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Every time I see teacher Mark Harris in the hallways of Tri Valley School, I get a jolt from the past. You see, we have a history.

It began in 1983, when he drove to Alaska and parked in the Daily News-Miner parking lot to scan the classified pages for jobs and a place to live. He had two white-water kayaks on top of his vehicle. I happened to be passionate about kayaking at the time, so I walked up to the car window, said hello, chatted a bit and figured maybe I’d see him on the river some time.

That night, when I drove home to my tiny A-frame cabin, he was there. My roommate had run into him at the university and invited him home for burgers.

We have been friends ever since.

One of my fondest memories comes from that same year, when my grandparents visited from Chicago. They were duly horrified at my living situation: small cabin, no running water.

One morning, Mark and his companion walked out of the woods and my grandmother asked him, “Do you live in a shack too?”

“No,” he replied. “We live in a tent.”

And they did, for the entire summer. Eventually, they rented the tiny A-frame next door. Mark studied engineering at the nearby University of Alaska Fairbanks and we splurged on $1 movies on campus every Friday night, the only entertainment we could afford.

A large group of friends — and I’m pretty sure Mark Harris was in on this — took second place in an air band contest, portraying Bob Marley and the Wailers.

Of course, Mark didn’t need to pretend. He is a talented musician.

A handful of years later, he was poised to become a father. He was already living at Denali, but he drove to Fairbanks, called me at work and said, “Is it OK with you if we have the baby at your house?”

“You want to have the baby at my house?” I croaked. But I quickly recovered. “Anything I should pick up on the way home?” I asked helpfully.

Baby Eli ended up being born at the hospital, but he did spend his first few days of life at my house and became an important part of my extended family throughout the years.

Years flew by, and we saw less and less of each other. Mark had discovered a knack for teaching, instead of engineering, and he became a very talented and popular teacher.

When he leaves Healy this month, after 20 years of teaching elementary school and living here, it will mark the end of an era — at least for me. In his letter of resignation, he told the school board that his years here have been the best years of his life.

To this day, we still lock eyes, laugh and say, “Here we are, after all these years. Who could have predicted this?”

It’s always a comfortable exchange. I’ll miss seeing Harris in the hallways. I wish him the best of luck at his new teaching position in Anchorage.

New name for chamber

Goodbye Greater Healy Chamber of Commerce. Hello Denali Chamber of Commerce.

Members voted to change the name of the chamber in hopes of including more businesses from communities borough-wide.

Members also elected a new board that includes Josh Wilhour, Cathy Peterson, Terri Loegering and Heidi DeCoeur.

Sam Dickey, deputy district director of the Small Business Administration, was a special guest at the annual chamber banquet. And I just have to share this item from his resume — he is also a professional bingo caller.

He came to the banquet to present the owners of the Denali Park Salmon Bake with a plaque recognizing them as Alaska’s Small Business of the Year.

Although Salmon Bake owners donned suits and ties for a similar ceremony in Anchorage, they were much more casually dressed on their home turf.

The First National Bank of Alaska nominated the business, which according to Dickey, faced stiff competition for the award. Owners of “The Bake” include Dave Coleman, Jason Motyka, Marc Boghosian and the newest partner, Dave McCarthy.

Anderson graduation

Three seniors will stand before the Anderson community for the high school graduation ceremony at Anderson School at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Nathan Burgess fundraiser

Life can change in an instant.

Just ask the Burgess family from Fairbanks. Last year, high school student Nathan Burgess complained about a sore knee. When the pain persisted, he saw a doctor and the diagnosis terrified everyone — cancer.

Part of his leg had to be amputated, and Nathan spent much of last year in Seattle, undergoing treatment. When he lost his hair, his Dad, Andy Burgess, shaved his head in solidarity.

Lin Gale, his mom, didn’t go quite that far. But she has had to leave her job to be with her son full time in Seattle.

Prognosis was good, but when Nathan went in for a check-up in March, doctors discovered the cancer had returned.

He has since had two surgeries and is once again doing well.

The emotional toll on family and friends has been tremendous. We have all kept track of Nathan’s progress through a remarkable Web site called www.caringbridge.org. I love when the “ding” of a new message carries good news.

Today, friends are hosting a spaghetti feed and silent auction fundraiser to help the family with enormous medical and logistical expenses.

So if you’re looking for a quick meal, a good cause and great company, pop in to Monroe High School from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Cost is $7 adults; $5 students; $20 family.

For more information, call Eric Troyer at 455-6641.