Peter Kohlstedt, the mastermind behind Grandma Pete’s cheesecake, held a pop-up at the brewery. Kohlstedt had some help from Jacob Reinoehl. The duo served three different cheesecakes: chocolate cheesecake with chocolate sauce, spruce tip cheesecake with spruce tip syrup and a classic New York-style cheesecake. Grandma Pete says that it was a pretty good crowd for a Thursday – 30 people signed up to win a cheesecake. The big winner, when the Graham Cracker dust settled, was Hayden Jimenez.
A mystery gardener has been leaving some handsome-looking fresh veggies at the Moose Horn Laundromat. Owner Taylor Marie Ashton started a small community food pantry in early September. The pantry started out with canned food, dry beans and similar products. Ashton has encouraged participants to feel free to take items they need and leave items for others. The addition of fresh vegetables is a welcome bonus, she said, adding that she looks forward to what the fall harvest might offer.
And speaking of Moose Horn, it was one of the first places 18-year-old Maddox Rogers drove to with his brand new driver’s license. Rogers, who returned from Skagway at 3 a.m. Tuesday, dropped by the shop when it opened to get a coffee and find out where he should park his Chevy Equinox when he reports to work. He’s looking forward to doing that instead of biking to work from Lutak Road.
Rogers, who was on his way to school, regaled Ashton with stories of his sojourn to the closest open DMV to Haines and his experience of taking a driving test in a community packed with cruise ship tourists.
“There were just tons of people wandering around in the streets. I was going, like, like three miles an hour and people were just walking in front of my car to take photos,” he said.
While he and DMV employee Jason O’Daniel laughed about the number of people, Rogers said he was nervous. “Deep down, I’m like, I better not kill anyone. Top 10 worst times to kill someone.”
Marin Hart is settling in at her accommodations at American College of Thessaloniki in Pylaia, Greece. Hart will be spending a year there. She is enrolled at University of Alaska Southeast and is using the International Student Exchange Program to attend American College of Thessaloniki. The UA system allows the student to travel south or internationally — although it is a bit of work to complete the process. Hart completed her first year in Juneau; she attended Western Washington University in Bellingham for her second year; and Greece this year. It has been her lifelong dream to go to Greece. She plans to study psychology, anthropology and sociology. The Haines High alumna made the trip with her mother, Lynette Hart, who said the trip was fabulous and exhausting. The two took advantage of a layover in London with fast and furious sightseeing stops at Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge andKings Crossing. They rode double-decker buses, e-bikes and saw the “The Devil Wears Prada” musical.The layover in Athens, Greece, included a food tour, the Parthenon and a roof-top bar for a great sunset. While in Thessaloniki, Lynette and Marin learned to use the underground metro, rented a car and found their way to a beach.
Brand new to town, fresh off a four-day journey on the AlCan Highway, Amanda Peters and her son, Findley Peters, are getting used to their new life in Haines. They are relocating from Lynchburg, Virginia. She says the drive was brutal and beautiful. They car-camped in a 2020 Ford Explorer and saw bison, bears, and more nature then they expected. Peters credits her 11-year-old dog with warning them of the wildlife. Even without the benefit of sight, he did a good job. They are looking forward to their first winter in Haines.
The American Bald Eagle Foundation has a recent addition to their Ambassador Bird Program. Taku is an American kestrel, the smallest species of falcon in North America. She has been with the foundation since the beginning of September. Gabe Halmark, avian curator, has been overseeing the feeding and care of Taku. She was born in captivity and will remain here in Haines enjoying a healthy diet of quail and mouse.