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

A group of youngsters came from Juneau last weekend to clear brush and help as caretakers of a piece of Haines history - the Anway cabin.

Boy Scout Troop 6 came to Haines on June 7 to work on their cycling merit badges and historic trails awards.

Chilkat Valley Historical Society treasurer C.J. Jones gave the Scouts a tour of the property and a bit of history. Charlie Anway built his cabin in 1903 about one mile from Portage Cove and patented his homestead in 1907, the first patented homestead here.

Anway grew acres of commercially-sold strawberries on the sunny, south-facing slopes Mount Ripinsky. The property has since been subdivided. A part of his homestead acreage, including his picturesque cabin, belongs to the historical society

"What we're doing, we're trying to keep the road open; we're trying to restore the cabin, that sort of thing," Jones said.

The scout troop's task was to clear brush as part of its annual adventure trip.

This year, the Juneau scout troop decided to stay closer to home and come to Haines, said Matthew Dobson, scoutmaster.

For the historic trails award, the Scouts were required to take on a service project along a trail.

The history of the Anway cabin is connected with the history of the Dalton Trail during the Klondike Gold Rush, as Anway was a driver on the Dalton Trail, Dobson said.

"We'll go out and ride a portion of the old Dalton Trail, up the road toward the border. And then we'll camp at the High Adventure Camp. It's a good way for the kids to learn a bit about the local history. The Gold Rush was so important to this area, and it gives them more of a realistic perspective of the people who came and participated in that," he said.

The trip gave the youngsters a chance to practice camping and cooking skills, and just living outdoors, Dobson said. "Being outdoors, getting away, unplugging from video games and having a good time up here for five days, five nights," he said.

Dobson added that a trip to Haines is less ambitious than others, allowing younger Scouts to participate. They can be a part of a smaller-scale project that's bigger than an overnight camp-out in a park.

Jones added that clearing the brush away from the road will give the historical society better access to the property.

Sue Chasen, president of the Chilkat Valley Historical Society, said the aim of the group is to connect history to modern times. She had earlier discussed the matter with Burl Sheldon, who is also on the board.

"Burl and I started thinking about, 'How could me make history more relevant to today?' And there was a specialty crop block grant supported by USDA. And specialty crops are fruit trees, nuts, berries," she said. Charles Anway was known as the Johnny Appleseed of Alaska and the strawberry king."

Thanks to the USDA grant, the historical society planted strawberries and blueberries, in the same way Anway had done more than 100 years ago. She noted that during the COVID-19 epidemic, people feared that the barges would stop running, and people here in Haines would have to fend for themselves. Anway had solved that problem a century ago.

"Charlie Anway was supplying fruit all over Southeast Alaska and Canada. So we kind of took a direction that looks at more of what he did," Chasen said. Chasen noted that Anway's role as a driver on the old Dalton Trail ties in with the Boy Scouts' trails project.

She also noted that the members of the historical society board are themselves getting old.

"We old farts, we're very thankful to have some young kids who are going to team up and take the yard," she said.