10 years ago
What types of food traditions make Haines distinct compared to other small towns in the United States?
A new exhibit, “Key Ingredients: America by Food,” opening April at the Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center, sets out to explore the question.
The exhibit is only the museum’s second from the Smithsonian Institution, and it will inherit all of the exhibit displays and shipping containers, according to museum director Helen Alten.
The exhibit’s journey to the Sheldon Museum was not simple. Alten knew the exhibit had been traveling in Alaska, so she contacted the Alaska Humanities Forum to see if she could get it in Haines.
The Humanities Forum told Alten that the exhibit schedule was booked and Fairbanks was the last stop. Alten then contacted the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program, and asked if they would consider adding one more venue.
The Smithsonian agreed, under one condition.
“(The Smithsonian) offered everything to us – the walls, panels and kiosks,” Alten said, but the Sheldon Museum had to provide the transportation for all of the contents to Haines.
George Campbell stepped in to donate transport and storage. “He traveled two days up to Fairbanks, picked up 16 crates on Thanksgiving Day, drove two days back and then he stored them for us at Storage and Warehouse from November through March.”
“We were very lucky,” Alten said. Requests to host these types of exhibits are typically made two to three years in advance. “We are now the end of the exhibit.”
Alten is eager to inherit the exhibit because all of the displays and shipping cases now can be reused to create traveling exhibits for the Sheldon Museum, which has never been done before.
The concept of “Key Ingredients” is to engage audiences in national and local food production, consumption and culture.
The exhibit is comprised of five parts: Land of Plenty, Local Flavors, Dynamic Delivery, Festival of Feasts and Home Cooking.
Each section contains the core Smithsonian components about the country, local elements and an interactive children’s aspect.
“This exhibit is much more integrated than we have ever done,” Alten said.
The exhibit in Haines will include pieces from the museum’s collection and canned goods and recipes that residents have donated.
Alten is particularly inspired by elements about local subsistence fishing, potlatches and potlucks, a smokehouse, a boat and food tastings.
She has ideas to include elements on coupons and the farmer’s market.
“This is the biggest exhibit that any of us have done,” Alten said.
She described working with the Smithsonian as “fabulous” because of the detailed instructions they provide for the exhibit setup, as well as the associated educational materials.
Alten is looking forward to the exhibit opening next week. To make it happen, there are a few challenges to address.
“Right now, we only have myself and one other person to work on constructing the exhibit. We need help with the setup, particularly lifting crates,” Alten said.
20 years
The Southeast Alaska State Fair will be held two weeks earlier than usual this year and includes a slate of top-name entertainers.
Legendary bluesman Elvin Bishop and 1997 fair favorite Laura Love already have signed contracts to perform at the 37th annual fair set for July 27-31.
Fair executive director Herb VanCleve said Monday he’s optimistic that talks with 2005 Grammy winter Steve Earle also will pay off.
“We should know more by the end of next week,” VanCleve said. “I know he is available. He’s within our budget and we’re waiting for confirmation from the man himself. We’ve been dealing with his agent.”
Earle took home a Grammy Award last month for best contemporary folk album for “The Revolution Starts…Now.” He’s recorded and performed for two decades and has an “untold number of hits,” as a country crossover artist, VanCleve said.
The fair’s budget for headline entertainers this year has more than doubled to $40,000 from $16,000 in 2004, VanCleve said.
The fair director said he’s counting on evening concerts at the fairgrounds to boost revenues.
Bishop is scheduled to bring his brand of rollicking, electrified down-home blues to Payson’s Pavilion for the Thursday night dance.
A charter member of the Butterfield Blues Band who’s played with Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and B.B. King at the famed Fillmore jam sessions, Bishop will bring a seven-piece band to the fair.
“It’s a full blues band with horn section and the whole nine yards,” Van Cleve said.
The guitarist and songwriter’s biggest hit was 1976’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” which climbed to third on the Billboard charts.
On Friday, Laura Love will entertain fairgoers.
VanCleve said Love, whose 1997 dance here drew a crowd of about 800, is excited to return to the Chilkat Valley. Fans here are equally enthusiastic,” he said. “You can feel the excitement… The reaction locally has been 100 percent positive. She made quite an impression.”
Love is hard to classify. “A hip-deep groove, a strong voice and a folk-funk sound bearing traces of African, Appalachian, Celtic and Middle Eastern music are among Laura Love’s musical lures,” said a review in “Utne Reader” magazine. “The clincher is her live show, where she inevitably wows new listeners.”
VanCeleve said the line-up is intended to attract a wide range of fairgoers. “There’s something for everyone. When you mention all three names together, people know at least one and are very excited,” he said. “The idea is to put the names out there and hopefully people will come and fill the town… I think we have the potential to set records this year.”
He said that scheduling Buckwheat Zydeco to open last year’s fair proved “you can bring a headliner on Thursday and cover your end on it.”
The fair board decided this winter to put renewed emphasis on entertainment and worked to find the best time to schedule the five-day regional event.
Although the Southeast Alaska State Fair traditionally has been held in August to maximize exhibits of late-summer crops and flowers, participation in those departments has lagged in recent years.
Moving the fair up into July may cut some entries but should pay off with greater participation by vendors,” VanCleve said.
In past year, vendors have passed Haines up in favor of setting up at the Tanana Valley or Palmer fairs, he said. This year’s scheduling should prevent that.
“We’ll be the first fair,” VanCleve said.
The fair is asking the borough for $3,000 to build additional vendor booths to accommodate anticipated demand.
“We hope not only to hire more vendors but pick up new ones,” VanCleve said.
30 years
A mayoral proposal to begin collection of ambulance fees from non-city residents appears to be weakening.
Faced with an audience of emergency response volunteers opposed to the proposal, the city’s public safety committee Tuesday voted against collection of the fees.
Committee members Lynda Walker and Brian Lemcke wil carry their recommendation to the full council next week.
City mayor Greg Combs backs collection of ambulance fees, set at a base rate of $1000 plus $1 per mile.
He proposes all non-city residents except fire department volunteers and their families be charged to build a replacement and operating ambulance fund.
“If something does happen to this ambulance, you’re going to be scrambling around looking for money from the community again,” Combs said Tuesday.
As an alternative, Combs suggested an annual $100 subscription fee for ambulance service. The annual fee could be waived for those who already donate to the emergency response crews, he said.
Haines fire chief Roc Ahrens is among those who oppose the fee plan. Citing a fund drive two years ago to replace the city’s ambulance, Ahrens said non-city residents and organizations contributed more than twice the amount city residents did.
“It really puts us between a rock and hard place on where we stand with the community,” Ahrens said.
Public safety committee members Walker and Lemcke said they, too, don’t think now’s a good time to begin charging non-city residents.
“Klukwan, Inc. gave us a super amount of money (to replace the ambulance in 1993),” Walker said of the corporation’s $20,000 contribution. “And I don’t see what we charge is going to pay for the bookkeeping.”
Lemcke said he was uneasy that people needing emergency medical help might stop to consider whether they could afford it.
It was generally agreed that a way of charging tourists for ambulance calls should be devised, and some system for users to pay for the service should eventually be established. Lemcke suggested that after seeing how increased tourist traffic this summer affects ambulance service, public safety committee members and emergency services personnel should revisit the issue of fees next fall.
“The picture might look a little different by then,” Lemcke said.
40 years ago
A twenty-story motor court is planned for Pyramid Island, it was announced yesterday by Samanda Motor Inns. A spokesman for the company stated it will be entering formal final negotiations to purchase Mud Bay cliffs and the island within the next 30 days. Plans call for rock and stone from the cliffs to be used to build a causeway from Mud Bay Road at a point opposite the cabin presently occupied by Kent Greentree.
Howard D. Smith, vice president in charge of new construction for Samanda, when contacted this a.m. said plans had been developed quietly during the past 18 months and that construction on the causeway is scheduled to begin as soon as title to the properties is secured, probably within 4-5 days.
Construction of the facility itself will begin immediately thereafter. An opening date is projected for six months from the start of construction for the causeway.
Due to the increased tourism concentrated at the Eagle Preserve, the company feels there is a viable need for such a facility. The location will provide 360-degree view potential. Plans call for construction of 20-story twin towers, a modern design of yellow stucco poured concrete, to accommodate 1,000 people. Parking space will be provided by filling in and extending the island on the sand flats to the north.
Emergency parking facilities can be provided on the east and west sides at low tide.
Since the location is outside the city limits, no City of Haines action is necessary. No zoning laws are in effect within the borough. However, the company will present an environmental impact statement and preliminary plans before the next Borough Council session scheduled for the 24th. Also at that meeting the company will present a favorable State of Alaska Visitors Association statement of need and concern written last year and not publicly released until this time.
Upon researching the title to the Island and the cliffs, it was found that title to both properties is held by the Corps of Engineers Survey Section, an obscure agency that recently has been ordered to negotiate the sale of all excess properties it holds. When contacted, this agency stated that the two properties were listed approximately two years ago and only the Samanda group had expressed interest before the deadline. Price has been negotiated and the passage of deeds can be accomplished immediately with no public hearings or comments.
Fish and Game officials were noticeably apprehensive regarding the use of the island. It is the only local breeding area for arctic terns and several other species of shorebirds. Also there is concern for tidal flow and the passage of the salmon to spawning areas and the potential for pollution of the river system.
The local visitors association spokesman was not aware of the plans and while agreeing that there was a need for more motel facilities, was surprised at the location chosen and reserved comment at this time.
John Hall, city mayor and William Hendrick, borough mayor, both expressed amazement that they had not been previously informed. Both wished to contact legal counsel before commenting on the planned development.
Submitted by Betty Holgate for April Fool’s Day, 1985, written as an example of outrageous fiction in the fall 1984 University of Alaska Creative Writing course.
50 years
The main goal for 1975 of the Southeast Alaska State Fair is to totally involve each community in Southeast Alaska. The Fair wants to derive almost all of its entertainment from Southeast and hopes to have a performing group from each of the communities represented.
They are contacting a number of cultural groups such as the Sitka New Archangel Dancers, the Petersburg Norwegian Dancers, the Juneau St. Paul Singers, the Haines Chilkat Dancers, and other native dancers.
Possibly the most colorful event of the Fair will be the Grand Southeast Parade with a theme of “Southeast Alaska; yesterday and today.”
The Fair is strongly encouraging all Southeast communities to represent themselves with a float and compete for large cash prizes. These prizes will be given in the following categories: commercial floats, organizational floats, community floats, individual, horse division, kids division, marching units, and one overall grand prize. The Haines Volunteer Fire Department is handling the parade, so any questions or entries should be directed to this department in Haines.
Special events that will highlight this year’s fair include motorcycle races, horse show, style show, a horseshoe-pitching contest, a dog show, antique cars, salad parade, carnival of casseroles, 4-H show, and kids events. There will also be a Cultural Arts and Crafts Exchange, where individuals and groups can demonstrate their skills, display their works, and offer their products for sale.
This year’s exhibits are in categories too numerous to mention, but a complete list will be in the Southeast State Fair Catalog which will be out by April 1. These catalogs may be obtained by writing to Southeast Alaska State Fair, Box 385, Haines, AK, 99827. Those who are already familiar with the fair will be glad to hear that last year’s dust problem in the display buildings will be controlled by damp wood chips on the floor.
Also, entry blanks will be eliminated this year with a new tag system taking its place.
The Southeast Fair recently sponsored a contest for the design of an insignia or seal representing Southeast Alaska and the fair. Entries from all over Southeast Alaska were solicited prior to the judging on Feb. 17. The winning design was done by Peter Goll of Haines. Another outstanding entry that was selected for the fair catalog cover was done by Gil Smith, also of Haines. Other artists who varied in age from 10 and up and entered their ideas, include Linda Shultz, Lawrence Day, Rod Hollenbach, Sherri Huguenin, Darbi and Bruce Abel, and Scott Williams, all of Juneau; David Moore of Skagway; Maria Wilhelm, Rhonda Stuart, and Carol Leonard, all of Haines.
Southeast Alaska is unique geographically and culturally, and involvement in the fair is an ideal way to exchange ideas, talents and skills. The unique geography creates a unique transportation problem as well.
Each of the many Southeastern communities is semi-isolated from the others. Commuting between communities or bringing them together for an event in one location is no simple problem.
The Alaska Marine Highway System provides perhaps the most practical and economical means of transportation to and from the fair.
Of course it is advisable to make reservations well in advance. The fair is happy to announce that Lynden Transport has donated the use of a van and a crew to move it, to be taken via the ferry to each normally serviced community. At each stop it will collect exhibits prior to the fair, and return them afterward. This project will be coordinated through the fair representatives in each community.