Daily Sitka Sentinel

July 8, 2014 Community Happenings

‘Bonded by Water’
    Author to Speak
    At Sitka Church
    Dave Olson, author of ‘‘Bonded by Water,’’ will speak 4 p.m. July 13 at Sitka Lutheran Church.
    ‘‘Bonded by Water’’ may draw the attention of people with roots in Southeast Alaska from the 1940s to the mid-1990s, Olson said.
    Olson’s family lived in Ketchikan from 1944 to 1947. He returned each summer to work on commercial fishing vessels until 1952. He has since been a recurrent visitor throughout Southeast Alaska.
    Adventurous biographical stories from the lives of Ketchikan waterfront legends and boat captains Harky Tew and John Knaplund are included in the chronicle. Olson served as deckhand on their boats in the 1940s.
    ‘‘Stories which bring back memoris of growing up in a small town in Southeastern Alaska,’’ said former Alaskan governor and U.S. Sen. Frank Murkowski. ‘‘Well-documented with bits of humor and pathos, ‘Bonded by Water’ has captured the flavor of living in the good old days with hard-working fishermen and families who made their lives count in the last frontier.’’
    The author’s father, the Rev. Roy Olson, was chaplain of the Lutheran Seaman’s Mission in Ketchikan in 1926. He became the pastor of First Lutheran Church in Ketchikan in 1944. While there, he served on the Ketchikan School Board; a governor-appointed committee to write a juvenile code for the territory; and was vice president on the Committee for Statehood. Territorial Gov. Ernest Gruening was his friend.
    Ken Olson, the author’s late brother, and a commercial salmon troller in his youth, became skipper/pastor of the M/V Christian, a ministry to the peoples of the outlying villages and smaller communities located in Southeast Alaska.
    For further information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 425-888-6046 or www.bondedbywater.com.

    Food Industry
    Workshops on Tap
    Sitka Kitch will offer classes July 25-27 with Sarah Lewis from UAF Cooperative Extension. Lewis is the  family and community development faculty for the Southeast Districts.
    Classes are held at the Sitka High School.
    Beginning Friday evening, Lewis will lead a ‘‘Cottage Food Industry’’ class. The class, 5:30-8 p.m., is geared toward those wishing to produce value-added products for the cottage food industry.
    On Saturday, Lewis will be at the Sitka Farmers Market assisting vendors and answering questions. Starting at 3 p.m. she will lead a ‘‘Canning the Harvest’’ course, focusing on canning and preserving fish and veggies.
    The weekend will wrap up Sunday with a ‘‘Soups and Sauces’’ workshop noon-5 p.m.
    Classes cost $20 each and space is limited. Students are asked to bring 8-12 half-pint jars for the cottage food industry course and 12 half-pint jars for the other classes. All food and supplies will be provided and students will take home what they prepare.
    To register for any course contact Marjorie or Tracy at 747-7509.
    Sitka Kitch is a new community food project in Sitka that stemmed from the Sitka Health Summit. We seek to provide community education, training, small business development and access to commercial kitchen space with the end goal of improving our local food security. It is the first series of classes to increase community knowledge and awareness around nutrition and local foods.
    More information can be found at http://sitkawild.org/2014/07/sitka-kitch-community-classes/.

    Preschool Registers
    Registration is open at Mt. Edgecumbe Preschool for the 2014-15 school year. Call 966-2675 for information or register online at www.mtedgecumbepreschool.org.
    Space is limited. Tuition assistance is available.
 
    Discovery Club
    Registration Set
    Registration is open for Kindergarten Discovery Club, an after-school program for kindergarten and home-school children offered by Mt. Edgecumbe Preschool.
    Transportation from Baranof Elementary is provided. Call 966-2675 for information or register online at www.mtedgecumbepreschool.org. Space is limited.

    Patagonia Gear
    Class July 15
    Patagonia is partnering with the Sitka Conservation Society to offer a outdoor gear repair class with Patagonia product developers 5:30-7 p.m. July 15 at the Sitka Pioneers Home Manager’s House.
    Participants will learn how to wash and dry down, wool, synthetic and waterproof shells in addition to patching clothing and gear.
    Space is limited to the first 20. Call 747-7509 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

    Youths Offered
    Sewing Class
    Patagonia is partnering with the Sitka Conservation Society and 4-H to teach youths how to hand-sew a backcountry bandana 1:30-3 p.m. Tuesday, July 15.
    Members must be ages 6 or older and able to use a needle. Cost is $5 for materials and registration is required. Call 747-7509 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with questions.

     Rides Offered to
    Farmers Market
    The Sitka Local Foods Network and Sitka Tours are teaming up to offer free, scheduled transportation to the five remaining Sitka Farmers Markets this summer.
    “The Farmers Market planning team realized that access to the market may prove challenging to those without transportation given that The Ride (Sitka Community Ride) doesn’t run on Saturdays,” Sitka Local Foods Network Board President Lisa Sadleir-Hart said. “To improve access, the Sitka Local Foods Network requested funding in its City and Borough of Sitka grant proposal last year. We are hoping that our pilot run out Sawmill Creek Road this season helps get more Sitkans to our amazing market.”
    Sitka Tours will send a shuttle van to make one loop of three Sitka Community Ride stops before the Sitka Farmers Markets open at 10 a.m. The shuttle van will return to ANB Founders Hall at noon to take people home from the market.
    The pick-up times and stops are: Sawmill Creek Apartments (Price and Burkhart Streets), 9:45 a.m.; Indian River Road (Kaasdaa Heen), 9:50 a.m.; and Swan Lake Senior Center/Salvation Army (Lake Street), 10 a.m.
    The service is being offered through a grant from the City and Borough of Sitka that paid for bus service to four markets. Sitka Tours helped expand the service to five markets by donating the service for an extra market.
    Markets are scheduled 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays, July 12, 26, Aug. 9,  23, and Sept. 6.

    Intertidal Life
    Cruise Sets Sail
    Sitka Conservation Society’s Intertidal Life of Kruzof Island boat cruise will set sail 8 a.m. Sunday, July 13, from Crescent Harbor.
    Tickets for the 4.5-hour boat cruise are available for $55 cash or check at Old Harbor Books.

    Tlingit Speakers
    Invited to Meet
    Tlingit speakers are being invited to a coffee and donuts event 10 a.m.-noon July 9 and 10 at 205 Baranof Street  in the SEACC building, behind Pacific High School.
    All are invited for snacks, and to speak the Tlingit language. Those with questions may contact Heather Powell 747-3207 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .