300 Villages: Port Lions

This week we’re heading to Port Lions, on the northern tip of Kodiak Island. Kathryn Adkins is a lodge owner and city clerk in Port Lions.

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My name is Kathryn Adkins, I’ve lived in Port Lions since 1990. Port Lions is a population, currently, of about 170, give or take. Our population swells in the summertime with fishermen and people that have summer homes here and it, of course, decreases when summer is at an end.

We’re about 18 air miles from Kodiak. We’re one of the five villages on Kodiak Island. We’ve got a lot of trees, a lot of mountains, a lot of water and, at times, a lot of rain – although this summer it’s been pretty dry.

Port Lions, I should say, doesn’t have a store here. We lost our barge service from Seattle quite a number of years ago and when that happened it was too costly for the store owner, so we lost our store. But we’re in the process of building a new ferry dock; it should be completed this fall. We’re hoping to try to reinstate some kind of a monthly barge service from Seattle.

The village is established as a result of the 1964 earthquake. The community of Afognak Village relocated here to Port Lions in December of 1964. The Lions  Club Kodiak chapter was instrumental in helping the village relocate – and that’s why it’s named Port Lions.

We just celebrated a big Fourth of July event, 50 year Anniversary, and we’re planning another special event in December.

It’s a beautiful place and it kinda gets under your skin; people love it here.

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