KENAI — One relative newcomer to the Last Frontier wants to know what it is that makes Alaskans inherently, well, Alaskan.
Hedy-Jo Huss recently moved to the 49th state to settle in Soldotna and has since begun searching for the true Alaska essence those around her seem to possess. She is hosting a contest to ask her fellow Alaskans to submit answers to the prompt: “You know you’re an Alaskan if….”
“I got here a year and a half ago, and shortly after I got here it just popped into my head,” Huss said.
Participants can submit as many entries as they’d like, Huss said. She will read through them all herself and offer a prize yet to be determined for the most “Alaskan” response.
Huss said she’d like to hear from both old timers and newcomers to the Last Frontier. For those who haven’t lived here long, Huss said some good responses might include things that have to do with becoming an Alaskan and getting to know the state’s way of life.
“I’ll never run the Iditarod, but I can appreciate it,” she said. “I am slowly and surely feeling more Alaskan all the time.”
Huss would especially like to hear from the families of homesteaders who have lived in the state since its inception, she said.
Some of the top prompt responses could be published along with the winner, Huss said, and she’ll hold on to all the submissions for the future.
“I would like to make them into a booklet,” she said.
Submit responses to “You know you’re an Alaskan if …” by sending an email to news@peninsulaclarion.com, including a name and contact information, or finding the post on the Clarion’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/peninsulaclarion/.
• Megan Pacer is a reporter for the Kenai Peninsula Clarion and can be reached at megan.pacer@peninsulaclarion.com.
