Doug McConnell

About two weeks ago I was contacted by an old friend I hadn’t seen in about 30 years. It was terrific to hear from Nancy Owens Barnes. We worked together for several years in the Planning Department of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough in Alaska. Check out our OpenRoad.TV story about Ketchikan and you’ll see Creek St., a former red-light district we in the planning department worked hard to save from decay and have declared an historic site. Creek St., “where men and salmon once came to spawn,” is now one of Ketchikan’s principle tourist attractions.

I remember Nancy as being a bright, talented, kind and wonderful person with stories to tell about her family’s fascinating life and journey to Alaska. Everybody in Alaska has intriguing tales to tell about living in the often uncompromising far north. Many have extraordinary stories about how and why they came to Alaska in the first place. I’ll write more about my own Alaskan odyssey and experiences now and then, but Nancy is way ahead of me. I encourage you to check out her website, www.southtoalaska.com, and read her book entitled South to Alaska, From the Heartland of America to the Heart of a Dream.