Spring hit Haines last week with an incredible force that we should have all anticipated, given how extreme everything has been in our community over the last year, from the weather and grief to the pandemic and politics.
On Apr. 9 school was canceled due to a snow day and one week later on Apr. 16 students had a Friday off again, but this time due to a teacher in-service day. Students swapped their sleds for bikes and were seen swimming at the beach and licking quickly-melting ice cream cones. Throughout the weekend, the Lutak beaches were flooded with families, friends, and dogs as those beaches were protected from the wind in town and on the Mud Bay side. Children were floating around on paddle boards as parents cautioned them about curious sea lions. The warm temperatures caused some movement on the mountains. Heather Call was enjoying the sun and sand at the end of Lutak Inlet with her family and said, “We saw several avalanches just peeling off the rocks and some were on repeat locations. It was poppin’ out there!”
Cyclists are back on the road, usually in fluorescently-dressed pairs carefully avoiding the sand and gravel that accumulated on the roads over the winter.
Genny and Harry Rietze and children watched orcas in Cannery Cove chase, trap, and kill a porpoise. Harry said, “We were super surprised to get such an awesome show.” Genny added, “I have never seen anything like that. It was magical.”
The birds are back and hummingbird feeders are going up around town. The dark-eyed juncos, varied thrushes, and sea birds among many others can be seen and heard. Nelle Jurgeleit-Greene had bear tracks in the mud at her property on Mud Bay road. She said, “There were also moose tracks that it looked like the bear was following.” The school received a call from police to warn students and staff to be careful as a cow moose and calf were near school grounds, another sign of spring. One town gardener reported the soil in her yard was warm, the snow had melted from her garden beds and she was planting over the weekend.
Gardening expert Mardell Gunn, who lives at 38 Mile Haines Highway, has yet to start planting. She said, “We have shoveled more (snow) this year than in the 22 years we have lived here. Our assessment of why it was different this year is that we had very little rain up here through the winter. We got the big dumps during the early December disaster and that consolidated. It did not settle the whole winter and all the additional snow built up on top of it. I have not given up hope completely, but I think it’s unlikely I will plant the third week of May as I have done every year in the over 20 years I have been gardening here. There is lots of snow here still.”
Girl gang Jenn Walsh, Tracy Wirak-Cassidy, and Alisa Beske took advantage of the warm weather and floated the Klehini River in a canoe and pack raft. They packed cross country skis and took out at 25 Mile for a ski along the river. They brought along a BB gun too for some target shooting. Alisa said, “It’s the first time we were able to float the river and ski at the same time. We considered adding a fourth sport, swimming, but we weren’t quite brave enough for that.”
The long overdue spring also included a Northern Light show over several nights. Melissa Ganey and family watched from their new home on Skyline. Melissa said, “Being able to watch them from inside our new home was a whole new awesome, something we will never take for granted.”
On Apr. 18, which happened to be a sunny Sunday, children sold cold lemonade to thirsty patrons. Finn Crowe, C.C. and Ivy Elliott, Makayla Henry, Charlie, Loralai and Lucas Dewitt with the help from Lexie Dewitt raised enough money to donate $100 to the Haines Animal Rescue Kennel. The group hopes to have more sales and donate to a different non-profit throughout the warm weather season.
“Tidal Echoes,” a literary and arts journal, featuring the work of students, faculty and staff of the University of Alaska Southeast and members of the community is available at The Bookstore for purchase. Local writers and artists Mandy Ramsey, Linda Buckley, Katie Craney, and eighth grade student Willow Bryant have work included. Willow wrote her featured poem in Lisa Andriesen’s Language Arts class. She was inspired by the movie “In the Heart of the Sea” which is based on the true story of the Essex, a whaling ship that was attacked and sunk by a giant sperm whale in the early 1800s.
Artist Katie Craney incorporated braille and brown bear hair into her scrap metal piece titled “A Fed Bear is a Dead Bear” as a response to the “excessive and heartbreaking bear casualties last year.”
Jackie Martin said, “The American Legion Auxiliary would like to thank the wonderful people who supported our Taco Tuesday this winter. Thank you for helping to provide scholarships out to our community.” Taco Tuesday runs in Haines January through April. The Friday night Burger Feed continues to support the Legion and all the work they do for the community of Haines.