Canadians J.P. and Robin Commodore, passengers on the Serenade of the Seas, married Thursday morning at Donnie and Stacie Turner’s place overlooking Lynn Canal during the ship’s stopover in Haines. The couple had emailed the tourism office asking if someone could help arrange a wedding for them after striking out trying to coordinate it on their own.
Tourism office assistant Kalani Kanahele put together a service for them officiated by resident Linda Geise. Geise and Kanahele served as the two witnesses required by the state for official nuptials. “It was perfect,” Kanahele said.
Robin Commodore said the couple chose Haines as they’ve traveled here a few times and have fallen in love with the community. She said they got lucky weather-wise as their day in Haines was the only one without rain for the entire cruise.
When they disembarked, Kanahele picked them up at the end of the pier, then changed into a suit for the ceremony. Geise arranged for a surprise bouquet of flowers for Robin who said they could see mountains and a glacier from the “breathtaking” location on Mount Riley Road Turner let them use.
The 2025 Chilkat Challenge Triathlon was hosted by Alaska Clean Water Advocacy. Athletes paddled, biked and ran the 37-mile course. The volunteers at the start included Deb Stanford in her chest waders. She assisted the participants with a smooth start toward the slough, through the Chilkat River and to the pullout. The volunteers at 21 Mile Haines Highway helped the kayakers and a paddle boarder transition to bikes as they pedaled their way to Fort Seward to meet their runners. The runners took off from this point and finished in Mud Bay. The awards
banquet celebrated the nearly 50 racers at Letnikof Cove pavilion with food and prizes. The fastest paddler was Yukon John. The fastest runner was Ritsuko Imai.
The Haines Borough Public Library filled up quickly for the kick-off of the summer reading program on Friday. Magician Jeff Evans of Seattle, Washington, made a return to the annual event to show off some amazing magic. While in town, Evans has been hosted by local magician Neil Einsbruch. Jeff borrowed a kayak from Neil and participate in the Chilkat Challenge Triathlon, with the team “Three Hooligans.” The team included Nene Wolfe and Jessica Edwards. Jeff made the most of his trip to Haines, including crabbing with Norm Smith. He enjoyed several home-cooked meals, cherry pie, steamed crab, legendary hikes, and a campfire every day of his visit.
Evans got his start in magic when he checked out a book on magic from a public library when he was a kid. His enthusiasm and skill with card tricks, mind reading and making hundred-dollar bills multiply kept the crowd engaged while he also encouraged summer reading. The event drew a packed house and a kid parade followed the show. If you are looking to start your magical journey at the library locally, start with call number 793.8 and “check out” that magic book.
Nolan Woodard and the staff at Alpenglow have been slinging pizzas as tourist season starts kicking up. A large part of his staff relocated to Haines from Washington state and Nolan’s mom, Tammy Lund, helped raise them. Lund is staying in Haines full-time these days and spending quality time with them is high on her priority list. Austin and Nolan Woodard are her sons, but Jake Reinoehl, Peter Kohlstedt, and Martin Duncan have also been a part of the family since they were in middle school with her boys. She could tell you a wide variety of hijinks and adventures that the boys got into over the years. The crew is happy to have her in town while she focuses on what she wants to do next. Lund’s younger son, Austin, is in Fairbanks currently and she is hoping to make her way north to spend some time with him in the near future. Lund has been enjoying what Haines has to offer. She can be found doing karaoke at the Bamboo Room, participating in a watercolor painting class, watching a ventriloquist show and trying out a few churches in town.
Friends and family gathered in Haines to celebrate the life of Ron Martin. Martin was killed in a mid-September boating accident. Nearly 40 people made the boat trip to Turtle Rock to spread a portion of the ashes at the location where his cabin was rebuilt by his son Daniel Martin and friend Chris Brooks about five years ago. The cabin rebuild was on the footprint of the cabin that Ron loved hunting and fishing at since the 1970s. The remaining ashes, as well as the ashes of his late wife, Phyllis Martin, will be kept with family.
Some of the notable visitors that travelled far and wide to join the celebration were Paul Dueling, who is from Whitehorse, but traveled from Thailand, Chad
Martin from Washington, Lane Martin, from Texas, the Christos from Nebraska, and Rod Baker. The group made their way up the Chilkat River with the help of CP (who refused to give their last name), and Chilkat River Adventures as well as Sean Gaffney.
Kevin White recently received a Ph.D. from University of Victoria, British Columbia. The subject of his research was “ Population ecology of moun-tain goats in relation to climate, weather, and snow avalanches.” White is no stranger to the local goat population. He was doing field research in the Lynn Canal, Klukwan, Haines and Skagway areas from 2005-2022. Fun fact: White has put radio collars on hundreds of animals, including mountain goats, bears, and wolverines. He can really surprise you with the number of mountain goats that die in avalanches annually!
A Ph.D. is the highest academic research degree from a university and usually takes five to seven years to complete. White completed his in just three years because of all his ground work and time in the field doing research. He says that the only thing he is sad about is that it is over. Kevin currently works remotely for the University of Alaska Southeast and lives in Haines.
Representatives from EcoTrust were in Haines for a visit. EcoTrust is actively involved in food sustainability efforts in Southeast Alaska and supports initiatives like the Chilkat Valley Food Hub.
The American Bald Eagle Foundation was a hotspot for chatter concerning creating economic opportunity, local food production and mingling, while serving an impressive dinner catered by Amy Kane, at the meet and greet this past week. The menu included halibut poached in coconut milk with red chiles, cured olive and fig focaccia, whipped feta with olives and smoked garlic, and rhubarb, blueberry, lemon cake made with fresh local basil.
The EcoTrust team of Jon Bonkosi, Lily Abood, Tyson Rasor and Meghan Strangeland met up the following day with Erika Merlin and the Four Winds Resources Center board at Mosquito Lake School. They took a tour of the property and got a glimpse of the inner workings of the garden, food distribution system and tool library, as well as the emergency shelter capabilities that are offered to the community at the property.