2022-08-02 In And Around Sitka

This blog posting is technically not about a boat trip, so anyone reading this expecting to read about boating can pass on by.  

In the summer of 1965 my family and I moved to Sitka, AK from Palmyra, NJ.  I was in between my freshman and sophomore years of high school.  My father had taken a job as principal of Sheldon Jackson High School, which at the time had about 65 students.

This move was a real turning point in my life.  Palmyra NJ is just across the bridge from Philadelphia PA and so many of our church activities were in Philadelphia.  I also attended Boy Scout activities in Philadelphia, so I was attuned to the urban city life at that point.

However, moving to Sitka was much more than just a physical move.  It was a very real and very abrupt complete change in lifestyle.  Sitka at that time had no cruise ships, and logging and commercial fishing were the primary economies of the community.  There were a few tourists, but there was no jet service at the time and the only real access to the outside was via the Alaska Marine Highway System, which is how we arrived in town.

At the time that we made this move the US airlines were on strike.  So, we flew from New Jersey up into eastern Canada and flew Canadian airlines across the country, eventually ending up in Prince Rupert BC.  I had never been on an airplane before this move. We boarded the AMHS ferry Taku there in Prince Rupert and made the run to Sitka.

Even though I only lived full time in Sitka for about 3 years, they were my high school years, so they were very formative in my life.  I also worked in Sitka every summer during my college years, right up until I entered the work force after graduating from college in May 1973.

I had of course visited Sitka a few times during my 37 1/2-year tenure as IT Manager of First Bank, because during that time we opened the branch in Sitka.  But prior to this boat trip it had been many years since I visited Sitka.

Of course, the reason I came to Sitka was to have repairs made to the flybridge enclosure on my boat.  I could not find anyone in the other SE Alaska communities that was able and willing to do the work.

Somehow, I found Coral Pendell and Skookum Canvasworks in Sitka who told me that if I could get the boat there by August 1st, she could do the work.

The first thing she and her helper Gary did was remove almost all of the panels on the enclosure.  The plan was to replace all the clear vinyl (Strataglass) and replace all the zippers.  In the process they would also replace any snaps or push buttons that looked like they needed it.  

Also, there were 2 spots on the top piece where the fabric had started to tear due to tension on a structural joint underneath.  She said she could put reinforcing patches over these 2 spots.

They took off all the panels except the front window and the top.  We thought we might take out the front window too, but it is wired into a switch for the windshield wiper and washer, so we decided not to take the window out.  

I think the boat looks a little naked without most of its clothing.

My boat was moored in Eliason Harbor, which did not exist when I went to high school here.

Right next to Eliason Harbor is Thompsen Harbor.  This harbor was here when I lived here, but it was much smaller and a lot dingier.  I can tell they have completely rebuilt it with all new floats and electricity.  It handles mostly smaller boats, but they have places on the ends of the main floats that can accommodate larger vessels.

While I was standing there enjoying the sunshine a young boy drove up on his bicycle, pulling a small wagon behind it.  There have been a lot of Pink Salmon jumping inside the harbor areas.  He went down along the slope and started casting.  It made me feel good to see a young person enjoying the outdoors instead of sitting at home playing video games.

I took a walk through town.  I'm sure I looked like a tourist, since I had my camera slung around my neck on a strap. I didn't care though, I just wanted to get a few pictures of the downtown areas.

This is the ramp going up to the bridge that goes over to Japonski Island, where the airport is.  When I was in high school, and dating a girl who lived on Mt. Edgecumbe, the bridge did not exist yet.  They had what they called a "shore boat" that carried passengers only (no vehicles) across to the island.  They ran on a schedule, and the last 2 boats were at 11:30 PM and then 12:15 AM.  My curfew was midnight, so I had to get her on the 11:30 PM boat.  I have to say that a few times, OK, maybe many times, I missed that 11:30 PM boat and therefore missed my curfew, so I'd get yelled at when I got home.  They dedicated the bridge on August 19, 1972, our wedding day.  How ironic.

I took a photo of the bridge from the boat as I was leaving Sitka harbor.

This is Sitka High School where I graduated in June of 1969.  Try as I might I could not generate any feelings of nostalgia as I looked at this school, even though I have so many strong memories of my high school years.  It has been totally redesigned, and even though the building is in the same location as it was back then, the front entrance is not where it used to be, and they have made many additions to the building and to the parking areas.  

This is the Sitka Pioneers Home.  It is an old age nursing home for Alaskans who meet certain Alaskan residency requirements.  There is one in Ketchikan as well.  I don't know if I will ever qualify for residency in a Pioneers Home due to my 3-year absence when I moved to Gig Harbor.

This the Westmark Hotel.  It was built when I was in high school, but I don't recall it being this large.  Perhaps they have expanded it.  The area just in front of it and to the right used to the Sitka Cold Storage.  I worked there in the summers between my years of college.  One summer some kids got into the building after hours and were playing with matches and the whole plant burned down.  I watched it burn.

This is St. Michael's Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox church.  It dominates the downtown area, as it is literally in the middle of town.  The main street goes around it on either side.  It burned down either while I was in high school, or just prior to my arrival, I don't recall which.  I know that for all or most of my high school years there was no building there, just a basement.  I had heard that they were still holding services in the basement, and I'd see people going in and out via the basement doors. 

This is the Sheldon Jackson Museum.  It looks exactly the same as it did when I arrived in town in the summer of 1965.  My mother (now deceased) was quite an artist.  One of the things she did when we got into town was to spend time at the museum and sketch the Alaska Native artifacts that were in there.  Then the museum staff would print these sketches into post cards, note cards, etc. and sell them to museum visitors.  

These are some of the buildings of Sheldon Jackson College campus.  As I said, my father was initially the principal of Sheldon Jackson High School.  But after the first school year the decision was made to close the high school.  When it was first opened most of the small communities throughout SE Alaska did not have their own schools, and SJ was a much-needed resource.  But by the summer of 1966 that had all changed so there was no need for the high school.  My father was then made Dean of Sheldon Jackson College, which I think at that time was a 2-year college.

I graduated from Sitka High School in June 1969.  That same summer my parents left town, and I took a summer job with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Sports Fish Division.  My father had made an arrangement with the college for me to have a room in the Allen Building.  I don't recall having to pay rent, but maybe I did.  It was just a dorm room, with no private bathroom, and no cooking facilities, but for a kid just out of high school and working full-time it worked out fine for me.  My room was on the 2nd floor in the front, overlooking the big lawn.

When my family lived in Sitka for those few years, we lived in a college owned house just down the road from the campus.  It looks a bit different now than it did then, but I have a lot of memories from living in this house.  The area behind and around the house back then was all just undeveloped forest.  I would take my .22 rifle and spend countless hours roaming the woods behind out house.  Good memories of those times.

On August 19, 1972, I was married to Linda Blankenship in the First Presbyterian Church on Sawmill Creek Road.  Pastor Gavin officiated.  I would have liked to get a better photo from the front, but they have the road all torn up in this area and traffic is severely restricted.  It occurs to me that this August 19th it will have been 50 years since that date.  I was 21 at the time.  

Now, back to the boat, here are the "after" photos.  I know, you can't see anything different.  What they did was replace all the clear vinyl panels.  These had clouded up over the years.  And they replaced all the zippers which connect all the panels together.  A couple of these zippers had already failed, and I could see that several others were nearing failure.  The tan colored fabric was left in place as it is still in extremely good shape.  

Misson completed.  Now all I had to do was negotiate the 290 miles back to Ketchikan.