Denise Baker, 52, of Haines died Saturday of respiratory failure at Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau. Services are pending. A full obituary will be published in next week’s CVN.
Erika Merklin and Eric Triezenberg were married Aug. 5 on the Chilkat River beach in front of family and friends. Erika’s childhood friend Michael Zimmerman married the couple, who were surrounded by four generations of relatives. Erika’s son Cameron Merklin and Eric’s nephew Dalton Henry served as ring bearers. The couple’s son, Chisel Triezenberg, was in the arms of Erika’s mom, Jane Petroski, during the ceremony. Jane and husband Rick Petroski traveled from Holidaysburg, Pa. Erika’s dad, Bruce Merklin and his wife Brita traveled from Larvik, Norway and Erika’s brother, Ian Merklin, joined the family from northern California. Eric’s mom, Sue Green, and her husband Mike came from Denver and Eric’s dad, Fred Triezenberg, and his wife Kathy came from Indiana. Eric’s grandmother Florence Triezenberg also traveled from Indiana. Both sets of parents filled their days leading up to the wedding playing with their grandkids including Chisel, Dalton, and Makayla Henry, the daughter of Eric’s sister and brother-in-law, Alissa and Ira Henry. Well-wishers gathered at the tribal house on the Fort Seward Parade Grounds for a potluck dinner and Erika’s grandmother, Margaret Merklin, from Delran, N.J., called friends to the dance floor. Erika’s aunt Sue Eshleman was also seen dancing along with Erika’s cousins Liz and Steve O’Reilley and Kevan Duer. Kevan enjoyed his Haines visit so much he is planning to relocate in the spring.
Three European vacations converged at the Frankfurt, Germany airport for the return trip to Whitehorse recently. Irene Hofling and her sons, Izak and Arik Miller, were on their way home from two months spent in Sweden with family. Irene just missed Tom Morphet when both were in Stockholm in July. Tom visited Sweden during a seven-week bicycle tour that included Holland, Germany, Denmark, Belgium and France. Tom was impressed with the bicycle culture of northern Europe, including a two-lane bike path that runs underneath the Amsterdam airport runway to connect with paved trails all the way into the city. In eastern France, Tom visited the site of the Battle of Meuse-Argonne where grandfather John C. Morphet lost his ear to an enemy shell. John was among 95,000 American soldiers injured in the battle that claimed the lives of 26,000 U.S. troops and continued as an armistice was being negotiated. Thanks to a historic battlefield map, Tom was able to locate the hill where his grandfather was injured. He drank a toast on the spot. Linnus Danner and Elena Horner were also traveling home on that Frankfurt flight. The two spent two-weeks biking in Croatia’s Istria region on the Adriatic Sea. They first flew to Venice where they toured the city, including a visit to the Peggy Guggenheim museum on the Grand Canal. They took a boat from Venice to Croatia where they biked about 450 kilometers and camped along the coast.
A free kayak tour sponsored by Alaska Mountain Guides for Haines youth was well attended over the weekend. Seventeen students were joined by parent chaperones Ray Chapin and Knikki Cinocco for two nights of camping and kayaking along the Chilkat Inlet coast between Chilkat State Park and Twin Coves. High winds prevented the group from crossing to Glacier Point but they were thankful that they were on hand at Moose Meadows Saturday when they discovered a fire burning in the woods above camp. Participants were using water bottles to douse the fire until Eli White had the idea to empty dry bags and fill them with seawater. Dylan Swinton and Hudson Sage filled the bags, which were hauled to the fire site. The exertion and excitement left the group feeling accomplished. AMG guides Kyle Bates, Tom Chambers, Billy Morgan and Joel Norton led the trip. AMG sponsors annual educational trips for Haines youth free of charge. A group will spend a day in Skagway rock climbing and zip-lining later this week.
A Hospice of Haines fundraiser at the home of Ann Myren and Tim McDonough featured local music and a wildlife show. Guests gathering for refreshments before the performance observed four brown bears, a sow and three cubs frolicking on the beach in front of the Lutak home. Former music teacher Bob Krebs and daughter Jesse Krebs entertained the group with songs and guitar, joined by local musician Tom Heywood. The second set featured jazz standards and other selections sung by Heidi Robichaud and accompanied by Tom and Bob. Chip and Heather Lende brought Chip’s mom, Joanne Lende, to the event. Joanne is visiting for a month and has seen all of her grandchildren, including Eliza Lende who came up from Juneau for a visit, during her trip. She also spent time with her great-granddaughter Caroline Elliott. Jane Kettering, who is spending two weeks with her son Gregg Bigsby and daughter-in-law Beth MacCready, accompanied Beth to the event.
Teresa and Larry Hura are spending a month in Haines to visit friends and work on their Highland Estates home. Teresa is looking forward to two months in Italy this fall, where she plans to live outside Rome with a host family. In exchange for room and board, Teresa will provide the family with English lessons. Teresa, who taught at Klukwan School 17 years, plans to travel around the region during her stay and will visit the home town of her father’s Italian family.
The Haines State Fair coed softball tournament saw six teams competing over the fair weekend. Haines fielded two teams, the PBRs and the Sport Shop team, and competed against two teams from Juneau, as well as a team each from Skagway and Sitka. The Sport Shop team beat Juneau’s Killer Bees in the championship game Sunday. Haines players are winding down the season, but may travel to Dawson or Sitka for one more tournament. Organizer Brian Elliott gave kudos to borough maintenance staff, including Laverne Bryant and Ralph Borders, who worked with team volunteers to improve the dugouts and maintain the field this year. Brian hopes to continue park improvements this fall and spring. Ideas include aerating and reseeding the field, and building new dugouts.
A YouTube video posted by Gershon Cohen garnered more than 3.5 million hits in the past two months. Footage from the rescue of a young humpback whale in the Sea of Cortez has gained notoriety and increased the visibility of the Great Whale Conservancy, which Gershon founded with Michael Fishbach. The footage documents an effort by Fishbach and others to free the young whale from a fishing net that put it at risk of drowning. Gershon said the video has had a “remarkable response,” and has been featured on nationwide news programs. The power of digital media was driven home to Gershon when pop star Taylor Swift tweeted about the video and more than a million additional hits poured into the site. Search for “Saving Valentina” on http://www.youtube.com.
Four teams played some great volleyball during the beach volleyball tournament at the state fair, said organizer Tomi Scovill. The winning team included Carlee Heinmiller, Liana Shull, Song Nash and Anna Jacobson. Second-place team members included Angelica Sweet, Riley Heinmiller, and Marian Cunningham.