Junior Leader Interviews
Ann interviewed by and
Thirty five year old, Ann, does things that a regular thirty five year old women does, she likes to garden, sow, cook and make pottery and jewelry for a hobby. But there is something about Ann that makes her different from others; she lives in Alaska for only half of the year. For the other half of the year, she is a teacher at Michigan State University teaching English as a second language, Ann's first language being Japanese; therefore Ann likes living and learning about Japan and its' culture. "That's one of my favorite things in life!" says Ann, talking about her times in Japan and her teachings. Living in Alaska for the summer Ann keeps up with mowing the lawn and keeping up the gardens at the Kilcher Homestead Living Museum, staying in an apartment a few miles away in the Homer area. Ann likes her job, learning a lot about the people as she is giving tours to, answering the phone calls, and helping out anywhere she is needed. In her free time, Ann enjoys going out into the beautiful and vast Kachemak Bay to go sailing in the great waves with her little one-person sailboat, sowing quilts for herself and others, and experimenting in the kitchen with her cooking skills. Ann likes to garden in her free time, and learning about different people and where they are from, when she is giving tours at the Kilcher Homestead Living Museum.
Ann does not have a car so if she wants to go to town she waits until someone goes then she will ask to tag along with them. She is always doing something at the Kilcher Homestead Living Museum. Ann's most interesting thing that she has done in Alaska is one day, she and Mossy, her good friend, went over to Seaside Farms to take care of the animals. While they were working, one of the neighbors' bulls broke free and went after Mossy's bull. While they were in between fencing, the battle was still horrifying and loud. Through years of experience and quick thinking Ann and Mossy had successfully broken up the bullfight, returning the bull to its owner. Ann thought that it was pretty cool to do because she had never broken up a bullfight before. Growing up in Massachusetts, she went to school there. She decided to move from Massachusetts and go to college at Elerm Christian college in Indiana for a single semester, and then she went to Michigan State University where she graduated.
Ann said that the thing that's hardest to get use to is, "Its weird that it does not get dark in Alaska." The more that you are here, the easer it is to sleep. The farther that you get north it never gets dark in the summer time, but in the south it gets a little bit dark but nothing like Michigan. As of this day Ann still lives in homer Alaska. She loves it here, and it's her home away from home.
Matt Payne interviewed by and
We won't lie; the first thing we noticed about Matt Payne was the beard. Oddly, this shows a lot about Matt. He's a rugged, wilderness man with an adventurous soul. He's no Paul Bunyan though. He has a fairly medium build, standing at about five feet, ten inches. His hair is light brown and scruffy, though most of it was hidden by his ball cap. Seeing how cold it was, he had on a warm looking vest and long sleeve shirt. He looked like he could be ready to trek into the forest at a moments notice. There's much more to Matt Payne than meets the eye.
Matt Payne is a 30-year-old Shuttle Bus driver in Denali National Park. Though he lives in Alaska the majority of the time now, he was born and raised in Georgia and lived there until he was 22. He didn't exactly come to Alaska by choice though. Matt's cousin was the deciding factor in his coming to Alaska. "Finally he bought me a plane ticket," Matt said. After hesitantly agreeing to go, Matt packed his long johns and left the warm southern climate of Georgia for Alaska.
As soon as Matt arrived in the 49th state of the Union eight years ago, he fell in love with it and began returning every summer after school. Alaska was not just some summer vacation for Matt though. He mentioned an overnight backpacking trip, his first, which he took with a friend whom he met in Alaska. Though he wasn't specific, he did say this trip was a big part of his decision to settle in Alaska. I could tell by his aversion to further explanation of this topic that this experience was a defining and personal one in his life. Partially because of the time he spent in Alaska, he changed his major and graduated with a degree in Natural Resources and Recreational Tourism, which has a lot to do with his current job.
For the first year Matt was employed in Denali National Park he worked as a bus washer. Though it is not the most exciting job, Matt gained great experience in some areas of the career he would have next, Denali National Park tour bus driver. As a bus driver, Matt is great. He is engaging and funny and knows seemingly everything related to the park and its inhabitants. When we asked him how he came about all the things he knows, he gave us an honest answer. "You know, it's just years and years of hard questions," he said. "I don't want to look like a dummy like I just did," he reminisced, "So I go back and research and all that finally starts accumulating." All the extra hours of studying pay off when Matt's passengers encounter wildlife or plants. He can also tell great stories about the history and foundation of Denali National Park. Much of what he knows comes from his experiences in the park. He told us how much he enjoys the winter in Alaska. He especially loves taking dog patrols deep into the park. "It's so quiet, that's the most amazing thing about it. It's just deafening how quiet it is. And you're out there and the lights are going and it's real solitude," he said.
Though Matt spends a lot of time in the park, he also has a life outside of the boundaries of Denali. In his free time, he loves playing music. He plays guitar, mandolin, and harmonica in a honky-tonk band called Danger Town. He and his band perform in bars and at music festivals. He also spends time in other states. Last year he spent the winter in Colorado, driving yet another shuttle bus, and skiing on the weekends. It's almost as if he physically cannot stay away from nature. It's in his blood.
They say a place is only as good as the people in it. Alaska is full of all sorts of great people like Matt Payne. It's people like him, people with a love for nature, a love for people, and a pride in their country and state. Alaska is a great place and it is because of the people who live here. It's because of Matt Payne.