Emilia Ann Montaudon Poisson was born April 17 in Santa Rosa, Calif. to Sara Poisson and Alberto Montaudon. She weighed 7 lbs., 2 ozs. and measured 21 inches. Sara’s mother, Carol Poisson, was on hand for Emilia’s arrival, along withAlberto’s sister, Nuria Montaudon, and Nuria’s daughter, Mariana. Sara’s dad, Gary Poisson, met Emilia moments after her arrival. Sara, Alberto and Emilia are home in Haines. Alberto’s mother, Nuria Ferrer, who lives in Comala, Mexico, arrives this weekend to spend time with her new granddaughter.
Chisel Martin Triezenberg was born 6:17 a.m. Saturday, May 21 to Erika Merklin and Eric Triezenberg. Chisel weighed 7 lbs., 14.5 ounces and measured 20.25 inches. Chisel’s big brother Cameron Merklin-Bauer arrived in Juneau Sunday to meet his baby brother. Erika’s mom, Jane Petroski, arrives this week from Pennsylvania and will come back to Haines with the family.
Penny Fossman graduated magna cum laude from Clinton Community College in New York State with her associate’s degree in nursing. She is happy to be home with her family in Haines and will be applying for nursing positions. Penny celebrated her accomplishment with a family barbecue at the home of her parents, Steve and Ann Fossman. Brother Kyle Fossman baked the German chocolate cake with the help of Penny’s daughters, Nora and Addie Prisciandaro.
Haines was well represented at Petersburg’s Little Norway Festival this year. A lively group of friends headed to Petersburg for the weekend of community events celebrating the town’s Norwegian heritage. Sue Waterhouse, Doris Ward, Gina and Jerry Erny and Jacque and Ron Horn joined the fun. Bill and Rocki Rostad also made the trip. Bill is a member of the Sons of Norway in Everett, Wash. and attended a traditional Norwegian lunch with open-faced shrimp sandwiches and blotkake cake adorned with strawberries and whipped cream. Around town, residents dressed in traditional folk costumes, and a rowdy bunch of Vikings and Valkyries roamed the streets making mock arrests. Ron Horn was thrown in jail for “impersonating a preacher” and had to come up with bail money for the fundraising gag. Jacque helped raise the funds to free her husband. Sue and Gina participated in the “herring toss” competition and Gina ran her first 5K race. Sean “Dog” Brownell and his daughter Neva were also in town for the fun.
Jodi Stickler-Ivie was happy to return to her hometown for a week of visiting. Jodi lives in Arlington, Wash. where she is an orthopedic physician’s assistant. She stayed with her parents, Bob and Diane Stickler, and attended the eighth grade promotion ceremony of her son, Jacob Stickler-Ivie, who is living with his grandparents. Jodi enjoyed relaxing with her parents and worked on quilting projects with her mom. She was surprised at the changes around town since her last visit more than four years ago, including the demolition of her childhood school and the new assisted living facility. Jodi’s daughter Hillary Stickler-Ivie is graduating from high school in June and will attend Edmunds Community College to study horticulture. Hillary caught the landscaping bug in Haines when she worked for her aunt and uncle, Jack and Toni Smith, at their local nursery.
Volunteers gathered at the Haines Senior Village to spruce up the grounds. Mardell Gunn, Mark “Diz” Kistler, Henriette Arenson, Bill Herman, Jean Smith,Ron Jackson, Carol Tuynman, Margaret Sebens, and Bob and Sally Lix spent many hours working around the property. According to resident Joan Snyder, “The courtyard, which passersby seldom see, but which the residents look out onto every day, is a real delight. The residents are especially grateful.”
Marilyn and Paul O’Connor enjoyed a brief visit to Haines for the graduation of their grandson, Zakery Little, from Haines High School. They enjoyed a seafood feast of fresh shrimp and crab cooked up by Steve Anderson at the home of Steve and their daughter K.C. O’Connor with grandchildren Neil and Sadie as well. Marilyn and Paul live in Tucson, Ariz. This is their first Haines visit.
Former residents Matt Rutten and Angie Hodgson spent 10 days in Haines with their children Lucas, 6, and Sonja, 4. The family lives in Fargo, N.D. where Angie is a biology professor at North Dakota State University and Matt is a piano tuner. They stayed with friends Steve and Niki Ritzinger and their children Heidi, Zachary and Leah. They caught up with many old friends, took a family float trip down the Chilkat River, hiked Mount Riley and enjoyed beach cookouts. They hope to make an annual summer trip to Haines.
Former Haines Division of Parks workers Doug Sanvik and Bill Zack were among those in a crowd assembled Saturday at Skater’s Cabin in Juneau to celebrate the life of Terry Rader, a Department of Natural Resources official who started his career in Haines in 1980 as a park ranger. Rader died May 1 at age 64 of brain cancer. Rader was an Air Force veteran and motorcycle enthusiast. He rode his Harley Davidson 80,000 miles around the United States after retiring. He is survived by wife Kathie Rader and two of her children.
Maggie Stearn had a surprise visitor at her hair salon this week, a Canadian cruise ship passenger who had read about Stearn’s work as a volunteer pooper-scooper in McClean’s, a national news magazine in Canada. Rev. Christine Frye of Odessa, Ontario “just felt like it was fate” to meet when she read the article and matched the town with her cruise destination, Stearn said.