The Wrangell birthday calendar is reborn for 2025.
After a one-year hiatus the chamber of commerce — under new leadership from executive director Tracey Martin — is bringing back the printed birthday calendar, which had been a community tradition since the 1950s until it was dropped for 2024.
It costs just $1 to reserve a date on the calendar. Anyone can reserve a listing for a birthday, anniversary or to memorialize someone’s passing.
Families do not need to pay more than $15 for listings, meaning that if a family wants to reserve 20 or 30 spots on the calendar, they will not be expected to pay more than the $15 maximum.
All proceeds will go the chamber of commerce’s scholarship fund, which will be awarded to a graduating high school senior to help sponsor their postsecondary education. Interested seniors will have to fill out an application which includes a personal essay and other relatively standard pieces. The chamber will release more information about the application in the months to come.
Nell Churchill was born in Wrangell and moved back in 2021. She said she remembers the calendar growing up and wanted to help resurrect it. She collaborated with Martin and the chamber to bring it back.
The calendar will be printed and available for purchase in December, according to Churchill. Notably, the calendar is where KSTK and the Wrangell Sentinel get the information for their birthday announcements.
The chamber announced the calendar’s return with a short deadline for listings of 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12. Orders can be paid with check, and completed forms can be dropped off at the Nolan Center, Angerman’s, City Market or Ottesen’s Ace Hardware. The chamber office is in the Stikine Inn.
The chamber will staff a table at Ace Hardware between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Oct. 12 for people to fill out forms ahead of the 4 p.m. deadline. The table is the only option to purchase listings in the calendar for people who want to pay with cash.
In addition to selling dates for the calendar, the chamber is also selling advertising space. The ads, like the calendar dates, will support the scholarship program. Businesses can purchase a single ad for $100 or a double-size ad for $200. According to the announcement, the chamber will not create the ads, so businesses must submit “a logo, business card or pre-made ad” along with the required payment.
Even after missing a year, it’s clear by the online outpour of positivity that the birthday calendar has been missed.
“Thank you, Wrangell chamber and Nell Churchill, for bringing this back!” one Facebook commentor wrote.
Another said she was “proud and happy” to see the calendar return. “I’ve really missed it,” she added.
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