Esmé Anne Marie Reed was born May 19 at Bartlett Regional Hospital, arriving three and a half weeks earlier than expected. She was 6 lbs. 3 oz. and 18.75 inches long when born at 1:26 p.m. Her gender was a surprise for all and her middle name comes from her two great-aunts. She joins big brother Alden, who turns 3 on June 17. The parents are Kelly and David Reed of Juneau.
Local grandparents Vince and Jansy Hansen have already traveled to Juneau to meet their newest grandchild. Juneau residents and aunts are Christine Loverink and Ann Klausner. Kelly is a counselor at Floyd Dryden Middle School and had intended to complete the school year before giving birth as the final day was set for May 27. Kelly said she and Esmé are home from the hospital and in good health.
Residents had the opportunity to visit Eldred Rock Lighthouse on Sunday, May 22. Susie Waterhouse, Leanne Converse, Thom Ely, Ron Jackson, Diane La Course, Lorraine Dudzik, Dawn Woodard, and Michael Marks were shuttled from Haines to the lighthouse courtesy of the Marine Exchange of Alaska, captained by Ed Page. Marine Exchange employee and Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association board member Jonathon Wood said, “We took a group of ten volunteers and board members from Juneau and dropped them off then continued to Haines and picked up 10 more passengers for a day of work.”
Completed work included painting the outside of the lighthouse and the spaces that had been cleaned of lead and asbestos inside the lighthouse. Volunteers additionally caulked around doorways and exterior windows and used beach gravel to fix the tramway. Thom Ely said he spent the day working on the tramway, using bolt cutters and a sledgehammer to remove old rebar and smoothing out the ramp with beach gravel for easy access. Ely said it was a flat calm sunny day and the boat ride to the lighthouse took about 35 minutes from the Letnikof Dock. Executive Director of the Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association Sue York reports the majority of the work was painting the exterior, a task the Coast Guard last completed in the ‘90s. She encouraged anyone interested in getting involved or wanting more information to visit the nonprofit’s website: http://www.eldredrocklighthouse.org
Local Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association board members are Susie Waterhouse, Michael Marks, and Jim Shook.
Magician Jeff Evans traveled to Haines for the second time to perform at the annual Summer Reading Program kick-off party. Librarian and organizer Holly Davis reported that 82 children signed up for the reading program. They each left with their own folder, pencil, and reading log. The intention is to encourage youth to read all summer break by incentivizing how many books or chapters they read.
Howsers IGA donated $100 towards refreshments, and seven mothers baked pizzas for the event: Melissa Ganey, Susie McCartney, Andrea Ferrin, Lisa Shove, Margaret Plucker, Stojanka Lynch, and Sarah Elliott.
“The pizzas might have been the best magic trick of all. The children went outside the library to do a parade by the totem pole and when their parade ended up coming in through the front door there was a wonderful pizza party that had suddenly appeared in the big room for them,” Davis said.
The third annual Victory Garden plant sale was a success. Darrel and Tina Jerue sold raspberry, strawberry & petunia planters and baked goods. There are still plenty of sunflower, tomato, and herb starts available for purchase. Judy San has been busy staining boards for picnic tables she will be constructing for the center.
The group meets on Sundays from 1-3 p.m. and organizer Erika Merklin reports it’s never too late to get involved. The Mosquito Lake Community Center was gifted $1,000 from Alaska Heliski for seed money to create a kids’ camp to be held at the community center, stay tuned for camp details.
Joe Ordonez recently returned to Haines with an updated printing of his book, Where Eagles Gather, the Story of the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. Joe spent the winter in Mount Vernon, Washington guiding bald eagle education tours along the Skagit River. Joe reports “It was heartbreaking to stand on the edge of the upper river and not see a single bald eagle’s nest.” This experience increased Joe’s desire to update his book with new photographs and information. “The Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve is unique, fragile and critical for bald eagle survival. It is a world-class treasure. We need to work together to keep the Chilkat River clean and pristine,” Ordonez said. A few of Joe’s favorite new photos in the book include a brown bear with porcupine quills in its snout, a raven trying to steal a bite of salmon from an immature bald eagle and an image of the Northern Lights reflecting off Mosquito Lake. The book can be purchased at the local bookstore at at Joe’s website: http://www.tourhaines.com.