Nick Varney

Unhinged Alaska: Sometimes it takes a kick in your ego

“When we moved to Alaska, I naively assumed that I probably knew just about everything there was to stalking fish”

Nick Varney
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Minister’s Message: Making prayer the priority

Time with God is different than other time we spend.

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Frenchy wrote many letters and postcards to family members. This 1906 postcard was addressed to his sister Bianca in Villa Viani, Italy. (Image courtesy of the Viani Family Collection)

Unraveling the Story of Frenchy, Part 3

On Aug. 4, 1892, the Associated Press reported that the revenue cutter Bear had, on June 4, rescued only Peter Viani from the island

Frenchy wrote many letters and postcards to family members. This 1906 postcard was addressed to his sister Bianca in Villa Viani, Italy. (Image courtesy of the Viani Family Collection)
Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)

Life in the Pedestrian Lane: The Balding of Kenai

Kenai is slowly loosing all its spruce trees to the infernal beetle

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
Meredith Harber (courtesy)

Minister’s Message: Sore feet find holy ground

As I stepped out on the cool evening grass, my feet felt the most relieved they had felt in several days

Meredith Harber (courtesy)
Frenchy Vian, who posed for many photographs of himself, was acknowledged as a skilled hunter. (Photo courtesy of the Viani Family Collection)

Unraveling the story of Frenchy, Part 2

In fact, Frenchy’s last name wasn’t even Vian; it was Viani, and he and the rest of his immediate family were pure Italian

Frenchy Vian, who posed for many photographs of himself, was acknowledged as a skilled hunter. (Photo courtesy of the Viani Family Collection)
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Minister’s Message: Share God’s love even amidst disagreement

We as a society have been overcome by reactive emotions, making us slow to reflect and quick to speak/act and it is hurting one another

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This photo of Frenchy with a freshly killed black bear was taken on the Kenai Peninsula in the early 1900s. (Photo courtesy of the Viani Family Collection)

Unraveling the story of Frenchy, Part 1

The stories were full of high adventure — whaling, mining, polar bear hunting, extensive travel, and the accumulation of wealth

This photo of Frenchy with a freshly killed black bear was taken on the Kenai Peninsula in the early 1900s. (Photo courtesy of the Viani Family Collection)
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Seeing God’s hand in this grand and glorious creation

The same God of creation is the God that made me and you with the same thoughtfulness of design, purpose and intention

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Nick Varney
Nick Varney
Marcia and Mary Alice Grainge pose in 1980 with a pair of caribou antlers they found in 1972. The sisters dug the antlers from deep snow and detached them from a dead caribou. (Photo provided by Marcia Grainge King)

Fortune and misfortune on the Kenai — Part 2

In Kasilof, and on Kachemak Bay, in Seldovia and later in Unga, Petersen worked various jobs before being appointed deputy marshal in 1934

Marcia and Mary Alice Grainge pose in 1980 with a pair of caribou antlers they found in 1972. The sisters dug the antlers from deep snow and detached them from a dead caribou. (Photo provided by Marcia Grainge King)
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Minister’s Message: Do not worry … that’s easy for you to say!

What options do you run to for refuge?

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Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)

Life in the Pedestrian Lane: Cars

My folks had a ‘48 Dodge four-door sedan when I was a kid

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
Larry Zarella, left, and Danielle Aslanian of Denali Cooks performs at the 2022 Kenai River Festival at Soldotna Creek Park on Friday, June 10, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

River Fest returns

The festival, which runs through Sunday, features live music, food booths, a wine and beer garden, a “Kids Zone” and the “Run for the River” race event

Larry Zarella, left, and Danielle Aslanian of Denali Cooks performs at the 2022 Kenai River Festival at Soldotna Creek Park on Friday, June 10, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
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Minister’s Message: The depths of God’s love

Jonah wasn’t expecting a whale, but one found him anyway

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Photo provided by the KPC archive of historical photographs 
Ed Back, left, and Bill Gross chat with Ridgeway homeowner Betty Karsten as they install a natural gas hookup to her home in 1961. Betty and Emmett Karsten became Alaska’s first civilian consumers of natural gas.
Photo provided by the KPC archive of historical photographs 
Ed Back, left, and Bill Gross chat with Ridgeway homeowner Betty Karsten as they install a natural gas hookup to her home in 1961. Betty and Emmett Karsten became Alaska’s first civilian consumers of natural gas.
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Minister’s Message: Spring forth

The Bible talks about water springing forth

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Will Morrow (courtesy)

Safety first

“My DIY projects have been drawing less and less blood over the years”

Will Morrow (courtesy)
Nick Varney

Unhinged Alaska: This purge won’t be a movie sequel

What’s forthcoming is a very rare occurrence and, in my case, uncommon as bifocals on a Shih Tzu puppy

Nick Varney
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