Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 177
James "Jim" Wellington Abbott passed away at age 83 on Aug. 15 in Wrangell. A celebration of life will be held at the Harbor Light Assembly of God Church at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, with a reception to follow from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Elks Lodge. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa, to Arnoldine E. and Emmett W. Abbott. He and his parents resided in Greenfield, Iowa, where Jim attended elementary school and graduated from high school. After graduation, Jim attended the University of Oklahoma...
BearFest attendees brought their culinary and athletic skills to bear at the celebration's games, tournaments and contests. The festival, which ran from July 26 to July 30, featured a golf tournament, marathon, raffle, berry pie contest and smoked salmon contest. When he isn't busy with his job as borough manager, Jeff Good can be found dominating the Muskeg Meadows golf course, and the BearFest tournament was no exception. He won the straightest-drive competition and the team he was part of -...
Want to golf for a good cause? The WMC Foundation and SEARHC are offering the women of the community an opportunity to do just that at the Rally for Cancer Care fundraiser at Muskeg Meadows on Aug. 5. The event will feature a luncheon, beverages, prizes, a silent auction and a “fun and frolic” golf tournament — a non-scored, no-skills-necessary take on the game. The tournament is ladies only, but organizer Patty Gilbert said she “wouldn’t mind men attending” the lunch, games and auction. The fundraiser will support the WMC Foundation,...
This year’s Wrangell High School cross country team has some big running shoes to fill. Last year, the boys team placed first at regionals and first at state, which was a first-ever accomplishment for the team. Some of those runners are returning and head coach Mason Villarma has big hopes for the athletes. “I think the men will definitely look to repeat a state championship,” he said in an interview on Friday, July 21. “I think the women — Southeast looks really weak — so I think they can win a regional championship. Anything can happen at s...
From a “beary” pie contest to a cub-o-war, art workshops, live music and a usually sold-out dinner, BearFest is returning for its 14th year. The activities start July 26. The popular educational and cultural event celebrates bears and the surrounding environment. Along with the activities, educational opportunities and symposiums and a bear safety session are planned. One of the more popular features of BearFest is the dinner and fundraising auction held at the Stikine Inn and Restaurant, which will begin at 6 p.m. July 28. Tickets went on sal...
On a recent Saturday, Devyn Johnson brought her children and their friend to the Rainbow Falls trailhead at 5 Mile. They met with a curious hiker and prepared to trek up the path to the top, about six-tenths of a mile away. Before starting on the journey, Johnson found a large slab of rock weighing between 20 and 30 pounds and put it into her backpack. That’s the difference between hiking and adding a rucking element to it. Every weekend, rain or shine, the Wrangell Parks and Recreation department hosts a rucking hike in various places around t...
Thank you to Johnson’s Building Supply and Smitty’s Floor Installation for spring upgrades to the golf course clubhouse. – Muskeg Meadows...
The Wrangell Golf Club board of directors would like to thank everyone who helped make our annual fundraising dinner and auction a success. This was our first time back at it since before COVID, and we couldn’t have asked for a better event. Thank you to all the businesses and individuals that donated items to auction and raffle: Alaska Airlines, Cindy Baird, Pacific Seafoods, All American Mechanical, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, Sentry Hardware, Angerman’s Inc., Ottesen’s Ace Hardware, Breakaway Adventures, Rayme’s Bar, Lucy Robinso...
Every spring when the eulachon spawn, the Stikine River flats are flooded with thousands of migratory shorebirds. And each year, the town responds in-kind with the Stikine River Birding Festival, filling the radio airwaves with bird songs and holding an array of avian-themed events. This season, the festival will run for three weekends between April 21 and May 6. It will feature movies, crafts, workshops and more. “Birding is such a nice welcome to spring,” said Corree Delabrue of the U.S. Forest Service, who helped plan the festival. She lov...
Some people let their dogs run loose, while others walk their dogs but don’t bother to pick up the piles. Regardless of which one was the culprit, the recent dog poop deposit at the museum totem is a new low for a highly visible problem. The discovery comes as the snow melts and residents discover dog piles anywhere and everywhere. The Muskeg Meadows Golf Course, which is posted but frequently ignored as a dog-free area, recently reminded the community: “Our grounds crew has been picking up buckets and buckets of dog poo as we get ready to ope...
Oct. 19, 1922 The regular monthly meeting of the Parent-Teachers Association was held last Thursday evening at the schoolhouse. H. W. Gartley spoke forcibly and to the point regarding the need for a playground for children, aside from the playshed on the school grounds. Mr. Gartley’s talk met with enthusiastic approval, and he was asked to act as chairman of a playground committee to look into the matter and report at the next meeting on available sites for a public playground where the boys can play baseball with no fear of breaking windows, w...
Julie Williams believes life is a "limited time offer," and that opportunities should be taken where they can. The new school counselor is invested in helping Wrangell's high school and middle school students plan their futures, while helping them understand that sometimes adjustments need to be made for the curveballs life throws their way. Williams holds degrees from Stanford University, Goddard College and the University of Idaho and her focus has been on curriculum and instruction. She grew...
From Wednesday through Sunday, the schedule for BearFest is loaded with something for all ages, whether games and art workshops or food and educational symposiums. Since the event is focused on bears, there will be bear safety classes, a look at the new Anan Wildlife Observatory for bear viewing, a history of bears in national parks, and bear conservation among other bear-related topics. BearFest organizer Sylvia Ettefagh said in an interview earlier this month that the mission of the five-day...
Friendly competitions, food tosses, tests of endurance and plenty of fun filled the weekend as hundreds flocked to various Fourth of July events throughout Wrangell. Tourists, visitors, family and former residents returning home joined locals in watching and participating in the parade, talent show, basketball and many other events from Friday through Monday in celebration of the Fourth. Despite a change in venue for the fireworks show from Volunteer Park to a barge in Zimovia Strait due to dry...
Running has provided Mason Villarma with the discipline needed to set and achieve goals, not only with the sport but in other aspects of life. It's training he will lean on as he is taking on two new part-time jobs in addition to his full-time work as the borough's finance director. On June 20, the school board voted to accept two contracts for Villarma: One as the high school assistant cross country running coach and another as the activities director for the school district. Villarma sees...
The fun is returning with four days full of games, music, food, booms, pops, pows and wows. In addition to all the popular events held at last year's Fourth of July celebration, six more have been included in the schedule after being on hiatus for a couple years, and three new events have been added. For a full schedule of events for Friday through Monday, see Pages 8 and 9. Returning favorites include the fireworks show Sunday evening, Monday's parade, Saturday's fish derbies and several waterc...
Glacier Larsen gets ready to chip in his ball from the rough last Saturday during the first day of the Angerman's 9-Hole Best Ball Tournament at Muskeg Meadows — the first golf tournament of the season. Five teams competed for prizes, with the team of Faye and Keene Kohrt, Matt Houser and Chris Johnson placing first. The second day of play was postponed due to rain and will be held at a later date....
The annual Stikine River Birding Festival has a busy first weekend planned. It starts up Friday with a 1 p.m. virtual storytime at the Irene Ingle Public Library, then continuing the educational fun agenda with a Birding 101 class at 6 p.m. Friday at the Nolan Center, led by Bonnie Demerjian. The library event will present an Earth Day theme, with activity kits available for pickup at the library. The meeting ID for the Zoom event is 935 4298 0052, passcode 8743535. There are three events on Saturday’s calendar. A community cleanup is p...
April 13, 1922 The high school play, “Mary Jane’s Pa,” will be given in the Redmen’s Hall on Saturday, April 15. It is in three acts with a cast of 15 characters and will have two performances. At the afternoon performance, which is given so that schoolchildren may see it for a lower price and for mothers who cannot attend in the evening, the seats will be 25 cents for schoolchildren and 50 cents for the mothers. No reserved seats. At the evening performance, 160 seats at the front will be reserved at 75 cents each. The general admission to the...
Just like migrating birds, the Stikine River Birding Festival is coming back to Wrangell. This year, instead of just one weekend, the festival is spreading its wings to three weekends in a row from April 22 to May 7 with a focus on education. "Instead of having one intensive weekend, hoping to capitalize on visitors, I think we recognized it was never really attracting a huge amount of tourists," said Corree Delabrue, district interpreter for the U.S. Forest Service Wrangell office. She also...
If it wasn't for the carts at Muskeg Meadows, more golfers might be forced to walk between holes. One teen is making sure that's not the case when the course opens this year. High school senior Jimmy Baggen is working on providing maintenance for several of Muskeg's carts for his senior project, an idea that came to him because of his interest in golf and mechanics. Baggen has been interested in fixing cars (and carts) only for a couple of years after hanging out with a friend of the family who...
Wrangell’s Tent City Days start Friday and run through Sunday, with 20 events scheduled for the fall festivities that come a day before Alaska Day on Monday, which celebrates the U.S. purchase of the territory from Russia in 1867. In keeping with the historical theme, there are some gold rush-named activities among the varied three-day schedule. And in keeping with COVID-19 safety, organizers advise on the event’s Facebook page: “Please mask up. Follow state/local health mandates. Don’t feel well? Stay home and call your medical provide...
Leonard Charles Angerman was born at home June 12, 1935, and died Sept. 22, 2021, at Wrangell Medical Center. "His 86 years were full of bumps and obstacles, which he met with courage, hope and a positive attitude," the family wrote. One of the toughest was the death of his 51-year-old father. His mother had $500, four children, and a cab business to run. His parents, Fritz and Helen, had emigrated from Austria and were hard workers who successfully instilled that into their children Fred,...
Event organizer Jill Privett is looking to make a positive change with Tent City Days. In the past, the event celebrated the gold rush era, but Privett wants to focus more on “celebrating all things Wrangell, whether that be your love of the land, people, fishing, berry picking, etc.,” she said. From Oct. 14-17, various in-person and virtual events will be held, such as the Gold Nugget Open Swim, Alaska Day Fun Run, Tent City Steak Night, a food cache contest, Shady Lady Saturday Night, Zoom Story Time, Fisherman’s Crawl and the Wild Woman...
Wrangell’s Muskeg Meadows Golf Course will be busy the first two weekends of September with four different tournaments. The Breakaway Adventures nine-hole, best-ball tourney is planned for Sept. 4. The Club Championship will tee off on Sept. 5, with individual scores. The three-club tournament in honor of Randy Littleton will be a nine-hole, best-ball competition on Labor Day, Sept. 6. The American Legion Auxiliary benefit tournament is planned for Sept. 11-12, also a nine-hole, best-ball event. All of the tournaments are scheduled to start a...
