'Stayin' Cool' Marshall of Ketchikan, & Tiffany, Danny & Tory all from Washington State... Front Page Photo by Carl Thompson...    Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Open Letter: Logging Plans Need More Public Input In Planning Process by Bob Weinstein - Ketchikan - 06/20/04 RE: From Nuisance Moose to Anatomical Gifts... by David J. Undis - TN - 06/20/04 Recreation Center for White Cliff Plan by Ken Lewis - Ketchikan - 06/20/04 No Roads in the Tongass National Forest by Don Hoff Jr. - TN - 06/20/04 Read More Viewpoints Publish A Letter June 2004 Click on the date to read the stories & to view photos published on that day... S M T W T F S   31 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30       Today's Front Page Front Page Archives                  Profile America - Polar Bear Swim: On this first full day of summer, it's hard to think of a polar bear swim - one of those outings where slightly crazy people, usually wearing strange costumes, plunge into chilly waters in the middle of the winter. But today in Nome, Alaska, where it will be daylight pretty much all around the clock, the 29th Annual Polar Bear Swim will be held. Dozens of swimmers will jump into the frigid Bering Sea - if the ice has broken up enough to allow the event. Farther south, swimmers of all kinds are enjoying warmer waters all across the nation - from the ocean to lakes and rivers to swimming pools. Swimming is our second favorite recreational activity - with 55-million people taking the plunge at least six times a year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Ketchikan: Summer Solstice: June 21st - June 21st is the Summer Solstice. It is a celebration of the longest day of the year, the shortest night of the year, and the beginning of Summer. Photographer Carl Thompson was able to capture the last rays of the sun as it set on the eve of the Summer Solstice on June 20th as it was viewed from Murphy's Landing looking out over Channel Islands. From the moment of Summer Solstice on June 21st, the Sun immediately begins to wane. The journey into the harvest season will begin. Solstice comes from the Latin (sol, sun; sistit, stands). For several days before and after each solstice, the sun appears to stand still in the sky-that is, its noontime elevation does not seem to change.

Summer Solstice: June 21st Front Page Photo by Carl Thompson... More It is said that whatever is dreamed this night will come to pass - certainly Shakespeare acknowledged the magic of this time in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Monday - June 21, 2004 Alaska: Summer Solstice: A Celebration of the Sun by Ned Rozell - In this colorful blur of frenzied fishing trips, sweaty softball games, maniacally maturing vegetables, road-weary relatives, and steadfast sleep deprivation we call summer, it's time to reflect on the season's source - the sun. At summer solstice, the sun once again bakes Alaskans due to the tilt of the earth's axis that leans us toward the sun. The longest day of the year officially occurred June 21, and varied in length from 24 hours in Barrow to just over 17 hours of possible daylight in Ketchikan.

Summer Solstice Eve Sunset - Ketchikan Front Page Photo by Tom LeCompte... More The word solstice comes from the Latin term "solstitium," which translates into English as "sun standing still." Alaskans upon whom the sun sets this time of year can see the sun standing still for three or four days around solstice, as the sun rises and sets in nearly identical places before continuing its race around the horizon. - Read more... Monday - June 21, 2004 Ketchikan Columnist Dear Crabby: A Tired Old Mother - I have a 37 year old son that worries me. "Tom" is extremely introverted and has been fired from numerous jobs. He's been cited for being non-responsive (he works with computers and seems to be somewhat anti-social), not passing employment personality profiles, and once even for insubordination (Tom is a perfectionist and refused to turn in a project until he'd re-written the code again). - Read more... Monday - June 21, 2004

The June Allen Column is made possible in part by these sponsors. Cick on each name to visit each web site. June Allen Column Remembering 'Swede' Risland (1915-1991);The town's most memorable logger - People still remember Swede Risland and chuckle when telling stories about him or about his incredible generosity. In his prime he made big money in the woods and all his life he gave it away as easily as he made it! The old logger was no fashion plate and in his later years he had to coax his battered old smoking and coughing yellow pickup all the way up Main Street until it gratefully reached the summit and rolled down Grant Street toward the tunnel - its cargo of salvaged miscellany rattling as it slid forward to clatter against the cab. Swede loved to clean out and organize long-neglected old warehouses and storage sheds and found many a rusty but still-good treasure waiting to be shared and recycled. - Read the rest of this story by June Allen... Saturday - June 19, 2004 Alaska's Deepwater Highway; A part of Alaska history Ketchikan's American Legionnaires; Here's to 'the boys' of Post #3 - Ketchikan's Cruise Ship Industry; A light-hearted look at its origins Ketchikan's First City Players; Did you hear that applause? A biography of Alaska's herring: A little fish of huge importance... Read more stories by June Allen...

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