Duly Noted

Daniel Johnston is back in Haines after a five-month trip that included two-month stays in India and Sri Lanka. He kicked off his trip with a visit to Seattle, where he visited fellow Glacier Point guide Sam Edwards and Sam’s mom Mary. In India, Johnston and girlfriend Erin Dowden of Skagway visited cave temples and ruins, the Taj Mahal, and the Ganges River. Johnston used his Haines Glacier Bear sweatshirt as a pillow on crowded trains in the country of over 1 billion people. In Sri Lanka, they saw blue whales, leopards, elephants, and sea turtles laying eggs. They also met up with Christian Racich of Skagway who was also in Sri Lanka. En route to Haines, Johnston stopped in Texas for visits with family.
About 70 people sipped wine at the Chilkat Center Friday during KHNS’s Sip Into Spring wine tasting. KHNS development director Leslie Ross estimated the event brought in about $1,350. Adrian Franks, who celebrated her 44th birthday on the fourth day of the fourth month of the year, was among the winners of the wine raffle.
It’s been a busy few weeks for Lola Vogel. During “Tuesday coffee” recently at the senior center, friends celebrated Vogel’s 91st birthday. Daughter Judy Bryan brought a pink-frosted cake – one of three cakes Vogel received. She also received a letter from Tim Solomon, mayor of her birthplace, Havre, Mont. Daughter and former resident Susan Cudnik of Houston, Texas then arrived in town for a weeklong visit. Cudnik works for Rice University.
Diana Pyle spent a couple weeks in Tucson, Ariz., visiting family. She enjoyed time with sister Suzanne and Jonathan Taylor, as well as daughter Caitilin Taylor and husband John Hall. Pyle enjoyed doing yard work and going for desert walks.
Donna and Wayne Walter returned from their winter stay in Kansas, where they grew up, attended Kansas State University, and farmed for 30 years before moving to Haines. The couple also drove to Alabama for their grandson’s wedding. They made 11 stops along the way, including a 60-year high school reunion, family reunions, and visits with children.
Residents Sue Libenson and Laurie Mastrella recently joined Anissa Berry of Juneau for a 65-mile loop ski on the southern lakes of British Columbia. Starting in Atlin, B.C., the trio pulled sleds north to Scotia Bay, following the historic railbed connecting to Graham Inlet, and headed west to Taku Arm. They turned south at the arm, then went east along Wann River and Edgar Lake to reconnect with Atlin Lake at Torres Channel. The five-day outing included a stay at the cabin of Jim Brook of Rupert Creek, B.C. Brook is credited with collecting the first specimens of the Tagish Lake meteorite, which exploded in the atmosphere and was seen throughout the region, including Haines, on Jan. 18, 2000. Berry is a former pilot for L.A.B. Flying Service.
Former Sheldon Museum director Addison Field has been promoted to chief curator of the Alaska State Museum in Juneau. Field replaces Bob Banghart. Field began his Alaska museum career in 2004 at the reception desk of the museum he now will be managing. He spent two years at the Haines museum before returning to the capital city as curator of collections and exhibits for the Juneau-Douglas City Museum.
Professional auctioneer J. Moody hosted Saturday’s fundraiser for the Venturer Scouts’ Outback dinner Saturday. Wife Valerie is still in Severance, Colo. with daughter Halei, who is graduating from high school this year and planning to attend University of Colorado-Boulder. Daughter Jackie Moody recently graduated from University of Northern Colorado with degrees in German and English.
Jeannette and Alan Heinrich’s odyssey through winter storms in the southern United States included traveling just 26 miles in nine hours, and spending six hours in a rest area. They saw dozens of cars off the road while traveling through Arkansas, Alabama and Florida, where winter driving conditions brought traffic to a standstill. Their travels included visiting sons Kurt and Karl and their families in the Dallas, Texas, area and seeing Jeannette’s Beloit College roommate Jan Ricci in Sarasota, Fla. Alan’s sister Suzanne Dorsey and husband John flew from Redlands, Calif. to meet up with them in Dallas. They also visited his sister Lorinda Lewis and husband Dan in Havelock, N.C. and sister Heather Montanile in Bozrah, Conn. In the Northeast, Alan and Jeannette visited daughter Tara and family in Amherst, N.H., and Jeannette’s mom, 105-year-old Betty Bacon in Cromwell, Conn. Their trip included a day in Disney World and a glass-bottom boat reef tour in the Florida Keys.
Jean McCrae Clayton is living in Haines again, joining daughters Jan Hill, Kathy Berzanske and Sue Folletti who are happy to have her back in town. Clayton lived in Juneau for the past 15 years, where son Mike Clayton resides. While visiting Haines at Christmas, Clayton shared the news of the move with her daughters. Hill greeted her mother at the airport with a bouquet of flowers on her arrival April 1.
Terry and Bonnie Sharnbroich spent a few months visiting family and friends. Visits with their three sets of children and grandchildren included time in Fairbanks with son Jeff and family, Anchorage with daughter Jennifer and family, and Seattle with son Gary and family. The couple also visited friends in Phoenix and in Shreveport and Ruston, La. On the drive back north, the couple was forced to “scoot through Dallas” to avoid a March ice storm. “The daffodils looked pretty cold,” Bonnie said. In Seattle, they met up with Crystal and Al Badgley and Ron Horn. Jeff played on the Klukwan team in the recent Gold Medal tournament in Juneau, where he was MVP of the master’s division.
Sue and Joe Poor spent part of the winter in Casa Grande, Ariz. before heading to the Pacific Northwest in their fifth-wheel camper. They visited their children in Portland and Port Orchard, Wash. and “did all the things that grandparents like to do,” Sue said.
John and Peggy Davis of Worthington, Ind. had a weeklong visit with son Matt Davis, wife Holly, and children Mark, Luke, John, and Meg. They attended the Hooptime tournament in Juneau, where they enjoyed watching Mark and Luke’s basketball games.
Haines students Sarah Long, Brittney Bradford, and Zoe Hamilton are among approximately 50 Alaskan students winning state honors and advancing to the National History Day contest at the University of Maryland in College Park in June. The competition will include nearly 3,000 students presenting projects on the theme, “Rights and Responsibilities in History.” Historians and educators will judge the competition, awarding scholarships and cash prizes.