Michael Smith and Julie Rae were married on March 16 in Tavares, Fla. The wedding was aboard the Dora Queen, a local paddleboat sailing on Lake Dora. The ceremony was held on a sunset cruise with 50 friends including Sue Waterhouse of Haines, Linda Buckley of Juneau, and Michael’s daughter, Marren Gilchrist, of North Carolina. The ceremony was officiated by close friends Maria deSousa and partner Paul Sousa. Live music and dancing followed and the moonlit party moved to Ruby Street Grille where Michael serenaded his bride with Bob Dylan’s “Wedding Song” and Julie responded with John Denver’s “Annie’s Song.” Playing the ukulele, Linda contributed her own song about Florida adventures with the couple. The reception included a four-tier stack of desserts.
Patty Brown is spreading the word of a webinar of the new book, “The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke,” by Monroe Robinson. A modern wilderness man living in a hand-built cabin in today’s Lake Clark National Park, Proenneke’s craftsmanship and wilderness lifestyle was immortalized in films and books. While working as a wilderness park ranger, Patty was his closest neighbor during the summers of 1990-91, when the two would share hiking adventures and meals of sourdough pancakes or grayling soup. Patty surprised him on his 77th birthday in 1993, arriving by floatplane at his remote cabin wearing a strapless gown. She’s featured in the movie, “Dick Proenekke: At Home in the Wilderness.” Proenneke left Lake Clark in 1996 and died in 2003. The webinar is at 5 p.m. on March 31. A link is on Patty’s Facebook page.
The Chilkat Snowburners capped their six-event season Saturday with a hill-climb competition at Herman Lake, also known as Cave Lake. Club board member Zack Ferrin said 10 snowmachines raced on a 500-foot course on the hillsides around the lake on Sunshine Mountain Road. The top finishers were 1) Woody Pahl, 2) Chris Brooks, and 3) Steven McLaughlin. Ron Sloper was awarded the Red Lantern and Kelly Huff received a special style award for successfully competing on his decades-old, fan-cooled Yamaha Phaser. About 30 riders and spectators enjoyed sunshine and a barbecue lunch.
College professor and former CVN reporter Micah True recently published an opinion piece in The Conversation, a scholarly news website. His essay concerns a 400-year-old text written by Jesuit missionaries about the Catholic Church in colonial Canada, and relations with First Nations people there. Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission is seeking a papal apology for historic abuses of the nation’s indigenous people by the church.
Haines Little League President Paul Carrington is seeking volunteers for the coming season including coaches, umpires, groundskeepers, and staff for the concession stand at the ballpark and the burrito booth at the Southeast Alaska State Fair. About 60 youths ages 7-14 played last year in two, age-division leagues. Carrington said he’d like to develop a third team in the age 12-14 league, which would allow players more playing time. An organizational meeting is set for 2 p.m. on April 10 at the public library. For questions or to help out, phone Carrington at 907-738-2468.
About 890 of the 1,300 general admission tickets for the Great Alaska Home Brew and Craft Beer Festival have been sold, reports Amanda Randles at the Southeast State Fair. All 400 tickets for the early-bird “Connoisseur Tasting” are gone. Eighteen breweries have committed to bringing their brews and as many as five new ones are expected, she said. “It’s pretty exciting how many of the new places are reaching out to us.” Brewfest is set for May 28 at Dalton City.
There’s an April 8 deadline to complete a survey to the Alaska Department of Transportation on how it should spend money from the federal infrastructure bill. The link to the survey is at dot.alaska.gov/infrastructureact/.
Dave Tinnis won the recent Aaron Nash Memorial Pool Tournament at the Fogcutter Bar. Twenty-nine players participated.