U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentioned resident Nori Nash by name and praised her efforts in remarks during her official state visit to Bangkok, Thailand recently. Clinton commended Lenore Nash, better known here as Nori, for opening her home to a Thai family flooded out of their house. Nori joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 2010 and has been living in Bangkok for a year. She took part in the U.S. Embassy’s flood relief efforts around the city. The parents and sister of a Thai embassy employee spent a month at Nori’s house but recently moved back home.
Nori and siblings Carl, Amelia and Adrian Nash surprised their parents with an ad in the Chilkat Valley News to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. Nancy and Dwight Nash were married Nov. 25, 1971 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Portland. The pictures in the ad were taken on their wedding day. Nancy sewed her own wedding dress, a red print that coordinated with the peasant shirt she made for Dwight. Nancy and Dwight celebrated their anniversary in Juneau, where they stayed with friend Alexis Rippe over the Thanksgiving weekend and spent the day at the Juneau Public Market where Nancy was selling her crocheted hats. That evening they cheered on son Adrian at the Black Friday basketball tournament where the Haines Merchants won their first four games of the weekend. Nancy also participated in a flash mob performance of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus at Public Market. Organized by brothers Bruce and Roald Simonsen of the Juneau Bach Society and Juneau Lyric Opera, more than 100 people participated in the staged “surprise” show.
Jennie
Stacey
Haines was represented last weekend at the Whitehorse bridge tournament. Bob and Sally Lix were impressed with the friendly atmosphere in Whitehorse and brought home three, first-place wins. All of the Haines players placed high in the ranks and brought home prizes. From Haines, Bob and Sally, Roger Schnabel, Roy Josephson, John Schnabel, Henry Wong, Debra Schnabel and Jim Wilson attended.
Payson
The Schnabel family was well represented during the latest episode of “Gold Rush.” While John Schnabel and his grandson Parker are regulars on the show, last week John’s son Roger Schnabel and Parker’s brother Payson were also featured. Parker called in his dad to help put in a road to a new mining spot at Smith Creek, but later ran into trouble when he backed his truck into a ditch and had to bring in heavy machinery to pull it out.
Annette Smith
Haines Venturer Scouts still have about 35 Noble fir Christmas trees to sell. The group bought 100 trees as a fund-raising venture and need to sell them all, said group president Kim Larson. “Everyone in town says they’re the best Christmas trees they’ve had.” Trees can be purchased at Lutak Lumber and Haines Home Building.
Acts for the Holly Jolly Christmas Follies will include singing, dancing and theater, according to organizer Sue Waterhouse. The show will revolve around the story of a grumpy elf who travels to Haines in order to find Santa Claus Mountain and reclaim his holiday spirit. Already 17 acts have signed up for the evening. Call Sue at 314-0099 if you’d like to participate. Acts should have a holiday theme, be limited to three to five minutes, and be appropriate for a family audience.
enjoyed Thanksgiving in San Diego with daughters Christina and Jade, and their respective husbands, Evren Baskaya and Eric Scheele. Jade and Eric stopped on their way from their home in Austin, Texas, bound to Kauai, Hawaii for their belated honeymoon. They spent Black Friday in storied Balboa Park, playing croquet in 80-degree warmth. “I couldn’t wrap my mind about it being Thanksgiving. It was so hot. I didn’t even take any cool clothes,” Annette said. Schnabel spent a week at home during Thanksgiving break from Northern Arizona University. He brought home roommate Richard Simmer, a student from Austria at NAU as part of an exchange program. Richard enjoyed his first visit to Alaska, including snowmachining and a Ron Horn photography adventure. and Scott Gala hosted Stacey’s parents during a two-week visit to Haines recently. Patricia and Steve Gossard live in Northville, Mich. and scheduled their first trip to Alaska to coincide with granddaughter Mandalyn’s ninth birthday. They were here for the big snows and enjoyed extra time with Mandalyn during school closures. The family drove out the highway on a clear, cold Sunday where they counted 200 eagles and used Judy Jacobson’s spotting scope to find mountain goats. The Gossards pitched in during preparations for the Haines library’s annual Lighting of the Library. Another highlight was touring Donna Catotti’s painting studio and learning about a custom cello Rob Goldberg is crafting. Moiso and John Etheridge spent five summers in Haines before deciding to try out a winter. They first visited Haines on a cruise in 2005, and liked it so much they came back following summers, including to work as campground hosts at Chilkat State Park. The Columbia, Calif. couple was considering a permanent move here, but friends convinced them that they should try a winter first. They arrived on Halloween. Since then, John has learned a lot about operating a snowblower and keeping the house warm with a wood-fired boiler. Jennie says she still enjoys shoveling. They also stay busy volunteering at Haines Senior Center. Jennie is sharing her vocal talent with the Presbyterian Church Choir and the Haines A Capella Women’s Chorus.