[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7499-7500]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          REMEMBERING JOHN AND
                             ERMA SCHNABEL

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, we are about to begin the Memorial 
Day state work period and many of us will be traveling in our home 
states next week. I am blessed because I am going home to Alaska. 
Tomorrow I will be in Haines. This is a magnificent community in truly 
a magnificent State. But when I arrive in Haines, something will be 
missing, and that is the absence of two of Haines' most prominent 
citizens--John and Erma Schnabel.
  John Schnabel passed in March at the age of 96 years old, and Erma, 
his wife of 65 years, passed shortly thereafter at the age of 87. John 
was regarded by his family and the people of Haines as a living legend. 
If you don't believe that is true, or if you say all of us have living 
legends in our community, no less of an authority than People Magazine 
referred to John as a ``living legend'' in an article which noted his 
passing. He was not just a local legend. He was known the world over as 
``Grandpa.'' He was the patriarch of the Discovery Channel series 
``Gold Rush: Alaska.'' But to us Alaskans, he was simply one of the 
many exceptional people who populate our exceptional State. John was 
born in Kansas in 1920. He was the son of a wheat farmer. His father 
first moved to Alaska to seek a better life away from the Depression. 
He served in the military during World War II. He was a proud member of 
the American Legion. He married Erma in 1950 and they raised five kids.
  Returning to Haines, John entered the timber business. He owned a 
lumber mill in town. He was one of the region's first industrialists. 
He was involved in everything. He operated a hotel, a lumberyard, a 
hardware store. He built four downtown commercial buildings. He was one 
of Haines' largest landowners. But changing political attitudes toward 
timber harvest in Southeast Alaska and the regulations that followed 
put John out of the timber business. Those powerful forces,

[[Page 7500]]

however, did not put John down. He placer mined for fun and invested in 
small businesses. He was the mayor of Haines. He was an outstanding 
bridge player. He was an avid reader. I understand that David 
McCullough's biography of Harry Truman was one of his favorites, even 
though he was a loyal Republican.
  It was only after John was recuperating from heart surgery that he 
entered the mining business in a big way. Think about it, most people 
rehabilitate from a heart surgery by doing more walking or going to the 
gym. John Schnabel decided he was going to work a mine. He worked the 
mine to remain active. He said it was doctor's orders. He did this 
until 2 years ago. Effectively, until the time he was 94, he was 
working the mine.
  The Discovery Channel folks wandered by and found John Schnabel an 
interesting man. By 2010, Grandpa was a global celebrity--a reluctant 
celebrity but a celebrity nonetheless; the star of a reality TV show 
that ran for six seasons before he passed away.
  John and Erma were friends of mine. I respected John's business 
acumen and his political leadership, but I really respected the 
relationship he had with Erma. The last time I visited with John and 
Erma was 2 years ago in August. I was there at the Haines Assisted 
Living Center. I came in and visited with John. John was talking 
politics with me and with anybody else who was listening, chatting 
around the room. Then, he left to go sit in the corner of the dining 
area, sat next to Erma. He didn't say anything for probably half an 
hour, 45 minutes. He just sat quietly with her, holding her hand. That 
really moved me when I saw them. Sixty plus years of marriage and still 
holding hands. John had always been the builder. Erma was known as the 
carer. She took care of the family. She took care of the community. 
Legend has it that there wasn't a person in Haines who had not dined at 
her table at one time or another.
  They are both gone from Haines, but they are certainly together in 
Heaven. Alaska is clearly better for their contributions, and I know I 
will certainly be thinking of them when I visit Haines tomorrow.

                          ____________________