It was hot, people lined up at the food tables, and the mud volleyball players came off the court just as expected – covered in goo for the Fourth of July.
Servers at the Haines Friends of the Library tables and grills served about 350 hamburgers, close to 300 bratwursts and 140 hot dogs. “It’s a huge fundraiser for us,” said president Lora McCoy. “Everything ran so smoothly.”
Nearby, the Haines Woman’s Club had almost 70 pies, cut into more than 400 slices. The pies ranged from traditional apple to rhubarb, chocolate to pecan, lemon and crustless pumpkin pie.
Soon after the last of the pies were served for leisurely eating, it was time for the pie-eating contest – where speed triumphs over cleanliness.
Zachary Ma was the fastest in the 5-and-under category. Tovin Weiss won among 6 to 9 year olds. Emily Groves was the winner among 10 to 13 year olds, with Emanuel Hansen taking top honors for 14 to 16 year olds. Linda Huber won the adult competition, finishing the whole cream pie faster than anyone else.
For the crowd gathered along Main Street to watch the parade, and at Tlingit Park and First Avenue for the events, the bright sun drove the temperature to a high of 82 degrees by early afternoon.
The first event of the morning was the Mt. Ripinksy Race, with Derek Deuling, 16, of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, taking first place in the men’s overall with a time of 27 minutes, 35 seconds. Siyel George, 16, placed second, just 2 seconds back at 27:37.
The annual race was a record-breaker for Sarah Elliot, 33, who set a new mark in the women’s overall category at 32:14. She bettered the old record 32:34 set by her sister, JJ Hinderberger, in 2012, according to the race timekeeper. Hannah Deuling, 19, of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, placed second in the women’s category at 32:30.
In the under-18 women’s category, Kate Masson, 23, at 47:03, took first-place honors.
For the over-49 runners, Kelly Milligan, 57, of Whitehorse, was the fastest woman at 43:24, with Vince Hansen, 58, taking top honors among men at 38:39.
As announced by the Haines Chamber of Commerce, the first-place winners for the Fourth of July parade were:
Best float: The Discovery Channel’s Raw TV “Gold Rush Series.”
Best bike: Special Ops Association, with Terry Pardee.
Best dog: The American Bald Eagle Foundation, with a dog and a person both dressed up like eagles.
Best individual: Fred Gray.
The Lynn Canal Community Players came in a close second for best float with their depiction of the children’s book, “Chronicles of Narnia.”
The winning team in mud volleyball was the Oakleys, a mix of the Dr. Michelle Oakley family and a crew from National Geographic that was in town to film “Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet.”
Event organizers not only soaked the field, but mixed in dishwashing detergent to give it a slippery consistency.
“It was deeper than I expected, but nicer,” said Dean Bushala, of the National Geographic crew. Bushala, from a Chicago suburb, was appreciative that the mud field was free of his more usual hometown hazards of glass, rocks and barbed wire.
Despite the best intentions, organizers were unable to pull off the tug of war between the town and the crew of the cruise ship Westerdam, which was in port.