Haley Stevens: “I come with a sad heart today because on January 3, the City of Fairbanks, where I started my life in Alaska, and the…”

“I come with a sad heart today because on January 3, the City of Fairbanks, where I started my life in Alaska, and the State of Alaska lost a great citizen with the passing of Captain Jim Binkley at the age of 82. Jim was born in our State in Wrangell, on May 16, 1920. His parents were gold rush pioneers, and his father was a riverboat pilot on the Stikine River in southeast Alaska. In World War II, he was a veteran who served on riverboats in Alaska and after the war he attended the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. In 1950, Jim and his wife Mary bought their first boat, the Godspeed, and began what would become Alaska Riverways, Incorporated. They ran a historic riverboat for tourists who came to Alaska. Jim and Mary built and rebuilt many of their company's sternwheelers in the backyard of their family's home which was on Noyes Slough, which is a river that runs through Fairbanks, AK. It was a great experience to go with him on that boat. I have taken many people on Captain Jim's boat. Alaska Riverways is Fairbanks' number one tourist attraction.”