"Summer seemed to have started a little early this year. Some king salmon showed up here around Marshall during the last week of May.

During the third week of May I had sent my engine block into Anchorage to get my cylinder walls re-sleeved and to have some other work done on it. I called over during the first week of June to see if they were done with it but they said they were waiting for parts that had to be back ordered. During that time Ellen's sister, Olga, came up from Sitka to cut some fish. If it weren't for Ellen's brother Bill she would have left Marshall without cutting any fish. Bill gave us 15 king salmon to cut. Ellen and Olga cut them into strips. Summer was very uneventful for me.

Commercial fishing wasn't very good, price wise. Salmon berries around here were few and far in-between. Since we didn't get much king salmon to put away, we're in the process of smoking, freezing, and canning silver salmon.

Since I am the mayor I also worked in the city office this summer. We received a RDA-forest service mini grant of $30,000 for a public/private partnership with Mas. Inc. to promote economic development. We also received a grant from PHS administered by Village Safe Water for sewer lift stations upgrade, and purchased some used heavy equipment for $75,000 with the same grant. The city also got a used ambulance from Anchorage for free to be used for the water treatment plant power operator projects. That was about all that happened in the office.

School days are here again and so is another season of making sure that our kids get up during school days and make it to school on time."

By Ray Alstrom

Interviewed by Charlotte Alstrom