This week on AK we’re Letting Go. A mother gives up some independence — and storage space — to move in with her grown daughter. The Anchorage Daily News drops rural delivery — and one Sitka woman’s livelihood. And an eroding sand bank lets go of a secret at Point Barrow. Please join us for the last AK.
All that and more this week on AK, heard statewide on local APRN stations.
Download Audio (MP3, 60min)
Host: Jessica Cochran
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AK’s Bonnie Sue Hitchcock, Story
The Anchorage Daily News’ decision to end rural delivery mean on Sitka woman is out of business: delivering the paper there made her an integral part of the community.
- Music Button: “Walking Through Your Town in the Snow” by Utah Phillips from Starlight on the Rails: A Songbook
Tok-bound
Aliza Sherman-Risdahl, essay
Aliza is leaving behind a lot of friends and favorites in Anchorage, to find new adventures in Tok.
Letting Go, Part 1
Shana Sheehy, story
Shana’s mom Betty rafson is moving in with her; but that means Betty has to get rid of a lot of the stuff she’s accumulated over the years. And it isn’t easy.
- Break: “P.I.M.P (Snoop Dog Remix Instrumental)” by 50 Cent, from P.I.M.P (New Version)
Moonmilk Madness
Coast Alaska’s Ed Schoenfeld, Story
Ed’s fascination with caves took him to Windgate Cave on Prince of Wales Island to check out a living, growing, rock-eating mineral substance called “moonmilk.”
Click above to see moonmilk photos on Flickr
- Learn more about the Encounters nature series, which will include a cave documentary, at encountersnorth.org
- Take an audio tour of El Capitan, one of Southeast Alaska’s largest caves
- Hear about research into underground waterways and their impacts on fisheries
- Read more about southeast Alaska caves
300 Villages
AK’s Scott Burton
AK’s Weekly Trip around the state. This week, Afognak Native Village. No one lives there, but some think of it as home.
Calendar of Events
AK’s weekly look at upcoming events around the state
Chipmunks, Revisited
KUCB’s Anne Hillman, Story
Unalaska singer Lynda Lybeck-Robinson includes a new version of the Chipmunks famous Christmas classic on her new Christmas album – 50 years after the original came out.
- Music Button: “Letting You go” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers from Hard Promises (Remastered)
Letting Go, Part 2
Shana Sheehy, Story
Shana and her Mom Betty set themselves a timer and get to work, picking out the stuff to keep from the stuff to let go.
- Break: “You Keep Me Hanging On” by Javier Marines from Classic Rock of the 80’s Instrumentals, Vol. 8
Letting Go, Part 3
Shana Sheehy, story
For Shana’s Mom Betty Rafson, letting go of stuff means letting go of her lifelong effort to organize that stuff – and facing up to her own desires about how else to spend her time. [vox, 2:18, 3:22 with intro]
Story Corps: Point Barrow Discovery
Johanna Eurich, Story
Archaeologist Claire Allix made a startling discovery at Point Barrow in July: a pair of in tact wooden sled runners that are 1600 years old.
A Time for Tlingit
AK’s Scott Burton, Story
A gathering in Juneau provides a safe place for people like Nora Dauenhauer and Mary Felleti to speak Tlingit: it’s something they haven’t always had, and they cherish it.
Bethel and Christmas
Poem by Carolyn Kremers, read by Chris Pastrow
No Goodbye
Jessica Cochran, essay
My parting thoughts on AK and telling Alaska’s stories
- Closing: “The End (Greatest Hits Version)” by The Doors from The Future Starts Here: The Essential Doors Hits
