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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…

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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)

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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…

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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.

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Fresh Start: The Grönroos Family Story— Part 2

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

Nick Varney

Life

Unhinged Alaska: Sometimes they come back

This following historical incident resurfaced during dinner last week when we were matching, “Hey, do you remember when…?”…

The Canadian steamship Princess Victoria collided with an American vessel, the S.S. Admiral Sampson, which sank quickly in Puget Sound in August 1914. (Otto T. Frasch photo, copyright by David C. Chapman, “O.T. Frasch, Seattle” webpage)

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Fresh Start: The Grönroos Family Story — Part 1

The Grönroos family settled just north of the mouth of the Anchor River

Meredith Harber pastors at Christ Lutheran on Easter morning, Sunday, March 31, 2024, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Debbie Delker/courtesy)

Life

Minister’s Message: Finding a common thread among celebrations

This year brought an amazing opportunity for folks around the world to experience the stories, traditions and messages…

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)

Life

Life in the Pedestrian Lane: The kids came back

I miss having kids around to do an egg coloring day

This trio of images appeared in the January 1942 edition of Alaska Life magazine, in an article entitled “The Mayor of Seward Builds a Dream House for $2,000!” To the left and right are interior views of the Benson home. The center photograph shows W.R. Benson and his dog near the front gate of his yard.

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Hometown Booster: The W.R. Benson Story — Part 3

William Raymond “W.R.” Benson was certainly not shy about sharing either his beliefs or his ideas

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Life

Minister’s Message: Appreciating the value of your life

What would you be willing to give to save your life?

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Life

Minister’s Message: The sound of God’s voice

In all my desperate prayers, I sometimes forget that God has spoken definitively already

document from ancestry.com William Raymond “W.R.” Benson’s draft-registration card from 1942 reveals that he was 52 years old, living in Seward and self-employed. His wife, Mable, is listed as a person who will always know his address.

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Hometown Booster: The W.R. Benson Story — Part 2

W.R. Benson was a mover and a shaker throughout his life, but particularly so in Alaska

William Raymond “W.R.” Benson (front row, far right) poses along with the rest of the Sigma Nu fraternity at Albion College in Michigan in about 1908. Despite a lifetime spent in the public eye, Benson was apparently seldom captured on film. This image is one of the few photos of him known to exist. (photo from the 1908 Albion College yearbook via ancestry.com)

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Hometown Booster: The W.R. Benson Story — Part 1

W.R. Benson was a man almost constantly in motion

Will Morrow (courtesy)

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Obsolete?

As it turns out, I still use a whole lot of “obsolete” things

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Minister’s Message: In search of your heavenly place

There is a heavenly place that is real and not just figurative

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Minister’s Message: Finish the race

In the Bible, a letter was written to followers of Jesus who were discouraged

In the early 2020s, the extended Keeler clan continues on the southern Kenai Peninsula, with (far right) Vikki, the daughter of Ina (Keeler) and Spek Jones, her son Brad and his infant son Hugh. At left is Spek Jones and his mother Nelda Jones. Photo courtesy of the Keeler Family Collection.

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Keeler Clan of the Kenai — Part 8

Three siblings from the Keeler family of Oregon came to the Kenai Peninsula to live between 1947 and…

Nick Varney

Life

Unhinged Alaska: March madness is not all about basketball

I’m not quite sure why the foreshadowing of intensifying winds and weather chaos maxed me out on the…

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Life

Minister’s Message: Ending Well

I have a deep sense of sorrow, when I see someone not ending life well because they ignored…