Ninilchik on Saturday Night

Ninilchik on Saturday Night

by Rev. Barbara Allen, CMP - SGN Contributing Writer It was a windy, cold, rain drenched August night at the Ninilchik Inlet Café and Saloon. We were hungry after a long day of halibut fishing under seasick inducing conditions. (Note my acupressure wrist bands in the photograph, and that we were wearing triple layers of clothing, all soaked through, and soon fishy besides.) After the filleting crew left, to begin partying, elsewhere, we'd salvaged additional pounds of fish including "cheeks" from the carcasses, while being drenched by rain. ("Cheeks" are the most prized part of the halibut, and are found on the side of the head, beneath the skin if you know where to probe). We'd stripped the fishy layers off, taken hot showers, changed into clean clothes, and then walked hungry into a mob scene at what up to now had been a quiet nearby restaurant. I'd thought about going to the local event billed as: "Biggest Little Fair in Alaska", but the parking areas were flooding mud, we were tired, and just wanted a quick dinner. Unexpectedly, the Fair had come to the Café, but the staff wasn't notified in advance that the awards presentations had been rained out at the fairgrounds, and moved indoors, here. Of course, everyone was thirsty and hungry on this dark and stormy night. Underage minors had to wait in the café with their families. There was one waitress on duty, one cook, and a hundred or so people awaiting service. I think there were one bartender and one barmaid in the saloon, with the barmaid trying to also cover restaurant alcohol orders. Reinforcements were unavailable. Patience and fortitude were needed as we did a year's worth of people-watching over cold beer and hot decaf, without complaint, while orders were slowly filled. It was a once in a lifetime impromptu reality show. Teenage boys scrubbed clean and dressed in their best jeans, cowboy boots, wide brimmed hats and western shirts were there with their families; fisherman kicking back after a storm tossed day; and rough looking men in grubbies all dining together. One younger man entered wearing only a white cotton t-shirt, nondescript pants, and a hospital wristband. He talked about leaving against medical advice, hoping no one had noticed so he might slip back in later. A man entered hurriedly and shouted: "Bulls got loose at the Fairgrounds, running through town&we gotta round 'em up." A half dozen "cowboys" leapt up and ran out into the foulness, without gear, (including the hospital escapee who was obviously feeling no pain although "busted up" from the Rodeo). About fifteen minutes later they returned announcing they'd taken care of things, and resumed socializing as awards were given out to young and old who'd earned them that day. Eventually we got our dinners, and even some of the Café's famous pie. At nearby "Clam Gulch", halfway between Kasilof and Ninilchik, licensed resident diggers can harvest 60 razor clams a day in season from a smooth, gradual, and broad sandy beach. I sat up my first night in camp helping shuck razors and eating them with a friendly Inupiak family who subside on what they can gather or hunt. They were modernized, arriving in a sizeable "toy hauler" comfortable trailer with all the amenities, including a freezer on board to preserve and hold the catch as they brought it in for days on end. They were the first razor's I'd had in a long time and tasted fine fresh pan fried. I shared some Godiva dark chocolate coated espresso beans with them, and later sent a gift package from Washington of my home made dried fruit and fruit leather harvest. Unless you fly in or come by boat, the Kenai Peninsula is reached via Anchorage by highway, and is a marvelous scenic drive from there. Ninilchik is Russian for: "peaceful settlement by a river." The area was settled by Russians long before Americans arrived, and has the architecture and naming to prove it. Here and there, Russian Orthodox Churches, built over 100 years ago. The Safeway we re-supplied at in Homer had Russian turn-of-the-last-century-dressed, Russian speaking shoppers who live nearby but do not mingle with others outside their community near Soldovia, or speak anything but their ancestral language in public. Numerous areas on the Kenai have Russian names. (I'm told that in Soldovia there's a wonderful mom and pop Russian restaurant.) Many locals and tourists gather at the Ninilchik small boat harbor watching the colorful commercial fleet come in at high tide and "off load" their catch or travel through town to see the sport fleet "catch of the day". There aren't many docks. Off loading boats means the watercraft coming as far in on the high tide as they can, then pulled up onto a trailer that is brought to the boat by a huge tractor or fork lift which is driven into the water part way to meet it. Catch is then "lifted" out of the boat and taken for processing. With our charter cruises, we were put on and off the boat by way of a cage on a fork lift which felt like an outdoor "elevator". We limited out with two each, each day, bringing in prime "chicken butts": halibut around 20-30 lbs, for maximum flavor and tenderness. ("Butt" is fisher folks abbreviated slang for halibut.) Once the angler decides whether to keep what they've just landed, or return it to the sea hoping for better, the "keepers" are marked by the crew so that when offloading everyone will know which are their "butts". While waiting for a strike, we looked across Cooks Inlet at Mount Redoubt and Mount Iliamna. The local fresh water streams are filled in season with anglers landing Dolly Varden and Rainbow trout of great size. The best story perhaps to come out of Ninilchik is little known outside there. The Inlet Café owners' son grew up Gay, from puberty on, in this small fishing town of "men's men", with perhaps little further diversity, besides himself! He was the high schools first male cheer leader, and led them to State, later taking his college team to similar honors! I asked Mom what it was like for them, and she replied: "My son's only problem being Gay from childhood on was retro-thinkers who also want women to stay in their place. Fortunately, they were a small minority. Alaskans don't care if you're Gay as a rule, just what you do as a human being, worker, and friend." This same philosophy of living was repeated by others in Fairbanks and Skagway. (Maybe the Alaskan town of Cicely in the TV series Northern Exposure was somewhat factually based?) At many Alaska public schools there are "Shadow's", or special quiet friends who are with at-risk youth, one-on-one at school, paid for by the individual school districts. These folks help keep risky kids up to speed socially, academically, and psychologically. The system seems to work quite well. Check the statistics and compare them with our own state schools. No wonder Mom fell in love with Ninilchik when she came from California to buy the restaurant and operate it. The only difficulties she noted were that ermine (valued for their fur, elsewhere) invade the household and won't leave until bribed outside with cat food. Considering her good cooking and a unique world class rainbow of gourmet pies, including: "raspberry (pink) cloud", mounds, chocolate pecan, and more, everyone seems happy to have them there.