Photos by Dave Cannon.
This is Pete with Eleanor Sanbei who did the bead work on the clothes that Pete will be buried in. Eleanor's sisters from Anchorage and the Yukon River helped make the clothes. More photos, and addresses to send donations, below.

Aniak fire chief Pete Brown died Tuesday -- three days after the village held a kind of goodbye celebration in his honor. Brown knew he didn't have long and asked for the get-together as a way to see friends and family one last time.

Sgt. Mike Duxbury, a state trooper who worked in Aniak from roughly 2002 to 2004, describes the party:

There were people from all over the nation there as far away as Florida. I think there were more than 300 people in the school gymnasium.

Many former Dragon Slayers came from across the state and some from other states like North Dakota.

Three boys who are in the Military, one a Marine who wore his dress uniform, got permission to come. I think two of the boys had been deployed at least once. A gal who was one of the best success stories in the Dragon Slayer legacy (to which I can personally attest) who was from a village outside of Aniak came to share her memories and goodbyes. She now is a member of the Air Force -- had to get special permission. She, like so many others with the Dragon Slayer program and under Pete Brown’s influence, was able to transform her life from wanting to quit school because of tremendous personal and family issues to now being now 30 credits away from graduating with a bachelor’s of science degree. She is presently a medic in the Air Force having been deployed once in that capacity and is considering cross training to be a firefighter.

In a place where almost fifty percent of the children do not graduate from high school this Dragon Slayer Program instills self esteem and gives them tools to succeed in life as productive healthy adults most of who want to return to participate in their communities.

The three boys in the military all said (to myself and to another troopers that attended the celebration) that they are thinking about applying for Alaska State Trooper jobs when they are finished with their military commitment. I personally know that Pete Brown was a major influence in each of those boy’s lives.

Furthermore, you could tell by stories told, articles displayed and the lack of dry eyes in the crowd that Aniak Fire Chief, and “Master Dragon Slayer” Pete Brown has been a significant and positively charged life force. Like the notion of a subatomic particle, a quark, he has influenced and changed each person he has interacted with and his life force has passed though and on to many across his region, state, and nation. His sphere of influence had helped to make this world a better place to dwell for a time.

-- Sgt. Mike Duxbury

ORIGINAL POST:

Photo by Dave Cannon
Kayla Morgan watches as Aniak fire chief Pete Brown signs Allisa Morgan's shirt Saturday.

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Dave Cannon.
Nicole Vaides, left, looks on as Pete Brown hugs Jaci McKindy.

Today we ran a story on Pete Brown, the longtime Aniak fire chief who launched the renowned Dragon Slayers youth rescue team and was recently told he has terminal cancer.

Aniak held a celebration for Brown yesterday. I'm hoping to post more pictures soon. (Send them to khopkins@adn.com if you have any you'd like to share.)

“It was really beautiful," said April Kameroff, former Dragon Slayer and the new Aniak EMS chief.

“Several people made kuspuks for the fire department and for his family," she said.

They sewed them in red and black -- firefighter colors.

One thing I forgot to put in the story is an address that people can send cards for Brown or donations for the Dragon Slayers program. Despite all the Oprah and People Magazine fame, the program runs on a shoestring and Brown encourages people to help out if they can.

"We’re basically funded off anything the fire department has left over," he said.

Donations for the Aniak Dragon Slayers may be mailed to:

Aniak Volunteer Fire Department
P.O. Box 307
Aniak, AK 99557

Send cards & donations for Pete Brown & family to:

Jeremiah Brown (Pete's son)
P.O. Box 124
Aniak, AK 99557

Photo by Dave Cannon.
Pete being ushered in past all the plaques, awards, etc. that he and the Dragon Slayers have been awarded.