Duly Noted

John Hagen Jr. and Margaret Friedenauer drove to Haines from Anchorage during the holidays to visit John Hagen Sr. They visited with Margaret’s former office mate Doris Bell and her son Russ Bell, enjoyed a salmon dinner with Debra Schnabel, had coffee with Leslie Evenden and spent time with Phyllis Sage and Joanne Waterman. John’s brother Michael Hagen came up from Seattle and the brothers enjoyed house projects and cribbage with their dad. John works as curator for Indigenous Arts and Initiatives at the Anchorage Museum. He has taken up curling and also enjoys spending time with former KHNS reporter Steve Williams and auntie Hattie Albecker. Margaret works in economic development for the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference. She is taking advantage of the city’s lighted ski trails and says it’s good being back in Alaska.
About 30 residents braved icy roads to attend River Talk at the Chilkat Center Aug. 20, featuring eight stories around the theme “Frozen.” Storytellers included Tom Heywood, John Norton, Jojo Goerner, C.J. Jones, Annette Smith, Tom Morphet, Judy Ewald, and Madeline Russell. The next River Talk is set for Feb. 17, with the theme, “Lost and Found.” To tell a story or to help with tickets or refreshments, phone Kristen Brumfield at 907-419-0374.
Haines High School junior Uriel Bravo has designed two tops for scholastic sports recently, a T-shirt for the Region V Volleyball Tournament and a warm-up for the Haines girls’ varsity basketball team. Uriel creates digital art.
The Tournament of Readers started Monday at Haines School, with daily reading comprehension competitions between teams of students in grades 2-5 at lunchtime. Fifty-two students on 13 teams will compete in the double-elimination tournament through Feb. 25, according to school librarian Leigh Horner. A tournament schedule is posted outside the library. The public is welcome to attend. Masks are required.
Haines School art teacher Giselle Miller’s wedding ring is still missing. She’s hoping it might re-emerge with melting ice and snow. She’s considering trying a metal detector around the school parking lot when snow melts. The ring is a family heirloom with a diamond setting and a platinum band. Giselle suspects it’s in the vicinity of the school art room or parking lot.
The Erekson and Egolf families enjoyed a Big Island reunion at Waikoloa Beach Jan. 7-17, including night swimming with manta rays, charter fishing, birding, hiking, touring botanical gardens and dining at Lava Lava Beach Club. Longtime friends Joanna Egolf and Fuzzy Von Stauffenberg used the event to celebrate their birthdays, wearing sashes. Making the trip were Judy Erekson and sister-in-law Catherine Iliff of Tempe, Ariz., Ben Egolf and wife Emily, Will Egolf and Jenn Hoekstra, Jordan and Keely Baumgartner and sons Spencer and Parker, Carlee and Will Young, and C.J. Erekson and husband Dennis Methvin. On the island they met up with Mike, Liz and Rigel Falvey and Rigel’s daughter Annabelle Beckish, as well as with former resident Rebecca Redwine Lincoln and husband Keith Lincoln. The trip was Judy’s first to Hawaii.
Tracy Wirak-Cassidy of the Takshanuk Watershed Council will be leading “Snow School,” a two-month program of snow education and recreation for grades K-5 at the Haines School starting February. Aligned with the school’s science curriculum, the program will include a classroom lesson on snow science, snowpack and other topics plus an outing on snowshoes or skis. Wirak said she’s hoping to continue the program in future years and expanding it to include January.
Hoops fans can enjoy a big weekend of basketball at the Haines Invitational Tournament. Glacier Bear boys and girls teams will host boys and girls “C” teams from Mount Edgecumbe and Sitka, Thunder Mountain’s JV boys, and Petersburg’s JV girls. Games start after classes Friday and continue through Sunday. Masks and distanced seating will be strictly enforced. Lynzee Swinton is tournament coordinator.
Thanks to Bill and Gabe Thomas and the other volunteers keeping the sidewalks and parking area sanded near the elementary school.
Craig Franke, Sabrina Stickler, Pam Long and Rodney Hinson were elected to the board of directors of the Haines Chamber of Commerce in December. The chamber’s annual banquet, initially set for Feb. 12, has been postponed due to a spike in COVID-19. The banquet was last held in 2020.