Georgiana Hotch and Jeff David Jr. (see picture with article) were presented with plaques and gold medals on June 24 from the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood Grand Camp in recognition of five Tlingit men who served in World War II as “code talkers.” Two of them, George Lewis and Robert “Jeff” David Sr., both now deceased, lived in Haines. Along with Native American and Alaska Native people representing more than 30 tribes, Tlingit men from Southeast Alaska were recruited by the U.S. military to transmit secret messages in their tribal language.
“Navajo code talkers have long been recognized for the crucial part they played in World War II, but until very recently, no one knew that code talkers also used the Tlingit language as an uncrackable code,” Hotch said at the ceremony at the Haines ANB Hall. “These ‘code talkers’ as they became known, created the only unbroken codes in modern warfare and helped assure victory for the United States over Japan in the South Pacific.”
The names of Tlingit code talkers were declassified by the U.S. government in 2013. The Alaska Legislature officially honored the men in 2019. Grand Camp formalized its recognition of them in an October 2021 resolution but delayed its Haines celebration due to the pandemic.
Xavier Terras D’Epremesnil was born to Lara Law and Alain D’Epremesnil at 9:40 p.m. April 28 at the Birth Center in Phoenix. Xavier measured 22.5 inches and weighed 9 pounds, 1 ounce. Dad said Xavier’s arrival came between two dog walks. “It went pretty easy,” he said of the delivery. Xavier is the couple’s first child.
Residents Deborah Davis, Mary Jean Sebens and Sue Folletti joined some former residents attending a celebration of life for Haley Rostron Gardner on June 12 in Bellingham, Washington. The Rostrons lived in Skagway and Haines before moving to Washington state.
Mardell Gunn and Mark Kistler recently returned from a two-week family reunion with 50 members of Mardell’s family in Wadena, Minnesota. Family members came from as far away as Japan, the Philippines, California, Florida and Canada for the get-together on the former dairy farm where Mardell and her siblings grew up. Siblings meeting up included Lavon Lown, Bradenton, Florida; Don Gunn, Wadena; Bonita Nordaas, Bradenton; Jerry Gunn, Minneapolis; and Karen Geisbrecht, Winnipeg, Manitoba. A highlight was bike touring more than 140 miles on paved bike trails there.
Margaret Piggott visited Toronto for a tribute to brother Michael on May 28. He died July 2021 at 91 years old. Margaret planned to be escorted to Whitehorse by grandnephew Alexander Yukio Piggott and his girlfriend Rebecca Chen, but they came down with covid in Juneau. In Whitehorse, Joan Turner and Don Murphy offered Margaret dinner and a bed before she flew to Toronto, where she saw sister-in-law Norma Piggott, niece Diana with husband Bart Hick, and nephews Andrew and Stephen with their respective spouses Hiroko and Deirdre. Margaret also enjoyed seeing grandnephews Paul, Sebastian and Tim Piggott, and their various girlfriends, as well as Christopher Akio Piggott and Matthew and Adrienne Hicks. Margaret gave a speech at the service about living in wartime England.
Steve Neidhart and wife Bridget Egan Neidhart were busy on a recent visit back to Haines. Besides hikes to Battery Point, Moose Meadows and up Mount Riley, they took a jet boat up to the Chilkat River gorge and visited with Hugh Rietze there. They saw Mark Sebens’ gold mine operation on Porcupine Creek, went gold panning and took in some filming of the GoldRush Whitewater. They also enjoyed dinners with friends Roger and Nancy Schnabel, Chip and Heather Lende and Larry and Teresa Hura. Steve is former comptroller of Southeast Roadbuilders. He helped organize the men’s local softball league and start the Weeping Trout Golf Tournament.
Bob and Lisa Krebs are back in town, the first summer they’ve returned to Haines since 2019, due to covid travel restrictions. The pandemic eliminated their jobs in China in 2020 and they taught online from Bali, Indonesia, until finding work at an international school in Chennai, India. Bob and Lisa are former Haines music and elementary school teachers, respectively.
Sandrine Thompson organized a mushroom cultivation workshop on June 26 at the Mosquito Lake Community Center. Tommy Thompson taught the 13 attendees how to grow and care for their own mushrooms. Erika Merklin, one of the attendees, said it was a great workshop and that each person left with oyster mushrooms to grow at home. They plan to organize another workshop in the fall.
Sarana Miller finished up a four-day yoga retreat in Haines last week. People traveled from Juneau, Whitehorse and even the Lower 48 to participate in the event. “The retreat went really well,” Miller said. “Students left feeling grounded and refreshed by the yoga, food, community and landscape.” Marnie Hartman also hosts yoga classes at Letnikof Cove every Tuesday.
Vacation Bible School took place June 20-24 at the Haines Presbyterian Church. Holly Davis organized the event along with help from Amy Nash, Tracy and Avari Getchell, Crystal Lloyd, Dana Perrard, and many teen volunteers. Twelve youth group members came up from the First Presbyterian Church in Kingwood, Texas, to volunteer. The Texans served as crew leaders and helped organize games and crafts. Nash organized Beyond VBS, a program for kids to go to church every Wednesday this summer from noon to 1:30 p.m. to learn more about the bible and play games.
Haines High School alum Mori Hayes was featured in the Alaska Center for Energy and Power newsletter on June 27. Hayes graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, this year with a degree in mechanical engineering. Hayes is interning this summer at the energy center and plans to travel across Alaska interviewing farmers with well-functioning greenhouses. After conducting research, Hayes will work to design a year-round greenhouse that will help Alaska communities grow fresh produce.
Patty Brown hosted a teacher institute this week in Haines. Nine teachers attended from all over the state, and 22 locals helped out. Brown said she hoped the institute would shift science education from a focus on memorizing facts toward curiosity-based learning. Lydia Andriesen, a sophomore at University of Alaska Fairbanks, who is majoring in renewable resources, showed the participants Haines’ hydropower plant and explained how it works. Tracy Wirak-Cassidy conducted a lesson on Haines’ three watersheds – the Chilkat, Chilkoot and Ferebee river systems. “It was a huge blast of how to learn to use your backyard to study science,” Brown said. She said she hopes to hold a teacher institute every year.
Southeast Alaska State Fair is seeking exhibit category superintendents. Superintendents set up exhibit displays at Harriett Hall and choose exhibit judges but needn’t be experts in exhibit categories they supervise. If you can help, contact Emma Brouillette at the fair office, 907-766-2476. The fair is one month away.