Camelia Bell joined the ranks of published authors in Haines with a piece called “The Road,” which came out in The Sun magazine’s March 2025 edition. In response to a prompt about “chores,” Bell wrote about how life in Haines and walking home is not a chore, but a way of life. Bell said she was surprised to learn that her piece had been accepted for publication as she wrote it for Alex Van Wyhe’s creative writing class. Bell said Van Wyhe always encourages students to try to publish their work. Bell said editors at the Sun did cut her piece down and reworded several phrases, which bummed her out, but that she was honored they considered her writing publishable material.
Mayor Tom Morphet and assembly member Craig Loomis traveled to Haines Junction for the Glacier Nights Snow Festival held at the St. Elias Convention Center on March 7-8. They brought a number of items for an auction benefitting the village’s arts and culture program, including growlers from Haines Brewing, two bottles of whiskey from the Port Chilkoot Distillery, more than a dozen packages of smoked fish from Haines Packing, two pounds of fudge from Alaska Rods and two gift certificates from The Bookstore. Besides speaking with MP Brendan Hanley and Haines Junction mayor Diane Strand, the two also spoke with village council member Debbie Busche and former Haines Junction Mayor Mike Crawshay. Loomis also enjoyed a long talk with elder Ron Chambers of Champagne, Y.T. Chambers, 81, who has family members in Haines, attended Haines High School and attributes his success in life to his time in Haines, including as a member of the Chilkat Dancers. Chambers worked as a park ranger in the Yukon, and is credited with being the first First Nations person to climb Mount Logan. He remains active in First Nations activities. Morphet said he found the trip worthwhile. He said one fun side note is that while he was picking up fish to take north donated by Haines Packing Co., store clerk Terry Hepler told him to greet elder Carol Buzzle. It turned out that Buzzle and Morphet were among three judges of the festival’s snow sculpting contest.
Tickets for the Great Alaska Craft Beer & Home Brew Festival, or Beerfest, went on sale March 1. Ongoing political tension and a growing trade war between Canada and the U.S. had some in Haines worried about attendance at the end–of-May festival as the majority of attendees each year come from the Yukon. However Southeast Alaska State Fair board president Jeremy Reed said tickets are selling at their usual rate with about 65% sold so far. He said Monday that about 63.5 percent of those sales came from Canada.
The first community conversation event organizers called “You Have the Floor” drew about a dozen people to Alpenglow on Friday. The forum is a joint effort between the Haines Chamber of Commerce, former mayor Doug Olerud – who moderated the discussion – and Debra Schnabel, who helped organize it. Olerud said last week that he was hoping it would become a regular space for substantive discussion of community issues. During the first event, Knikki Cinocco spoke about replacing police officers with Village Public Safety Officers, Nancy Berland talked about a cash discount at local stores, Joe Parnell talked about more open gym time for families and fixing the outdoor basketball court, and Patty Brown talked about strengthening the science program in lower grades to encourage student inventiveness. Patricia Peters spoke about the west Lynn Canal Road (or the Juneau Road) and how it would be beneficial for Haines.
A two-week Northwest Coast spoon-carving workshop concluded in Klukwan on Friday, March 7. The workshop was led by Ketchikan teaching artist Kevin Clevenger. There was a variety of levels of carving experience in the workshop and Clevenger provided an excellent balance of guidance and support for experimentation in his instruction, according to Katrina Hotch. She said all participants completed at least one soapberry spoon carved from locally sourced alder. Many participants carved more than one utensil during the two-week period. Participants celebrated the final day of the workshop by whipping up a batch of xákwl’i (soapberries), testing one of the carved spoons and sharing foods and good laughs. Workshop participants included: Cindy Price Hagwood, Cody Fisher Hotch, Don Hotch Jr., Justina Hotch, Katrina Hotch, Rhiannon Thomas, Teresa Katzeek, and Thomas Thompson. This workshop was sponsored by Sealaska Heritage Institute with additional support from the Chilkat Indian Village, Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center, and the Sustainable Southeast Partnership.
Haines artist Greg Podsiki surprised Haines school custodian Natasha Fitzpatrick with a poster-size print of a drawing he did of her that staff taped onto her closet door at the school. Podsiki said Fitzpatrick asked him to draw a cartoon of her in janitor attire with the tools of her trade and requested that it be “cartoony,” and fun. Podsiki drew her with a red bow in her thick hair and her trademark pink Croc sandals with a tassel on the left foot. When he was done, Podsiki said he messaged her with the drawing and she said she loved it. So, he decided to take it a step further and brought the color pencil piece to Jim Green, who owns Williwaw Publishing, to make the physical print.
Students at Klukwan School have fresh tomatoes on the horizon after Hoonah-based hydroponics expert Ryan Smith visited to help Vija Pelekis set up the school’s Bato Bucket System. The system is designed for vine crops and could support cucumbers or tomatoes. Pelekis said the hydroponics are an educational project for all grades at the school; students get hands-on biology, math, nutrition and culinary experience.
Hannah Bochart has a new show at Haines Brewing Company this month. It’s a newer medium for her, embroidery and multimedia. She said she enjoyed how it allows her to play with a 3D art form “making pictures that literally extend beyond their frame.” The show explores the look and feel of early spring and she said she enjoyed playing with a limited color palette to see what beauty can be found using only shades of gray, blue and brown. Bochart said she’ll be adding a few more pieces soon, so it’s worth checking out more than once.
Four Haines students made the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ fall honors list. Alison Benda, MacKenzy Dryden, and Naomi Green all maintained a 3.9 GPA or higher qualifying them for the chancellor’s list while Grace Long-Godinez maintained a 3.5-3.89 GPA which landed her on the deans’ list.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with more information about the first You Have the Floor event.