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| Copper Center Lodge Standing In 2011 © L. W. |
Tom Huddleston was standing in his garage, across the road from his family's historic Copper Center Lodge. "It's all about community," Tom said.
We were talking about last summer's tourist season, businesses in rural Alaska, and what makes all that hard work worthwhile.
Every so often, it's good to take stock of what we have, what we value, and what to build our businesses around.
Here are some stories we have gathered this season, about our communities, and the importance of working together.
The Importance of Staying Open
It was below zero, with just over 5 hours of daylight. Across the road, the Copper Center Lodge was warm and brightly lit. Though it was winter, the lodge was open. And people were inside, eating.
Tom was working on a truck. His wife, Kim, came in. Even their little granddaughter helps hold down the fort. This is Family, working together.
"This is a sixth generation business," Tom said.
"It's important for the community that we stay open all winter."
Our Schools Are The Center Of Our Communities
Schools are the heart of every community. They are the gathering places where families, parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors crowd into small gyms and celebrate -- with sports, pageants, plays, and music.
Here's a link to a great video, produced by the 5th grade teacher in the tiny school at Quinhagak, a Yupik village near the Bering Sea and the mouth of the Kuskokwim.
It tells us everything we need to know about what schools contribute to an Alaskan community.
To see it for yourself,
It tells us everything we need to know about what schools contribute to an Alaskan community.
To see it for yourself,
Click Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyviyF-N23A
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| Volunteer Fire Departments Protect An Area The Size Of Ohio © L. W. |
Protecting What We Have (With A Little Help From Our Friends)
This October, an older annex of the Caribou Hotel in Glennallen caught on fire, and burst into flames on a cold, windy night.
Local volunteer fire departments rushed to the scene to help. First to arrive was Glennallen. Then Copper Center, Gakona and Kenny Lake.
The wind pushed the fire into the brush across the street, and firemen struggled to put out the raining ashfall, as others raced to refill their trucks with water.
The new, large Caribou Hotel, right next to the inferno, was in danger of catching fire itself. As the last of the water disappeared, that's when Valdez -- which is over 115 miles away -- arrived on the scene, with its fire department.
When they had heard of the Caribou fire, the Valdez crews leaped into action. They raced through the mountains, over Thompson Pass, down through the Tonsina River Valley, past Copper Center, and up the hill to Glennallen. The Valdez firemen jumped from their truck, pulled out their hoses, and saved the hotel.
Valdez showed the essence of community spirit. We are all tied together. If the Caribou had burned completely, it would have been a devastating loss to the Copper Valley and Wrangell-St. Elias' economy.
When infrastructure is lost, it often takes years to build it back.
We know this is true. Within 60 miles of where we live, we have watched Summit Lake Lodge, Sourdough Roadhouse, Chistochina Roadhouse, and the Gakona Junction Hotel all burn to the ground, never to be resurrected.