Years Ago

Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 21, 2026

20 years ago

If you look for Pete Swanson, principal of McNeil Canyon Elementary School, in his office, and don’t find him, try the gym, where he teaches physical education classes. Or the playground, where he frequently supervises student activities. Or the school sidewalks, where he expertly wields a shovel to remove snow. No matter how busy his schedule, he still finds ways to encourage the school’s 118 students, inspire McNeil’s faculty and include the community in school activities. It is for those reasons that Swanson was recently named the state’s “National Distinguished Principal” by the Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals.

— From the issue of May 18, 2006

30 years ago

In February a stranger appeared on the beaches of Nanwalek with three sticks of wood. Boat-maker Gregor Welpton was invited to the town by a teacher at the village’s only school to show the students how to build a baidarka — a form of kayak. Last Friday, after four months of work by virtually every student in the school and members of the community, the town gathered at the land’s edge to launch the first kayaks built in Nanwalek in 65 years.

— From the issue of May 16, 1996