The weather was warm and dry which was what we had to expect throughout the Summer in Alaska. The dryness meant far far farless mesquites than any Summer since 2003 when I first traveled to Arctic Village.
Being welcomed by our Gwich'in family reinforces why we come here each year. A portion of our family lives throughout Alaska and Canada. We were told most of the crops grown this Summer would be part of the new Elders Lunch Program. We were just fine with that. We also had a schedule we could set for ourselves knowing we would pick daily, just before lunch. Since I'm 59, I was told I'm an elder just like the rest of the village and had a lunch made for me daily. We are family and with each passing year we lean toward coming here and not leaving. Not only do we have so many family members, we also have options as far as employment making this as much like home as Indiana and Michigan.
We introduced asparagus, corn, watermelon, and celery, which all did well for their first year here in Alaska. The surprise of the nine year program came when I seen the plants started by the students. They had several dozen 30 inch tomato plants with blooms on them. They had great leadership from Todd Groat, the high school teacher. Todd's wife Mary is the elementary teacher and they are both dear friends from the very start of this program.
We feel so Blessed to be two of the people God has assembled to make this program a success. We also feel very Blessed to be a part of the other persons callings and to be used as a tool to help them in their walk.
There is so much to share, it will take several posts to cover what an incredible year 2015 has been for the dear people in Circle, Alaska. More photos will be a part of the posts to come
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