20 years ago

At a recent meeting of the Thursday Dialogues, Paul Castellani and Scott Simmons showed off a diesel truck fueled with biodiesel — motor fuel made from fryer oil that Homer restaurants throw out by the gallon. Castellani backed his big, blue 1990 Ford F-350 diesel pickup truck onto the lawn of the Community Resource Center on Pioneer Avenue. The truck ran smoothly, without the rumbling of a diesel engine first warming up. No thick, black smoke heavy with particulates or sulfur came out of the exhaust. Not surprisingly, the exhaust smelled just like french fries. Castellani calls the project a bit of recycling and alternative energy.

— From the issue of May 29, 2003

30 years ago

U.S. District Court Judge John W. Sedwick came to Nikolaevsk last week to swear in 27 new citizens of the United States. The ceremony was so unusual that the Alaska director of the U.S. Immigraton & Naturalization Service filmed it for his superiors in Washington, D.C. Sedwick naturalized 22 Russian Old Believers and five people formerly from England, Korea, the Philippines and Iran. The gym at Nikolaevsk School was packed with friends and families. Those from the host community wore traditional Russian finery.

— From the issue of May 27, 1993