Teresa Land got a big surprise when she arrived at what she thought was a birthday party for her husband David and turned out to be a 40th anniversary surprise party. Family came including their son Kirk Barrett from Whitehorse, daughter Cara and husband Eddie Gilbert from Juneau, daughter Gwen and husband Jamie Sauser with their children Jaiden and Eli from Olympia Washington, son Luke Land and his girlfriend Rayleen Vigil from Poulsbo, Washington and daughter Karissa Land from Hawaii. “I had the shock of my life when my brother and his wife, Anthony and Theresa Giannetto from Spokane, Washington and first cousin Sandi McAnarney from Reno drove up in a golf cart to surprise David and me. Many of our good friends, family and extended family, celebrated with us,” said Teresa. Stan and Kathy Jones held the event at their golf course. Carol Clifton baked a beautiful three-tier cake for the couple. “It was a beautiful day and a very special day in David’s and my life. We will never forget it. We are totally blessed by what our children did for us,” added Teresa.
Corrie and Daniel Stickler celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary by jumping out of a plane above Carcross, Yukon. The couple sky dived with the company Sky Dive B.C. North and it made for a memorable trip. Sons Olen and Aksel got to watch their parents take the daring adventure. “Would definitely do it again, we rode tandem, but I might just want to try and go solo someday,” said Corrie.
Ronnie Alsup was married to Taylor Smith in California on August 10 at a California state courtnhouse. Ronnie’s son Cleighton was there to witness the ceremony; the couple plans on a family celebration on Nov. 3.
A celebration of life will be held Sunday, August 26 from 6-8 p.m. at Chilkat State Park in the covered picnic area for former resident Jennifer Brouwer, who unexpectedly died last week after being stung by a bee. A GoFundMe account has been set up for Jenny’s 5 year-old daughter Anna, to help with future education costs. Jenny’s husband Mark and their daughter were at her side when she died.
Haines educators participated in a conference entitled “Culturally Responsive Education: Our Cultural Landscape,” organized and sponsored by Sealaska Heritage Institute. The conference was held at Juneau Douglas High School earlier this month and included keynote speakers including Albert Kookesh, Father Michael Oleksa, and Zaretta Hammond as well as dozens of breakout sessions promoting the integration of cultural themes as well as changing thinking in order to reach students who don’t feel connected in school. Cory Grant, Klukwan School and University of Alaska graduate and current education coordinator for the Haines Sheldon Museum; Patty Brown, former Haines teacher, now a science and math education consultant and tutor; and Julie Folta, cultural curriculum specialist, attended, as did former Klukwan School teacher, Cynthia McFeeters, who now teaches at Juneau Community Charter School.
Molly Ekstrom was featured on the Salmon Sisters’ popular social media site for her picture onboard the F/V Sherri Marie where she was lying next to a halibut. The boat longlined for the fish that was about as tall as and twice as wide as Molly.
It was a beautiful day for a community barbeque at Picture Point for Parks Appreciation Day. There was a scavenger hunt and driftwood mobile making. Holly Smith, borough planner, put together some maps of the parks around Haines, and there was a survey for attendees about park use and what they wanted to see happen at Haines parks. “I helped with kids activities and advertising and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Council organized the event,” said Community Youth Development director Jackie St. Clair.
A travel writer from Los Angeles, Jeana Shandraw, recently traveled to Haines with her husband Ben and son Whistler. Jeana is influential in the social media world for her travel blog, surfandsunshine.com. Her credits include being listed in Klout’s top 10 Travel Influencers and top 5 Rise Global’s Top 1000 Travel Blogs. You can read her travels through Southeast titled “The Ultimate Alaska Packing List for Photographers.” “She and her family came in exhausted from a full day of travel. They were happy to be welcomed to such a mellow place and have a good meal,” said Dalton City café owner Danina Daniel.
The Haines Chamber of Commerce held its second Town Crawl Poker Run this month. More than 20 participants took part in the festivities that featured many local businesses. Jen Bader was the lucky winner of the Main Street Getaway Package that featured a guided river cruise and dinner. “Thanks to our generous members who made it possible and non-members alike to join the fun,” said director Tracey Harmon.
About 20 people of all ages came to help the American Bald Eagle Foundation paint their new fence. Staff member Katie Dickerson designed the mural and Shannon Cook stenciled the drawing for community members, staff, and interns to paint. Kelly Mitchell helped multiple days to ensure its completion. Kids enjoyed ice cream and many local artists joined in. “Most of marketing is now focused on minimalist nature designs within a focused color scheme. We knew we were going to be putting up a big fence which can be seen as kind of a negative thing, so we thought the least we could do was make it look really good and help the community be more colorful,” said Katie.
Carol Lawrence is grateful for the “fabulous sendoff” the American Legion and Pastor Wayne Cowart gave her husband, and longtime resident, Roy Lawrence, Saturday afternoon. Roy died August 1 in the Sitka Pioneer home. He was 89 and had been in declining health. “The only solemn part of the service was the presentation of the flag and the salute,” she said. “It was truly a celebration” of a life well-lived. There will be an obituary in an upcoming edition of the CVN.