday was Aug. 1, with a cake of her own. Doris Bell brought Lucy a sunshine bouquet and friends stopped by to give their good wishes.
Margaret Friedenauer completed a 2.1-mile, open-water swim in Lake Superior Aug. 6. The Point to La Pointe Swim starts in Bayfield, Wis. and finishes on Madeline Island. Margaret swam with sister Andrea Hoeschen, and a friend of Andrea’s, who live in Milwaukee. Margaret trained in Haines with swims in the Haines pool and practice time at Rutzebeck Lake, which she said is "not exactly Lake Superior." Margaret grew up near Lake Superior and learned to swim at there. She was happy to join her sister, an Ironman triathlete, at an athletic event. Margaret finished in just under two hours.
Retired professional golfer Dave Canipe set a new course record at the Valley of the Eagles Golf Links Aug. 14, shooting a 33 on the nine-hole course near 1 Mile Haines Highway. The previous record, held by Canipe and others, was 34. Joe Parnell kept score. "He doesn’t mess up," Parnell said. "Everybody else will mess up once in a while. Dave doesn’t have a bad shot."
More than 65 children and adults attended the finale of this year’s Summer Reading Program at the Haines library Aug. 12. Children’s librarian Holly Davis organized entertainment including songs from Tom Heywood. Recently hired library aide Jedediah Blum–Evitts greeted kids and handed out colorful temporary tattoos. This summer’s theme was "One World, Many Stories" and featured beginning language instruction by community volunteers. Participants on Friday sang a Hebrew alphabet song with Holly and learned "Japanese jumping jacks." Yann Brown helped the group sing in French and Ania Koverdan counted to five in Polish. Carol Waldo brought two young men who are visiting from Lithuania. Algirdas Daunoravicuis and Andruis Pasuinas shared Lithuanian greetings and explained the symbolism of their country’s flag. This year’s Summer Reading Program set new records with more than 10,000 books and chapters read by over 150 youth participants. The program is supported by the Friends of the Library and the Waldo Memorial Fund, which was established by Bill and Carol Waldo to support youth programming at the library.