July 14, 2011
Thursday

A recent severe house fire in Ketchikan displaced many individuals, mostly children. In an effort to assist these people, my daughter called the hotels in town for a room for one night since the fire completely destroyed their home and contents, and it happened in the afternoon. With the exception of Don Thornlow of The Narrows, every other hotel in town declined to donate a room for the night, and a couple of these owners, managers were rude about it. Don Thornlow did not have an empty room as they were fully booked, but he did say "If one was available it would yours." No one else did.

This is the kind of town Ketchikan has become. The greed factor has been rampant for many years, and each year it gets worse. There are people in this town so well-heeled they could donate a room for a night (or a month) and never feel it. To all of you, I for one am ashamed of you. To Don Thornlow, many thanks for the thought, you were the only one in town who was willing to help.

T.J. Wilson
Ketchikan, AK