Travis Russell and Dacotah Smith were married near the shores of Whitefish Lake in Whitefish, Mont. on Oct. 17 by Ron Horn, former pastor of Haines Presbyterian Church. Dacotah wore a flowing ivory gown and a necklace passed down from her great-grandmother. Travis dressed in a Filson wool vest and a new pair of smoke-jumping boots. The couple wrote their own vows. Haines’ friends Jamie and Vance Grubb and Rebecca Kameika joined guests from around the country at the ceremony, including Travis’ mom Josephine Russell of Snowflake, Ariz. and Dacotah’s folks, Steve and Stephanie Smith of Waconia, Minn. Ron and wife Jacque Horn drove up from Lander, Wyo. The newlyweds spent a week hiking in Glacier National Park and at Seeley Lake. They’re planning a cake and a party for Haines’ friends in December. Travis is the state park ranger. Dacotah works in finance at the Haines Borough.
Lifelong Haines resident David Land, 77, died in Anchorage Oct. 22 of complications of COVID-19. A celebration of life and potluck will be held 1 p.m. Saturday at the Haines ANB Hall. A car procession starting 11:30 a.m. Friday at the ferry terminal will lead David’s remains past his childhood home near the Raven House and along the boat harbor and continue to Small Tracts Road and the firehall. A full obituary is pending.
Byrne Power reports his life is good in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. He’s shopping for a home in Tbilisi, the nation’s capital. Now retired, Byrne says he enjoys good friends, food and the company of creative friends. He’s involved in a documentary project with a ballet troupe and is moving ahead with his book of interviews with puppeteers in the Czech Republic. His film work can be found on YouTube at “Georgian Crossroads” and “Gravity from Above.”
Max Graham’s dad Bradley Graham penned the recent obituary of Colin Powell published in the Washington Post. Bradley worked 30 years for the Post as a Pentagon reporter and foreign correspondent. He also wrote the newspaper’s June 30 obituary of Donald Rumsfeld as well as a biography of Rumsfeld, “By His Own Rules.” Bradley operates “Politics and Prose,” a bookstore in northwest Washington, D.C.
Larissa Barrett and husband Trevor spent a recent weekend in the mountains at Hatcher Pass near Palmer. They rented a cabin there and enjoyed skiing in two feet of early-season snowfall and taking hearty meals at Hatcher Pass Lodge. While in the area, they visited with friends Arthur and Jecca Moeller in Palmer.
Twelve chess players raised more than $300 for the Haines Long-Term Recovery Group during a tournament Saturday at the public library. Players included Tommy Thompson, Chisel Merklin, Maddox Rogers, Parker and Spencer Baumgartner, Wendell Harren, Andrew Letchworth, Chevy Fowler, Kyle Clayton and Patricia Faverty. A chess club for students is starting at the library.
About 35 people crowded into the bookstore Friday for a presentation and book-signing by physical therapist Dr. Marnie Hartman, who co-authored “Pain Science-Yoga-Life: Bridging Neuroscience and Yoga for Pain Care.” The book fuses together cutting-edge research on pain and an exploration of practices used in pain care. Local author Heather Lende, who credits Marnie with her recovery from a bicycle accident, introduced Marnie’s presentation. Travis Kukull provided hors d’oeuvres.
Rabbi Sydney Mintz of Haines swam with a team of her San Francisco congregants to support the 10th annual and final Alcatraz Swim for Sight to raise funds to eradicate world blindness. The 1.5 mile-swim from Alcatraz to Aquatic Park in San Francisco took place at dawn on Oct. 23 in 58-degree weather.
Carolyn Goolsby and Mike Stuart of Haines and Nicholle Chandler of Skagway were elected to the KHNS Board of Directors at the station’s annual membership meeting Tuesday in Haines and via Zoom. Members heard reports including that federal CARES Act and other sources have boosted station finances by $231,000 in the past year. The station spent $65,000 in the past year on technical upgrades. Other board members include Haines residents Russ Lyman, Suzanne Vuillet-Smith, Gershon Cohen, and Deb Marshall, and Skagwegians Deb Potter and Tekla Helgason. Jasper Posey recently was hired as morning host and production assistant. The public radio station is 41 years old and has 461 members.
John and Bonnie Hedrick recently made an eight-day trip to the Hudson River town of Irvington, N.Y. to visit son Luke Hedrick and wife Sam. The town is the home of author Washington Irving. They celebrated Sam’s birthday during an outdoor dinner with Sam’s folks Steve and Judy Fink. Other activities included walking and biking the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail that runs past Luke and Sam’s new home and playing with the couple’s five-month-old Bernese mountain dog puppy Maple. Luke works at Google. Sam is an attorney for Fully Story, a tech company.
Artist Katie Ione Craney of Haines recently won a $7,500 project award from the Rasmuson Foundation. Katie will create installations for an evolving series of interactive work focused on vision and hearing. She is exploring memory and sensory-based communication. Her work will include audio and written descriptions, including in Braille.
A Constantine Metal Resources season summary says the company made eight diamond drill holes totaling 2,917 meters of exploration at the Palmer deposit near 40 Mile. Work included progress on geotechnical, engineering and environmental studies including an avalanche study, three stations for monitoring flow on Glacier Creek and two weather stations. The work was budgeted at $8.8 million.
It may not be too late to order a noble fir Christmas tree from Haines High School’s junior class. The deadline is Oct. 28. Call 907-766-6701.
Duly Noted last week incorrectly referred to Randell Jackson and Bill Hartmann as “classmates.” Jackson and Hartmann were not in the same class.