I was moved by the fine obituary for Norm Smith Sr. in a recent issue of the Chilkat Valley News. I met him three or four times over the years, but it wasn’t until three years ago that we formed a friendship through our mutual interest in local history.
Norm’s research on local military and Native history was trailblazing in many ways. His work is invaluable, especially his essays about Commander L.A. Beardslee in 1879-80…