Sitka Today

In Alaska everything is reused and nothing is wasted. An old army base building from WW II has become the regional college, while another building is used for a regional high school, and the old barracks are now the dormitories for that regional boarding high school. Students here are children of low income families from distant rural areas, hence the need for dormitories, yet this academy is known as the best high school in the state. Often more affluent families from wealthier communities will attempt to enroll their children here, but the requirements are rigid. Only less affluent, rural students, many from indigenous tribes, may enroll here. A large percentage of the graduates from this high school, enter universities in the lower Forty-eight and do quite well.

Saint Michael’s Russian Orthodox Church was founded in 1826 when the Russians returned and named the town Archangel’sk. It was interesting that chatty tourists from off the street, charged into the church, shaking their jackets to get off the rain. But when they entered the church, they heard the recorded music of the Russian orthodox liturgy being sung by a male choir. Immediately the tourists went silent, and there was deep reverence by those who admired the interior of the church.

It was a rainy, cold and windy day in Sitka, but this town has an authentic charm. Only 500,000 tourists come here during the tourist season, and all of the stores are locally owned. There are none of the cruise ship jewelry stores, or souvenir shops that you could find in Ketchikan. Sitka is just a small town of 8000 people but it is the hub for this area. The regional high school and the regional hospital are here, and a new one is being built.

There are only about 40 miles of roads paved around in Sitka. The town is not accessible by highway. There is, however, a local inland ferry that offers very reasonable transportation to nearby cities such as Juneau, Skagway or Ketchikan. There’s also a very nice airport here that has seven flights per day. The fare to Seattle is only $120 round-trip. The fare to other nearby cities is even lower. 

The weather here is moderate by Alaska standards, and only about two or three feet of snow will fall during the winter. I think if I had to live somewhere in Alaska, Sitka might be the place I would choose. Read more