Help Plan Our First Exhibit!
We are working to put in our first exhibit at the Japonksi Island Boathouse!
Spearheaded by our stellar museum intern Andrew Gianotti, this exhibit will be in the northeast wing of the building, and open to the public for the summer 2019 visitor season. It won't be fancy, but we want it to be intriguing, and satisfying in content, and responsive to Sitkans' ideas about our identity and history. We want it to cover the kind of questions visitors have about this place, and help connect Sitkans and visitors alike to this place and its story. That's where you come in! Go to the Exhibit page, and take the Survey, to help shape the exhibit! Fall 2018 Newsletter
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Welcome to the Sitka Maritime Heritage Society
We are a nonprofit dedicated to preserving maritime heritage and to sharing that rich legacy with the public, especially children and youth.
Join us on Monday, February 25th at 6:30 pm at the Baranof Island Brewery to find out what it's like to sail far into the Arctic for science, discovery and advocacy. Sailors Erik de Jong and Krystina Scheller will share their experiences aboard their sailing vessel Bagheera on ventures north with scientists, researchers, photographers and outdoor enthusiasts, and their project to build an adventure boat here in Sitka.
For more information, call 907 738-7448, or go to www.sitkamaritime.org. 2018 Wrap Up
This year we made major progress on the building, with the foundation for an accessible entry and toilet, and restoring the walls of the historic Japonski Island Boathouse, toward our goal of a functioning maritime heritage center. We received a new Historic Preservation Fund grant, to close in the addition, and continue work on the building restoration.
This spring we had to sadly say goodbye to our intrepid and brainy director, Jenya Anichtchenko, as she went on to take a full-time position as Curator of the Sitka History Museum. Rebecca Poulson stepped in to take the part-time position of SMHS director, after serving many years on the board. We are also welcoming Edie Leghorn, who will be helping out part time this winter. Even as we work toward the goal of an operating maritime heritage center, we didn’t slack in fulfilling our mission, of documenting and sharing our unique maritime history:
All this progress depends on memberships and donations like yours. We hope you will consider supporting the Sitka Maritime Heritage Society in 2018 if you haven't yet. As elders pass, and children grow, the work we do is ever more important in preserving our rich traditions, and endowing our youth with a sense of place, competence, and identity. As a special thanks, memberships and donations in November and December get you a cool sticker of our logo, and your membership extends through February 2020. You can join on line, or mail in your membership. And as always, membership gets you 20% discount on merchandise! Thank you for being part of preserving and sharing Sitka’s great maritime heritage. Rebecca Poulson, Executive Director, Sitka Maritime Heritage Society Mike Litman, Board President Joe D’Arienzo, Treasurer Karen Mead, Secretary Josh Wisniewski, Board Stan Barge, Board Anthony Vlahovich, Board Brinnen Carter, Board Toy Boat Making for Kids Was Fun
More photos from the December 1 event are on our Recent Events page!
Outer Coast Summer Seminar Students Lend a HandOn July 13th, Outer Coast Summer Seminar students - 16 rising high school juniors and seniors - and two coordinators spent an incredibly fun and productive afternoon volunteering at the Japonski Island Boathouse.
Students replaced sheathing inside the rebuilt wall of the storage room, they painted the 4H dinghies, weeded and brushed around the building, painted some exterior siding, cleaned and tidied the workshop, and helped begin the process of cataloguing the SMHS historical collections. We had a great time meeting these exceptionally friendly and intelligent young people and wish them the best in the remainder of their time in Sitka! |
The SMHS used a small grant from the City and Borough of Sitka to digitize and to edit video for publication on line and for our exhibits. Local Lione Clair did this work in between her work as a naturalist this summer.
Click Here to go to our oral history video page.
Click Here to go to our oral history video page.
Thank you, Jenya!
Our intrepid, energetic and brainy Executive Director, Jenya Anitchtenko, has taken a job as the Sitka Historical Society’s new Curator. We wish her the best in this new position!
Long-time board member and artist Rebecca Poulson is taking on the Director job. We have lots of plans for the coming year, building on Jenya’s great work and creativity.
We also are keeping the door open to hiring a motivated person interested in making this their career, who wants to grow the director job and the organization. If this is you, email us at sitkamaritime@gmail.com.
Long-time board member and artist Rebecca Poulson is taking on the Director job. We have lots of plans for the coming year, building on Jenya’s great work and creativity.
We also are keeping the door open to hiring a motivated person interested in making this their career, who wants to grow the director job and the organization. If this is you, email us at sitkamaritime@gmail.com.