Nick Varney (courtesy)

Flying fish and lead. Oh my!

Homer can become rather rowdy at times.

Nick Varney (courtesy)
Will Morrow (courtesy)

Worth every penny

It occurred to me that there are people who save for years to make a trip of a lifetime just to do what was, for me, a nice three-day weekend.

  • Jun 26, 2021
  • By Will Morrow For the Peninsula Clarion
  • LifeCommunity
Will Morrow (courtesy)
When Dr. Paul Isaak began providing medical service to the Soldotna-Kenai area, his Soldotna Clinic was located near the current site of the Soldotna Fire Department. Here he stands with his airplane and his nurse, Elizabeth Meadows. (Photo courtesy of the Isaak family)

A hospital is born, slowly (Part 1)

The effort required 10 years — a decade rife with financial snafus, contract disputes, bitter in-fighting, and one delay after another.

When Dr. Paul Isaak began providing medical service to the Soldotna-Kenai area, his Soldotna Clinic was located near the current site of the Soldotna Fire Department. Here he stands with his airplane and his nurse, Elizabeth Meadows. (Photo courtesy of the Isaak family)
Central Peninsula General Hospital as it appeared in its first year of operation, 1971. (Photo provided by Peninsula General Hospital)

A hospital is born, slowly (Part 6)

By Clark Fair For the Peninsula Clarion Author’s note: This is the final part of a six-part series about the origins of Central Peninsula Hospital,… Continue reading

Central Peninsula General Hospital as it appeared in its first year of operation, 1971. (Photo provided by Peninsula General Hospital)
Cheechako News file photo from KPC’s Kenai Peninsula Historical Photo Repository
Joe Faa, who in 1965 sold 10 acres of his Soldotna homestead as a construction site for a new hospital, poses here in about 1961 with his prize horse Danny. Faa’s horse corral and hay fields are the reason for the name Corral Street in Soldotna.

A hospital is born, slowly (Part 5)

It had been almost five full years since the start of a project to establish a hospital for the central Kenai Peninsula.

Cheechako News file photo from KPC’s Kenai Peninsula Historical Photo Repository
Joe Faa, who in 1965 sold 10 acres of his Soldotna homestead as a construction site for a new hospital, poses here in about 1961 with his prize horse Danny. Faa’s horse corral and hay fields are the reason for the name Corral Street in Soldotna.
Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)

Life in the Pedestrian Lane: Lost cause?

My particular peeve right now is the politicians and media personalities who are negatively brandishing the fact that you may need another corona shot in a year.

  • Jun 13, 2021
  • Virginia Walters For the Peninsula Clarion
  • LifeCommunity
Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
File

Minister’s Message: Love, not efficiency, defines success

Becoming so wrapped up in looking good and even in being good causes us to sacrifice relationships.

File
Nick Varney (file)

Unhinged Alaska: Pondering a new car

I’m a 6-foot-2 hunk of meat who barely fits into the passenger side of her rig unless I fold up like an accordion.

Nick Varney (file)
This is an early promotional photo of Merrill Mael, an enthusiastic Anchorage radio personality with a Hollywood background. Mael was hired by the Central Kenai Peninsula Hospital Association as its hospital project manager in the fall of 1963. (Photo from www.theradiohistorian.org)

A hospital is born, slowly (Part 4)

Dr. Paul Isaak, Soldotna physician and a founder of the hospital project, believed that centrality of location was crucial.

This is an early promotional photo of Merrill Mael, an enthusiastic Anchorage radio personality with a Hollywood background. Mael was hired by the Central Kenai Peninsula Hospital Association as its hospital project manager in the fall of 1963. (Photo from www.theradiohistorian.org)
Will Morrow (courtesy)

The grass is getting greener

Summer on the Kenai Peninsula is short, and most of my tomorrows have already been spoken for.

  • May 31, 2021
  • By Will Morrow For the Peninsula Clarion
  • LifeCommunity
Will Morrow (courtesy)
Photo courtesy of Gloria Wisecarver
Dr. Robert Struthers, Kenai’s third resident physician, and Kenai dentist Dr. Charles Bailie converse in Struthers’ office in Kenai in July 1966.

A hospital is born, slowly (Part 3)

All did not go as planned.

Photo courtesy of Gloria Wisecarver
Dr. Robert Struthers, Kenai’s third resident physician, and Kenai dentist Dr. Charles Bailie converse in Struthers’ office in Kenai in July 1966.
Dr. Elmer Gaede, seen here leaning against the Soldotna medical clinic in the mid-1960s, joined the central peninsula medical establishment in July 1961. (Photo courtesy of the Gaede family)

Peninsula History: A hospital is born, slowly (Part 2)

Not far from upper Binkley Street in Soldotna in 1968 stood the unfinished shell of what central peninsula residents still hoped would one day become a hospital.

Dr. Elmer Gaede, seen here leaning against the Soldotna medical clinic in the mid-1960s, joined the central peninsula medical establishment in July 1961. (Photo courtesy of the Gaede family)
Meredith Harber (courtesy)

Minister’s Message: In each, God’s unique gifts

We are all parts of the body, supporting one another in different ways, with our different skills and gifts.

Meredith Harber (courtesy)
Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)

Life in the Pedestrian Lane: Lost Treasures?

My hard drive is similar to the crawl space under the house.

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
This dog team, loaded with mail, was en route between Moose Pass and Kenai, circa 1920s. (Photo courtesy of Jim Taylor.)

You’ve got mail, Kenai … eventually

Receiving mail a century ago in roadless Kenai, Alaska, was no easy matter.

This dog team, loaded with mail, was en route between Moose Pass and Kenai, circa 1920s. (Photo courtesy of Jim Taylor.)
Photo from the Culverson Collection, Anchorage Museum of History and Art 
The Jean Lake shelter cabin in this undated photo belonged originally to a homesteader who gave permission to the Alaska Road Commission to upgrade the structure and use it as part of the overland winter mail route in the early 20th century.

You’ll get mail, Kenai … eventually (Part 2)

This is second part of a two-part story about the early development of mail delivery in Kenai.

Photo from the Culverson Collection, Anchorage Museum of History and Art 
The Jean Lake shelter cabin in this undated photo belonged originally to a homesteader who gave permission to the Alaska Road Commission to upgrade the structure and use it as part of the overland winter mail route in the early 20th century.
Image courtesy Clark Fair 
In 1920, two years after the killings in Kenai, William Dawson had a new business partner, Emil Berg. When they witnessed this bill of sale, both men signed their names to the document.

Exerting control in Old Kenai — Part 7

This is the seventh and final installment in a series about two killings that occurred in Kenai on April 8, 1918.

Image courtesy Clark Fair 
In 1920, two years after the killings in Kenai, William Dawson had a new business partner, Emil Berg. When they witnessed this bill of sale, both men signed their names to the document.
The Brunswick pin setter at the Sky Bowl in Soldotna in June 1960, when Tony Bordenelli set a world record for endurance bowling. (Cheechako News photographs courtesy of the KPC Anthropology Lab Archive)

Tony Bordenelli, the conquering kegler

In the end, he had bowled 1,008 straight games in 79 hours and 45 minutes.

The Brunswick pin setter at the Sky Bowl in Soldotna in June 1960, when Tony Bordenelli set a world record for endurance bowling. (Cheechako News photographs courtesy of the KPC Anthropology Lab Archive)
Part of the grave marker for Cleveland L. Magill. (Photo courtesy Clark Fair)

Exerting control in Old Kenai — Part 6

The sixth installment in a series about two killings that occurred in Kenai on April 8, 1918.

Part of the grave marker for Cleveland L. Magill. (Photo courtesy Clark Fair)
This headline about the killings in Kenai appeared in the Cordova Daily Times four days after the incident.

Exerting control in Old Kenai — Part 5

The fifth installment in a series about two killings that occurred in Kenai on April 8, 1918

This headline about the killings in Kenai appeared in the Cordova Daily Times four days after the incident.