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| Enid Jones Keyes
Homer, Alaska
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What's Up:
My current passions are couture custom sewing (and teaching in that field), machine embroidery, reading, gardening, hiking, fishing, gourmet cooking, baking, enjoying my 18-month old grandson, spending time with old friends and 4 godchildren, and most of all, enjoying every moment that this sweet life has to offer.
My Occupation:
After leaving Wheat Ridge High, I graduated from Colorado State University, worked for a time at NCAR in Boulder, then moved to Fairbanks Alaska in 1973 where I worked as a research microbiologist at the University of Alaska. In 1978 I moved to Anchorage, and got a job at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, in the Wildlife Conservation Division. There I worked for 26 years (as their first female wildlife biologist in South Central Alaska) based out of Anchorage, where I was fortunate to carry out research and management work with most of the large animal species Alaska has to offer: Brown bear, black bear, wolf, wolverine, moose, caribou, Steller Sea Lions, seals, mountain goats, Dall Sheep, and various waterfowl. I got to jump out of helicopters, stick my head in bears' mouths to pull teeth and do the occasional artificial resuscitation, wrestle moose around, sit on one very angry wolverine, spend time in the most incredible mountain country in the world (and get paid for it): the list goes on for nearly a quarter of a century. In my last few years as a biologist, they made me a supervisor, and I let the young kids do the helicopter jumping and moose wrestling until I retired in 2001. In 2003 my husband and I moved to Homer Alaska, which sits on the edge of Kachemak Bay on the lower end of the famed Kenai Peninsula. We live in a beautiful home at the top of the hill overlooking Homer and its beautiful harbor; we have an everyday view of the Bay, 5 glaciers, and an entire range of mountains, that takes our many visitors' breaths away. In the summer we fish for salmon and halibut, run a defacto summer camp for visitors from the lower 48, and I garden and sew; in the winter we "hibernate" with our indoor activities, travel Outside (anywhere out of Alaska is referred to as "Outside") to visit son and grandson, and catch up on writing, reading, soaking in the hot tub, brewing home-made wine, and in general living the good life.
My Family:
After a very terrible and scary marriage where I learned the hard way about domestic violence, followed by nearly 15 years of being single, I now have the most wonderful, incredible husband in the world (to whom I've been married for 12 years and whom I have known since I was 7 years old). I have a most excellent stepson who is the NBC TV broadcast meteorologist in Grand Junction, Colorado, and the most beautiful 18-month old grandson imaginable. My husband and I are eagerly awaiting the birth of a granddaughter in early November.
Favorite Memories:
I was a studious sort at Wheat Ridge High, and spent most of my time with my nose in a book--I loved my class time (2 years' worth) with Mr. Bolin, who inspired me to go into Biology, which ultimately led to my career in Alaska, and gave me the most incredible experiences of my life. Mr. Bolin's passion for teaching and for biology fired my imagination and changed my life for the good in uncountable ways. I do remember the great basketball game where Wheat Ridge beat East High in an overtime in the finals, and that the ensuing celebrations were phenomenal, even for the early 60's. I remember many, many of my classmates and have often wondered what happened to them. Those of you who were my friends then, and with whom I spent most of my free time--I would love to hear from you, would love to catch up on your lives and where your paths have taken you.
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