Herald North K itsap
Port Orchard Public Market
Viking Fest The ‘Arctic Moses,’ page A1 Complete schedule, A3 n
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Friday, May 16, 2014 | Vol. 113, No. 19 | www.northkitsapherald.com | 50¢
In the Herald
‘City’ of ‘The Arctic Moses’ Kingston Stern says town could benefit economically from incorporation
8-page SECTION Port Orchard Public Market is now open
By RICHARD D. OXLEY
roxley@northkitsapherald.com
— In Kitsap Week
sports n NKHS girls win track title n More than 300 finish the Stottlemeyer — Pages A8-9
Three Alaska Native boys with a reindeer, in an undated photo from the National Archives. Anders, or Andrew, Bahr of Poulsbo delivered a herd of reindeer across the Alaskan Arctic to help supplement the Inuvialuit subsistence economy. Above, National Archives. Below, NEA AcmePhoto
Anders Bahr, a Sami reindeer herder, accomplished a five-year Alaska-Canada trek By KIPP ROBERTSON
rwalker@northkitsapherald.com
P
election Here are the candidates, as of May 15 — Page A24
OULSBO — Anders Bahr’s gravestone at Poulsbo Municipal Cemetery gives no indication that this is the final resting place of a Sami reindeer herder who helped save the lives of countless Alaska Natives in the 1920s. The marble headstone contains the names of Bahr and his wife, Marith, the years of their births and deaths, and this Bible verse, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Rev. 20-15.” What isn’t described is how Bahr came to be known as “The Arctic Moses.” Bahr was born in 1872
in Kautokeino, Norway. He was Sami, the indigenous people of the Arctic region of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola Peninsula. He was a skilled reindeer herder, and arrived in Alaska in 1898, according to the local history book, “The Spirit of Poulsbo.” He herded reindeer in Eaton Station at Unalakleet and mined gold near Nome. Then, in 1929, the Canadian government initiated a project to deliver reindeer to the Inuvialuit people to bolster their subsistence economy. The Canadian government bought 3,442 Alaskan reindeer from the Lomen Corporation, Bahr’s former employer. The company asked Bahr, now 60 and living
KINGSTON — Residents and business owners left a May 8 luncheon with plenty to think about, including ways to create economic vitality in the area as well as the notion of incorporating Kingston as a city. “Economic development is an art,” luncheon speaker Ed Stern said. “Art is in the eye of the beholder, and you better know who you’re painting for.” Stern is most locally known as a member of the Poulsbo City Council. He didn’t speak, however, as a representative of Poulsbo. He was invited to discuss economic development with Kingston residents in his role as president of the board of the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Federal Economic Development District. The luncheon was hosted by the Greater See KINGSTON, Page A6
Port of Poulsbo employees move to unionize By RICHARD D. OXLEY
roxley@northkitsapherald.com
in Seattle, to take the reindeer from Nabaktoolik, Alaska to Kittigazuit, Northwest Territories. “The Canadian Reindeer Project is to take 18 months, but it becomes known as See BAHR, Page A7
POULSBO — Employees of the Port of Poulsbo have begun the process of unionizing. The state’s Public Employment Relations Commission received a representation petition on April 1 that was submitted by attorney Thomas Leahy of Seattle. Employees petitioned to join Teamsters Local 589, a union with offices in Silverdale and Port Angeles. Port commissioners met with employees about a month in advance of the move to unionize, according to Commissioner Jim Rutledge. “We agreed on some changes in the underlying benefits package which is, frankly, very favorable,” Rutledge said. See UNION, Page A2
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