November 23 - Thursday

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!


Amount the many, many thing for which I am thankful is the house where I live. It's the Royal Falcon B&B, which does not include breakfast because Laural has to be at the airstrip early to prepare for PenAir incoming (ETA 9:15) and outgoing (ETD 9:45). In rural Alaska, the 'estimated' part of that is very significant. Laural fixes delicious evening meal instead and since I eat bacon and eggs every morning, I kind of appreciate it. It is a wonderful place with wonderful people. The house may not look like much to some of you who have never been in Alaska, but it is well designed and well built. My room is the window above the porch. The window higher on the left is the living-room. The south wall of the living-room is all windows to warm the house in winter sun light. The plants thrive in the sunlight and Mike has had a hibiscus blooming almost constantly since I arrived. The lower left window is the office and the lower right is the other boarder's room. The kitchen is behind my room and has the only north facing window, which you see on the side. The walls of the house are 10 inches thick and well insulated. We often have to open a window because the house is too warm. When the house was built, they had solar heating, but took it out because it was much too hot. To build a house like this, all the materials must be flown in on air cargo and Mike said this house took two whole planes. There is no escrow mortgage; everything has to be purchased at one time.

Mike and Laural are in Fairbanks to share Thanksgiving dinner with most of their children. Carla, their youngest is home for a visit from Israel where she lives and works. I will get to meet her next week when she returns with them. One daughter and her Honduran husband live in Anchorage and their son lives in Fairbanks with his Russian wife. Their oldest daughter's family will not be with them since they live in China.

Thanksgiving dinner will be with the assistant superintendent and her family and other friend. I already had a wonderful Thanksgiving experience. Yesterday, the school cafeteria fixed Turkey and all the traditional side dishes and the whole community was invited. There had to be at least 200 people there. Parents ate with their children before the early 2:00 release. I ate with people from my church who had just returned to McGrath last week; Steve is with the weather service. Knowing what school lunches are ususally like, I was surprised and delighted with the delicious dinner.

The arrangements are made for the library aide training for the first week of December, but I got word that the library that needs the most help probably will not be sending anyone. I'm now hoping that the training session is even held. It seems unfair to the 4 who want to come to cancel, but that decision will depend on the accounting office.

I'm also thankful that the x-rays this week indicted that my foot is healing well.

November 18 - Saturday

I had some great photos of the village of Shageluk that I wanted to put in the last blog, but I was having trouble downloading it two weeks ago and then I tried again this morning. I thought that if the photos were on memory card, they would stay there even if the batteries ran down. Shows how much I know.

There won't be another chance for pictures from the villages for a while. I was suppose to return to Shageluk and Grayling and possibly Holy Cross this past week, but I broke my foot on Sunday night, Consequently, I won't be going out again until I'm off crutches. Prayers are always appreciated.

Since I can't include a picture from Shageluk. I'll put in another of 'downtown McGrath'. This one is of the airstrip across from the McGrath Hotel, taken from in front of the AC store, which is the far left building (green) in the first picture.

This week, I was able to finalize a training session for the library aides from all the villages for the first week in December. I learned just a week ago that one had to be done before the end of December to use grant money intended for that purpose. With Christmas and Thanksgiving in there, it left three weeks to accomplish. The hold up in arranging it was finding a time when the State Library Youth Service Librarian could come. After a week of not being able to get a positive response from her, I was thinking I'd have to go it on my own. But, she's coming and I'm sure I can learn a lot from her. The aides will be flown in from the villages and live in the dorm inside the school. The school was ready to dismantle their computer lab and move all the computers to classrooms, but I was able to convince the principal to hold off until after the library aide training. There are aides that are wonderful and very capable and others that know nothing. One new aide was so withdrawn when I was there that I couldn't get through to her on anything. She is now getting paid to come and spend two hours each day monitoring the library use and she doesn't even think to ask the rowdy kids to quiet down. So, for some this training is critical.

I was told this past Thursday that all the paperwork for teaching children's literature in the spring term had to be into the university by this coming Tuesday. I spent much of Friday preparing a tentative syllabus and writing up my grading system. I ordered the textbook weeks ago, but it still hasn't come.

Today was the first of two Book and Gift Sales put on by the library before Christmas to earn money to support the community library. Just about everyone I know in town, and many I don't were there. Since I can't walk, I manned the check out table. The Native Youth Athletics (NYA) sold huge tacos and many people rented table space to sell their wares. They had cake walks and a craft table for children, along with many door prized and a raffle. Since the NYA were already in the school kitchen, they will now have a seafood platter dinner to eat in or take out, this evening.

From one of the venders today, I've arranged to buy a beaver hide to make mittens and a hat.

The volleyball teams of both Shageluk and Grayling have been here since yesterday for a tournament between the three schools. Last night McGrath won one and lost one. Today I watched them be beat by Grayling and I hear someone say something about Grayling being undefeated. I missed the McGrath vs. Shageluk game this afternoon. Tonight is a game between two McGrath community teams. I'm too tired to think about going and we are having our seafood platters delivered.

The temperature has been below and slightly above zero this week. Actually very pleasant, but then I wasn't walking home. The sunrise is around 9:30 and the sunset at 4:30, but the morning and dusk tend to be very long, so you have light at least 45 minutes before the sunrise and the same is true of the evening. I'm told the aurora borealis has been beautiful, but the house only has one north facing window and I have missed it.

November 3 - Friday

What an exciting week.

During the Monday morning staff meeting they talked about a coming trip to the Yukon, but I found that it was a booked flight and I couldn't be included. That afternoon, the superintendent came down to my office to say that because so many people needed to go they would switch to a twin engine that could carry 8 people and I could get to the western villages. I would go to Shageluk and then try to get to Grayling. (two of the four villages in the Yukon area)

On Tuesday, we got all the books back into my office from the hall - mentioned the upcoming museum openhouse.

Wednesday morning 6 of us left for the Yukon, over an hour away. We first stopped in Grayling for the superintendent and a new special education teacher to deplane. When we got to Shageluk, there was not one there to pick two of us up nor to delivey a Shag teacher bound for Holy Cross. With the village 4 miles from the airstrip all we could do was wait, and wait we did for 45 minutes. Finally the pilot insisted that he had to get on to Holy Cross. The two people who got off at Holy Cross promised to phone Shageluk of our coming and we were in the air again. This time, the teacher needing to left was there with the driver, which meant the plane had to go back to Holy Cross again. That particular airline doesn't use the radio frequency needed to contact a village and Shageluk kept waiting to hear our plane was coming in. That little mix up cost the school district over $300.00.

I feel in love with Shageluk, a village of about 100 people and mostly log buildings. The teacher who has managed the library does a fabulous job, and her aid was so receptive to any suggection I made. They have asked if I could come back before Thanksgiving and will schedule their RIF (Reading is Fundamental - a federal program to put books in the hands of poverty level children) night according to when I can come. It will give me an opportunity to meet with and speak to the parents.

October 26 - Thursday

October 26 - Thursday

I saw something today that was fascinating. Ice pans on the river. The Kuchkukwim river flows at about 8 mile an hour. As the river ice begins to form , the resistance causes the glums of ice to revolve, creating circles of ice that float down stream turning as they go. As they get bigger, the ice builds around the edges. It is beautiful and amazing and happens one or two days a year. Laural came home from Anchorage this morning and came to the library to get me. "Get on your coat," she said, "we're going to see the ice pans." Without her, they could have come and gone with me never knowing what I had missed.

She did a lot of shopping for me while she was in Anchorage. I now have my cans of salmon for lunch. Since I have given up my beloved Dr. Pepper and coffee, she got me flavored water. I have been drinking tea, but it just doesn't have the luxury or comfort of coffee.

My last box came today. It took two full weeks to come from Portland. I now have my sewing machine, long winter coat and battery charger so that I can down-load pictures to sent to you. I promise, you will see something of McGrath in my next blog. Tonight I 'm falling asleep at the computer. It's been a long hard week of sorting the McGrath library.

We have gotten through about half of the books from my office with which we lined the hall. We keep finding more books in various places. Some are cataloged and should be on the shelves, some are brand new, some are old donations, some are leased books - all in a jumble. We have a deadline because the new museum, down that hall, will have its grand open a week from tomorrow, whether the glass cases have come or not.

October 23 - Monday

23 October

What a wonderful day, I now have an Internet connection at home.

Yesterday, I walked the 1-1/2 miles to church in the powdering of snow we received, but as I sat in the office checking my email after church the sun broke through the clouds and I watched it melt. The temperature has been in the 40's all this week, at a time of year that they expect about 10 degrees.

I attend the non-denominational church where I am one of 17 including the minister.


I am learning fast that the job needed is overwhelming (especially with the antique computer I had on my desk. I spent 2-1/2 hours to read only about 36 messages, and answering only about 5. The shift key would stick, and in the middle of something, the computer would spontaneously throw me somewhere else, like while reading a message and without prompting, the compose screen would suddenly come up. Friday I had prepared an Excel spread sheet with half of my information, when suddenly, the machine informed me that I was locked out without the password. I tried to open Word and again it demanded a password. Of course when the computer tech was here, he had no problem, although he did admit the computer was extremely slow. When I typed something -, I timed I - it took 15 to 20 seconds for it to appear on the screen, over a minute if I change screens) -Wow!, my parenthetic is longer than my paragraph. Today got off to a wonderful start when Billy brought me a new computer.

This evening I substituted in the library for L so that she could pack for a few days in Anchorage. The reading teacher came in and as we talked, we discovered that we were substitute teaching in Kenai, Alaska at the same time. She had looked familiar when I first met her, but I can't say I really remember her.

The temperature is dropping fast and the little bit of snow that came today has stayed on the ground.
So I was happy to receive my order from Cabela of warm underwear. I think I will be needing it very soon.

The high-school students from all 8 villages are to spend this week in Holy Cross doing a vocational workshop, kind of a career event. The five girls from McGrath came into the library to kill time because it was too overcast in Holy Cross to go. When they complained that they were missing lunch, the sponsor checked with the school cook and discovered that it was too late for her to prepare enough to feed them, so the school district paid for them to get burgers at the local café. Thus prompted, I took a lunch break and walked into town to try Susie's Iditarod Café. The man that waited on me, (I assume it was Susie's husband) hurried into the kitchen and told Susie that the new librarian was there and she came out to meet me.

As I was leaving the district office building for lunch, the sponsor told me that the girl's plane was now able to leave and she was driving back to the school (the district office sets in front of the school) to get the girls out of class. I hope the boys' plane also was able to make the trip. Explanation: the bush plane is not large enough to carry all the students so it had to make two trips. Wisely, I think, the administration decided to split up the boy and the girls - less maddening for the pilot.