Nate and Jan Mohan recently spent a fun two weeks in the Southwest, including hiking at Big Bend National Park in Texas. Highlights included seeing coyotes and javelin and stopping for lunch in Boquillas del Carmen, a village in Mexico just across the Rio Grande River. Sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s sent them in search of shade. The trip included a stop in Santa Fe, N.M., to visit Jan’s family.
Paul Wheeler and Jeanne Kitayama’s Haines Brewing Co. was one of 13 breweries featured in a Forbes magazine article titled, “Little Known Alaska Breweries May Be Among Best in Country.” Bill Howell authored the article. Howell is an Alaskan beer writer, author and lecturer who has penned four books. “Haines Brewing has earned a reputation, among Alaskan beer aficionados, of a hidden gem,” Howell wrote.
Christian Lende returned to Haines from Margaret River, West Australia, for the holidays with partner Ella Shepheard and their children Luca, Mateo and Lila. It’s a big Haines reunion for Chip and Heather Lende’s five children, including Joanna and Bryan Hinderberger from Juneau, with children, Henry and Emilia and the pending arrival of Eliza and Justin Dorn and children Molly and James, also from the Capital City. The crowd around the table Sunday will include Stojanka and Nels Lynch and children Lani, Sylvia Rose and Teddy, and Sarah and Brian Elliott, with daughters Caroline and Ivy.
Mark Davis, a trumpeter studying music at Michigan State University, joined brothers Luke Davis and J.C. Davis and Maddox Rogers in a brass quartet that performed a tribute to the Salvation Army at Sunday’s Tinsel and Tidings. The 1950s-themed variety show organized by Sue Waterhouse and formerly known as the Holly Jolly Follies included 14 acts, including the Presbyterian Church Bell Choir, the Haines Dolphins Swim Team and Scott Pearce performing “Silent Night” on the musical saw.
Albert and Lori Giddings‘ daughter Jess and her husband Austin send their love and holiday greetings to all their hometown friends and family. They are in their second year of teaching graduate students at a Science and Technology University in Mainland China. They were both working overseas in Hong Kong and China before their wedding during the COVID-19 epidemic and subsequent placement together in China.
Kirby Faverty spent a week with parents Tom and Patricia Faverty in Haines, where he had the chance to shoot hoops with the Glacier Bears’ varsity squad. Kirby is a sophomore studying computer science at Portland State University. He’s playing intramural hoops.
Chris and Deb Kemp met up with Deb’s sister Rita Pfenninger in Tucson, Ariz. Rita is married to Chris’s cousin, Larry Hoare. Trip highlights included daily walks in the desert, swimming outdoors, driving to the top of 9,171-foot Mount Lemon and touring the Sonoran Desert Museum. Rita and Larry live in Homer.
Santa’s long whiskers are real. That’s the word from Rusty Goodin, who served as St. Nick’s helper this year, with appearances at HARK’s pet photos event, the fire department’s Christmas party, Sheldon Museum’s open house and the annual holiday parade. Other visits are pending. Rusty said he’s a hermit, but there’s magic in the red suit. He inherited his flashy duds from Mike Howard, who logged 20 years as the jolly elf.
Heli-ski operator Reggie Christ is featured in a cover article about Haines printed in recent edition of Big Life, a quarterly journal based in Sun Valley, Idaho. The article is titled “The Land of Wow: Haines, Alaska: Where the Road Ends and the Mountains Meet the Ocean.” “The amount of high-quality, aesthetic ski terrain is what makes the mountains around Haines and the skiing world class,” wrote correspondent McKenna Peterson.
Lea Harris took first place in the cookie division in the annual Cookie and Candy contest at Haines Sheldon Museum. Harris entered a shortbread cookie with a cherry topping. Ali Gustavson won second place for her thin oatmeal cookies. There were no entrants in the candy division.
Need a little holiday spirit? Provide a side dish for a senior citizen potluck on Christmas Day. The meal will be held 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 25 at the Haines Senior Center. A main dish will be provided. Jonathan Richardson of the Haines Shuttle is providing rides. To schedule a ride, phone him at 907-314-0042. The meal is important, as senior center lunch is not provided on weekends