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This is the only known photograph of Rex Hanks, seen here with his wife, Irmgard, next to their two-story home in Happy Valley—circa 1950s. (Photo courtesy of Katie Matthews)

Life

A Kind and Sensitive Man: The Rex Hanks Story — Part 3

After working and searching for a couple of months, he found property that pleased him near the waterfall…

Promotional photo courtesy Universal Pictures
Ryan Gosling portrays Colt Seavers and Emily Blunt portrays Jody Moreno in “The Fall Guy.”

Life

On the Screen: ‘Fall Guy’ a fun spotlight on an underappreciated element of filmmaking

The film follows Ryan Gosling’s Colt Seaver, a stunt performer who has spent years as the double for…

Dancers rehearse a hula routine at Diamond Dance Project near Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Aloha spirit returns

Aloha Vibes will be held at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Saturday, May 11, from 11 a.m.…

Art by Chelline Larsen and Adam Hoyt, for “Stitch, Paint, Fabricate,” fills the walls of the Kenai Art Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Fabric and metal art showcased and juxtaposed in new exhibition

Kenai Art Center’s May show features work by Chelline Larsen and Adam Hoyt

Earl Grey and lavender cupcakes are elegantly decorated. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Cupcakes to celebrate community and connection

These beautiful Earl Grey and lavender cupcakes are elegant and refined

Photo by Clark Fair
In the summer of 2016, this was all that remained of Rex Hanks’s original homestead cabin, located just above the waterfall on Happy Creek.

Life

A Kind and Sensitive Man: The Rex Hanks Story — Part 2

By the end of 1958, the little graveyard’s inhabitants numbered four.

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)

Life

Life in the Pedestrian Lane: April is Poetry Month …

T.S. Eliot had it right: April is the cruelest month

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Life

Minister’s Message: A stranger to hate

There are days when my sanity literally cannot bear the news of some of the stuff going on…

The Kenai Central High School Concert Band performs during Pops in the Parking Lot at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, May 4, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

‘Pops in the Parking Lot’ returns

Kenai Central High School and Kenai Middle School’s bands will take their instruments — and their year-end concert…

John Messick’s “Compass Lines” is displayed at the Kenai Peninsula College Bookstore in Soldotna, Alaska on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. The copy at the top of this stack is the same that reporter Jake Dye purchased and read for this review. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Off the Shelf: ‘Compass Lines’ offers quiet contemplations on place and purpose

I’ve had a copy of “Compass Lines” sitting on my shelf for over a year. When I first…

Mushroom and prosciutto tortellini are ready for freezing or boiling. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

When you can’t do Legos, make tortellini

This homemade pasta may be time intensive, but produces a delcious, cheesy meal

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Life

Powerful truth of resurrection reverberates even today

Don’t let the resurrection of Jesus become old news

Nell and Homer Crosby were early homesteaders in Happy Valley. Although they had left the area by the early 1950s, they sold two acres on their southern line to Rex Hanks. (Photo courtesy of Katie Matthews)

Life

A Kind and Sensitive Man: The Rex Hanks Story — Part 1

The main action of this story takes place in Happy Valley, located between Anchor Point and Ninilchik on…

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Chloe Jacko, Ada Bon and Emerson Kapp rehearse “Clue” at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, April 18, 2024.

Life

Whodunit? ‘Clue’ to keep audiences guessing

Soldotna High School drama department puts on show with multiple endings and divergent casts

This berry cream cheese babka can be made with any berries you have in your freezer. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

A tasty project to fill the quiet hours

This berry cream cheese babka can be made with any berries you have in your freezer

Leora McCaughey, Maggie Grenier and Oshie Broussard rehearse “Mamma Mia” at Nikiski Middle/High School in Nikiski, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Singing, dancing and a lot of ABBA

Nikiski Theater puts on jukebox musical ‘Mamma Mia!’

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Life

Minister’s Message: How to grow old and not waste your life

At its core, the Bible speaks a great deal about the time allotted for one’s life

What are almost certainly members of the Grönroos family pose in front of their Anchor Point home in this undated photograph courtesy of William Wade Carroll. The cabin was built in about 1903-04 just north of the mouth of the Anchor River.

Life

Fresh Start: The Grönroos Family Story— Part 2

The five-member Grönroos family immigrated from Finland to Alaska in 1903 and 1904

Aurora Bukac is Alice in a rehearsal of Seward High School Theatre Collective’s production of “Alice in Wonderland” at Seward High School in Seward, Alaska, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Seward in ‘Wonderland’

Seward High School Theatre Collective celebrates resurgence of theater on Eastern Kenai Peninsula

Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson appear in “Civil War.” (Promotional photo courtesy A24)

Life

Review: An unexpected battle for empathy in ‘Civil War’

Garland’s new film comments on political and personal divisions through a unique lens of conflict on American soil