Wilderness Woman Competition and Bachelor Auction successful after Friday's earthquake

by: Katie Writer – KTNA

The 2018 Wilderness Women Contest and Bachelor Ball was another huge success despite nature’s punches. The crowd on Main Street on Saturday afternoon appeared more intimate than previous years. Damage in the lower Susitna Valley from the November 30th earthquake and a snowstorm caused many weekend events to be cancelled, but not the 2018 Bachelor Ball. Nothing like a 7.0 earthquake to stir up the juices of generosity. Saturday night’s Bachelor Ball raised over $19,000 dollars that fund local charities for women support groups.

If there is one thing consistent about the Wilderness Women’s contest, it pulls people out of the woodwork to gather and celebrate. After a rather unnerving earthquake experience for many, people had an extra reason to gather with their townspeople to share stories, laugh and vent.

Long time organizer of the event, Todd Basilone was in the health food isle at Fred Meyers when

the earthquake struck at 8:29 am on Friday. He said that the motion of the quake slammed him into the almond milk and when the store lights went out, he thought, “I’m going to die in Fred Meyers!” Thank goodness he didn’t, as he had a big job to perform over the next couple of days. Luckily, he and thousands of people survived the November 30th quake that took no lives. Nothing like adrenalin to kick off the Bachelor Ball weekend.

The crowd around the fire outside the Fairview always attract a mix of folks, including newcomers, long time locals, ladies, bachelors and former bachelors.  This year, there was no shortage of laughter. One bachelor reminisced on a Bachelor Weekend when the temperatures were -20F. He said, “Then, it didn’t phase us, though we were all closer to the flames,” he said with a grin. “It is easy to get soft with these warm winters.”

Since the first real snowfall did not arrive in Talkeetna until late Friday night, the organizers replaced the snow machine with a fat tire mountain bike. “How eco-friendly is that!” said one bystander. There was enough snow on the ground to challenge the bunny boot event runners. One of the finalist, Teal Goodwsell took a fall on the ice that could have ended her race, though not Teal. She picked up some speed as soon as she found her footing and it carried her thru the finish line to win the heat.

The top three ladies all could have been crowned Wilderness Woman of 2018, but Rieann Fullwood possessed a unique gusto that knocked over Basilone at the end of the bike around the park. Her fire was hot and she performed the best overall and won the crown. Franny Thomson was runner up and Teal Goodsell earned a respectful third.