Haines and Heather Lende (Eek: rent, travel, moving)

[rotorhead]

No fair with that taunting, tempting, oh-so-delicious photo of those little Canadian pillows of heaven....you're a cruel man, just cruel..... In any case, I like the cake donuts better anyway. You realize that you're gonna have to bring up a gross of Krispy Kremes from down south if you ever get back to visit, don't you?

BTW, ran into Sue and her sister today at the Bamboo Room. At least THAT'S not closing for the winter.


and Hey, pilot2B, I hear they're going to be looking for a baker at the Chilkat next spring when they open up, how about reconsidering your career goals? ; )

[Alaskan454]

ya....you might be able to fill that position rotor, but you'd be eating at their profits no doubt

[RAMFEB31]

Hey Guys, I would not place any bets on Krispy Creme coming your way. If we are talking about the same Co., they are having big problems. They've expanded at the worse time a couple or three years back when line were literally wrapped around the building. All of a sudden, the health scare came on the scene and their stock took a beating. I think last year or it could have been earlier this year, they've closed more than 1/2 their outlets. Don't quote me but I think they are in chapter 11 presently. Let me scan the market and see if I am correct. Will let you all know soon.

[RAMFEB31]

My apologies to Krispy Kreme and you all for spreading some false info. KKD is still around and kicking but apparently not very well. They went from the Naz to the NY Exchange. Their last quarter was suppose to be a turnaround but instead took a big loss. Their year hi was about $14 but since have tumbled to under $3. They are in the process of "realignment of operations" which normally means some heads will roll. It also normallu mean even more closing. As I said, don't bet your last dollar on any store opening in your area soon. Don't forget, their donuts commands a premium price

[Alaskan454]

They're alive and well in SE actually....they are coming to several locations in Alaska this spring

Too bad rotor is clear up there in Haines....maybe I should send him a box of 'em

[ASpilot2be]

Woah, where in SE is there a Krispy Kreme? Maybe I actually need to visit towns further south than Juneau

[chrishibbard7]

don't mean to scare any potential Hainesites away, but if you read back issues of the Chilkat Valley News, Haines' population is expected to shrink in the future, and her population is aging: average age in Haines is getting older, as the youngin's move out and the old-timers stick around. Not as many folks in the 20-40 age group as most of them move away.

[rotorhead]

Yeah, I read that article too. One thing Haines has got going for it is the number of articles in the adventure magazines touting how it's got such good access to hiking, rafting, etc., and that seems to be bringing in some younger folks. You'd be surprised at the number of people with young kids here, lots of new families. That said, however, the population is already skewed towards the elderly, as with pretty much everywhere else in the developed countries. As far as the "twenty something" crowd, pretty much the only work available is in the summer so it's tough to stick around once you have to earn your own living. It'll be sad when the only youngsters who can afford to live here are the "trustifarian" crowd, it's already that way in some of the more expensive skiing towns like Aspen and Vail and similar.

Driving up here through Montana and Wyoming it struck me how many really old folks I'd see working the registers and pumping gas in the small towns. I'm sure it's the same story throughout much of rural America, the young folks have to leave to the big cities for jobs.

Simple demographics says it's gonna get worse in the coming years, in Haines and everywhere else in the US.

[chrishibbard7]

I'm not convined it's only an age distribution thing (older waiters/clerks etc), but perhaps a factor of the average education level. Don't get me wrong, there are some who go out and get fine educations and then return to Haines, but for the MOST part, if someone stays in Haines after high school, they didn't graduate college.

Plus, I think Haines (and other small town in AK/Canada) have missed out on the Walmart/ uber-capitalist phenomenon; they haven't reduced all available jobs to a caste of clerks with roles so finely defined they don't have to think, and so the pay for clerks hasn't fell so far. And unlike the south, there are zero illegal immigrant to keep labor costs down. There are no unions, but the mid-sized contractors and thier employees don't have much competition in small, unconnected towns, and make decent good living.

It's refreshing; I never met a "customer support" person in SE AK that had reached the point of "you're-not-human-and-I'm-not-paid-to-think" the way so many do in a large call center.

[chrishibbard7]

All,
I just sent some of this Haines trivia in a direct message but thought you all might enjoy:

In the late 80s Haines was listed in US News and Word Report as the highest concentration of millionaires in thecountry (by % population) [there are a lot of store owners and comercial fishermen whose assetts add to a million or more, but not anyoune you would point out as really "rich"] .

Almost the same year the town had a 30% unemployment rate when the mill shutdown (again).

It's the world's largest concentration of bald eagles (duh).

It is (was in the late 80s anyway) the highest % population of Viet Nam Vets in the country.

When I was there, Haines had a ridiculously high rate of bars *and churches* per person. At one time there were more liquor licences in operation than allowable by state law.

If I've heard right, Lutak now has better high-speed internet availability than my suburb outside Houston, and better cell phone coverage (thirty minutes outside Houston city limits I can't get a cell signal in my house reliably, from any carrier).

It's a town of contradictions. Just think about the political views held in Haines! Could there me a bigger gap? The ultra-rights and ultra-lefts probably make up 90% of the residents!

Ah, Haines, I miss you.