Hank Nuwer Alaska Yarns
My Travel Blog
By Alaska’s Columnist of the Year
Welcome. Enjoy the official story clearinghouse of Alaska author Hank Nuwer with photos by Malgorzata (Gosia) Nuwer. Scroll down to very bottom of this main page for archived stories.
Bio: University of Alaska (Fairbanks) adjunct professor Hank Nuwer
Awards: 2025 Hoosier State Press Association first-place winner for commentary, 2023 and 2024 Alaska Press Club (APC) First-Place Columnist of the Year, and 2022 Ohio SPJ First-Place Columnist of the Year.
Gosia Nuwer photographs Alaska and its wildlife. She and Hank reside in Fairbanks, Alaska, with 20 acres in remote Alaska, and a vacation cabin in Poland.
Gosia and her husband in 2025 contributed an article on Alaska back-road trips for Phi Kappa Phi’s Forum Magazine.
Contact Prof. Hank Nuwer at Hjnuwer@Alaska.edu
Know someone who has fought hazing in student groups, the military or sports? Nominate him/her/them here for a Hank Nuwer Antihazing Hero Award at Hazing Prevention Network.
Santa is in the holiday spirit
After performing Tues. morning for an audience of bussed-in schoolchildren, the cast sang a Christmas carol (with the kids) that raised the roof, and I (Santa) answered such sweet questions from the boys and girls. It looked like a fifth of the house or more had...
A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1975
One little confession: When I returned to acting onstage after nearly a half-century since I played Bottom in a Reno stage production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1975, all my performances of my one-man hazing-prevention plays were stage readings. I honestly did...
Miracle on 34th Street with Hank Nuwer as Kris Kringle shows today at 2 p.m.
Fairbanks TV did a nice job capturing a rehearsal of Miracle on 34th Street. Link: https://www.webcenterfairbanks.com/2023/12/01/local-theater-group-performs-miracle-34th-street-holiday-season/?fbclid=IwAR0n3_WFEcLXiqjkjQsKIYL5Nkb1fj7CYK7S7DxJhCq7_ZZ7wtTQ3eFAIbI The...
Going once, twice, sold
I don’t gamble, but if I did my adrenaline might skyrocket as it did the night I entered an online Great North Auction for the stamp collection of the late Russell Hobart Green Jr. of Fairbanks. I knew exactly what was in the collection and had a pretty good sense of...
Listen live to Hank Nuwer as Kris Kringle
Thanks to Lori Neufeld of KUAC, here are several Christmas songs and scenes from Miracle on 34th Street presented by Fairbanks Drama Association. Link:...
Finding small treasures in a sea of trash
Finding small treasures in a sea of trash by Hank Nuwer My wife Gosia and I like flea markets. Gosia discovered the ramshackle Schleeters Auction and Flea Market in St. Marys, Ohio. Last Saturday, she brought me there to browse. I contemplated buying a 1957 Christmas...
Recognized as I volunteered for Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign
Little kid said, “it’s Santa!” — 😂
Thanksgiving morning greeting from Safeway cashier
Picked up salad fixings first thing Thanksgiving Day at Fairbanks Safeway. west store. "Happy holidays," I said to the large cashier. "How are you?" "Falling apart," he boomed. "But happy holidays, anyway." I guess that's what is meant by his full disclosure?
How small of a town is Fairbanks, Alaska?
Fairbanks, AK, I swear, is as smalltown as any town in America. I called the local hospital today to get an appointment for a colonoscopy. The male operator asked for my name. "Nuwer," I said. "Oh, must be Hank Nuwer," he said. Uhhuh. Like I said: Small Town, USA.