BeardWatch
Status: N/A
Showing posts with label beardwatch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beardwatch. Show all posts
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
A trip down the Klondike Highway
Working at a small-town newspaper comes with a few logistical inconveniences. For one, the newsroom is located above an Alaska-themed bookstore affiliated with the same company, making it confusing for some people trying to differentiate the two. (That the bookstore is called Skaguay News Depot doesn't help.)
A much larger-scale issue is the newsroom's lack of a newspaper printer. There would be no reason to expect a newspaper with a circulation of just less than 1,500 to have its own printer, and like many other small newspapers, The Skagway News gets printed in another town. In Skagway's case, the nearest land-accessible town with a printer is the Yukon capital of Whitehorse.
So for 30-something years, every two weeks, Skagway News editor Jeff Brady has made the 109-mile drive to the Whitehorse Star's newsroom, walks out with bundles of newspapers a few hours later and drives 109 miles back to Alaska. You can imagine what this is like in the winter.
Whitehorse has a population of about 26,000 and feels like downtown Manhattan compared to Skagway. It has movie theaters, Chinese food and a diversified economy, all things Skagway lacks. Everyone is excruciatingly nice. Drivers will let pedestrians cross at all costs. One time while waiting at a street corner, my coworker Katie pressed the traffic light button and the crossing signal instantly turned on. Coincidence, maybe, but I wouldn't be surprised if pedestrians had power over the traffic lights.
Yesterday I made the last of four trips to Whitehorse this summer, and as usual, the drive over was even more spectacular than the destination itself.
A much larger-scale issue is the newsroom's lack of a newspaper printer. There would be no reason to expect a newspaper with a circulation of just less than 1,500 to have its own printer, and like many other small newspapers, The Skagway News gets printed in another town. In Skagway's case, the nearest land-accessible town with a printer is the Yukon capital of Whitehorse.
So for 30-something years, every two weeks, Skagway News editor Jeff Brady has made the 109-mile drive to the Whitehorse Star's newsroom, walks out with bundles of newspapers a few hours later and drives 109 miles back to Alaska. You can imagine what this is like in the winter.
Whitehorse has a population of about 26,000 and feels like downtown Manhattan compared to Skagway. It has movie theaters, Chinese food and a diversified economy, all things Skagway lacks. Everyone is excruciatingly nice. Drivers will let pedestrians cross at all costs. One time while waiting at a street corner, my coworker Katie pressed the traffic light button and the crossing signal instantly turned on. Coincidence, maybe, but I wouldn't be surprised if pedestrians had power over the traffic lights.
Yesterday I made the last of four trips to Whitehorse this summer, and as usual, the drive over was even more spectacular than the destination itself.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Little shop of mangos
When I was in Buenos Aires, one of my favorite pastimes was getting mistaken for an Argentine. Each time it happened felt like a small victory in every tourist's fight to not feel like a tourist.
Here in Skagway, there is one place where I can curiously experience the same feeling.
The place is Ports of Call, a quaint market and Internet cafe stocked with all sorts of international foods. I would estimate 95 percent of the patrons are foreign cruise passengers. The shelves are loaded with exotic foodstuffs like cassava chips, guava juice, instant chana masala and, weirdly, Ovalteen. Every culture is represented in a room the size of a living room, with heavy emphasis on Indian, Filipino and whichever culture eats prawn crackers.
Here in Skagway, there is one place where I can curiously experience the same feeling.
The place is Ports of Call, a quaint market and Internet cafe stocked with all sorts of international foods. I would estimate 95 percent of the patrons are foreign cruise passengers. The shelves are loaded with exotic foodstuffs like cassava chips, guava juice, instant chana masala and, weirdly, Ovalteen. Every culture is represented in a room the size of a living room, with heavy emphasis on Indian, Filipino and whichever culture eats prawn crackers.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
River Quest
I offer my apologies in advance if I don't return your calls or text messages this week. That's because for the next four days, I'll be in Canada covering one of the more insane sporting events I will have ever witnessed.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
One-month report
One month has passed since I arrived in Skagway. I recognize some people on the streets and a fair amount of my sources know me by name — things that are bound to happen when your town has only 2,000 or so residents and three people putting out the newspaper.
I have a much greater understanding of the town than I did when I was being a tourist my first day, and I've managed to learn a lot when I'm not rubbing my beard or looking at my beard or talking in Spanish with the Bulgarian girl who works at the popcorn store. So here's a brief summary of Skagway as I know it.
I have a much greater understanding of the town than I did when I was being a tourist my first day, and I've managed to learn a lot when I'm not rubbing my beard or looking at my beard or talking in Spanish with the Bulgarian girl who works at the popcorn store. So here's a brief summary of Skagway as I know it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)