Daily Sitka Sentinel

June 12, 2020, Community Happenings

Maritime Heritage

Blog On View

The Sitka Maritime Heritage Society’s new history blog is now available for online viewing.

‘‘The first history blog series will transport you back in time as it details the ups and downs in the daily lives of the Jacksons, a Norwegian fox farmer - fisherman’s family living around Goddard in the 1920s and 1930s, through the peak and decline of the fox farming boom, when fox farmers turned to fishing,’’ the organization said.

Go to www.sitkamaritime.org to read it.

Sitka Trail Works

Hike Set June 13

Sitka Trail Works will lead a free hike up the Indian River Trail 9 a.m. Saturday, June 13. 

A mandatory COVID-19 pre-screening questionnaire and a liability waiver must be completed prior to participation, STW said. Forms can be accessed online and taken to the hike to minimize paper handling.

Hikers should meet at the trailhead parking area on Indian River Road at 9 a.m. The nine-mile, five-hour round-trip hike will go to the waterfall and back. The trail gains elevation gradually and runs alongside Indian River and then through stands of old-growth spruce. 

STW said a small slide happened earlier this year and hikers will need to traverse just before the waterfall. Hike leaders will carry first aid supplies and VHF radios. Hikers should take water, snacks, hiking poles and a camera. Social distancing between different household groups and face coverings are being encouraged.

For more details and forms visit http://sitkatrailworks.org/weekend-hikes/ or call 747-7244.

‘Virtual’ June 

Sitka Music

Festival on Tap

The Sitka Music Festival will host a series of virtual concerts this month. New videos from Zuill Bailey, Yuliya Gorenman, Natasha Paremski and other artists will be released at sitkamusicfestival.org noon Thursdays and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays this month.

The special concerts also will be broadcast on Raven Radio at 10 a.m.  Mondays. Program details are available at sitkamusicfestival.org.

Whitson Earns

Bachelor’s Degree

Mackenzie Whitson is graduating spring term from Western Washington University, Bellingham, with a bachelor’s degree in English with a creative writing emphasis.

She is the 2020 recipient of the university’s award for Most Outstanding Poetry Piece of the Year for her poem, “Sestina of Open Obsession, or, Night-Turtle, Be My Safety, My Reminder.” Her works are published in Western’s literary journal Jeopardy Literary Magazine, which can be found online.

She has plans to continue her education, and is applying for graduate schools this fall. She hopes to attend a creative writing master of fine arts program starting fall 2021. 

Whitson said she is inspired by Sitka as a place, the ocean and the shoreline, and uses it as a backdrop in most of her creative writing, which delves into issues such as generational trauma, grief, and gender and sexual equality. She wants to thank ‘‘the ocean for always being there, her mom for standing strong, her brothers and sisters for driving her crazy and never letting her forget where she comes from, and her dad for ever being here at all.’’

She is a 2016 Sitka High School graduate and is the daughter of Kelley Whitson and the late Duane Whitson.

School Board

Has Vacancy

The Sitka School Board is seeking a candidate to fill a vacant board seat until the October elections.

Letters of interest must be delivered to the district office by 4 p.m. June 19. The candidates will be announced June 22 and public input will be accepted either in writing or by email at district@sitkaschools.org.

At the June 24 board meeting, candidates will be interviewed and one will be appointed by a majority vote, the school district said.

Artists Offered

Relief Grants

Alaska artists who have been financially burdened by the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for $1,500 Alaska Arts and Culture Emergency Relief COVID-19 Grants. The deadline to apply is June 30.

The Alaska State Council on the Arts, Alaska Arts and Culture Foundation, Atwood Foundation, and Rasmuson Foundation have partnered to create the relief grant program.

Applications are competitive and will be evaluated by a selection committee, organizers said.

Alaska artists can apply for the ACERF COVID-19 grant and learn more about eligibility and criteria with the submittable application at: https://artsalaska.submittable.com/submit.

Climate Connection:

Kruzof Island

By Leah Mason

I spent three glorious days on Kruzof Island this week, thanks to some lovely friends. The trash that seems to spread out  around a cabin never fails to make me sad, but even this did not have the power to take away from the magic. On our first evening we saw curious seals, and spotted the tracks of bear, deer and river otters. The squirrels wanted to see our paperwork, and in spite of the ATV activity on the beach, my friends heard Dinosaur Birds (aka Sandhill Cranes)! We rediscovered the fatigue of walking in sand, and I found sand dollars. Life goal attained. Our second day started with two gray whales caught in a sand trap on the beach. With barely enough water to turn around in, they were staying active and their breath was what caught our attention. We knew that the lowest point of the low tide was past, and that we couldn’t do anything else,  so we radioed the authorities and hiked over to another beach. Different colored sand, different types of rock, and a totally different collection of garbage strewn at the far end of the beach. While scratching our heads about the empty household cleaner bottles and styrofoam, we turned around to walk back, and found that we needed to negotiate right-of-way with a 3- to 4-year-old brown bear. Fortunately the bear seemed happy to pass by at a distance with just a short series of standing sniffs. The entry to our original path was now underwater, so we followed a deer trail back over the ridge, to check on the whales. The poor beasts were still trapped, so we settled in to watch over their efforts to make it over the sandbar. It took another hour or so before they were able to do it. We were so relieved to see them move off, and hoped that whatever drew them in to the beach wouldn’t draw them in again. At dinner we were feeling so lucky that we decided to ask the universe for a third helping of wonder: Dinosaur Birds! We wanted to actually see the Sandhill Cranes to finish off this crazy day. Within an hour the universe had delivered. 

What an amazing place we live in. The only thing that I missed out on was the irises. They are running behind schedule, it seems. My friends explained that Iris Meadows is what is left of a cattle-grazing area from the early 1900s. The hooves of cows are not suited to the wet conditions, so the flats are all that remain of the idea. Some ideas just don’t work out, or just come to an end when the conditions change. The trick is knowing when that is, and being prepared to do something else. 

The remains of abandoned towns or, in this case, an abandoned business venture, remind me of this. They tell me a story of failure and success that I try to apply to my own life. Someone tried something here and maybe it worked for a while, but they moved on to something else. Hopefully something that was more suitable to the conditions and circumstances. I can do that. I can recognize a bad idea when I’m up to my armpits in it. I can haul myself out and move on. That is how I view the climate change challenge. The only thing hard about it, is admitting you are failing. Once you do that, you can start doing something that is a better fit, and which ultimately brings you more satisfaction. I know that the irises are the remains of someone’s failure, and a scar on the ancient landscape, but I wish that I’d been able to see the irises in bloom. As scenes of old destruction go - for example if you compare it to something like a gold mine or an oil well - a flat grassy area full of irises, bears, and deer is pretty pleasant. Maybe next year.

---

Leah Mason is a member of the Sitka Citizens’ Climate Lobby.