Life

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Minister’s Message: The way life will be

“Is this the way it was all meant to be? Is this what God had in mind when He created us?”

 

Edward Burke is ordained a transitional deacon by Archbishop Andrew E. Bellisario at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo provided by Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church)

Kenai’s Catholic Church hosts diaconate ordination

The event was attended by roughly 300 people, nearly a dozen priests and deacons and the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau

 

Little Family photo courtesy of the Soldotna Historical Society Ira Little poses in the doorway of the cabin he recently completed with the help of his buddy, Marvin Smith, in the winter of 1947-48. The cabin stood on a high bank above the Kenai River in the area that would soon be known as Soldotna.

Bound and Determined: The Smith & Little Story — Part 2

On Dec. 19, 1947, Smith and Little had filed on adjoining homesteads

 

Will Morrow (courtesy)

The adventure continues

I rolled into Kenai for what was going to be just a three- to five-year adventure

Will Morrow (courtesy)
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Minister’s Message: Prioritizing prayer

I am thankful I can determine to pray about choices and circumstances

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Ira Little poses outside of his recently completed Soldotna homestead cabin in 1947. (Little Family photo courtesy of the Soldotna Historical Society)

Bound and Determined: The Smith & Little Story — Part 1

The lives of Ira Little and Marvin Smith were inextricably linked

Ira Little poses outside of his recently completed Soldotna homestead cabin in 1947. (Little Family photo courtesy of the Soldotna Historical Society)
Nick Varney

Unhinged Alaska: Sometimes humble pie can taste fishy

I was around back when Chinooks invaded the region like a horde of Genghis Khan Horsemen redlined on 100 proof fermented goat’s milk

Nick Varney
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Minister’s Message: Graduate to this!

The joy and celebration for students is over and the bright future is now met with the reality of living out those answers to that question: “What is next?”

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Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)

Life in the Pedestrian Lane: This and that

Organizations are running out of people to keep them going

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
This Al Hershberger photo of his good friend Hedley Parsons was taken in Germany in 1945, after World War II had ended. Parsons and Hershberger came to Alaska together a few years later, and in 2010, when Parsons was interviewed for this story, he may have been the last person living who had actually attended George Dudley’s messy funeral

This parting was not sweet sorrow — Part 2

The funeral was scheduled for 2 p.m. on May 5, and spring break-up was in full, sloppy bloom at the Kenai Cemetery

This Al Hershberger photo of his good friend Hedley Parsons was taken in Germany in 1945, after World War II had ended. Parsons and Hershberger came to Alaska together a few years later, and in 2010, when Parsons was interviewed for this story, he may have been the last person living who had actually attended George Dudley’s messy funeral
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Minister’s Message: Boasting only in Christ and the Cross

The Reverend Billy Graham advised every president since Truman during his lifetime

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Former North Kenai resident George Coe Dudley, seen here during the winter of 1950-51, was a hard-drinking man. His messy funeral in 1967 in Kenai echoed his lifestyle. (Photo courtesy of Al Hershberger)

This parting was not sweet sorrow — Part 1

“Dudley was an easy-going, laid-back sort of guy, always laughing and joking, as well as hard drinking.”

Former North Kenai resident George Coe Dudley, seen here during the winter of 1950-51, was a hard-drinking man. His messy funeral in 1967 in Kenai echoed his lifestyle. (Photo courtesy of Al Hershberger)
Happy Valley homesteader Wayne Jones looks through the telescope built by Rex Hanks, circa 1950. (Photo from “The Pioneers of Happy Valley, 1944-1964,” by Ella Mae McGann)

A Kind and Sensitive Man: The Rex Hanks Story — Part 4

Rex Hanks had a reputation as a forthright, hard-working, inventive and sensitive man

Happy Valley homesteader Wayne Jones looks through the telescope built by Rex Hanks, circa 1950. (Photo from “The Pioneers of Happy Valley, 1944-1964,” by Ella Mae McGann)
Will Morrow (courtesy)

It’s not always better to give

I was trying to come up with my own words of wisdom to share with my son

Will Morrow (courtesy)
Trees burned in the 2019 Swan Lake Fire are pictured on the Sterling Highway, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo by Meredith Harber/courtesy)

Minister’s Message: Showing compassion beyond crisis mode

Crisis mode, while terrifying, brings out a collective care for one another that is beautiful to witness in the moment

Trees burned in the 2019 Swan Lake Fire are pictured on the Sterling Highway, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo by Meredith Harber/courtesy)
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)

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 at the mouth of Happy Creek

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)
Nick Varney

Unhinged Alaska: Helpful tips for those contemplating a high seas cruise

It’s not at all unusual being asked by distant relatives if I think it’s safe for them to blow a wad of cash on a cruise to Alaska

Nick Varney
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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 in communities across the nation

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Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)

Life in the Pedestrian Lane: April is Poetry Month …

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

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
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.

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

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

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.