Alissa and Ira Henry celebrated a memorable Valentine’s Day in Juneau. Their daughter, Makayla Paige, was born Feb. 14 at 12:19 p.m. Makayla was 9 lbs., 8 ozs. and measured 21 inches. She joins her brother Dalton, 3. Alissa’s mom Sue Green was in town from Denver, Colo. to help the family in Juneau and settle them back in Haines. Makayla’s paternal grandmother is Terry Povey, who was also in Juneau to meet her granddaughter.
Esther Hotch celebrated her 95th birthday on Friday, Feb. 18 at Haines Assisted Living. Esther was born in 1916 at the former 19 Mile village of Kluktoo. You may send your good wishes to Esther at Haines Assisted Living.
Friends are gathering Saturday night at the Elks Lodge for a farewell dinner in honor of Jim and Marcia Turnbull. The Elks will serve up a four-course Chinese dinner and Jim expects a healthy dose of “roast” along with his meal. The Turnbulls spent many summers in Haines with son Mike Turnbull and his family, and moved up permanently in 2006. A former Navy Seabee and 30-year electric company employee, Jim never hesitated to pitch in where he saw a need. “We’re going to miss walking into the store, people calling out your name and stopping to say hello. It’s been a happy time,” said Jim. Jim and Marcia are relocating to Apache Junction, Ariz. to be closer to medical care. Stop by the Elks Saturday to wish them well.
Haines dog-mushing enthusiasts headed up to Whitehorse for the start of the Yukon Quest. Diana Pyle and Bruce and Gail Gilbert traveled together for Diana’s first big sled dog experience. Diana was so taken with the excitement of the race that she is making plans with the Gilberts to go to Nome for the Iditarod finish this year. Gina and Jerry Erny were also in Whitehorse, along with Sue Waterhouse and Jim and Marcia Turnbull. They attended the musher’s banquet prior to the start and Sue, Gina and Marcia won an auctioned opportunity to ride with a musher to the start line. Sue ran alongside Fox musher Ken Anderson’s sled. Marcia balanced on the runners with Dave Dalton. Gina’s musher was 27-year-old Brent Sass, from Fairbanks. “I chose him because I liked his name,” says Gina, but she ended up following his progress on the trail like an old friend. Sass made headlines when he rescued fellow musher Hans Gatt, who had broken through overflow and, soaking wet and hypothermic, had retreated to his sleeping bag. Sass roused Gatt and hitched his team to his own to get them over windy American Summit. The drama of the race has hooked Gina, who plans to sponsor Sass in future Yukon Quest runs.
Joe Ordonez, Edie Granger and their daughter Stella are home from a mid-winter trip that included family time and plenty of beaches. They left for Roatan, the Caribbean Island off the coast of Honduras after spending the holidays in Washington state. On Roatan they became “addicted to snorkeling” and the easy access to vibrant coral reefs teeming with underwater wildlife. They saw barracuda, lionfish and eel, and had fun documenting the bounty with an underwater camera. After a week on Roatan they headed inland to Copan Ruinas, the site of extensive Mayan ruins and a charming town with cobblestone streets. From Honduras they headed to Guatemala City and Antigua, Guatemala to visit Joe’s relatives. On the way home to Haines they stopped off in Miami for an Everglades excursion packed with alligators and tropical wildlife. In Haines, Joe, Edie and Stella are spending the school year at Mosquito Lake and enjoying skiing and snowshoeing.
The Ripinsky Rippers enjoyed their French-themed quilting retreat over the weekend at the Senior Center. Guest instructor Carol McConahy led 24 participants in the “French Braid” quilting project over four days. Becky Nash and Leslie Downer kept the gathering light with humorous games and memorable meals centered around the “Parlez-vous quilt-cais” theme. Michelle Diggins won the French-sayings quiz with knowledge of Americanized French phrases like “a la mode.”
Friends Roger Schnabel, John Katzeek, and Chip Lende are home from a boar-hunting trip in Auburn, Calif. Wild boars are elusive and can be dangerous, as they hide in thickets and run in packs. They ended up with two boars, butchered by former Howsers butcher Phil Kattenhorn, who lives in Auburn. After the hunt, Chip met Heather in Florida to visit with Chip’s mom, Joanne Lende, and his sister and brother-in-law Karen and David O’Connor. From Florida, Heather headed up to New York with sisters Suzanne Vuillet–Smith and Kathleen Augustine to attend the retirement dinner for their father, Bob Vuillet, who recently retired from the Movado Group.
Sierra and Carlos Jimenez and their son Hayden spent three weeks with family in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. They traveled with Carlos’ mom Susie Tandy and stayed with Sierra’s parents Hayden and Bonnie Kaden. One highlight was a fishing trip where they saw flying manta rays jump out of the water “like popcorn.” They caught Bonita fish they served up as sushi and ceviche back on shore. A tour of Seattle on their way home included a visit to the zoo, the aquarium, and two days at the children’s science center.