Friday, July 1, 2022: Douglas July 4th extravaganza. Jonathan Swinton featured at Juneau Artists Gallery. 

Ona Erickson’s car has a recycling theme. She says she had some help from her mom with the design (Photo by Rhonda McBride).

From parades – to fireworks — to barbeques and watermelon eating contests, there’s no shortage of homegrown fun over in Douglas.

On Friday’s Juneau Afternoon, a complete round-up of events — and a visit with some serious soapbox derby competitors. What it takes to cross the finish line.

Also, in this program:

  • Why Jonathan Swinton chooses to take pictures in black and white. He’ll talk about his exhibit at the Juneau Artists Gallery.
Andy Kline hosts Juneau Afternoon on Fridays.

Andy Kline hosts today’s program.  You can catch Juneau Afternoon, Tuesday through Friday, live at 3:00 p.m. on KTOO Juneau 104.3.  The rebroadcast airs at 7:00 p.m. on KTOO. You can also listen online at ktoo.org.

 

Part 1: Douglas July 4th Committee plans three days of family fun.

Maggie Smith and Sharon Kelly tell volunteer host Andy Kline what the Douglas July 4th Committee has in the works this year.
Guests: Maggie Swanson and Sharon Kelly, Douglas July 4th Committee.
 

Maggie Swanson and Sharon Kelly, volunteers on the Douglas July 4th Committee (Photo by Rhonda McBride).

 

The Douglas July 4th Committee spends the whole year working with volunteers to plan a holiday weekend of fun. For Maggie Swanson and Sharon Kelly, who volunteer every year, it’s a labor of love. Their focus is on events for children.

 

 

Part 2: Douglas soapbox derby on St. Anns Avenue: It all goes downhill from there.

Guests: David Eckerson, Derby organizer. Contestants: Aaro and Ona Eckerson and Grayson Chapman.
Aaro Erickson tests out the ramp set up for the Douglas soap box derby (Photo by Rhonda McBride).

David Erickson began organizing the Douglas Soapbox Challenge two years ago and says he’s still learning about the how to put this event on. “I love the excitement of just watching the kids, when they get up to the top of the ramp, and their eyes.” Eckerson said. “And they’re like, ‘Oh, Lord. Here we go.”

Ona Eckerson and Grayson Chapman describe their cars on Juneau Afternoon (Photo by Rhonda McBride).

The ramp is set up near the corner of St.Anns and Summer Avenues. The route is lined with old rubber tires, as a safety measure. There are also bleachers set up for spectators and cars donated from past years, in case a kid wants try out the course.

The Eckerson family and Grayson Chapman talk about about why they love the Douglas soapbox derby on Juneau Afternoon.

 

 

 

Part 3: Douglas July 4th deep pit barbecue.

The beef for the BBQ is cooked overnight (Photo courtesy of the Douglas United Community Methodist Church).
Guests: Debra Gerrish and Claudette Curtis, Douglas Community Methodist Church
 

Claudette Curtis, 87, has been a member of the Douglas Community Methodist Church for about 40 years. On Juneau Afternoon, she talked about how the proceeds from the church’s July 4th barbecue are used to feed children in need. (Photo by Rhonda McBride).

 

The Douglas Community Methodist Church’s deep pit barbecue is one of the highlights of Douglas’ July 4th celebration.

Volunteers serve up barbecued beef sandwiches to raise money for the church’s food bank and other programs. A minister, who had been a pastor in Hawaii, brought the tradition to the church.

The coals in the pit are fired up a day before the July 4th holiday. Debra Gerrish and Claudette Curtis describe the elaborate process of cooking the beef.

Part 4: Through the lens of Jonathan Swinton: Juneau in monochrome.

Guests: Jonathan Swinton, photographer.
 

Coghlan Island, photographed by Jonathan Swinton.

 

Jonathan Swinton has a book featuring photographs of Treadwell Mine ruins.

Jonathan Swinton is a family therapist — but ever since he was a teenager, photography has been a passion.

Today, he prefers to shoot images in black and white, a holdover from his younger days spent in the darkroom.

Swinton says he loves the challenge of photographing things that have been discarded and finding beauty in them, like the ruins at Treadwell Mine.

Swinton is one of the newest members of the Juneau Artists Gallery cooperative and is the featured artist for the month of July.

 

 

 

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