The Badge Found In The Last Frontier

Years ago, when I was living and working in Luverne, Minnesota, my sister sent me this badge. As it turns out, she happened to find it in a box, along with a number of other badges at a local store in the tiny town of Chicken, Alaska.  A population of seven. How it got there is a bit of a mystery.

Here's a fun fact: My sister and her family live in the Alaskan wilderness! If you've ever watched those reality shows where people are living out in the bush, that's them. Getting to their cabin (which is in the middle of the Yukon Charley Preserve) can be a challenge. First, you fly into Fairbanks on a commercial flight. From there you proceed to hop on a three-seat plane, fly over some of the largest mountains in North America, land on a tiny airstrip in the middle of nowhere (Eagle, Alaska), and finally boat upriver for three hours and you've arrived at Wood Island; where my sister, husband, and three children call home.

I'd like to think there's a great story behind it that someone can tell. Now that I live in Sioux Falls, it's a great decoration for my desk.