There will be a funeral for longtime resident Bruce Gilbert Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Haines Presbyterian Church. Bruce died Tuesday at home. He was 86 and had been in declining health. There will be a full obituary in next week’s CVN.
Landon McLaughlin was born at 1:52 p.m. Aug. 15 at Juneau’s Bartlett Regional Hospital to Kaitlin Sloan and Steven McLaughlin. Landon joins big sister Riley. He weighed 8 lbs., 12 oz. and measured just over 21 inches long. Grandparents are Sean and Margaret McLaughlin and Freddie and Nancy Sloan.
Felix Tyler Ferrin was born at 8:16 a.m. Aug. 21 at Bartlett Regional Hospital to former Haines residents Tyler and Nicole Ferrin. Felix joins big sister Chloe. The family lives in Juneau. Felix weighed 8 lbs., 9 oz. and measured just over 20 inches long. Grandparents are Eric and Julie Ferrin, Timothy Hannon and Anna Mulyca, all of Haines. Both grandmothers were in Juneau to help with Chloe during the week.
Haines residents were looking up all over the country Aug. 21. Locals who left the state to get a good look at the recent solar eclipse included Helen Alten, Tim Huber and children Aurora and Brandt Alten-Huber, who viewed the phenomenon from Tim’s family’s Centennial farm in Silverton, Ore. In addition, Patty Brown and Dave Foster went to Prineville, Ore. and watched from a highway turnout; Julie Rae and Michael Smith viewed the eclipse from the Cumberland Plateau in Crossville, Tennessee’s Cumberland State Park; Dan Humphrey and Gina St. Clair watched from the Gina’s family ranch in Wilson, Wyo .; Jim and Shannon Green and children Naomi and Lydia viewed from a rock in an eastern Oregon national forest; Inez and Dave Gross and daughter Autumn watched from Moscow, Idaho; and Jim Wilson and daughter Molly witnessed the event from Russellville, Ky.
Costanza “Costy” Marabini, 9, is visiting here from Potenza Picena, Italy, (near Ancona) for 5 weeks with family friends Nelle and Larry Jurgeleit. Costy’s father, Marco, brought her to Haines about 2 weeks ago. While Marco was here, the group visited the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center, Kroschel Wildlife Park, went hiking, visited trails and parks on the pass, and went boating. Costy is enrolled in the 4th grade at Haines Elementary with the hopes of improving her English skills and studying “American” style. She is making a lot of new friends and loves to play at the pool and to go to Snack Attack at the Haines Borough Public Library after school.
Best friends reunited in Haines after losing touch over 30 years ago. Debi Knight Kennedy spent decades searching for childhood best friend Ginny Bartleson. Over the years, she’d write letters, but didn’t know where to send them; she’d search for her on Google, but got no results. The two grew up together – from 4-year-olds to teenagers – in North Seattle. Both of their names had changed, and their lives had gotten complicated, Debi said. “Once we lost touch, we couldn’t really find each other.” As a result of Ginny’s recent joining of Facebook as well as a change back to her maiden name, Debi’s Google search finally worked last year. The friends, who both turned 60 this year, began planning Ginny’s trip to Haines. She lives in Stanwood, Wash. Her plane ticket to Alaska was a birthday present from her adult children. During the weeklong visit, the duo saw Speedy’s cubs at Chilkoot, attended the showing of “Wrestling Jerusalem” at the Chilkat Center, visited galleries around town and of course, did a lot of catching up. “It was like the best visit ever,” Debi said. “We will not lose touch again.”
Twenty-five golfers participated in the Valley of the Eagles Golf Tournament Saturday. The event, a fundraiser for the Uglys of Haines’ Community Cancer Fund, raised $2,250, said Kathy Pardee-Jones, who hosted the event along with Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium’s Wisewoman patient educator Pam Sloper. The Community Cancer Fund offers financial support for residents with cancer. The winning men’s team included Joe Parnell, Niall Hackett and Lee Robinson. The winning women’s team, Team Tomi – named after golf-loving local Tomi Scovill, who has cancer – included Shannon Willard, Judy Ewald, Marian Carlson and Jenny Lyn Smith. The winning teams each donated their prize money to the cause. “Kudos to them,” Kathy said.
Michael and Christine Helms visited Haines for the first time last week from Erie, Penn. to see daughter Natalie Helms. The trio floated on the Tsirku River and Michael caught a halibut on a fishing charter. The couple loved trying food at local restaurants and sampling drinks at the brewery and distillery, seeing bears along the Chilkoot River and enjoying the views despite the rainy weather.
About 55 people attended the annual burlesque show at Fort Seward Lodge Saturday, said former resident Lena Nance, who has organized the event for the past two years. This year’s party also celebrated the birthdays of Lena’s fiancé, Jake Narum, and Kenzie Sweeney of Skagway. Besides teaching yoga in Skagway, Kenzie works as a Red Onion Saloon madam who goes by the burlesque name Madam Rosie Peaks. The evening included burlesque numbers by Madam Rosie Peaks and entertainment by a Skagway band, a dance party, food catered by the Pilotlight and three chocolate cakes. Lena, Jake and baby Jaxon were here for the summer, but are headed back to Utah.
A new full-time employee and new interns began work at the American Bald Eagle Foundation this week. Raptor Program Manager Stefanie Jenkinson moved from Warminster, Penn. Her experience includes bird-banding fieldwork in Idaho and New Jersey, a wolf sanctuary job in New Mexico, years of wildlife rehabilitation work and a previous raptor program manager position in Pennsylvania. Intern Jessica Schultz moved from Santa Barbara, Calif., where she volunteered at a zoo and worked as a veterinary assistant. She earned her Associate in Science degree in exotic animal training and management from Moorpark College in central California. Thomas Guillebeau hails from Athens, Ga. He worked as an environmental educator at Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Georgia, a park ranger in the Everglades, a raptor ranger in Maine’s Acadia National Park and a naturalist for Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources. He also worked at the Carolina Raptor Center in Huntersville, N.C. and the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro, Va. He’s currently working toward his biological sciences degree with a minor in theatre through the University of North Georgia. The interns were hired to work at the ABEF through the winter.
Ron McMunn of Parsons, Kan. has enjoyed his visits to Haines so much over the years that he’s looking into moving here. Ron recently visited niece Lori Carter for the third time. The weeklong visit included lots of halibut fishing with Carter’s husband Mike, river casting for salmon at Chilkoot, and boating around Lynn Canal checking crab pots. While here Ron saw several bears at Chilkoot, including one that tore open a pack left on a baby stroller abandoned by a Chilkoot visitor who likely ran away from nearby bears, Mike said. Ron also enjoyed spending time with the couple’s baby, Jemma. He brought the family Kansas beef and they sent him back to the Midwest with halibut and salmon.