Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

At 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, a woman apparently off the cruise ship used a cell phone to snap a selfie with the new fish carving at Old Haines Highway and Mud Bay Road.

The fish – that some have called Cackling Coho – is part of a wave of public art that’s happening in Haines and includes the impressive mural Chris Thorgesen has commissioned for the Coliseum Building.

Other examples include the Judd Mullady rock carvings on the museum lawn, sculptures in Fort Seward, totem poles at Picture Point, the library and museum, and recent murals on walls at Haines School, the Haisler and Gateway buildings, and on the sides of liquor stores at Fort Seward and Main Street.

Haines, which has long prided itself as an artist’s colony, is beginning to look like one. The initiative of private individuals, nonprofits and public agencies is making it happen. That bodes well for tourism, downtown revitalization, and community pride. That visitors are stopping to admire these works should send a message to local leaders that public art is a sound investment.

The recent trend complements a centuries-old legacy. The artwork of the Northern Tlingit, more than any other local achievement, places the Chilkat Valley on the world stage. Klukwan, fittingly, now has a heritage center that showcases and celebrates that tradition.

Viva the Valley of the Artists.

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Blame me for missing half the story of the building known as “The Swamp,” that caught fire May 17 and is now slated for demolition.

The building at Second Avenue and View Street is a historic home, the J.H. Chisel House, dating to around 1905 and built by the same Joe Chisel who raised the landmark Chisel Building at Second and Main.

The story of the house is detailed in the “City of Haines Building History,” an account of local historic structures published by the municipality in 1983. According to the book, the house became the U.S. Deputy Marshal’s residence and served as a federal jail in the 1930s. It was owned by Chisel’s kin until 1950 and there were still bars on some windows when Layton Bennett bought it in 1973, according to the book.

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Kudos to the Southeast Alaska State Fair, Haines Police and public works crews for another successful Great Alaska Craft Beer and Homebrew Festival. That 2,000 beer drinkers arrive in our town for a two-day festival that ends without an arrest or serious accident is a credit both to organizers and to festival-goers.

A downtown public market and Saturday night’s slip-and-slide at Fort Seward have helped shape the festival into a weekend of mostly good-natured fun. A video that circulated on Facebook afterwards suggests the event is scoring points for Haines as a favorite destination for young adults.

Organizers seem to be keeping a close watch on this event, and have demonstrated a willingness to fine-tune it as needed. In the meantime, if you feel put out by festival crowds, it helps to remember that besides ringing local cash registers, the Beer Fest provides a significant chunk of funding for our state fair.

- Tom Morphet