Dylan and Dakota Swinton welcomed Henry James Swinton into the world in Anchorage on April 23, 2025. He was 6.6 pounds and 20-inches tall. 

The Elliott family looks forward to the extremely low tides that we get to enjoy at the end of April in Haines. Sarah, Brian, and their 15-year-old daughter CeeCee planned their route to walk out to Pyramid Island early Monday morning and put on their best waders for the hike. Pyramid Island sits in the middle of where Chilkat Inlet and the Chilkat River meet. They set out on the adventure, with a spotter on shore, who saw a bear out in the area that the family did not encounter. Sarah says that the family looks forward to the low tide and tries to do the walk every year.

Ballroom dancers and future ballroom dancers gathered at the Chilkat Center on Tuesday evening. The Alaska Art Confluence offered instruction with Charlie Moody as part of the Chilkat Valley Art Fest. This “all- levels” ballroom dance series focused on the walz, box step, progressing and turning. For those who missed out, you do have two more chance to “cut a rug” Tuesday and Wednesday at 6 p.m.

If you stop by The Parts Place, you might have the pleasure of meeting George, who could easily be Haines’ top office dog. You might also meet a friendly boxer at CIA or Milo over at Radio Shack. Perhaps you’ve already met Olive, the very capable chief mouser at the Bookstore. They are great workers. However, George is a remarkable dog, just over a year old, and his owner, Tyler Scovill, has taught him to sit and stay and not eat a treat in the middle of the check-out counter. George is learning to wave at other drivers, a very important part of living in Haines.  Interestingly, George is one of eight puppies from his litter, and seven of his siblings still live in Haines. 

Kerry McIver arrived back in Haines for a visit with friends. She got into town just in time for Easter dinner with Jane Pascoe. While here, she managed to squeeze in two felting classes, instructed by “the Feltist” himself, Joe Parnell. She is catching the ferry with  Karen Garcia. Garcia is off to Chicago and McIver will take her newly created felt art to the East Coast. 

The Mosquito Lake garden had its Sunday get together again, and the count is 1,600 seed starts so far. Garden coordinator Sarah Ammons was also happy to report that the strawberry patch will get started this year along with an asparagus patch. She said a well-maintained asparagus patch can bring years of joy.

Stop. It’s hammer time. The Hammer Museum’s decades-old, nearly 20-foot-tall hammer was lowered to the ground on April 20. Dave Pahl reports that a new one should go up between May 15 and June 1. 

The Haines Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual community clean-up event on Saturday. Residents began showing up at the school just after 9 a.m. to sign up for their desired area and received bright yellow bags to fill. Throughout the day they exchanged the bags of trash for raffle tickets. By 2 p.m. Craig Franke of Community Waste Solutions not only had a dump truck filled with bright yellow bags but also items such as a discarded rowboat and a number of other trashy treasures that were removed from the streets of Haines. Chamber director Amanda Brandon reports that 103 bags of trash were collected during the event. As of press time, the “king and queen of trash” had not been crowned, but the two enthusiastic volunteers who filled a Prius with 12 bags of trash were the front runners. Some of the other prizes were dinner for two at Burger Night, a Thor’s one-month membership, and an Extreme Dreams gift card. 

Bike to School Day was a success. Sockeye Cycle sent its new bike mechanic, Eric Feund, to perform light maintenance, put air in tires, lube bike chains and do some bike derailleur adjustments. With help from Dustin Craney, they were an impressive pit crew. The school set up an obstacle course and safety route for the students to navigate.

Trivia night at The Pioneer Bar has been incredibly competitive recently. For the past three weeks, they have had ties that led to “sudden death” rounds. Last week’s competition was particularly exciting, with Michelle Stroheker representing her  team. They ultimately won against the leading team. Both of these teams had very creative names that my editor would not allow me to print. The tied teams were presented one question to decide who would win $50 in Bamboo Bucks and the glory of first place. The second-place team walked away with $25 in bucks. The deciding question this week was “How many stones are in Stonehenge?