Beverly Flis Stevens

bevgonedogs@hotmail.com

After retiring from teaching art in 1991, I took up sled dog racing, and for many years raced competitively all over the Alaska with my dog team who all lived in the house. Most people couldn't believe that my entire team could be both house dogs and racing dogs at the same time. This led me to write and illustrate a children's book, "This Dog Team Lives in the House," followed by a second book, "Kimmik Come Home," a few years after. I still pursue the hobby of watercolor painting, specializing in pet portraits. In 2018, I entered a very competitive contest for the Alaska Railroad and my painting was selected for the annual poster and print.

Along with spending lots of time with our grandchildren, we enjoy fishing on the Kenai River for Red (Sockeye) salmon. We also still commercial fish for Halibut and enjoy hunting in the fall for moose and caribou. At 87 and 77, I feel fortunate that Milt and I are still in good enough health (minus some aches and pains and replaced knees) to remain extremely active and can still continue doing what we love after all these years. 

The thing that I miss the most about New England are the fall colors. We do not have Maple and hardwood trees in Alaska so the fall colors are not as vibrant and the season is so short and passes quickly into winter.

My best memories are from ART classes with Miss Siemele and all my friends who were also in her classes. Plus, all the fun times spent with friends in Lake George during the summer and on weekends, I bet everyone remembers those times!