20 years ago

It was a dark and stormy night, with Kachemak Bay swells crashing over themselves, their bone-numbing white foam reflected in lights along the shore. A chilly wind slapped the faces of stocking-capped crewmembers of the M/V Tustumena as they cast off heavy lines. Turning to starboard, the 296-foot ship headed for the distant harbor of Kodiak, before continuing on its last run of the season to the remote community of Dutch Harbor on the island of Unalaska. The last run of the season is a special occasion. And the dark and stormy night of Oct. 4 was the perfect beginning of the sixth “Great Aleutian Pumpkin Run.”

— From the issue of Oct. 27, 2005

30 years ago

Homer resident Nancy Lord can point to a long list of successes in her 22-year career as environmental activist in Homer, but most of them revolve around unlikely coalitions held together by one or two threads — often herself. With commercial fishermen and Alaska Natives she helped form the Alaska Marine Conservation Council, which is successfully influencing federal fisheries law. She had a hand in adding 75,000 acres to Kachemak Bay State Park, and in the buyback of park lands from Seldovia Native Association. For these deeds and more, Lord this week was named the state’s top citizen environmentalist by the Alaska Conservation Foundation.

— From the issue of Oct. 26, 1995