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Herman Stelter, seen here in front of his home in the Kenai River canyon, was another of the Kings County Mining Company members to stay in Alaska. (U.S. Forest Service photo, circa 1910s)

Life

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska Adventure — Part 9

Brooklynite Mary L. Penney seemed to know that she was not ready to settle into middle age and…

Local musician Silas Luke Jones performs blindfolded during his performance at the inaugeral HomerFest on the Homer Spit in Homer, Alaska on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)

Life

Inaugural ‘HarborFest’ draws hundreds to Spit over weekend

The inaugural event was aimed at bringing tourists into the area during the slower, early summer season.

At some point after William B. Hurd was buried in Kenai in 1899, his family asked that his body be exhumed and sent back to New York, where it was reburied. This image, from findagrave.com, shows the marker on his final resting place.

Life

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska adventure — Part 8

Despite Mary’s dreams and the newspaper’s low-brow assessment of her experience, the culmination of her journey was decidedly…

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Life

Minister’s Message: Watching and waiting for the Lord’s return

The Lord Jesus wants you to be with him.

A room full of community members pack the audience during the 2025 Mary Epperson Day celebration on May 30 at Pier One Theatre on the Spit. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)

Life

‘Well worth remembering’

Community gathers to celebrate Mary Epperson.

Winter Marshall-Allen of the Homer Organization for More Equitable Relations, Homer Mayor Rachel Lord, and Jerrina Reed of Homer PRIDE pose for a photo after the mayoral proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month on Tuesday, May 27 at the Cowles Council Chambers. (Photo courtesy of Winter Marshall-Allen)

News

City of Homer recognizes Pride Month, Juneteenth

Mayor Rachel Lord brought back the tradition of mayoral proclamations May 12.

Nick Varney

Life

Unhinged Alaska: It seems like a lifetime ago

A reader asked me if I remembered writing about a trip Jane and I took to New Zealand…

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Life

Minister’s Message: Live like this

“Living” is about have a spiritual life based on the belief in Jesus and accepting his forgiveness.

This excerpt from a 1916 U.S. Department of Agriculture map shows Kachemak Bay and vicinity less than 20 years after the arrival of the Kings County Mining Company.

Life

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska adventure — Part 7

The Kings County Mining Company had hiked through the mountain benchlands at the advent of winter, hoping to…

This sweet and tangy roasted spaghetti squash dish includes blended tomato and goat cheese sauce. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

A list for life’s challenges

Roasted spaghetti squash is blended with tomato and goat cheese sauce for a sweet and tangy meal.

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)

Life

Life in the Pedestrian Lane: Time flies

In years past, we would be hearing from friends Outside that they are on their way to Alaska.

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Life

Minster’s Message: The high value of faithfulness

The quality of faithfulness in your life to God and Christian teachings has a quiet, steady reward that…

U.S. Army Captain Edwin F. Glenn led an 1898 military exploration of Cook Inlet. Glenn and his crew, who were departing the inlet at about the same time that the Kings County Mining Company was arriving, left behind a journal of the expedition. That journal, archived in the Alaska Digital Archives, included daily notations about the weather.

Life

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska adventure — Part 6

They cruised around a bit and then returned to Homer on Oct. 10 after “a most tranquil and…

Author Ruth Ozeki gives her keynote presentation at the 23rd annual Kachemak Bay Writers Conference on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at Kachemak Bay Campus in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Life

Literary citizenship and communities of one

Author Ruth Ozeki was the keynote presenter for the 23rd annual Kachemak Bay Writer’s Conference last weekend.

The Sterling Judo Club stands for a photo during their end of season awards night at Sterling Elementary School in Sterling, Alaska, on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Sports

Sterling Judo Club recognizes students at season’s end

Eight members earned promotions this year.

Blueberries are photographed in Cooper Landing, Alaska, in August 2024. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Minister’s Message: A reminder that the earth provides

There is new life, even when we can’t see it.

Dr. Thomas F. Sweeney was a dentist seeking adventure and riches. He also had some mistaken ideas about the difficulties that life in remote Alaska entailed. (Public photo from ancestry.com)

Life

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska Adventure — Part 5

The three-masted ship called the Agate was a reliable 30-year ocean veteran when it entered Cook Inlet in…

The Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference is held at Kachemak Bay Campus starting on Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Life

Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference returns for 23rd year

This year’s keynote presenter is author Ruth Ozeki.

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Life

Minister’s Message: Prudence prevents pain, and, possibly, fender benders

Parents carry the responsibility of passing down prudence and wisdom to their children.

This Library of Congress photo shows the U.S.S. Maine, which exploded and sank in the harbor at Havanna, Cuba, about the same time the Kings County Mining Company’s ship, the Agate left Brooklyn for Alaska. The Maine incident prompted the start of the Spanish-American War and complicated the mining company’s attempt to sail around Cape Horn.

Life

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska adventure — Part 4

The Penney clan experienced a few weeks fraught with the possibility that Mary might never be returning home.