Zane Reynolds is so far the only entrant in the kids division of the annual coho salmon derby, but his mom, Tonya Reynolds, said the 7-year-old’s catch was still impressive. Zane has been fishing for years, and according to his mom knew how to tie a fishing knot before he could tie his shoes. At a recent family outing to Chilkoot Lake, Tonya and husband Michael and other son, 6-year-old Asher, were already bored of the slow day of angling after an hour and a half of fishing. The three decided to go while Zane put in his last casts. Michael was packing up the car when he heard Zane’s voice calling ‘Daddy, daddy, daddy!’ Michael grabbed the net and helped land the 8.45-lbs monster. “The thing was bigger than him,” said Tonya. “It really helped build his confidence.” About 60 tickets have been sold for the annual coho salmon derby, about half of what were sold last year, according to Denise Sherman-Stickler, secretary and treasurer of the Haines Sportsman’s Association. The competition lasts through the end of the month with regular prize drawings. The event is a fundraiser for the Sportsman’s Association’s scholarships and donations to other local charities.
Nori Nash’s tiger-striped rescue kitty Percy got attacked by a still-unknown creature late last month, resulting in several puncture wounds in his lower back that became infected. Nash said she thinks the attack could have been caused by an eagle, hawk, or another cat. Percy was taken to Alpine Vet in Whitehorse, and is now back at home acting “his rascally self.” Nash said Percy’s brother, Dorian, missed him while he was gone.
September 8-9 was the first observed snowfall in the mountains — also known as termination dust — in the Upper Valley, said Jim Stanford, a local weather observer who lives near Mosquito Lake. That’s about average based on previous years, he said, though he doesn’t keep exact tabs on it. He said as of Oct. 4, the snow had crept down to about treeline, which normally means snow might hit the ground in the Upper Valley in about two weeks.
The Hammer Museum was recently featured in an article entitled “Weirdest place in every US State.” The article, which appeared on MSN.com, included photos from the Hammer Museum’s Instagram and read “The first museum in the world dedicated to hammers and the history of the tool… Opened to the public in 2002, the museum even made it onto an episode of Jeopardy! under the category “Offbeat Museums.” Carol Pahl, co-owner of the museum, mentioned that the Hammer Museum was also featured in a similar article in the Times of India which is the “fourth largest English newspaper in the world” in an article entitled “World’s Most Random Tourist Attractions.” The Times of India article featured the Hammer Museum alongside five other tourist attractions, including “The Big Banana” of Coffs Harbor and “Bubblegum Alley” in California. Carol and her husband/co-owner Dave Pahl were alerted to the new articles featuring the museum via Google alerts during the month of September.