Served soup by Sophia O'Brien, Maria Glenz celebrates Alaska Day in 2013 with other community elders at Island of Faith Lutheran Church. Glenz spent most of her life in the state, and after her passing last year left a considerable donation of money, books and items to Wrangell's Visitor Bureau, museum and library.
Two books written by late resident Marian Glenz will join the Wrangell Library's Alaskana collection. Taking up the far wall of the library's nonfiction section, the collection's volumes cover almost every subject pertaining to the 49th state.
City staff from several departments were surprised to learn of one late resident's generosity.
At its meeting in early December, the Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau discussed news that Marian Glenz had bequeathed a considerable donation to it. Details at the time had yet to be worked out, but at the Borough Assembly's February 6 meeting, City Manager Lisa Von Bargen had confirmed the contribution totaled $50,000.
Born in Wisconsin in 1936, Glenz spent her youth in Port Protection, Ketchikan, Meyers Chuck and Wrangell. A commercial fisherman, rural postmaster and writer, in her later years she was an active member of the Wrangell community. Often there at the Nolan Center during community markets and other activities, she talked with tourists, residents and most everybody she met. She helped out at the museum, and served on the Visitor Bureau from 2008 until her passing in April 2017.
The executor of her estate had informed Von Bargen Glenz had remembered the bureau in her will, alongside her grandchildren and surviving relations. The sum was "to be used to promote Wrangell," according to her will.
"I am heartfully grateful for her consideration of the financial needs for promoting this community," Von Bargen commented.
The contribution should be a needed boost to the CVB's advertising efforts, particularly as marketing for the state in general has seen significant cuts. The state tourism office saw its budget cut from nearly $18M in 2014 reduced to just $1.5M for 2017.
The CVB's own budget has remained about the same since, approved each year at $65,400. The bureau not only covers advertising and promotional activities, but also makes a $10,000 line item contribution to the Nolan Center each year. It gets its budget from a reserve fund which has slowly been drawing down each year, projected to $50,935 by the end of the current fiscal year from $114,735 in the middle of 2016.
"Her donation speaks to her love of Wrangell, and wanting to share it with the rest of the world," Von Bargen added.
"She was great. She had a sort of unique perspective," said Carol Rushmore, the city's finance director and colleague of Glenz on the CVB. "She felt very strongly about the community."
In addition to her contribution to the CVB, Glenz donated 21 boxes of books to Irene Ingle Public Library, containing over 400 volumes. Many of the selections she contributed will fill out the library's Alaskana collection at the back wall of its nonfiction section.
"She was a frequent user of the library," Head Librarian Margaret Villarma recalled. "She loved to read about Alaska history."
A writer as well as a reader, among the books Glenz donated were two of her own, "The B.S. Counter" and "Myers Chuck!" Both accounts are based on her experiences in Southeast Alaska and are available to check out from the library.
"Some of them are hard to get," Villarma said of the new additions. "We were very grateful that she thought of us."
Glenz had left the local museum some items as well, which will be incorporated into its collection.
"We loved her there, she was quite a character," said Terri Henson, the Nolan Center's director. "She's missed. We really looked forward to having here there at cruise time."
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