Stopped for a coffee and taco break at the gas station/convenience store/diner/liquor/fish bait/church store in Sterling.
Showing posts with label Hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hope. Show all posts
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Hot Spot for All Things Hope, AK
Hope has a feel of Mayberry in a wooded setting. The roads
through town aren't paved, but packed hard with hand-painted signs at the three
intersections. 'More of Historic Downtown' reads one sign, with an arrow.
Some street signs are missing, but with only six streets in
the historic downtown it's not too difficult to navigate.
The post office is up the road. Linda has been working as
the full-time post master the past 35 years. The building has a ramp to the
front door; hours are listed in white print on the window and when I walk to
the front counter I can see Linda in the back yard watering plants.
"This is the only post office within 25 driving
miles," she said. "The government had been threatening to cut back
our hours - but it doesn't look like that's going to happen."
I'm envious of Linda's old-school postal apron.
Linda
If I had made my rounds earlier, I would have been more
impressed with her quilting skills.
Linda crafted a huge quilt for the upcoming town raffle;
proceeds help finance the independent community library and Sherritt Fine Art Gallery and Gifts.
Apparently the other night while laying out the quilt at the
social center, they found a pucker. The quilt wouldn't lay flat and Linda would
have none of it.
She's busy taking it apart and counting the days before the
mid-July raffle.
Had a quick bite to eat at the Discovery Cafe before heading
to the Hope History Museum where it was all about the first Alaskan gold rush
1894 - 1896.
There were lots of out buildings on display with 12 x
16-foot cabins built with joined, dovetail-style corners by miners of Swedish
origin.
Meals for the gold miners included moose stew, ptarmigan,
mountain sheep, goat and bear. There were two large upstairs rooms in one
cabin. The electronic voice-box narration said 30 men slept in those two rooms
and snored in unison.
And the answer is 'Yes' if anyone is wondering - I would
have slept there.
One of the better Alaskan gold-mining stories coincided with
a painting of a man, Nathan White, and his pet brown bear he trained to pull
his sleigh.
The painting dated to a photo from May 1917 and museum
volunteer Diane told the story about how "a bear is cute as a cub but as
they grow they're like a teen and play rough."
Nate's wife, Babe, didn't much care for their family pet. One
day when Nate left, Babe went to the outhouse and the bear trapped her inside.
Finally, someone at the pool hall heard her screams and went to let her out.
Babe marched to the cabin, got a shotgun and made stew out
of their pet. And, 'no,' Diane could not confirm whether the bear rug on
display was the victim of Babe evening the score.
Spent a good deal of time at the community library, which
was a beehive of activity (read- networking center/gossip hot spot). It was basically a party line telephone; mostly ladies came
through the front door and exchanged information. There were updates on
someone's father passing, a woman got a new dog and told a neighbor what for
and to keep their dog tied up, and of course there was the drama about the
pucker in the quilt.
Across the way at the local Art Gallery visitors came and
went. The latest 'eccentric' person to visit was a queen from another country.
"A big saucy woman," as she was described, who had large ruby rings and
gem-filled bracelets, and most fascinated with Tweety Bird and Sylvester the cat. As the story went, she had key chain fobs of the Looney Tune
characters made into a bulky necklace.
The queen was impressed with the local
art, especially the brass pieces that ranged in size from a small 3-inch figure
of a wolf to a much larger tabletop display of two otters surfacing from the
water.
All, apparently, were WAY too small for the queen.
I'll assume that story, Queen in Hope with Tweety Bird
obsession, would be the height of discussion at the community library for a
good two weeks.
"Gold Rush Peck"
HOPE - Spent the day exploring history in Hope; locals say it is the oldest community in Alaska. Once a hot spot for gold miners with a population of 3,000 - now, it's a tight town of 150 people - mostly retirees and small families where the men work 600 miles away 'on the slopes' (read oil) and come home every other week.
Enrollment at Hope School is 23 students grades K - 12. There are two teachers and the Class of 2013 consisted of two graduating seniors. Both stood at the podium at the same time and gave graduation speeches.
"If we dropped below 10 students, then we'd have to close the school," said a woman volunteering at the gift shop next to the local library.
Gold Rush Peck
Most interesting bit of living history in Hope is a man by the name of Gold Rush Peck. "I'm 69 years old," said Peck.
His given name is Peck Hassler; he's been gold mining and panning since he was 10 years old. A stroke or two has left him with a severe speech impediment and hindered his balance.
He walks with a cane, wears rainbow suspenders, a jacket with an embroidered picture of himself on the back and he has a wicked cool leather hat filled with a couple ratty quills, some meaty fish hooks, pins of Alaska, turquoise jewelry, and a couple pins noting his service in Vietnam.
"This hat was willed to me by my friend Frank," said Peck. "I know this hat is water repellent but that could be from all the sweat and stink."
Peck was an iron worker in Chicago by trade but spent most of his life panning gold. "I couldn't tell you how much I've found." But then he points to a watch with 150 gold nuggets in the band.
"A jeweler in Juneau made me this watch," said Peck, struggling with conversation. "I know what I want to say, but I can't say it."
He grins; it's a look that says he appreciates small pleasures. I ask how that makes him feel. "I'm in no pain," said Peck. "I walk a little tippy but I'm okay."
Locals say Peck captured his 15 minutes of fame when the Discovery Channel came to town and did a piece on him.
He kindly asks me to put a stick pin in his world map to mark where I'm from. Then he digs into a metal trailer and pulls out a postcard of himself. The pastel portrait completed by artist Erica Miller in 2001.
I ask Peck to autograph it and he said his signature is stamped on front. In blurred black ink it read, Gold Rush Peck.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Hope Hotel and Church
My church-hotel last night.
Hope Christian Church
(up the hill from the small community - read population 150- of Hope, AK).
Last year Hope had 24 students!
I've Found Hope! (Alaska, that is.....)
Just pulled into Hope, AK; 58 miles in today. Dinner tonight at the Seaview Cafe. Secured a hotel church thanks to Pastor Scott!
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