The Deishu Dancers and Jilkaat Kwaan Dancers combined efforts last weekend to perform at Saturday’s eagle release ceremony at the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center in Klukwan. Jack Strong wore an Eagle headdress that is usually displayed in the heritage center. “Our featured song for this ceremony was the Thunderbird song. Elder Lani Hotch told a story about the song and how it ties in with the Eagle Clan. She wanted to do it before the eagle release,” said dancer Daniel Klanott.
Meghan Elliott has returned from visiting family in Texas with her son Adze and daughter Lolana. Meghan’s mom Joan Elliott and stepdad John Cataldi met their newest granddaughter for the first time. Meghan also visited her brother Joe Cataldi and enjoyed taking the kids trick-or-treating. Adze was Batman and Lolana was Batgirl. “We also saw a thunder and lightning storm,” said Meghan.
Jimmy Thompson and his girlfriend Jordan Fickas have returned from a trip to Ketchikan where they picked up Jimmy’s new gillnetter the F/V Moon Beam. “It’s a big upgrade from the F/V Wind Breaker, four feet wider and four feet longer. Took us 42 hours to run, and I wasn’t familiar with the boat yet but it was a tremendous help running the boat through the night to get good time and avoid the bad fall weather,” Jimmy said.
Sally Anderson and Michael Wald were awoken in the middle of the night earlier this month when their outhouse caught fire. The no-longer-in-use outhouse was filled with compost and surrounded by an electric fence as a bear deterrent. “It looked like the compost, not the fence was what started the fire. It was fully engulfed and our neighbor Ian Seward saw it from his window and woke us up by phoning us. Myself, our son Leo, Michael and Ian put it out with a bucket brigade,” said Sally. It was later determined that the electric fence, did indeed cause the fire.
Thom and Lisa Andriesen’s daughter and Haines High graduate Madeline Andriesen performed in a Night of Ava Marias recital at University of Alaska Fairbanks last weekend. Madeline is getting her bachelor’s in music in vocal performance. At the recital she sang one solo with a violinist and four songs with partners. “Every year The Met in New York City puts on an Ava Maria recital and a classmate of mine thought it would be fun to do as well,” said Madeline. Attendees in the audience included other Haines graduates Keegan Sundberg and Seth Waldo. “They have been coming to my performances and supporting me which is great,” she added.
Jenn Walsh and her son Azeo, 1, are home from a global expedition with extended family. The trip included adventures in Helinski and Stockholm, Octoberfest in Munich, saunas in Finland, sightseeing in Sweden, Qatar, New Zealand where they visited a glow worm cave and beaches, and Iceland where they lounged in thermal baths. “Pretty much we just spent most of our time at playgrounds and museums, it was great to have time with just me and my son,” said Jenn. Her uncles David Walsh and Joe Smith Reed traveled with the pair, and her aunt Kathy DeMarinis joined them for the first half.
Ramie Carlson was in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for her friends’ Tenaya Sanders-Roget and Hugo Miramontes wedding. Hugo used to live in Haines and his daughter Yzella Miramontes is a sophomore at Haines High School.
Many Haines residents and former residents have been affected by the California wildfire, also named Camp Fire. Local restauranteur Cambria Goodwin has many friends who have been affected and was in the area recently to photograph the landscape, documenting how the air quality has changed. Former resident Akela Silkman’s sisters, Amber Chastain and Sierra Taylor have completely lost their homes in the fire. Her dad, David Elbridge and stepmom Kerry were under mandatory evacuation last week. “It is a mess. At one point the fire was growing at 80 football fields a minute,” said Akela.