Haines High School alumnus Arik Miller recently crafted a knife for principal Alex Van Wyhe. It was a replacement for one Miller made for Van Wyhe when he was in high school. “He was one of my favorite teachers, he put his best foot forward every day and genuinely cared about his students and it showed,” Miller said.
The new knife, which Van Wyhe showed off during a recent school board meeting , has a distinctive swirling pattern in the steel which Miller explained as a result of a process that involves taking different pieces of steel, superheating them and smashing them together. Forgers then have a virtually endless number of possibilities for patterns which can be made by twisting, drilling holes, cutting and re-forging the steel. Miller said the pattern is not revealed until the blade has been ground, finished and soaked in ferric chloride. Miller has been making knives in Victor, Idaho but just moved to Sweden to six months while he recovers from shoulder surgery. His work can be found on Instagram by searching for @miller.arik. Miller has been studying axe making in Sweden under Friedrich Thelin. Miller started making knives when he was 12-years-old and made a kitchen knife for Van Wyhe years ago, but the handle broke off. Van Wyhe told school board members during a recent meeting that Miller had replaced it and passed it around to everyone in the room to take a look.
Neil Einsbruch knows a thing or two about magic, but that is not why he disappeared from Haines for 40 days. He went on a whirlwind trip to the East Coast, stopping in Ventnor Beach, New Jersey, Boca Raton, Florida and Anchorage on his way home. Einsbruch did find time to relax and enjoy people watching on the boardwalk every day, and rode his bike from Ventnor Beach to Atlantic City more than a few times. He visited with both of his daughters and went swimming with his granddaughter Madison Mele. At two years and two months old she is reportedly an amazing swimmer. He visited a bread factory. Walked a labyrinth. Practiced his billiards game everywhere he could and did a bit of magic, as well. While in New Jersey, Einsbruch proved that you can teach an old magician new tricks, meeting up with the one and only Rocco Silano to collaborate on on new magic tricks and techniques. Afterwards Einsbruch headed down to Florida to meet up with friends from high school before getting back to Haines.
Matt Jones is happy to report that the Chilkat Valley community set a new record for boxes collected for Operation Christmas Child shoebox distribution. Jones set a goal this year of 23 boxes and the community exceeded his expectations by providing 35. The 35 boxes were sent on AML and will directly benefit kids this Christmas. Matt Jones and the Haines Ministerial Association will continue collecting online until Nov. 17. Operation Christmas Child’s mission is to send gift boxes to children in need around the world providing gift boxes with small toys, hygiene items and school supplies as outreach in communities.
Becky Hill, former Haines resident, is a grandma again. Augustus George Johnson is her second grandchild. He was born on Oct. 26 weighing 7 pounds 8 oz. Gus was born to Corinna Rose Hill Johnson and Zach Johnson of Sedro-Woolley, WA. Hill says that her first grandchild, four-year-old Alana, is delighted to have a baby cousin.
Kisa Bergstrand served up some amazing hors d’oeuvre for the First Friday at Moosehorn Antiques. Sockeye salmon pinwheels were a delight but just a warm up before a cherry pepper pistachio, apple and spinach roll up. Perfect snack before taking a walk over to the Gateway Building for elevator music. The elevator music was actual live musicians in the elevator playing music. Sue Libenson came up with the idea. She got some of Haines musicians that would sound good in an elevator, Joe Altman-Moore, Tom Morphet, Nancy Nash, Tom Heywood, Henry Leasia, Nene Wolfe, and Alison Adams and voila, elevator music! The elevator music was cut short by a temperamental elevator system.
The Four Winds Resource Center open art studio and yours truly hosted some fresh faces this week. Shannon Franey showed up with two roosters, Bronze and Toothless. They stayed tucked in her jacket, as well-behaved roosters are known to do. The chickens each wore hand-made cloth diapers, all the rage among the domestic chicken crowd. Julie Korsmeyer used markers to sketch a frog, bat and a mushroom as her dog, River, looked on. Judy San brought her favorite canine companion, Jack, while she practiced embroidery. Some artists new to needle felting gave it a try – with much success. “The Feltist” Joe Parnell was missed this week but Nina Del Mar began making her first needle-felted octopus. She says that she expects to start attaching legs to the creation soon. This week’s host brought apples slices, nuts and a buttery chardonnay to share.