Cindy Zuluaga-Jimenez and Matt Jillson married on July 15 at Viking Cove, where Robert Chadwell presided over a service attended by local friends and 33 out-of-town guests. Cindy’s parents, Orlando and Maria Zuluaga, came from Miami and 12 cousins and other family members came from Orlando, Fla. The group arrived after taking a cruise ship from Vancouver, B.C. to Seward, boarding the Alaska Railroad to Fairbanks, flying to Juneau, then ferrying to Haines. Bridesmaids included Rey Harmon, Santa Barbara, Calif; Anna Bacstrom, Big Sky, Mont .; Rachel Deehan, Juneau, and Tawny Darling of Haines. Matt’s brothers, Mike Jillson of Idaho and Chris Jillson of Georgia, served as groomsmen and were accompanied by their wives Jillian and McKenzie, respectively. Matt and Cindy exchanged matching wedding bands in the shape of Celtic knots. Guests feasted on brisket, rack of lamb and halibut prepared by Travis Kukull. For dessert, they enjoyed French macarons made by bridesmaid Deehan, a former Haines resident. A dozen friends from Matt’s career as a mountain-climbing guide came from Seattle. The Fishpickers provided music, including “You Belong to Me,” the couple’s favorite song. Melissa Ganey took photos. Matt and Cindy plan an October honeymoon in Tahiti but took a mini one to Dawson City, Y.T., where they rode fat-tire bikes and spent an 87-degree day splashing around in pack rafts.
Kaitlin Cardinell of Wrangell was in Haines this week, visiting friend Rebecca Kameika after returning from a whitewater canoe trip down the Mountain River, a tributary of the McKenzie River. Kaitlin worked for the jetboat association in Wrangell, promoting trips up the Stikine River. She met Rebecca at the Paths to Prosperity small-business competition in 2022, where Kameika was a winner.
The fuel spill around at the Delta Western gas station at 1: 30 p.m. on July 26 looked worse than it was. Workers spread dozens of sorbent pads around the filling station after some diesel sloshed from the uncapped fuel tank of a vehicle. Manager Jake Eckhardt said such spills are an occasional problem at the station when owners of bus-sized RVs drive off without their caps. Fuel spills out as rigs climb the slight incline up to Main Street.
Trygve Bakke, Aubrey Cook and Ava Graham are serving as summer interns at the Chilkoot Indian Association. Their duties have included publishing the tribe’s printed newsletter, staffing its booth at the Southeast state fair and tending to its greenhouse in the Chilkoot Estates subdivision.
Joe Bagby of Traverse City, Mich., was planning a motorcycle trip to Alaska in 1990 but an urgent family matter forced him to scratch it. “I had this on my mind for 33 years,” Bagby said Wednesday on Main Street. He traveled to Haines aboard the state ferry with friend Beth Hinkson. The pair started their trip in Ketchikan, seeing Petersburg, Wrangell and Juneau before arriving in Haines to visit Beth’s second-cousin Tom Binder. Their visit included picnicking at a Chilkat Inlet beach, climbing Flower Mountain, floating the Chilkat River and scouting Chilkoot River for bear -sightings.
Haines Community Marching Band enjoyed the support of several visiting musicians who performed in Saturday’s state fair parade. They included flutist Ray Alda and clarinetist Camden Kegley, both of Fairbanks, euphonium player Josef Quitslund of Petersburg and quints drummer Buck Owens of St. Petersburg, Fla.
Trumpeter Mark Davis of Haines earned a standing ovation and first place in the adult division at Thursday’s Southeast’s Got Talent competition at the state fair, delivering two surprises. Performing with piano accompanist Lucinda Boyce, Davis played a variation of “Carnival of Venice,” simultaneously playing both the melody and ornamental notes, creating the sound of two horns. Then, while taking his bow, Davis sprung a backflip on stage. Besides a cash prize, Davis won the opportunity to perform at the Alaska’s Got Talent competition at the upcoming Alaska State Fair in Palmer. The Haines Youth Dance Team won the competition’s junior division.
Mollie Dwyer and Dave Thomas of Haines eloped on the banks of the Chilkat River on April 22. Jenty Fowler officiated the ceremony held at about midway on the River Road Trail. Giselle Miller took photos. In June they celebrated at a potluck with friends at the fairgrounds. Mollie says she and Dave are excited to be starting their life in Haines together.
Along with Jewel Kilcher and John Gourley, Halie Loren was named by Singersroom website to a recent list of 10 Famous Singers from Alaska. A jazz singer based in the Pacific Northwest, Halie was born in Haines to Shelia and Larry Smith. Shelia was Haines Borough clerk in the mid-1980s and Larry, an independent engineer, kept equipment running around town, including at KHNS.