Sorted by date Results 401 - 425 of 454
The Last Frontier Honor Flight is a local chapter of the national organization of the Honor Flight Network. Our mission is to honor and thank veterans – especially World War II, Alaska Territorial Guard and Korean War veterans – by bringing them to Washington D.C. at no cost to them. The Last Frontier Honor Flight has been privileged to do this for 77 veterans since October 2013. Each one of these veterans came home with a renewed spirit knowing that they have not been forgotten and their ser...
"There's a lot of senior volunteer power behind the annual Anchorage-area Christmas Bird Count." That testimonial to senior volunteerism comes from Louann Feldmann. She's education chair of the Anchorage Audubon Society and will head this year's local Christmas Bird Count (CBC). "We coordinate our bird count with the National Audubon Society," she says. "It's a nationwide, continent-wide happening and will take place on Sunday, December 14 this year." She adds happily, "It's free! And for the...
Picking out a new calendar is one of the best treats of the New Year. It doesn't matter whether it's a gift for family or friends or one to use yourself. Some people have calendars in every room. Some have a wall calendar, a pocket calendar and a desk calendar. There may be a picture and a page for every month; every week or every day. And some Alaska seniors are creating their own calendars. Both Mat-Su Senior Services in Palmer and the Ninilchik Senior Services Center are using their own...
The City of Anchorage was founded in 1915. It was what has become known as a "Tent City." One hundred years later we will celebrate her centennial with an amazing skyline. Alaska Artist Byron Birdsall created a "Centennial Print," depicting the modern skyline in contrast to the original tent city. The print was signed by all of Anchorage's living mayors. Artique, a local gallery, marketed 450 numbered prints. The Anchorage Pioneer Home Resident Council purchased Print No. 205 as a gift to the...
"People laugh at me," says Maria James, chairperson of the Senior Veterans Group at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center (ASAC). "I seem able to spot a veteran – often a cap with pins and medals is a clue – and I chase after them." Maria is in hot pursuit because of her compulsion to let them know of their benefits as a veteran, and to encourage them to get to know other veterans at the center. "So many veterans are not aware of the benefits available to them," she says. Known for net...
When Alaska was transferred from Russia rule to the United States, it was up to the Americans to establish a way to deliver mail across its new possession. The Russians had not used a postal system. Communications between Russia and Russian America was handled by dispatch cases transported by Russian supply ships. Russian residents sent and received both business and personal mail through the Russian commanders in their communities. Three months before Alaska was formally handed off to American rule, the first post office in the northern...
While today's television landscape is littered with so-called reality programming, westerns dominated the airways in the 1960s. One of the most popular was "The Virginian," which ran for nine seasons on NBC from 1962 to 1971, and starred James Drury as the unnamed, mystery foreman of the Shiloh ranch, set in Medicine Bow, Wy. Drury celebrated his 80th birthday in April and, far from retiring, continues to travel the country greeting fans at western festivals (see www.thevirginian.net). He is...
"Where's my calculator?" Eyes popping in surprise, Rebecca Parker proclaims, "Yes. It's true. I have been in Anchorage for 41 years!" Becky and I have known each other for most of those 41 years. We'd met long ago as members of Alaska Press Women, now called Alaska Professional Communicators. I am sitting with her in her new office setting at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center, where she has recently been named General Manager. Feeling like old friends who hadn't had a chance to visit in sever...
Providence Seward Mountain Haven (PSMH) is a long-term care facility tucked away in the trees on the side of a mountain in Seward. I had the opportunity to visit Alaska Native Elders living there on two recent occasions and prepare traditional lunches for them. The staff purchased salmon, vegetables, berries and bread dough and we prepared the food on-site. I chopped vegetables for salmon soup, which included cubed salmon, carrots, celery, onions and rice with salt and a little bit of pepper. Wh...
Cyrano’s Theatre Company in Anchorage is presenting “4,000 Miles,” by Amy Herzog as its September production, playing Sept. 4 through Sept. 28. Although the title may be reminiscent of the classic ‘On the Road…’ films with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby and the play is a romantic comedy, it is most certainly far richer in its exploration of the relationships between young and old. It is the story of a 21 year-old young man who, after a lengthy bike trip, finds himself visiting his 91 year-old grandmother who lives in New York City. They are very di...
Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan and the Anchorage Sister Cities Commission will welcome Mayor Kotaro Yamaguchi and 29 additional honored guests from Chitose, Japan, on Aug. 5 to celebrate the Municipality of Anchorage's 45th Sister Cities Anniversary with Chitose. Chitose is Anchorage's first and oldest sister city, dating back to 1969. Then-mayor Goerge Sullivan, father of today's mayor, was instrumental in establishing this sister city relationship. A transportation hub for Japan's northernmost...
Bethel’s Eddie Hoffman Senior Center is moving out of its home. As reported by Bethel radio station KYUK, Bethel’s tribe ONC runs the senior program and can’t afford to keep it in the building that’s housed it for years. The senior program provides over 80 meals a day, many delivered to homebound clients, and up to 25 to 30 seniors visit each day. Bus service runs members to the post office, grocery shopping and on other errands. The program is expected to be moved out of its building by the end of September. While a new home has not been se...
The Kenai Peninsula Fair takes place Aug. 15-17 in Ninilchik. Admission price is $6 for seniors. Along with the usual exhibits and competitions, there are numerous musical headliner acts, carnival rides, racing pigs and much more. Information is available on the fair’s Facebook page and at www.kenaipeninsulafair.org. This year’s Alaska State Fair in Palmer takes place Aug. 21–Sept. 1. Senior (age 65 and older) admission is $9 weekdays, $10 weekends (discount of $2 if tickets is pre-purchased before Aug. 20). Other pricing packages are available...
"This is the heart of Sitka for so many seniors." Anita VanDyck shared this with me as she was busy serving desserts, fresh fruit cups, to several tables at Swan Lake Senior Center for the Friday noon meal. Anita is a longtime volunteer there. Fridays are Bingo days at the center and site manager Sandi Koval had assured me there would be quite a crowd. About 40 people had gathered there on a bleak, damp Sitka day, but inside there was sunshine. The minute I entered, I felt welcomed, almost as...
This year's Southeast Alaska State Fair in Haines is July 31 through Aug 3, with the theme "Unleash Your Inner Fair." In its 46th year, the fair reflects the cultures and people of Southeast Alaska. Sand wrestling is a new contest this year, but the logging show, fisherman's rodeo, wearable art, Tlingit carving and puppet theatre will be back. Music and performances on three stages; animals and petting zoo; food for every taste; arts and crafts. Contests for loveable dog, horseshoe fans, volleyb...
This year's Alaska International Senior Games will be held Aug. 8-17 in the Fairbanks area. Events range from horseshoes, bocce and golf to tennis, racquetball, archery, cycling, track and field, swimming and trap shooting. Basketball fans will appreciate two new events this year: free throw competition and three-on-three random coed. Complete AISG information including online registration at www.alaskaisg.org. Registration deadline is July 31 (early registration ends July 15). Call...
I followed along as Tim Chinn, fitness director at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center, glided ahead of me. "Try Nordic pole walking," my orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Stephen Tower, had advised, following my three knee replacement surgeries. "It's rather like cross country skiing, minus the snow and the skis." I'd never heard of it, but here I was, giving it a try at the center, under Tim's able guidance. Tim swept along silently in front, poling his way down hallways and across lobbies and through...
The Anchorage Senior Activity Center is looking for information about the historic Swank House, located at the east end of the center’s property. The home was owned by Harold and Gertrude Swank, built at 426 West 8th Avenue in 1937. It was rescued from demolition in 1981 and moves to its present location around 1985. The senior center’s Facility and Equipment Committee is attempting to assemble and trace the history of the movement and ownership of the house from 1981 to when it came under the control of the senior center. If you or som...
An 85-year-old Wasilla woman has been honored as the Alaska winner of the Home Instead Senior Care network's "Salute to Senior Service" award. Gene Chapedos is being recognized for her dedicated community service, including her work at the Wasilla Area Seniors, Inc. campus (WASI). Regardless of the weather, Chapedos walks the quarter mile outdoors to get from her apartment to the center. She has been an integral part of WASI life since 2007, starting out at the front counter and then moving to t...
Skagway seniors who struggle dragging the garbage can out to the street for emptying will be treated to some extra help under a pilot program next winter. City workers will go to their doorstep and take the garbage out for them. Skagway Assemblyman Steve Burnham proposed the program after exploring the idea at several committee meetings, which generated interest, according to the Skagway News. In addition to saving seniors and others with physical challenges from having to deal with ice, the program will also encourage them to not put the...
It's Tuesday morning, and Elise Patkotak is heading off to the Bird Treatment and Learning Center on King Street in Anchorage. She has volunteered for this early shift for 14 years. "I feel so privileged to be this close to the birds, to actually get to handle them," she says. And with her characteristic, somewhat quirky sense of humor, she adds, "I don't know if the birds feel the same way about me." She admits she has long been enthralled with birds. It all started with Adeline – one bird ...
Nora Velez of Anchorage was flipping through archival black-and-white photographs when she came across a familiar face – her mother, Lucy Kelly, who recently passed away. Nora was emotional: She had never seen this picture before. It was taken in Old Harbor in the 1940s and showed her mother as a gradeschooler wearing a jaunty cap and a shy smile. The image was taken by teachers Etta and Foster Jones. After Etta's death, the Anchorage Museum acquired the couple's photographs. The image of L...
Thirty-two years of teaching seemed like a long stretch to Chris Walker. Time to try something new? She pulled the plug on her teaching career and looked forward to retirement. "I was happy. I decided to do all those activities I'd put on hold but had never had time to do. Here I go," she thought. That lasted a relatively short time. "I volunteered at the Palmer Library and for Girl Scouts and my church boards. I tried gardening; my back didn't like that and talked back. I tried yoga and...
Seward Senior Center's Annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon on Feb. 14, with a theme of "Dapper Trapper," became an afternoon of delightful laughter. Mike Little's famous fish fry and volunteer baker Beth Johnson's Gold Nugget Brownies and Klondike Gold Bars were only the beginning. Following lunch, the camera lights came on, grips ready to hand over props, and the dressing room was busy with wool felted hats, buckskins and fur shawls being passed around. Ready! Camera! Action! "Volunteers...
