Born, Raised, and Never Leaving

       To some, Alaska is just another state filled with mountains and glaciers. To Mossy Kilcher, Alaska means so much more. It means bringing out the best in people, family, strength; it means life. “Alaska is a very strong place. It is a place where in order to live there you have to be a strong person and not a wimp,” Mossy said, “Everyone has a part in themselves that nobody knows about. That’s what Alaska is to me. It is a place that not many people have discovered and a place where no one really knows each and every part of.”
        Before Mossy was born, her father traveled over mountains and glaciers to Alaska to find a place to start a life. “My father traveled by himself from Switzerland to the United States to try and start a community and family. Since there were no roads in Alaska the only way to get there was by boat or plane. My father traveled by boat from our home in Switzerland to Seward, Alaska. From there he decided to gear up and travel by foot to a town he heard of called Homer,” Mossy said. “Before he left he looked at a map and everything looked flat. He found out otherwise during his journey. He ended up having to travel over mountains and even Exit Glacier. During part of his journey he almost died on the glacier by nearly falling into a crevasse. Once he reached the beach he walked 60 to 70 miles down shore until he finally reached Homer, Alaska. After arriving he traveled all the way back to Switzerland to get my mother to come over to Alaska. They both traveled to Alaska together which took them six weeks and later ended up marrying each other.”
        Mossy was born in Homer, grew up on the homestead, and now owns, works, and lives at Seaside Farms Campground. “I was born here (in Alaska) and I love it and I would never leave; it’s my favorite place in the world,” she says. Mossy married, had two kids and now lives at her farm and campground, Seaside Farms, which she purchased 30 years ago. “I love that Seaside Farms is right by the ocean,” Mossy said. Mossy spends most of her days on the farm preparing for the upcoming season. “During the summer I’m preparing for the fall, during the fall I’m preparing for the winter, during the winter I’m preparing for the spring, and during the spring I’m preparing for the summer,” she said. “ I’m always busy around the farm, whether its with picking berries, making sure food doesn’t freeze during the winter, feeding the horse, bailing hay, or cleaning cabins.”
       “I absolutely love Alaska and I wouldn’t live anywhere else,” says Mossy. She feels that if someone is part of something for a long time then they sort of serve a role in that particular thing. Mossy feels that she serves a role herself and that’s one of the reasons she would never leave Alaska. Another reason she would never leave Alaska is because she loves the nature. “I love the nature and wilderness of Alaska. I love knowing that it’s right around the corner and humans haven’t taken over the planet,” Mossy said, “I am addicted to the views and wilderness of Alaska.”
       When someone feels this strongly about a place it is obviously hard to explain it in one word. When I asked Mossy to explain Alaska in one word she stumbled over different words that really all meant one thing; “pristine.”
       “Wow. To explain Alaska in one word is kind of like a personal thing for me,” said Mossy. “It is untouched, remote and unexplored place but it is also pristine. People will say that Alaska is beautiful and amazing but you have to really look deep to figure out a word that explains everything; the beauty, the nature, the people, everything.”

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