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Showing posts from March, 2016

What Did You Call Me?

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    Here in Hoonah we recently had a new postmaster assigned to us. Frankly, I didn't see why we needed one. Joyce Skafelstad, a gal who had previously been the magistrate for a number of years here, was filling in and she was doing a spectacular job. However, for reasons I can't comprehend, the powers that be felt that we needed an official postmaster, so we got one. Fortunately, the person they chose was a perfect fit for Hoonah. His name is Mark Smith and he has proven himself to be very well suited for the job and the community. In a relatively short time, he's gotten to know everyone and his been involved in a number of extra- curricular activities around town. He's joined the bird watching group that meets on Saturday, a Tuesday night jazz band, a group that gets together to play canasta at one of the local homes and at least one night a week he's busy carving a Tlingit paddle up at the Hoonah Indian Association building. Apparently

Of Titans and Wimps

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Well, it's 10:00PM, the evening news is on; Channel 2, NBC news out of Anchorage. I'd like to be in the living room watching it, resting in my easy chair, but instead here I am, sitting at this stupid computer cranking out a blog post. It's something that I've tried to do for the past week or so, but for reasons unknown, the Internet has been unbelievably unreliable. Thanks Hughes Net. You know, when you pay for something, you should actually receive it. Every month I get a bill from Hughes Net for Internet service, but about half the time I try to get on, there is some kind of problem. What if that happened when you went into the store? You walk through the door, looking to buy a few bananas, a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk, for some reason they're out of what you're looking for. However, you still end up having to pay before you leave, even though you don't have anything in your grocery bag. It's the same principal. Somethi

Carving the Tlingit Canoes

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 About two years ago, in an empty lot right near the Hoonah City Office, in the middle of town, one of the oddest looking buildings that one could imagine started to take shape. The upper half was narrow and the bottom was wide. It reminded me of a grain silo back in the mid-west. Apparently the steel  beams being used were once something else and had been salvaged. Frankly, it looked like a scab on a Polar Bear's behind, as my friend Uncle Bill used to say. I couldn't imagine why it was being erected right in such a visible part of town. I asked the mayor about it and he said the structure belonged to the Hoonah Indian Association. When I asked what it was for, he said it was for canoe storage. It was so tall we were wondering if they were planning on setting the canoes upright. Even after the outside skin was applied it still doesn't  look like anything that most folks would want in the middle of their town. Nonetheless, it does ser