Happy Easter

Last Thursday I flew over to McGrath aboard a 1968 Piper 32-300. In the picture, Grayling 020, you can see Priscilla getting out of the plane. I rode in the co-pilot’s seat. It was quite the view. On the way over I spotted a snow covered plane with half a wing missing which made an emergency landing on a river. It was a little discomforting as we were flying in very turbulent weather. I became especially concerned when the pilot decided to get his digital camera out and flip through his pictures. Evidently flying a plane does not require one to hold the wheel like driving a car. I decided it was time to take a nap. The other pictures are of Grayling and some mountains on the flight.

This morning I went to Easter Service at the school. It was non-denominational, but in the Southern Baptist spirit. There was lots of singing. Our superintendent is a minister, so he was one of the presenters. He gave a wonderful presentation using PowerPoint. That’s correct, a PowerPoint presentation during Easter Service. The presentation was titled Historical Proof of the Resurrection. Very well presented. I think if he had been in a court of law, he would have won. Easter Service was followed by a Fellowship Brunch. It was a wonderful way to start the day.

I have been suffering with a tooth ache. Priscilla, my boss and friend, is insisting that I go to Anchorage to have it taken care of. I was concerned about being in an unfamiliar town undergoing a surgical procedure. Priscilla volunteered to accompany me. Quite an offer considering it will cost her over a thousand dollars for air fair, hotel, and time off from work. There is a saying in Alaska that each friend you make in Alaska is a friend for life. It certainly would appear so.

Michael, Nicolas, Tricia, Tanya, Gary, and Calvin are all in Pittsburgh for the holiday. I sure do miss them. I am trying to remember the last time all of our children were all together. I believe it was seven years ago, Easter, in Colorado. I wish I was there.

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

You know its spring in Alaska when its forty below

Good morning,
Things have been a little frantic around here for the last month. I have had house guests for the last three weeks. Yesterday was my first day alone sense February. It was deathly silent. Even Shadow was gone as I allowed him to venture off into the outdoors. He still has not returned. I think he went back to Josh, his former owner. Josh will bring him back within a few days.

The spring thaw has started. The temperature reached thirty-eight degrees yesterday. We had a light snow which quickly melted. There is still a good three feet of snow packing the ground. The muddy season is just around the corner. I saw my first Alaska mosquito yesterday. Unbelievable! Snow on the ground and mosquitoes buzzing in the crisp air. I am told there will be swarms before the river breaks up in May.

At the end of the month I will accompany the fourth graders on a class trip. We will be going to Seward on the Kenai peninsula. The Alaska Sea Life Centerthe main attraction we will be visiting. I am told there is also a possibility of going on a whale watching cruse. What an adventure. I will be taking along the school camera to capture the experience.

I received my contract for next year. It includes an unprecedented eight percent raise, due to a well negotiated contract. I have decided to sign for a second year. Of course Mickey and Nickey will be joining me for more than half of the year. Each of us will take two round trips next year. A lot of travel, but the experience will be well worth it.

Well, I have to get ready for the start of the day. I hope you are all well and have a wonderful Easter Holiday. My two boys, Mickey and Nickey, will be traveling to Pittsburgh on Wednesday for a week with Tanya and her family. I wish I could be with them.

Take care and enjoy the spring weather,

My First Iditarod

The dogs started to arrive in Grayling on Friday evening. I didn’t want to walk the quarter mile in the dark, so I didn’t see the lead teams. I did get out yesterday to see many of the teams. Mostly sleeping dog, that of course you let lie. Today, Sunday, was the first time I saw a team arrive. It was the coolest thing. Fourteen little dogs prancing with booties down one of the snow covered streets. They stopped on straw beds, had a bit to eat, and passed out. It was amazing. This afternoon I was at the community center when Karen Ramstead arrived with her team of AKA Siberian Huskies. The typical sled dog is a cross bread of malamute and Alaskan Husky. They are definitely not AKA registered. While the Siberians are beautiful, they tend to be a slower dog more sturdy dog.

Each musher leaves Anchorage with up to sixteen dogs. There are many check points along the way. The idea of the check points is to check the health of the animal athletes and make sure the mushers don’t get lost. Dogs are dropped along the way, for health reasons, or because they are rookies and the whole route would be more than they can handle. A musher must have a minimum of five dogs to continue. Most check into Grayling, which is a little over the half way point, with ten to fourteen dogs. They will stay here for any where from one to twenty-four hours. I like to walk around after the teams take off and pick up discarded dog booties. I have two so far. I hope to get many more before the end.

I have a few pictures attached. The picture titled “Musher 1” is of the Grayling checkpoint. “Dogs rest”, is a picture of a resting team. They really are amazing animals. I hope to get more pictures. Unfortunately I have to rely on others for photos as I do not have a camera with me. I will next year.

More to come soon. Oh, and for those of you who think I’m crazy…I want you to know, I am having the time of my life. It’s a cultural experience unlike any I could have had anywhere else. Alaska really is the final frontier.

News from Alaska

It has been a while since I have updated everyone on what is going on up in the great state of Alaska. It has been an adjustment. I have been missing Mickey and Nickey more than I thought I would. Linda, the primary teacher, caught me in one of my weak moments and thought I should have some company at the cabin. The next day she brought me a cat. It seems the cat was scheduled to see doctor Winchester . So I saved him. Shadow is a two year old male black and white cat. He has been hiding under my bathroom floor. He comes out to eat only when I’m in bed. Last night I left a light on. When he came out to eat, I said hi. He just sat and looked at me. May be I will be able to hold him by the end of March.

I see Minnesota is getting a huge storm. It has only snowed once sense I arrived in Grayling. The temperature has been at twenty below zero for the past week. When I got up this morning, my water was frozen. I had to turn on the water pipe heat tapes just to thaw it out. Within a couple of hours it was flowing again. At least the sewer is staying warm as the cat has made a home next to the pipes under the bathroom floor. Well there is something to be said for him hiding all the time.

I have become accustom to the cabin. Even though I don’t have flooring and the lights are bulbs suspended from the ceiling, I have been able to make it home. I purchased a half a cord of wood yesterday for $100. It’s an outrageous price, but what can you do. I will pay one of my students to cut and chop it. I have one station that comes in on the TV. I guess this is the television station I read about. Evidently the station decides which networks to broadcast. For example; the six o’clock new is NBC. Evening programming can be from NBC or CBS or ABC or PBS. I guess who ever runs the station gets to pick the programming. What ever they like is what we can watch. Sometimes we get David Letterman, other times its Jay Leno. Never can tell. Its hit and miss. Very strange.

Now here is one that will amaze everyone. My cabin is about a quarter of a mile from the school. Each morning I bundle up and walk, yes that was walk, the quarter of a mile. I have learned that snow pants are necessary in the morning as the temperature are typically twenty-five to thirty below. However, in the evening it is warm enough to go without them. I took a ride on a snow machine. The snow is packed in waves. It feels like I am in a boat going through a the wake of many boats. Up and down, just like being on the water.

The children here are great. Kids are kids no matter where you go. Two of the middle school students, Tonya and Willie, spend close to four hours a day with me. We have been talking about college and preparing for their future. It is unbelievable, but no one has ever talked to these kids about college. I asked one of my fourth graders what she wanted to study in college. Her answer floored me. She said, “I’m not going to go to college, I’m going to say home and drink like my mom”. I couldn’t believe what I had heard. Most of the village is unemployed. Even though the town is damp (no alcohol may be sold) there is plenty of drinking going on. It’s a sad situation.

I have asked for a transfer to the school district hub in McGrath next year. I love the children and staff where I am teaching, however I believe McGrath would be better for my family. There are no fifth graders in Grayling. That means Nick would be the only sixth grader next year. McGrath put in a very small skating rink at the school this year and would be interested in putting up a larger one next year. I think this is something Mickey and Nickey would enjoy being part of. Of course there is always the services in McGrath to consider. They have a couple of restaurants, a bed and breakfast, two stores, and an up scaled coffee shop. I hope the utility costs are less as my bills here are out of this world. According to Priscilla, the Special Education Director, the children in McGrath would also be a better influence. So, it looks like I will be moving over.

I hope that everyone is well. I miss all of you.

Moved into the Shack

Well this evening I moved into the Shack. I have decided Shack is a more appropriate word than house. Margie, my land lady, did a wonderful job of cleaning the place up. She left many items, including a bed, couch, TV, VCR/DVD, microwave, coffee maker, and pots, pans, and dishes. I am set for the bush life. One thing I needed was fuel oil. There was five gallons in the barrel, but that would not last. I setup an account and arranged for forty more gallons. Then I found out I had to transport the oil. Skip, the maintenance man helped me out there. He had the oil pumped into a 55 gallon barrel on a sled which he pulled behind his snow machine. Then when we got to the Shack he used a pump to move it into the 55 gallon barrel at the house. This 40 gallons should last about two weeks. The cost $200. A little steep, but what can you do.

I am busy making the Shack home. The plywood floor is painted a gray color. There is a runner rug in front of the couch. The place is lit by four bare bulbs like you would see in a garage or unfinished basement. I am working on getting some lamps. The windows have curtains, but not rods. Priscilla is sending some to me. I plan to move the bed from the second floor to the first for the winter. This way I can save on heating costs. I do have a shower upstairs, but I think I will choose to use the school shower facilities. I have a feeling I would run out of water at the Shack.

Tomorrow is my first day working with the children. I look forward to getting to know them. It certainly is an adventure. One which I will not soon forget. I am going to head back to the Shack now. My internet is at the school. The path is well lit by street lights. I feel like I am in the city. It is very difficult to see the stars with all the lights. I don’t know if I will ever see the Northern Lights. Priscilla has been her for five years and has yet to see them. I will keep trying.

I hope you are all well. I think of you often in your warm, finished homes. I send lots of love, hugs, and kisses. Take care,

Sunday, Sunday

It is Sunday afternoon. I am still living out of my classroom. The house should be ready tomorrow. I am looking forward to getting to my own place, yet very comfortable where I am. I have been sleeping a lot as I am still fighting a cold. I work on my room for short periods between resting and eating. My portable DVD player has become one of my treasured possessions. I picked up some drawing paper and pencils in Anchorage and hope to start drawing again. I will have plenty of time.

This is the first clear day in Grayling. The sun floats at about forty degrees above the horizon all day. The sunrise and sunset lasts for over an hour. I hope to see the Northern Lights this evening. I hear they are spectacular! I just have to be sure to wake up. The best viewing is between midnight and three am. There has been a lot of activity on the sun, which makes for a grand display. I hope to see the reds and purples dance in the night sky. Don’t worry, I will let you know when I see them for the first time.

I just returned from a walk outside. I wanted to see if the store was open. It’s not. I did notice something I never noticed before. There is no need to plow as everyone gets around on snow machine. As I was walking, I noticed the top of a bike rack. The snow has been back down and I was walking on three feet of snow. The spring is going to be a mess! The temp is about ten degrees. There is a slight wind, but very slight. All the houses have smoke billowing from the roof tops. There are dogs at every house. Outside of course, as no native would bring an animal indoors. The sight that caught my eye was the laundry hanging on the lines. They are drying their cloths in the chilly cold of the outdoors. It was a strange sight. I checked to see where I could wash and dry my clothing. There is a washer and dryer at the school. I am so glad. I can’t imagine hanging my cloths in forty below weather. I would think it would crack in two.

Well it’s time to get back to sorting through the many books and boxes in my classroom. I hope you are all well. I sure do miss each and every one of you.

Love you all,

Pictures of my House

Good evening,

It is Saturday afternoon and the sun is out for the first time. I have been busy at work cleaning out my classroom. It has not been used for children for many months, resulting in a vary large closet. If anyone didn’t know where to put it, this is where it ended up. I have been throwing away lots of things. I have finally opened up the room, getting rid of filing cabinets, tables, and desks. I will share my room with a pre-school teacher for two hours per day. My main objective it to get him the room he needs to work effectively with these very young children. If the small ones can be serviced well, it may prevent some of the children from being placed in Special Education (Sped) in the future.

Most of the Sped Children are here for speech. There isn’t a lot of conversation in the native homes. They only say what is necessary. Therefore, the children do not have speech patterned for them. Now add to the mix the fact that natives do not talk to their children the way we do in the lower 48 and you have masses of children with speech delays. I service fifteen children in Grayling. All but two receive services because of speech related difficulties.

I have attached a picture of the house I will be living in. I use the term house loosely. In reality it is a two room shack. I will not be spending much time there. It is a shame to pay so much for so little, but this is a good price here.

The secretary is traveling to Anvil, a city

Alaska Day 4

I did not get my update out yesterday. I was very busy getting settled into the school and my room and time just skipped away. However, there is much to report.

Yesterday morning I packed up, had a wonderful breakfast at the Bed and Breakfast and headed off to the district office. After two hours of making some final preparation, Priscilla and I headed to the airport. The plane, a tiny four seater was so small that I would bet Dad has flown larger crafts. I had to crawl on top of the wing to get into the plane. The ride was great. I like the smaller planes much better than the jumbo jets. We flew between 5,000 and 6,000 feet high, however the mountains would rice to meet us as we skirted around their peaks. The flight was relatively smooth, with a gentle left to right rocking motion. The land we flew over was devoid of life. No people, houses, or large animals to be seen, hundreds of unoccupied miles of wilderness.

Arriving in Grayling was quite the adventure. I realized we were descending only by the popping of my ears. The Yukon River is about the size of the Mississippi as it runs through the Cities. The village is nestled between the river and the steep hills of the mountains. The trees are much like those of Northern Minnesota , predominantly birch and pine. As the plane touched down, all I could see was a snow machine with a wooden dog sled attached. This was our transportation to the village. Skip, the driver of the machine, was on his way to another city. We offloaded our gear and took off towards the school.

The children at the school are so very friendly. I was greeted at every corner by a smiling face. At 3:30 we left to look at one of three houses that may be available. As we approached I noticed it was a log home which appeared to have been added onto. The second level was made of wood, but not log. Walking into the home was my first real shock. The floors were made of plywood. There were no window dressings. There were two couches with no legs. The bathroom was in a corner with plywood walls. In the center of the room was a 50 gallon barrel wood stove. The refrigerator was a small dorm room size. The table looked like it was thirty years old. For these supreme accommodations I will be paying 300 a month with utilities of about 400. I was ready to get on the next flight out. Priscilla has promised to help me make the place more livable, so I guess I will be here another day. After all they make me sign the contract before leaving the Bed and Breakfast yesterday.

Last night I slept in the school. It was much too hot for me, but there was carpet on the floor and blinds on the windows. I need to start my day, so I will write again. Hope you all have a wonderful day. Be grateful for the many blessings you have. Many of these people do not realize what the rest of the world is like.