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Stephanie Pfundt has spent the better part of a decade building a career in classical music far from Petersburg - graduate school in Boston, performing across the East Coast, a produced opera in Massachusetts, a growing network of colleagues at some of the country's top music institutions. And now the award-winning Petersburg-born soprano is bringing a long-dreamed-of project to life and bringing chamber music home to Alaska. "This has been a project I've dreamt of for six years," Pfundt said....
February 19, 1926 – The Pioneer Hotel and the St. George Hotel at Ketchikan, housing the Poodle Dog Restaurant, Pioneer Store, Pioneer Restaurant and the Lotus Confectionery and Cigar Store, were destroyed by fire early last Friday morning. For a time the fire threatened to spread to the new Ingersoll Hotel and the Alaska Steamship Company docks and offices. However, the fire was gotten under control without damage to adjacent buildings. February 16, 1951 – Lady Luck was in the car with two visiting Wrangell boys early Sunday morning when the...
January 2025 The Petersburg Borough Assembly agreed to transfer seven parcels of borough-owned land in the Airport Addition Subdivision to Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority (THRHA) in exchange for the developing road and utilities for 11 residential lots. The snowpack at the Raven's Ridge snow survey site at 1,650 ft elevation measured zero inches. One of only two years on record without snowpack in January. Rock-N-Road Construction was awarded the contract for the borough's Pump Station...
The Petersburg Rotary Club will distribute over 200 pounds of moose burger to the community on Saturday morning, through a unique local program that turns hunting violations into a food security resource. Petersburg's Moose Burger Bank, now in its eighth year, processes meat from illegally harvested moose and distributes it to local nonprofits and community organizations and, when supplies allow, directly to community members. A public distribution will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday outside...
When clients aboard the charter vessel Dauntless suggested helping chef Alisa Jestel create her long-dreamed-of cookbook two years ago, she didn't imagine it would lead to cameras, a film crew, and a documentary premiering at Petersburg's Wright Auditorium next week. "Tide and Table," a short documentary from Two Doors Down Productions, began as a modest 8-10 minute film concept. But after Emmy-winning director Brian Bill and his crew arrived in Petersburg last May, they realized they'd... Full story
When 16-year-old Jakob Preisler signed up for his international exchange program, he didn't expect to come to Alaska. "It was a really big surprise," Jakob said. "I choose USA, and then after a few weeks, I got the information: you go to Alaska." Since the early 1990s, Petersburg's Rotary Club has participated in international exchange programs. Each year, a student from Petersburg spends time in another country, and the community welcomes an international student for the school year. This... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center celebrated their 11th annual Pedal/Paddle Battle, raising a new high $24,201 with $15,000 from corporate sponsors and $8,501 by participants, to go towards scholarships and education. In previous years, the event has raised between $17,000-20,000. "[The corporate sponsors] led to why we got so much money this year. Participants raised over $8,000 just from family and friends, so that's significant too," Community Wellness and Public Relations Manager Julie Walker sa...
June 5, 1925 – Much interest is evinced in Petersburg over the trip of Roald Amundsen to the North Pole. Those most familiar with his methods and resourcefulness express very little anxiety over his fate, believing that he will return to civilization only after he has made a thorough examination of the great waste lands he set out to explore. Frederick Nelson, local agent of the Standard Oil Company, has an uncle, Helmer Hanson, now in Norway, who was with Amundsen on his trip to the South Pole, and who was the captain of the sloop Gjoa in w...
A unique University of Alaska Southeast program is teaching high school students how to participate in federal subsistence management decisions by bringing them directly into the public process. The dual enrollment course, which offers high school students two university biology credits, prepares participants to engage effectively with the Federal Subsistence Board - the body overseeing subsistence hunting and fishing regulations on federal public lands in Alaska. "I truly believe now, in my exp... Full story
December 12, 1924 – Following a hunting trip near Cape Strait, Lindenberg Peninsula, last Saturday, Hans Lee froze to death from exposure after being capsized from a boat. The party, which Mr. Lee accompanied, left Petersburg early Saturday morning on the halibut powerboat Star. The party also consisted of Martin Enge, Berger Waswick and Knut Thompson, part owner of the Star with Louis Martin. They arrived at their destination about 8 a.m. and left the boat at anchor while the four went into the woods. The weather was calm and there was no h...
In June of 1947, after graduating from Stillwater High School in Minnesota, Roxane Lillian Swenson boarded a westbound train in Saint Paul with the ultimate destination of Petersburg, Alaska. Her aunt, Lillian L. Swanson had surprised Roxy with a graduation present of two suitcases and a ticket to Alaska. She arrived in Petersburg on the SS Alaska and that was the start of a glorious lifelong adventure. Roxy worked summers in her aunt's store, The Lillian Shop, and studied in the winters at the... Full story
November 7, 1924 – And still they come! Truly Captain Fryer began to wrinkle his brows in consternation when he saw the girls lined up to board the “Lillian” on Saturday morning. But the wrinkles seemed to prove resourceful, for soon there were additional life savers on board; and by 9:45 all was set and the ship headed toward Wrangell. Many had been the warnings of solicitous friends as to the “alligators and whales in the shape of bad weather,” which the weather man would likely station between here and Wrangell. Perhaps the weatherma...
Petersburg Rotary Club officers Kaili Watkins, in a raft, and Aaron Hankins, swimming in a survival suit, await the arrival of the hundreds of plastic ducks floating toward the finish line strung across Hammer Slough. The annual fundraiser was, as usual, well attended. This year's prizes for fastest ducks went to these lucky winners: 1st place Susan Shey for the $1000 prize, Kaili Watkins had the second place duck, winning $300; and Michelle Strickler's duck took third for $200. Rotary Club...
Skol! This year's Little Norway Festival kicks off today with over fifty festivities to choose from including new events, entertainment, and around 70 street vendors. Petersburg -nicknamed "Alaska's Little Norway"- traces its Norwegian foundation back to the late 1800s. Petersburg's Little Norway Festival, first held back in 1958, coincides with May 17, Norway's Constitution Day. Although the festival has changed with the times, visitors can taste traditional Norwegian foods, watch traditional d... Full story
Rodney Lee Anderson was born on el Día de los Muertos, November 2, 1965, in Davenport, Iowa, to Ronald Gene and Victoria Lee (Dawson) Anderson. His lifelong best friend and brother, Ronnie, was 21 months old and with Rodney's birth the family was complete. As a little boy Rodney showed an affinity for all animals, but he especially loved birds. He was mesmerized by them. Perhaps all those quiet hours of observation were the genesis of Rodney's unique sense of time. He was never in a hurry and... Full story
Petersburg Arts Council and the Petersburg Rotary Club presented a fusion bluegrass performance in Wright Auditorium on Thursday. The visiting trio, led by internationally acclaimed cellist Mike Block, kicked off their Alaska tour in Petersburg, and were warmly appreciated by a sizable audience. The Petersburg Arts Council continues their mission to bring quality live music from around the world to Petersburg with another performance coming soon. The group Lyric and Spirit - a trio of vocalists...
Petersburg's new Rotary Youth Exchange student from Hungary, Sara Eszik, says she's "really happy to be in Alaska." She had requested the U.S./Canada, followed by Finland and Taiwan. "I feel like I got kind of a two-for-one between the U.S. and Finland, getting to come to Alaska," Eszik muses. "I don't feel homesick at all," declares Eszik, explaining that there are four stages to the experience of a typical exchange student. In the first stage, everything feels good and exciting, with little...
Moose hunting aims to begin on September 15. For this hunt, Alaska Wildlife Troopers Sgt. Cody Litster says hunters should acquire a RM038 permit, verse themselves thoroughly on what distinguishes legal game, submit their hunting reports and report their mistakes without hesitation. As far as antler configuration goes, Sgt. Litster says "it's the same as it has been." According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), antler restrictions protect a portion of the bull population by...
"Looking for ways to meet new people while also making a difference in Petersburg?" On September 22, 15 local organizations and nonprofits will gather at Sons of Norway Hall for a volunteer fair -Reconnect Petersburg- from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Anyone interested in learning more about what is happening in the Petersburg community is invited to join that Friday for free appetizers, door prizes, and a community gathering where they can discover specific ways to become more involved. While the...
August 31, 1923 – The cannery of the Petersburg Packing Company, this year will set a new high mark for number of cases of salmon packed, having already exceeded their previous high mark set in 1918 and with still a week to run. This concern also has the honor of having the largest pack put up by any single cannery in Alaska this year. Although the salmon run is properly over there are still enough fish being caught to keep the plant going for another week on part time, which will add several thousand cases to their season total. At the c...
June 22, 1923 – Newt Casperson, well known business man of Ketchikan and Cordova, was shot three times by a prohibition officer at Ketchikan recently and is in the hospital recovering from wounds to his right chest, leg and hand. The shooting affair occurred about one o’clock Sunday morning when D.W. Flanagan, prohibition enforcement officer, attempted to raid an apartment above Otto Soberg’s store which the government alleges was the location of Casperson’s bootlegging joint. Dr. R.V. Ellis, who is attending Casperson, says his chances...
June 1, 1923 – The Petersburg telephone system was cut in on Friday morning and is now working with twenty subscribers already connected up and more to be connected as rapidly as possible. Lilly Larsen is acting as central girl. Service is from eight a.m. to midnight, but within a short time the service will be from 5 in the morning until midnight. May 28, 1948 – A gift to Alaska from Seattle businessmen commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Alaska Gold Rush will sail from Seattle June 10. The gift will be the University of Washington Gle...
