Sean Copeland and Heather Shade were married under sunny skies on Saturday at Chilkat State Park. Gene Kennedy presided over the ceremony and Johnny White provided guitar music. A reception was held along the Klehini River and was well attended by family and friends. Eric Holle and the Swing Shift, along with Julia Scott, did an amazing job with the music, Heather said. Sarah Jaymot catered the event, which included “the best-tasting wedding cake ever” and Joe Bryant cooked a 100-pound pig “to perfection” over the grill.
The Haines Venturer Scouts have returned from two weeks on the Big Island of Hawaii. They camped every night, and spent days hiking, swimming, snorkeling and trying out kayaking and surfing. They kayaked at the Captain Cook Memorial, and took surf lessons. Chaperone Dr. Dennis Franks took care of the group’s scrapes with coral reefs. The group hiked at night into an active volcano to see the red glow of flowing lava close-up and scooped up bits of 2,000- degree lava with sticks. They rode horses at high altitude through cattle herds and saw sea turtles warming themselves on black sand beaches. Scout Serena Badgley said highlights included swimming with wild spinner dolphins. After spotting them from their camp on a beach, Scouts swam out to the dolphins, which swam around and under them for more than an hour. Affiliation with the Scouts opened opportunities including a lesson on tending taro fields at a former sugar plantation with a Hawaiian elder, and a hike into a waterfall with multiple tiers of pools for swimming. The group attended a Memorial Day ceremony at Pearl Harbor, where their troop was announced. The group is planning a trip to Australia in 2014.
Margaret Piggott attended lifelong Skagway resident Barbara Kalen’s memorial June 9. Betsy Albecker, Avrill and Tom Harp, Barbie Kalen, Stan and Wayne Selmer, and many others were present. Stan Selmer gave the eulogy. Margaret made her first speech since suffering a stroke. Barbara showed Margaret Skagway’s hiking trails when Margaret was writing “Discover Southeast Alaska by Pack and Paddle.” Margaret bunked at Kalen’s while working as a laborer on the South Klondike Highway. Margaret proceeded to Whitehorse, Y.T., following the memorial, staying with Joan Turner and Don Murphy. Dandelions have replaced lupine and Jacob’s ladder along the road to Carcross, she said.
It’s not too late to sign up for the borough’s summer youth soccer program. Youth soccer started this week, but Community Youth Development Director Meredith Pochardt says volunteer soccer coaches will have registration forms during practices, 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the high school track through August 9. Players will be divided into three age groups; 4 to 7 years, 8 to 10 years and 11 and up. James Alborough and Greg Palmieri are coaches, along with Meredith and other assistants. The program costs $15. Call Meredith at 314-0641.
The Sheldon Museum is hosting a farewell open house for Karen Meizner at 3 p.m. June 28.
Karen worked as collections and exhibits coordinator since August 2007. She has coordinated overhaul of lower and upper galleries and spearheaded the “Six Week Spotlight Series” to bring the work of Chilkat Valley artists into the museum. Museum director Jerrie Clarke said Meizner would be missed. Karen leaves July 2 to join family in Sitka.
Lisa and Bob Krebs are back in Haines for the summer. The Krebses teach at the American School of Doha in Doha, Qatar, where daughter Jesse graduated from high school this spring. Jesse will attend the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Art in New York City in the fall. The Krebs flew to New York in February for Jesse’s audition, which included the performance of prepared monologues, songs and a short dance routine. Jesse and Bob will perform in Haines at a Hospice of Haines fundraiser hosted by Ann Myren and Tim McDonough later this summer.
Alan and Mae Haines’ daughter Kyra Haines was married to Rex Copsy on April 8. The wedding took place at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. Rex and Kyra’s four-year-old daughter, Kyleea, was the flower girl. Their 18-month-old daughter, Elora, sat with Rex’s mom, Tammy, during the ceremony. Other family members in attendance were aunts Ann Murray and Nadine Price and cousins Adrianne Strawther and William Murray with his fiancée, Pam Hardy. Kyra was given away by her dad, Alan Haines. Instead of a traditional wedding cake, the couple served cupcakes decorated in the wedding colors of purple and white. The cupcakes were placed on a custom-built, four-tiered stand made by the groom and his attendants.
Three belly dance classes were taught weekly in June by Marilynne “Layla” Bertuglia and held at the Zumba dance studio on Main Street. She started the summer classes in Haines six years ago and found that “people liked it.” Bertuglia has been belly dancing for 30 years. She has performed in shows and currently teaches private lessons in her Michigan home. She comes to Haines every summer to visit daughter Jacky Ruggerillo. Belly dance originated in Egypt, where people danced in the streets as a celebration ritual, she said. “It’s a sensual way of exercising and requires concentration, muscle control, coordination, balance, flexibility, and endurance.”
About 40 Haines and Klukwan residents joined the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Dancers in making the pilgrimage to Celebration, the biennial festival of Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures June 7-9 in Juneau. Klukwan’s new “Yaa Kudzigeiya Kaa” or “Wise Man Robe,” made its debut at the event. The robe was created under a master artist initiative grant awarded to Lani Hotch from the Evergreen Longhouse of Olympia, Wash. Other weavers who worked on the project include Kim Strong, Mary Jane Valentine, Adrianne Bochart, Lorraine Kasko, Denise Morris, Carrie Valentine, Tammy Hamilton, and Leanne Converse. Among those attending Celebration were Lani and Jones Hotch Jr., Kaitlyn Stevens, Ashley Williamson, Kyle Strong, Denise Morris and daughters Josie Kahklen and Alicia Morris White and son Douglas; Stan and Tammy Hotch and children Alex, Steven, Logan and Tayla; Sally and Valentino Burratin, Marsha Hotch, Tim Ackerman, Jan Hill, Alice Morris, Bev and Jeff Klanott and sons Daniel and Jeffrey; Katherine Hotch, Jolene Hotch, Karlie and Elsie Spud, Bosh Hotch, Lorraine Kasko, and Joe King. Other Celebration attendees with ties to the valley included Jack Strong of Seattle, Richard and Janice Jackson of Ketchikan and Edward and Janice Hotch of Juneau, along with daughters Tasha and Desiree and three grandchildren. On the way to Celebration, the rear lounge of the ferry Malaspina was busy with last-minute regalia sewing, including adding fur trim and tie straps to the new robe, Lani Hotch said.
Track coach Jim Stanford and wife Deb were in Eugene, Ore. to see trials for the U.S. Olympic track team. Jim said he was awed by the performances, including Ashton Eaton’s new world-record in the decathlon. Stanford also saw Jordan Clarke of Anchorage compete in the shot put finals and Trevor Dunbar of Kodiak run in the preliminary heat of the 5,000-meter run. Clarke, who set Alaska high school records in shot and discus, missed qualifying for the Olympic squad. Clarke was set to compete in the finals in the 5,000 meters June 28.