While traveling across the U.S. in a motorhome with their parents, Keely and Jordan Baumgartner, and sons Spencer, 13, and Parker, 10, have essentially joined the pickleball tournament circuit via the Junior Pro Pickleball Association tour. “As a family we are obsessed with pickleball and have been seeking out opportunities everywhere we go, Keely Baumgartner said. The Baumgartner kids played in one in Palm Springs, Calif. and are now headed to play another in Mesa, Ariz. in February. “Between now and then we are working on improving our pickleball skills and hoping to compete at a higher level,” Keely Baumgartner said. The family is on a yearlong sabbatical across the U.S. The kids are homeschooling and Keely’s mom, Judy Erekson, said they’re “having way too much fun.” Erekson said she’s not surprised that the kids are so good at pickleball. “It makes sense because their grandpa was really good at racquetball,” she said.
It changes quick, but if the weather holds — likely by the time you read this most of the ski trails in town will have been groomed. Eben Sargent with Haines Huts and Trails reports that trails by the Takshanuk Watershed Council office, the fairgrounds, Chilkat State Park and 25 Mile have all been groomed this week. The council reports there is a need for skis for both kids and adults, though they’re not planning a ski swap soon, so anyone who has gear sitting around should think of listing it online. The group is also looking into a software called Nordic Pulse, an app-based cross-country ski grooming reporting system that would track which trails have been groomed much faster.
About 10 years ago, a Palestinian student named Haytham Mohanna stayed first in Mud Bay and then in Haines with Judy Erekson as an exchange student through a U.S. Department of State program that brings students from Muslim countries to the United States. From the beginning, it was clear that the teen’s life on the Gaza Strip had been shaped by war. “I remember he had to go through the tunnels to get out, to come to the United States. And then when he went back home … I had a picture of his bedroom and you can just see all the lights and flares. We were worried about him back then,” Erekson said of the time in 2014 when Mohanna headed home from Southeast Alaska. Erekson recently heard from Mohana, whose family had to flee from the war between Israel and Hamas. Mohanna is now back in Czechoslovakia where he is studying to be a doctor and is set to graduate in June. But his family fled from Gaza to Egypt and has been told they can only stay for 45 days. Erekson said he told her that his family isn’t sure where they’ll go. “They can’t go back, their home is destroyed,” she said. “He’s happy he hadn’t lost any family members. He’s happy they can rebuild.” Erekson said she told Mohanna he’s welcome back in Haines at any time. “He emailed me the other day again and said how much he loved the town and missed people and he hoped people hadn’t changed a lot in the last 10 years,” she said.
Lex Treinen, and former Haines residents Andrew Cardella and Katie Craney all converged in the Central American country of Guatemala during winter break. The three all traveled on separate itineraries. Treinen and Cardella met up in Antigua thanks to a group text from Shannon Stevens. They hiked the Pacaya Volcano near the town, tested out some craft brews and listened to live music at Cafe No Se. Cardella is moving to Anchorage after finishing his travels where he will work as a nurse at the hospital.
Speaking of travel, Haines School District Superintendent Roy Getchell and his wife Tracy Getchell made it to Missouri for Christmas with their families for the first time in 15 years. Normally, they’d do Thanksgiving. Roy said they were gone for 12 days in December seeing his family and his wife’s family in the Springfield and Joplin areas and that they “had a good time down in the tropics.” They split their time between the two sides of their family, first with Roy’s dad and then on Christmas Day with Tracy’s family. “It was nice, it’s like we used to do,” he said. The Getchells were also able to see their two daughters, both of whom are in college in South Dakota. “It was like a big family reunion,” he said. Getchell said he noticed how much faster and more urgent things seemed to be happening while he was in the Lower 48. “Doesn’t it feel super busy whenever you leave Haines?”
The annual Northern Light Showcase was held at the Chilkat Center for the Arts on Jan. 7. It featured performances from Kelsi Gloyer, John Minoia, Eric Holle, the Haines High School Ensemble, Joe Aultman-Moore, Michael Reynolds, Henry Leasia and others. Aultman-Moore was the lone non-musical act. He read an essay about cruise ships that essentially made fun of the names of the cruise ships and the class lines in the various cruise ship lines. Holle said his favorite performance was Aultman-Moore’s reading and that he’s always surprised by the wealth of musical talent in Haines. Holle, who thinks this may have been his first time playing solo in front of an audience, stuck with clawhammer banjo. “The last song I did was the first song I ever wrote, so that was hitting 52 years ago but it seems to sadly still be a little relevant today,” he said. The song is called “Preservative Pie,” and it’s a song about somebody buying a pie in a grocery store because “he can get high off all of the garbage that’s in it,” Holle said. Aultman-Moore said the concert was excellent and he specifically mentioned Henry Leasia’s setup of half-a-dozen instruments and loop pedals, Minoia blowing everyone away as a singer-songwriter, and Nora Zimmerly’s seemlingly endless supply of originals.
The Four Winds Resource Center at the former Mosquito Lake school successfully distributed 25 Christmas dinner boxes to local families. The group had homemade cookies and Rice Krispie treats as well as hot coffee. Stacee Powlison reports that everyone was able to sit, relax, enjoy each other’s company and feel welcome.
The Haines Chamber of Commerce has announced the winners of its holiday lights contest. Miles Furniture won first place for businesses while Tongass Federal Credit Union took second. Larry and Linda Geise took first in the homes category, followed by Dale and Victoria Munden in second and Tresham Gregg III and Ragu-Jara Gregg in third. Dory Thompson said winners can pick up their checks at the Chamber of Commerce between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. weekdays, or they call 907-766-2202 and prizes can be mailed to winners.