One Pump Town

All those stories that people tell about living in a town

with only one traffic light…well I can beat’em.

Hoonah has no traffic lights, a hand full of stop signs and only one gas pump to it’s name.

This town runs along the water. It is 3 miles from where the ferry docks to the Post Office. A mile past the Post Office is the Airport and a mile past the ferry is Icy Straight Point. That’s it. The pavement stops there. All other roads are for logging trucks. Folks reside mainly in the 3 mile area and everyone has a car. Hoonahites drive all over the place. I see the same cars pass me 10-12 twelve times a day.

Grocery shopping takes place at the Hoonah Trading Company. It carries everything from Napa Valley Chardonnay marinated stuffed olives to canned Chow Mein Vegetables to Suave shampoo. The season is such that I can get all standard fruits and vegetables, although selection is slight. On average, I get to choose my bounty from five cucumbers, very under-ripe tomatoes, a few heads of broccoli, carrots and a couple kinds of apples. They are still getting bananas, asparagus, bell peppers and yesterday I saw mangos for sale. The store spans four small isles but truly has everything a person needs. I even found sprouted, 10 grain, non-flour bread…

To get your hands on that ‘Total” gas pump…. you walk into Hoonah Trading Canter and bark at the cashier that you need gas.

Collette’s Cupboard is the other place to get some basic canned and dry goods. Smaller than a 7-11, the owner of Collette’s fills her shelves with Costco items brought in every week on the Ferry. Somehow I have a feeling that reselling these items individually and at a 30% mark up is breaking some kind of law. But, I guess, due to the remote location… some laws are overlooked.

The Ace Hardware store is the only store in town that sells items for the home. This store sells rubber boots to small sewing kits, sheets to screwdrivers, fishing lures to photo frames. Andrew wanted me to add that they also sell toys. Giant stuffed animals are lined- up right next to the weed whackers.

I mentioned earlier that the town has three restaurants. One is “The Galley” that touts it’s halibut pizza (ummmm, no thanks), “The Lodge” pulls in the sports crowds with it’s big screen TV and “Grand Nina’s” that serves $7 dollar burgers, $ 4 coffees and soft serve ices cream for $3. Eating is home is definitely the best choice for our health and for our budget.

As far as libations go…Hoonah has one bar called “The Office.” Which I hear rages every night, all night long. Here is the liquor store…established in 1964 and from the looks of it…is still holding on to the original signage.

One grocery store, one house-ware store, one “7-11”, three places to eat, a bar and a liquor store…and one gas pump to fuel the coming of goings of 800 folks in this five mile Alaskan Village. For now I’ll stick to the walking, eating at home and keeping my “office” upstairs… although we will see what happens when the five feet of snow falls.