Fletcher Sebens got married Aug. 26 in Haines, at the Chilkat Inlet Retreat owned by Greg Bigsby and Beth McCreedy. The lucky lady is Adela Pastor, from Spain; they met about a year and a half ago in Bali. The two are “disgustingly in love,” according to Fletcher’s father, Mark Sebens. While here, they visited the Kroschel Wildlife Center in Mosquito Lake and Mark Sebens’ gold mines in Porcupine. The bride’s family came from Spain for the ceremony, including her mother, Paloma, her cousin, José, and friends Amparo, Amanda and Justyna. Together, they went through 50 pounds of salmon and 50 pounds of halibut.
Speaking of weddings, a couple off a cruise ship tied the knot here in Haines. Local wedding photographer Melissa Ganey captured the moment for Jeff and Lisa Rodriguez.
Overheard in the borough: Tourism Director Rebecca Hylton spoke Aug. 24 at the Tourism Advisory Board meeting. She noted that the summer has been great, as far as tourism is concerned. “We’ve had a lot of positive comments that have come through the Visitor’s Center this year. So hopefully, that will reflect in the survey that we eventually get going, and also in the reports that the cruise ships have at the end of the season. Even some random comments that I overhear about how beautiful this town is, and how clean, from some of the RVers that came through, that were just impressed, that of all the communities they’ve come through, this is one of the cleanest.” Hylton credited some of the small changes at the borough.
Echoing that sentiment, George Hoffman said during the meeting that at the RV park, he’d heard a lot of positive comments about Haines. The only complaints were about stores not being open when cruise ships aren’t in.
At the same meeting, Hylton also introduced Kiara Hylton, who has been on staff since May and is working as a visitor information assistant. Despite the same last name, the two are not related. “I have never met anyone in my entire life, with my same last name, until she submitted her application,” she said. Kiara Hylton will also take on some larger projects, including attending the Alaska Media Road Show convention in Rebecca Hylton’s place.
Watch out for bears! Several bears were reported to police last month, including — a sow and her cubs trying to get into empty garbage cans Aug. 1 along Comstock Road, a brown bear and two cubs seen Aug. 1 near Young Road, a bear chased away from a cherry tree near Fort Seward Aug. 2, a bear trying to get into a chicken coop on Oslund Drive Aug. 3, two bears “in a cherry tree” on Piedad Road Aug. 4, three bears near Small Tracts Aug. 10, a brown bear in a vegetable garden on Dalton Street Aug. 18, another bear on Main Street near the school, also on Aug. 18, another report of a bear along Comstock Road, again on Aug. 18, another on CIA trails Aug. 20, one on the beach Aug. 23, “feeding on another animal,” and three bears on CIA trails Aug. 26.
Work will soon begin on placing insulation in the attic of the Chilkat Center. The project will be bid on Sept. 21, and the work will be completed by Nov. 30. The project calls for removing and disposing of ceiling batt insulation and furnishing, placing about 15,300 board feet of spray foam insulation, and placing about 600 cubic feet of blown-in cellulose insulation in the Chilkat Center attic.
First Friday had several fun events throughout the town, including live acoustic music at The Bookstore, from Pete Redshaw, and local artist Merrick Bochart displaying her artwork at The Distillery. Plus the American Legion had its weekly Burger Feed, and the Pioneer Bar held its weekly trivia contest and open mic night. Expect more fun for the next First Friday, which will be Oct. 4.
Brenda Gabriel and husband Frank traveled from northern Idaho to Alaska last week with their two cats to trace the footsteps of Brenda’s great-great-aunt Frances Muncaster. Muncaster lived about 30 years in the Haines area before passing away here in 1952. She was a legend in the family, renowned for her grit, courage, and charm. Gabriel said that Muncaster was a “seasoned veteran of the North, having spent years living off the land in the southwest Yukon and parts of Alaska.” In Haines, Brenda and her husband took photos at Muncaster Ave., went to the cemetery, visited the Sheldon Museum, and went to visit the land where Muncaster’s house once stood.
Thom Ely and Aimee Creelman celebrated their love with a ring exchange on Sept. 3 at Heart Point on their property. The rings were made by Fred Shields with the diamond and gold from Aimee’s late mother, Carol Creelman’s wedding ring.
A police blotter dispatch about human remains found on Beach Road that was printed in the Chilkat Valley News on Aug. 24 is less interesting than it might seem. According to borough planner Andrew Conrad, the bones were found at a construction project to build a stairway to Tlingit Park near Beach Road. The project is next to the old Haines Cemetery, so the find was not exactly surprising. Conrad said the borough reported the find to the State Historic Preservation Office.
That’s it for this week. If you want to see yourself (or your friends) in the paper, email the newspaper or Lee Zion at [email protected], because people deserve credit for the good things they do in the community. And besides, honestly, I’m only as good as what information people provide to me.