Pure Sole: Vote pickled with me!

I am voting pickled!

And I am darn proud about it.

Um, before I get ahead of myself, I am not voting inebriated or under the influence of any type of enhancing or diminishing pill, puff or poundable.

I am voting for the annual Pickled Herring Contest in my home berg of Little Norway.

So, yes, I am voting pickled.

And here is why.

So for the past three years, I have been a member of the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame selection panel.

Try as I might, I cannot seem to get more of our Southeast Alaska sports heroes up for nomination into these hallowed halls of achievement.

And I have tried. Believe me.

The aroma of demonstrating the art of lutefisk curing or the wild, blood splatter of filleting a halibut in staff meetings hasn’t had the effect I would have liked.

And we southeasterners are up against the northern mindset that loves the howls of dog sled racing, revving of snowmachines towing skiers and the puck slaps of skating deeds done under the midnight sun.

Southeast has a ton of good old, and young, sports behemoths, moments and events that only you can get recognized.

You see, I need help to sway the vote. Joe Public, quite an athlete in his own right, needs to speak up and quit being that backseat quarterback.

There must be someone or something you like.

Remember the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament? And Herb Didrickson? Well, I helped get those two into the hall. It took a lot of writing, boy howdy.

So…

Whatcha got?

I have been trying for a time to get Dave Ohmer and his 70-point game in.

Seventy points in a single game! With no three-point line in existence yet!

Ol’ five-foot-eight Dave, then young five-foot-eight Dave, had 28 field goals and was a perfect 14-14 from the free throw line. He started slow, just 12 points in the first half. Then he unleashed the Petersburg Vikings spirit with 58 second-half points, 31 of which came in the third quarter…meaning he had little time to even sip any Norwegian tonic.

Yes, Skylar Webb from Tok scored 74 points in 2009…but it was in an overtime loss, and he had four shots past the arc.

And in 1973, Southeast basketball was in its heyday. Young Ketchikan players had grown up idolizing state champion John Brown (in the Hall) and their four-in-a-row state title dominance and they practiced harder, making Juneau practice harder and every town in between practice harder.

Just two years prior to his scoring achievement, Ohmer and the Vikings lost in the state championship to Dimond. The following year Juneau-Douglas toppled Petersburg in the regions and then fell to Lathrop in the state title game. And in ’73 JDHS toppled the giant East Anchorage team to win state.

Southeast had some power before then, of course, and much more after.

So why are they not in the Hall you ask? Hopefully you are asking…have I been writing for nothing??!!!

Because you need to vote.

Like I said.

I am still pushing for Mr. Ohmer, but I am going to open up the bandwagon for other favorites.

Thus I am voting for that Pickled Herring contest.

If you haven’t been there or done that then you can cast no stones against it.

I mean, the Mt. Marathon race is in the Hall.

That began with just a bunch of guys sitting in a bar who made a bet.

In Little Norway, the old timers tried to outdo each other every holiday season, first by exchanging the gift of fish and fish-like concoctions, and then by bragging about whose had the best taste and less outstanding after effects.

The first official PHC is believed to be just before the ‘70s and all us youth of that time and up through the ‘70s knew it was a big deal.

Of course, it was held during the holidays because every good Scandinavian knew that sil (herring), really good grade sil, is not harvested until November when the fat content is right for eating fish.

So when chopping down a holiday tree out the road some families were parking at the dock on the way home and setting nets for herring. Oh, what a life!

The herring was such a misunderstood fish outside Scandinavia, but it is rich in protein and vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids which are beneficial to any jump shot I’m sure.

Of course, the Sons of Noway Hall, the gathering place for townsfolk from the beginning of settling, wanted to preserve the art of pickling herring for future generations so the contest brought much attention to that.

And to get more folks intrigued they added a smoked salmon contest in the ‘80s and pickled seafoods and smoked seafoods in the 2000s — and some other treats and live music to keep younger ones from screaming to leave.

And when Sigrid began competing against the men – the early years did have a lot more testosterone — and when Målfrid won, well, the women of the berg showed they too could be competitive and it really opened the sport.

Folks began to think about marrying for recipes. We’re talking real cloak-and-dagger, protect-the-family-sil-recipe-with-your-life stuff.

I know you are wondering, “Klas, what about the Lutefisk competition?”

Ha ha, sillies. It is not a competitive delicacy. It is celebrated more in February, after the holidays and all that sweet and smokey goodness has settled down. It is still included in many Scandinavian families’ Julbord (Christmas dinner), though, and at the SON lodge for snacks.

See? How could you not vote pickled? What a history!

Or how about Petersburg’s annual Humpy 500 Go-Cart race? Huh, huh? Fancy, sea-themed 50-gallon barrels carrying like-attired sugar-fueled youth at breakneck speeds down a hill??? What could be more sporty? Safe? Oh don’t worry, lots of youngsters lining the street to soften any design miscalculations.

Or the Canned Salmon Classic? In this, you just vote for the total cannery can pack for the season. I know, not the most inventive but hey! We like our sports!

So Juneau, so Southeast, what you got?

We already have a few in: Chad Bentz, Carlos Boozer, Hilary Lindh, John Brown, the aforementioned Herb Didrickson and John Brown and Gold Medal…Why, Nancy Pease ran here a bit, she chased Glenn Frick up the Mount Roberts Trail Challenge by just 20 seconds in 1986.

Heck, I love running…but anyone in their right, or left-soled, mind knows that Geoff Roes was one of the nation’s best ultra runners…he stills holds a record or two around the state and nation… not to mention he won the 350-mile Alaska Iditarod Trail Invitational! Yes, without dogs!

Okay, okay, okay…these are my picks.

Now you do yours.

It is simple but you only have the remainder of this month.

So Mr./Ms. Public, visit the ASHOF website: https://alaskasportshall.org.

Click on the “Vote Now” banner on top of the site. You will be greeted with “Thanks for voting!” as we are very nice hosts.

Read to the bottom and submit your email and a ballot will be sent to you with a list of possible inductees and possible moments that can be voted on. No events are being voted on this year, I think the political elections across the state and nation took it out of us. You will be asked to rank five people and three moments. If you don’t see the athlete or moment of your dreams and inspirations you have the option to write-in one candidate in each category (remember all that stuff I was writing about up above? Hint, hint.).

The selection panel (that will include me with my fillet knife and jars of herring) will meet to review your results and cast our own ballots on Dec. 8. The inductees will be announced shortly after.

Also on the ASHOF website you can view the inductees already in the hall or submit a recommendation for consideration. When submitting a recommendation you can also click “View List Of Recommendations Received” to see current persons, moments and events received or inducted.

And maybe, just maybe, you and I will meet someday and share a little pickled herring joy. But not lutefisk…an acquired taste I have not acquired.

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.