Items of Interest

We are residing in Kennicott where we are spending most of our spare time gathering wood and water, snowboarding on Porphory Mountain and feeding our dogs. Marie has a long history in Kennicott rebuilding two of the Silk Stocking Row cabins with her family and friends in the early 90's and returning here for several summers. David has worked for Chris Richards and Kennicott Wilderness Guides since 1995. Exploring the mountains in the surrounding area has been a passion for us. This is our first winter in the neighborhood and we feel as if we have discovered a new place entirely! We wish to extend the invitation to come and go skiing or snowboarding on the mountain above Kennicott with us.

Neil Darish and Doug Miller: If you stop by the McCarthy Lodge these days you will find Doug diligently at work. Now that his winter break is over—a delightful trip to India—he isn’t letting any grass grow under his feet. (Not that we can even “see” the grass under 32 inches of snow.) Neil is glad to have Doug back. During the months of October and November, Neil pretty much had the town to himself. In fact, he claims that he has only had 6 days out of town in the past 2 ½ years and that is a good reason for any strange behavior on his part. He says he is making great strides on his residency status.

February’s major project for Neil and Doug includes refinishing walls, ceiling and the floors of the McCarthy Lodge. “You can expect to see more cohesive displays of artifact collections from the McCarthy and Kennicott area,” says Neil, who is more-than-excited about this project.

Another point of much interest is the return of Sergio Perez, McCarthy Lodge’s executive chef. “We are looking forward to the return of Sergio who is busy building his new menus for the restaurant and saloon” says Neil. To jump start the summer season, McCarthy Lodge will once again provide the “locals” a half-price special dinner. I can almost smell that Ecuadorian fare!

The Pilgrim family and friends: While on our trip south to visit our family in November, we purchased a new printer and had it shipped to Anchorage. It was badly damaged so Rick had it replaced. The new one came in this last week. When Rick got back from picking it up in Anchorage he needed a helping hand (or two). Getting it unloaded off our pick-up truck, onto a sled and then maneuver it through the office door (after shoveling open the path) was no small task.

The natural thing to do out here is call a neighbor, ask for their help. John Adams offered to come, and we knew a couple of the Pilgrim family members were in the immediate area. John and Moses said they’d come over shortly.

Thinking Moses and one of his brothers would show up, we were quite surprised to see a snowmachine “train” pull up the driveway. What a crew! Not only did Moses bring brothers David and Job but sisters Jerusalem and Hosanna.

They must have had company at the time we called because Moses invited them, too! Twin brothers Carl and Dave Felts are not newcomers to the area but are always passing through when en route to their property at Spruce Point and Spruce Creek. I guess that’s why Rick and I had never met them. I couldn’t tell them apart but Job said he was finally able to do so.

The brothers live in New Jersey and have been visiting this area for 23-25 years now. This was their first winter visit, however, and an opportunity to do some serious snowmachining.

The moving project went smoothly as there were plenty of hands to lift, push and pull. Before long the printer was sitting in the comfort of its new home – our office.

Our thanks go out to such wonderful neighbors and new friends alike!

Jack and Susan Smith: This is the first time I’ve included Jack and Susan in “items” but I know it won’t be the last. They live at Mile 26 of the McCarthy Road. Rick and I live 1 ½ miles off the road at Mile 58 so we don’t get to see Jack and Susan often. When we do, it is a highlight of our day!

Over the Christmas season Jack needed to travel Outside to spend time with his family. Sarah Roberts, Susan’s 19 year old daughter, chose the perfect time to visit her mom. Not only would Susan greatly appreciate the company but having 2 weeks of quality time with Sarah made the holiday season a perfect gift.

Rick and I were honored to have these two ladies pay us a visit. Sarah is attending Tallahassee Community College and will soon graduate with a 2 year degree in business and accounting. She plans on continuing her studies at the college expanding on her business education. Susan tells me she taught Sarah how to make Sterling Silver jewelry while she was here. We all wished Sarah could have brought along a portion of the 70 degrees temperatures Florida was experiencing to warm up McCarthy’s -40 degrees.

Thanks for sharing Sarah with us, Susan, and welcome back to Jack who had a safe trip home.

John and Andy Adams: I’m sure John can truly identify with Susan’s joy over Sarah’s visit. He, too, was a delighted parent when son Andy returned from a tour of duty in Mosul, Iraq.

Once again Rick and I were honored with a visit; this time with John and Andy.

Watching, listening or reading the news of the war in Iraq doesn’t always give us the real-life picture of what our troops are experiencing. I have to confess I plied Andy with questions and he patiently answered. He even brought along his laptop computer which contained a variety of pictures of where he lived and worked. How different a landscape from the McCarthy area!

Andy freely shared his love for the people of Iraq and his fulfillment in making their everyday life safer and easier. When he finishes further schooling here in the states, he said he would even like to return. He described a people who were so thankful and the tears they shed at his departure.

It is obvious this one young man made a lasting difference. Thanks, John, for bringing Andy by and, Andy, thank you for serving our country and the Iraqi people honorably!

Don, Lynn and Rene Welty: While I was typing an “item” the phone rang and it was Lynn. She wanted to know how my day had gone. On the other hand, I was wanting to know what she and her family were doing. Don and neighbor John Adams had just left to harvest a few logs for a lumber-making project. Rene was over at Traci’s house visiting and, as most of our readers know, daughter Sarah is engaged in studies in Wyoming .

The Weltys have been out and about the neighborhood. They paid the Ralph Lohse family a visit recently and while at Long Lake a time of target practice complete with Clay Pigeons took place. She didn’t say who the best shot was but between the Lohse and Welty families, I’d say there was more than one sharpshooter that scored a pigeon or two.

The other night Don and Lynn partnered up with Keith and son Kaleb (Laurie was supposed to assist Kaleb but a phone call from me took her out of the game temporarily) to find a Scrabble connoisseur. According to Lynn, Kaleb won. I’m not sure if that was with Laurie’s help or without it.

Lynn said she overheard the men talking outdoor activities so I imagine they are already gearing up for the annual ice fishing expedition in early spring. Rick will be glad about that!

Neil O’Donnell, Margaret Stock and daughter Catherine: The morning of December 27th appeared with a vengeance with temperatures in the minus 30's, but there was a warm thought that brightened our day – Neil, Margaret and Catherine were coming for a visit. Decked in plenty of winter gear the three descended (via Lynn Ellis of Ellis Air Taxi) onto the frozen McCarthy airstrip. Donning their skis and sled for Catherine – when she decided to rest from her skiing excursion–they headed to the west side of the Kennicott where their log cabin is located.

They stopped here en route and while warming up, we began the process of “catching up.” We resumed our visit during dinner at Neil and Margaret’s cozy (and finally warmed-up) cabin a few nights later.

On New Year’s Eve Rick and I decided to celebrate the warming trend (-20's) by attending a potluck being held at the McCarthy Lodge. We invited Neil, Margaret and Catherine to accompany us (actually we wanted to show off our friends). They bravely took the challenge of putting on all those heavy layers of winter garb again and venturing out to the big city on snowmobiles. We had a grand time. The lodge was warm, food was scrumptious and a variety of local folks in attendance made good company.

We were sorry to say goodbye to this special family but the time of their departure came on March 3. The temperature again dipped to the -30's as if it, too, was trying to put off their departure.

Kurt, Peggy and Kelsey Smith: Speaking of New Year’s celebrations, I couldn’t leave out the annual New Year’s Day gathering at the Smith family home on the Nizina River. The evening before, the Welty and Lohse families snowmachined out the Nizina Road to the Smith’s log home. Their plans included spending the night. Last year’s event included a huge bon fire and outdoor eating. The Smiths’ temporary living quarters wouldn’t begin to accommodate the group that showed up. This year, however, was a different story.

Rick and I arrived on New Year’s Day and we certainly were in for a surprise. No bon fire was needed this year. Kurt, Peggy and Kelsey had really outdone themselves. Their new log house was not only built ( the previous year we could only see the desired site) but they had already moved in (I’m confident Peggy was not about to be uprooted from her beautiful new home that Kurt had built!). What a view they have and what excellent workmanship, Kurt!

We had a wonderful time visiting over hot bowls of chili and homemade cake. What a grand way to begin a new year!

McCarthy kids are tested: Eight McCarthy area kids, from a variety of grade levels, arrived at the McCarthy-Kennicott Community Church building on February 17th ready to get down to business. Four students from the Chugach School District took over the church basement while four students from the Galena City School District made use of the upstairs sanctuary.

Diane Milliard monitored the testing for Chugach students Rene Welty, Traci and Carl Gressel, and Tessa Bay and I had the privilege of overseeing Galena’s Kaleb, David, Hannah and Daniel Rowland.

The testing was spread over 3 to 4 days depending on the particular student and test. The young people all arrived by snowmobiles (and snowboards or skis).Tessa was accompanied by her father Kelly who traveled 9 miles (one way) each day of the testing. She takes the prize for having to travel the farthest.

The students were well behaved (Diane and I are proud to report) and our congratulations to each young person for giving it their best. Each of you are very special!