20 years ago in the Homer News

Caroline M. Coons, 92, died Jan. 11, 1999, in Homer. Coons came to Alaska in 1944, and started teaching in Nome in 1950. She moved to Homer in 1969 to finish out her teaching career. Coons led a life of adventure, including a narrow escape from Europe in the late 1930s as war started and she caught the last boat out of Norway. Coons helped found the Homer Writer’s Group, and before her death created a $200,000 endowment to the University of Alaska that eventually would help start the Kachemak Bay Writers Conference.

— From the issue of Jan. 21, 1999

30 years ago in the Homer News

Young skateboarding enthusiasts with the Homer Skateboarding Association sought to raise $8,000 to build a 42-foot long “half pipe” skateboarding ramp. The group wanted to build it on the old tennis courts behind what was then Homer Middle School. The group started after some members paid small fines for skateboarding on city streets and sidewalks. The group took their idea for a ramp to the Homer City Council.

— From the issue of Jan. 19, 1989

50 years ago in the Homer News

The Jan. 23, 1969, issue of the Home News is missing from the archives.