Finishing touches

As we head toward our live stream Open House, we’re putting all the finishing touches on the Storyknife facilities. Today, Dave Gerard (of Gerard Houseworks and Homer Alaska Countertops) installed the signs for each of the cabins and Eva’s House.

The first one you’ll notice as you come to Storyknife is above the door to Eva’s House. This is a lovely piece of local birch that remained after the custom table for the house was completed. Dave finished it with an orca to acknowledge Eva’s deep relationship with the Prince William Sound orca pods, as well as her love of the nature in the Homer area. Peggy Shumaker and Joe Usibelli, along with over 217 other individual donors sponsored Eva’s House.

Deborah McNeil and the Plumb, Level, and Square Fund sponsored the library in Eva’s House and named it for founder Dana Stabenow. For more information about the Storyknife depicted on this sign and the origin of the name for Storyknife, please read about it here.

On the furthest left facing the ocean is the Carol Cabin, named for Carol Murkowski Sturgulewski and sponsored by her mother-in-law Arliss Sturgulewski. Carol is a writer and very involved in many literary organizations in Alaska, including the Alaska Center for the Book. Her sign features a dashing writing quill as a nod to her work as a writer.

The middle cabin on the left side is the Betty Cabin, named for Betty Ann Rice and sponsored by her daughter Jeannie Penney. Jeannie told us that her mother was a great reader and loved red peonies. The sign for this cabin sure has the flare of those red flowers.

The cabin nearest Eva’s House on the left side is the Diana Cabin, named for Diana Tillion and sponsored by Cathryn Rasmuson. For this special sign, artist Dave Gerard reproduced images from Diana’s own children’s books that featured her own children. Nestled in a porthole, this sign reflects Diana’s great love of the nature of Halibut Cove.

On the right side of Eva’s House is the Evangeline Cabin, named for Evangeline Atwood and sponsored by the Atwood Foundation. This sign is created by Dan Gerard and features the Alaskan flag to honor Evangeline’s work as a historian and founder of many great Alaskan institutions.

The middle cabin on the right side is the Peggy Cabin, named after Peggy Shumaker and sponsored by her many friends, students, and admirers. Peggy is a teacher and poet who has touched the lives of so many Alaska writers, it would be impossible to count. Her sign pays homage to the two deserts she hails from, the Sonoran desert where she grew up and the subarctic desert of interior Alaska in Fairbanks where she lives much of the year. In the middle of these two beloved landscapes are her books.

The cabin furthest out toward the pond and walking trails on the right side is the Katie Cabin, named for Katie Fox Vinberg Kashevarof and sponsored by Katherine Gottlieb, Southcentral Foundation, Carl Marrs, and the Old Harbor Native Corporation. Katie’s sign features the 108 foot crab vessel that bears her name and an Allutiq headdress and Russian church to signify her heritage.

We’re looking forward to showing you more of Storyknife at 1pm Alaska Time on Friday, June 19th during our Live Stream Open House on Facebook.