Moose Days July 26-28, 2002

The view from my room at Harry's Inn. The bench is a good place to enjoy the slow pace of main street.

I am sitting in front of a century-plus old tavern on a worn wooden bench with a guy named Matt from California. In front of us is a small town main street that moves to a slower beat in the hot Thursday afternoon. Matt and I are in front of the Brick Tavern in Roslyn, Washington. On television, this town doubles as Cicely, Alaska where the show "Northern Exposure" took place.

We are here for the annual Moose Days event - a fan festival that attracts about 100 fans and cast members to this sleepy, historic town. Our favorite television show has been off the air since July 1995. It currently runs in syndication on the Hallmark Channel. Fans come from all over the United States and beyond. This year we are joined by friends Silvia and Marivi from Spain, Richard and his wife from England, and Felicity and her sister from Australia. This quiet, slow moment speeds up quickly. More friends arrive and the weekend events begin.

	Gaaaack! (A bit breezy at the Cliff. A little dust in our eyes...)
The wind settled down for a moment.
	But the sunset is worth gritty teeth.

On Friday, we all check in at Tranquility Base, a former school (now the Hal Weis Memorial Building) that was used in several shots on Northern Exposure. I zip through the first round of the trivia contest and make it to the second round on Sunday (I made second place in the finals). During our first round, some familiar faces come quietly into the building. Rosetta Pintado had a small but significant part on the show as Mrs. Noanuk, an Native American elder who adopts the lead character, Joel, into her tribe ("Our Tribe"). Rosetta is dressed in a hat and sunglasses but we recognize her immediately. "It was such a small part," she says. "I can't believe you remember."

Friday lunch at the Brick: Marie, Barbara, Cindy, Eddie and Kathy do "Antlers Up."

But of course we remember we reply as we swiftly answer questions such as "In the episode It Happened in Juneau, what article of clothing was Joel concerned about for the convention?" (Answer: his tie.) A few minutes later a man with long black and gray hair sneaks in with his family in tow. "DAVE!" we yell. It's William "Bill" White, who played Dave the Cook, Holling's main help in the Brick. He seems a bit surprised at the attention and waves. Friday rounds out the day with a movie in the Ed Chigliak Film Festival (The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood) and the Sons of the Tundra Ice Breaker dinner (which borrows it name from another episode).

	Kathy and Eddie greet Chuck.
Kathy and Chuck greet "Mrs. Noanuk" (Rosetta Pintado).

William White and Rosetta Pintado are joined throughout the weekend by Barry Corbin (Maurice Minnifield), Moultrie Patten (Walt the Trapper), and Chuck Greywolf, a big-hearted, reoccurring extra on many episodes. At first, they are the stars but they quickly become one of the crowd, at ease with the great group of people. Rosetta, 76, has ten siblings from her Tlinget mother and a Philipino father. She brought along her sister, Martha, whom she adopted. She shared with us a ceremony in which she passed a staff on to Martha. She explained a lot of the native stories show up in other places, including Northern Exposure episodes.

Barry, Kathy and Jennifer "The Black" have way too much fun in Marcos Bar. Barry told many stories. "I hated him" (a rooster) and the tomacat who stared down a Doberman with "one good eye..."

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