Katie with her great-great grandson Scotty
Storyknife is delighted to announce that thanks to a successful fund-raising campaign by Katherine Gottlieb, Southcentral Foundation, Carl Marrs, and the Old Harbor Native Corporation, Storyknife’s fifth cabin will be named for Katherine “Katie” Fox Vinberg Kashevarof, late of Seldovia, Alaska.
Katie was born in 1906 and raised in Unga and Unalaska, the eldest of five siblings. She survived the 1920 influenza pandemic which wiped out entire villages in Alaska, the 1942 bombing of Unalaska by the Japanese which destroyed her family home, and the resettlement of the Aluutiq peoples during and following the war, going on to become the mother of ten by birth and double that number by marriage. Her family estimates that “At last count, the descendants including grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren totaled more than seventy-four.”
During 1948 through 1950, Katie owned and operated a restaurant and bakery at Unalaska called “Kate’s Kozy Kitchen.” She had some great recipes for bakery goods. Her grandaughter Crystal writes, “I put her doughnut recipe in the Chamberʼs Seldovia cookbook – try it sometime. It makes ninety doughnuts, and is delicious.”
Katie moved to Seldovia in 1951, where the children grew up and attended school. She worked for many years for Mr. Morris and then Dick Inglima in Morris General Store. She worked also for the Sutterlin & Wendt shrimp plant, the salmon cannery, and Wakefield Seafoods crab processor in Seldovia. She enjoyed cooking, knitting and crocheting, and caring for family and grand children.
In 1975, local fishermen Jack Parks and Bob Ringstad named a 108-foot crab vessel for Katie, the Katie K, and Katie went to Seattle to christen it. The boatʼs owners said they hoped the “boat will be as prolific in producing crab as its namesake has been in producing children and grandchildren.”
Her family writes, “Family was very important to her, and she loved to visit and be visited by family and grandchildren. Her mind ever sharp, she could remember events from the past with ease, and loved to pass on the tales of days gone by. She is remembered with love, and will be missed.”
Storyknife’s founder, Dana Stabenow, says, “I speak for the board when I say we are beyond thrilled and honored to have our fifth cabin named for Katie. With her as one of our guiding spirits, we can’t go wrong.”
A few weeks ago, I wrote to tell you how board member Katherine Gottlieb inspired Storyknife founder Dana Stabenow to apply to Hedgebrook and gifted her with the Storyknife that inspired our name. In so many ways, Katherine has been a wellspring for Storyknife. When Deborah McNeil offered to donate $25,000 for the well and water distribution system for Storyknife and dedicate it to Katherine, we could think of nothing more appropriate.
Deborah is the manager of the Plumb, Level, and Square fund that was created to honor her husband Tim McNeil and his mother Dorothy. As Deborah passed along to us: Plumb, level, square. Three words describing carpentry, and three words describing both the character and lives of Dorothy McNeil and her son, Tim McNeil. Plumb, because they were upright and experienced life fully; Level, because they lived truthful lives; and Square, because they were fair, honest, and direct people.
Storyknife is beyond grateful for the support of Deborah and the Plumb, Level, and Square fund. The opportunity to honor Katherine Gottlieb in this way is incredibly special. Katherine has not just inspired and supported Dana’s dreams, but so many people in the state of Alaska through her role as President and CEO of Southcentral Foundation, the non-profit health arm of Cook Inlet Region, Inc., not to mention her participation as a CIRI shareholder, Old Harbor tribal member, and Seldovia tribal member.
It is with great pleasure that we introduce you to Dr. Pearl Brower, our newest board member at Storyknife. We are growing! Dr. Brower is currently the President of Iḷisaġvik College, Alaska’s only Tribal College. She has been with the College since 2007 working in External Relations, Institutional Advancement, Student Services, and Marketing. She has served as President since 2012. Prior to working for the College Dr. Brower managed an education and culture grant for the North Slope Borough for three years and worked as the Museum Curator of the Iñupiat Heritage Center.
We are proud to announce that Katherine Gottlieb is the newest member of Storyknife’s Board of Directors. Prior, she was a member of our advisory council. She has been part of Storyknife’s history even before the actual organization came into being.
“Sometimes having no expectations is the best way to approach the unknown. That is how I traveled to Homer, and the Storyknife Residency; an overpacked suitcase (I wore the same pants every day for two weeks, fancy skinny jeans were left untouched) and light on expectation. As a result, I experienced an abundance of riches. I didn’t even think about Homer’s inevitable beauty before I got there. I wanted to be awed, surprised even, and I was. The three volcanoes outside my window put things into perspective very quickly. If I needed any more reminding of my personal insignificance it was ready and waiting for me the moment I saw the mountains and the water. I had to shed the notion that I was somehow indulging myself by getting lost in Alaska for 14 days to focus on me and the story I wanted to write. That lingered a bit too long, three days to be exact, and is a by product of being a mother and a woman. The center was not going to collapse because I was in my cabin writing and minding my own business. This understanding was just as important as the 21,000 words I wrote in two weeks. The cabin, the water, mountains, wildflowers I bought at the Farmer’s Market, Erin and Dana all gave me permission to be. Yes, I needed that permission, even though I have been writing for half my life and producing work that sees publication. Everything is slower in Homer and people smile at you, make eye contact. Dana introduced me to locals and people were naturally warm. Even though I was alone most of the time, I didn’t feel alone. But I felt space, I felt my chest expand.
Back to my smallness in the face of natural beauty and the wildness of things: it’s good, it’s necessary for me to be reminded of it, so I can create. I kayaked on the bay and was exhausted by the end of it, but my lungs were filled with fresh salt air and the next day I sat down and wrote a chapter that I am proud of. I was the straggler in the kayak group. It was rainy and cold, and the currents were strong, and I couldn’t get a good picture of a cheeky baby otter, and once again, my smallness hit me 
in the face, along with the salt water and how short my arms were. And then I felt it, something I had not felt in decades, peace. Everything around me was saying, it’s going to be ok. Whatever “it” was. It didn’t last. I came back to reality, however I achieved clarity on a few things because of all the silence I was surrounded by and produced 21,000 words. Had I stayed another two weeks I would have finished the first draft of my new novel. Of that I am sure. I must come back. It’s healing. And necessary.”
