“The Ugly Duckling” parked on Main Street in Haines. The Shimanski family from Evergreen, Colorado recently visited Haines to find evidence of Christiane Leitinger’s mother on a journey with The Ugly Duckling through Southeast Alaska.
David Svenson is in town visiting his older brother, John Svenson. David has been visiting Haines since the 1960s — he celebrated his 16th birthday here. This year he brought his 16-year-old son Shion Svenson on the trip from their home in California. David Svenson has been sculpting, carving and making art in the Chilkat Valley with local artists for years and has been inspired by Leo Jacobs Sr. , Nathan Jackson and Ed Kasko. Highlights of this trip included going halibut fishing with Ken Gross. David Svenson and his son both caught their very first halibut together on this trip.
Christiane Leitinger recently visited Haines from Colorado with her family and a stack of pictures from 1961. They set out to match up the photos from her parents’ epic trip that started in Prince Rupert, British Columbia to Haines in 1961, aboard the only vehicle to drive the Lynn Canal. As a boat it averaged four knots. Her parents were Ilse Abshagen and Hans Leitinger; they were traveling in The Ugly Duckling. The Ugly Duckling was a Ford GPA, an amphibious jeep. About 1,200 Ford GPAs were produced during World War II and Abshagen and Leitinger were the first people to drive the Inside Passage in theirs, as documented by plenty of photos. Christiane Leitinger has an amazing collection of pictures from the trip and notes that her parents made on the voyage. She and the family are off to Anchorage next. Leitinger has a solid lead on what could be the current location of the vessel. While the family was in town they compared 1961 photos with areas along Mud Bay road to discover the final landing of the Ugly Duckling before it made the road trip to Anchorage.
Bryce Norton, “Little” Will Tuttle , Lizzy Hahn, Lilly Franck, Katherine Perry, Joseph Rossman and Koa Doddridge went water skiing on the Lynn Canal this week. Norton was the skipper for the adventure in rather chilly waters. Hahn said that 57 degrees was an acceptable temperature. She’s from Nome, maybe that explains things. The chilly waters did not stop Tuttle from skiing in the wake of the Hubbard and a cruise ship, much to the delight of passengers aboard.
Tyler Scovill has been working at The Parts Place for 40 years. His dog, George, has only been on the payroll for a few. His sister, Tomi Scovill, can be credited with inspiring him to move to Haines. He was living in Pentwater, Michigan when she bought the store and pitched the idea to him. His milestone was celebrated with coworkers and friends. Cupcakes and pinwheel appetizers were shared; Scovill enjoyed homemade lasagna and there were several cases of his favorite beverage to enjoy. He said that while working at the Parts Place, the price of oil has changed dramatically, and no people have come in looking for blinker fluid.