Local fisherman celebrates 97th birthday

Lawrence Bahovec spent a significant portion of his birthday watching football in his bathrobe and waiting for his granddaughters to call.

The occasion was subdued for a 97-year-old fisherman who spent decades wresting his living from local waters.

Bahovec was born in 1917 in Chicago, near the end of World War I. His father was a fisherman and carried the family name from Yugoslavia. After fishing in Western Washington for a few years, the family relocated to Wrangell.

While his father was out fishing, his mother took up with another man who drank heavily. When his father returned, he relocated Bahovec to Haines for schooling, and then Sheldon Jackson High School, in Sitka, which was the premier boarding high school for Native Alaskan Children.

Bahovec initially started college at the University of Washington, but didn't finish, dropping out to start work as a fisherman.

Over the years, he's seen many things change.