In the summer of 2025, a team from PBS West Virginia arrived in Fairbanks to create an episode for their television series titled “Hometowns.” The group included the show’s host, producer, and camera operator, and true to their previous episodes (which are Emmy-winning), they did a great job at making advance arrangements to create a wide-ranging profile of a place and its people. Their aim is to identify what makes a community unique.
For the Fairbanks episode, producer Sara Muncy rounded up individuals from interesting aspects of Alaska life, including two Natives talking about their cultural histories, a woman who runs a reindeer farm, an expert on horticulture in the Far North, and me as a long-time Alaskan and author of the Irene Sherman biography, The Queen of Fairbanks. So while I arrived for the interview prepared to talk about Irene’s story, they were curious to learn about my own, too. Those of us who were not born in Alaska were asked why we came, and how. And of course, in Irene’s case, she was born in Fairbanks in 1911, so her history and that of Fairbanks are melded.
The “Hometowns” interview with me was conducted at a favorite Fairbanks brewery called Humble Roots Project, and why? Because they’re a local business that focuses on local history, so much so that they decided to name one of their brews–an Imperial Blonde–after Irene. What a neat tribute to a woman who loved her beer (although if you know her story, you know she was fixated on Olympia beer and no other). Me, I’ve tasted the Irene ale at Humble Roots and I can warmly endorse it. So do many other customers. It was supposed to be a seasonal offering, but now it’s year-round.
Thanks to Sara Muncy and crew at PBS West Virginia! Your hearts are in the right place.
You can watch their Fairbanks episode on PBS.org by clicking HERE.