By Mona Painter
Turnagain Times Cooper Landing Correspondent
 |
Mona Painter/ Cooper Landing |
Hank North was remembered July 21 during a celebration of life held at the community hall. Hank died June 17 at home. He was in the Marines in the 1940’s, and later lived in Fairbanks and Anchorage before moving to Cooper Landing. Hank and his wife, Virginia, lived in their cabin on Kenai Lake where they had spent many weekends and vacations. Virginia died in 1997. Hank kept busy with his own business, North Glass, for many years. Kenai Lake Baptist Church was one recipient of Hank’s generosity by a donation of windows from North Glass.
Sue Simpson hosted a meeting of the Top of the Mountain Club at her log cabin home recently. The club organized in 2000 and enjoyed many adventures beginning with a helicopter flight to the top of Cecil Rhode Mountain overlooking Cooper Landing. Twenty or so people made that trip and enjoyed the views from beyond Porcupine Island on Kenai Lake to Skilak Lake to the west. Crackers, cheeses and wines were served at the 4400 foot level. Mack McConnell and Theresa Norris hiked up from the Cooper Lake Dam side and joined the group for refreshments.
The club made trips to the historic mining town of Kennecott, to Seldovia on Kachemak Bay, on the Alaska Railroad to Grandview and Spencer Glacier, and to Halibut Cove. One of their favorite jaunts was what Paula Iverson called the Sentimental Journey airplane excursion aboard a refurbished DC-3. Club members filled the plane and relived the 1940’s through the interior decoration, music, and flight attendants costumes.
It was unanimously agreed by the nine members present that it was time for the club to dissolve, although some expect to be taking an occasional trip together in the future. The club voted to donate their remaining funds to the Cooper Landing Museum.
Dave Letzring loaned a possibly 100 year-old monitor, or giant, pieces to the Cooper Landing Museum in July. Sometimes referred to as water cannons, this equipment was used in hydraulic mining at Cooper Creek for years around 1900. Water was diverted into pipes and through the monitor nozzle, which blasted onto the hillside bringing gravel and overburden down to go through the sluices. Evidence of that activity can still be seen on the hillside east of Cooper Creek campground.
Thanks to Bill Fort, Duane Ohnemus, and John Thomas the Cooper Landing Community Hall has a newly refinished wood floor in the old section. We don’t remember when the floor was last sanded and painted, but it was high time for some care. Character marks still remain, but have a shiny cover.
Former Cooper Landing resident Kent Bowman’s music CD is available for $10 at the Shrew’s Nest. “Songs from Hope,” is the title and the music was written by Kent while he lived here and now in Hope and is performed by guitar and sax with vocals.
Will Troyer reported cranberries should be plentiful this year. Will also described, at Friday Night Pinochle, seeing a merlin pigeon hawk, Alaska’s smallest falcon, at Cooper Lake. A rare sighting. He had saw whet-owls nesting in boxes about twenty feet up in spruce trees at his home. Not so rare a sight was the brown bear that went through the Corbey place near Quartz Creek a week ago, John and Fay described. And at our house, while Larry was sitting in the rocker in front of the greenhouse enjoying a beverage, he saw a long-legged critter coming up the driveway. When he saw it was a lynx he jumped up and yelled “Hey!” The cat just looked at him and kept walking until it passed the house and disappeared in the woods.
Photo: Mayme Ohnemus / Hope
The Sexy Senior Dumpster Cleaners with visiting relatives last Monday, July 9, at the Cooper Landing Dumpster site.