Lifestyle
Seldovia’s Small Town Doctor Retires
by Jenny Chissus
One key to a successful community is the presence of medical care. As a Realtor, this is a question often asked by buyers looking to either relocate or invest in our beautifully situated community by the sea. I have always been proud to say that we have a great doctor, who lives in Seldovia full-time and serves our community alongside our volunteer Fire and EMS crews.
At the end of April, the question may be answered quite differently. Our resident doctor, Dr. Larry Reynolds will be retiring after 40 years of service to the community of Seldovia! I wanted to sit down with Doc and Cheryl (his wife and office manager) to go over this big transition for Seldovia, and for them!
It all began in 1974, when Doc and Cheryl were living in the San Francisco area in California. As Cheryl tells it, she had grown up playing outdoors and living and loving that outdoor lifestyle, nature, the works. As she grew, she saw the build up of the area, and her peaceful open spaces and woods were replaced by buildings and more buildings, and the fresh air became polluted, and she knew that she wanted to get back to a healthy environment. After Doc’s residency, and Cheryl’s nursing education, they were both researching areas to go, where they could be out in nature, open a small practice to serve a small community, and Alaska had a lot of appeal.
They had some good friends in Fairbanks who invited them up to visit – so they packed their car and set off for their Alaska adventure in January! They followed the ski runs as they drove north, and the skiing got better and better – the further north they went! They stayed with friends in Fairbanks while they studied Alaska, and the demographics of the many small towns, rainfall, climate, population, etc.
Doc really liked the idea of Homer, so they visited and met with Doctor Eneboe who was the only practicing physician in Homer at the time, and he didn’t want a partner, Continue Reading
Food for Community Thought… Do We Need a Doctor in our Clinic?
by Jere Murray
At the Seldovia City Council meeting on February 12, 2014 Dr. Reynolds officially announced his April 30 retirement from office practice. He also announced he does not intend to renew his medical license which expires at the end of December.
This means after April, unless a replacement is found, there will be no doctor holding regularly scheduled office hours in our clinic and after December no doctor will taking emergency calls and so-forth in Seldovia.
Isn’t it time for open and in-depth community discussion of the future of the City of Seldovia’s Clinic facilities?
Why else would this be an appropriate issue for discussion?
The answers to these questions might provide a hint: Will people feel secure for their health and that of their children with out a doctor present in the community? Will Seldovia prosper without continuation of a medical practice in the Clinic? Will it Continue Reading
Thoughts to Ponder…Stress
by Jenny Chissus
If you haven’t been introduced to TED videos, this is the day you were born for!
Totally inspiring, totally thought provoking and totally a transformational opportunity – if you will allow yourself to be challenged by new ideas and technology. I have been a fan of TED videos for quite some time, as you get a glimpse into the minds and hearts of people from all walks of life who are making a difference in their industries, communities and lives of others. Why are we here, if not to make a difference? Like I said: Transformational!
Information about this particular video:
It is exciting when your son comes home from school, and has been challenged by something! This week, Devin was eager to share this video that Ruth Sensenig had shared in class. It was interesting to me, that he thought it important enough to get it lined up on our Smart TV to watch in the comfort of the living room, instead of on a small laptop. Whether he saw the value for himself, or felt we needed to hear it – we have all benefited from watching this eye-opening video.
Stress, it comes in all forms. Some good, some not so pleasant, but overall, much stress comes from a feeling of lack of control. As adults, we are all accustomed to agonizing over the “stress” in our lives; our jobs, our vehicle that is making a funny noise, health issues, ice in our driveway, a cancelled ferry, relationships that sometimes aren’t easy, worried about our children, finances or agonizing about how to help our aging parents. But our kids also “enjoy” a certain amount of stress – school performance, sports, homework, relationships with peers, chores, new romances, jobs and “helicopter” moms!
This video will open your eyes to the value of stress, the chemical and physical reactions to stress that we DO have the ability to control. Understanding the science behind the stress will help you become empowered, courageous and alert to tackle the complicated things in life! Learn a secret about the value of relationships and connections that chemically work in our favor – if we acknowledge them. I hope you enjoy! Thanks Ruth for sharing this with our kids!
Seldovia Museum Mystery for February and January’s Reveal!
by Jan Yaeger
Maybe it’s the weirdly warm weather, or maybe it’s just that time of year, but around Seldovia, fisherfolk are starting to work on nets for the upcoming fishing season. So January turned out to be a great time to ask about fishing floats. Thanks to Rod Hilts and Rick Harkness, who gave great information about not only the wooden ‘corkline’ line floats pictured in our January Mystery, but about other types of floats as well.
Rick tells us wooden floats were made of Port Orford cedar, favored for its rot-resistance. The floats were given extra protection by hot-dipping them yearly in paraffin wax to seal them, which would help prevent softening and splitting as well as rot. Cotton nets were also subject to rot, and were dipped in ‘bluestone’ (copper sulfate) to deter bacterial and algal growth. Wooden floats were phased out in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and cotton gillnet is also a thing of the past. But Rick brought us a fabulous gift, donating an unused shackle of cotton gillnet as well as several spools of mending twine. They are a great addition to our Museum collection. Thanks, Rick!
If you have a mystery for us, please contact Jan at 435-3245!
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February’s Monthly Mystery at the Seldovia Museum is about… March. Specifically, March 27, 1964, and the Good Friday Earthquake that so dramatically changed the face of Seldovia. Next month brings the 50th anniversary of this event, and we are in search of the stories of those who experienced it. Were you here, or perhaps you remember hearing about that day from a friend or family member?!
The Seldovia Museum would like to mount a temporary exhibit in March and April that features the memories of those who experienced the earthquake, either here in Seldovia or elsewhere. Would you be willing to share your story with us? You can write it down, send an email, or come visit us and just talk. Or if you prefer, we’d be happy to come to you! Contact Jan at jyaeger@svt.org, or by phone at 435-3245, or stop in at the Museum office on the top floor of the ATC. Or you can come by the Museum Tuesdays and Thursdays between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm – our doors are open!
Where were you during the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake?
Seldovia Time
