Mary Beth Smetzer
Community reporter
Call Mary Beth at 907-459-7546.
Community News and Faith page editor Mary Beth Smetzer grew up in Michigan, arriving in Alaska in 1969 after a stint in the Peace Corps in Afghanistan vaccinating women and children against smallpox.
Mary Beth worked for four years at the Royal Oak Tribune, a suburban Detroit daily, and joined the News-Miner editorial department in 1986. In the early 1970s she edited The River Times at the Fairbanks Native Association, and from 1980-86 she was communications coordinator at the University of Alaska Museum of the North.
Mary Beth is longtime quilter and one of the founding members (1979) of the Cabin Fever Quilters Guild. She loves reading and being a grandmother, and enjoys cooking, baking and fishing. She found Fairbanks to be a wonderful, supportive place to raise her three children, Megan, Nick and Gabriel, now pursuing careers in academia, police investigation and computer design, respectively.
Recent Stories
- Kids tackle the art of fishing during Kids' Fish and Game Fun Day at Creamer's
- Sunday, May 18, 2008
- Breanna Slater, 9, used her nose to find the Interior tributary that a migrating salmon might call home.
- North Pole graduates rock, roll, and quote Dr. Seuss in graduation ceremony
- Friday, May 16, 2008
- The 2008 North Pole High School graduating class strutted, danced, linked arms, walked sedately and in lockstep, blew bubbles, mimed, posed and somersaulted through a balloon archway into the Carlson Center arena Thursday evening.
- North Pole grad leads guide dogs to graduations of their own
- Friday, May 16, 2008
- Tail waving high, an extra North Pole High School graduate affectionately known as “Shep,” trotted through commencement ceremonies Thursday evening under the guiding lead of graduating senior Hannah Beck.
- Will Ice Classic crown more than one winner?
- Wednesday, May 14, 2008
- The end is in sight as the second check of Nenana Ice Classic tickets nears completion.
- 18 Alaska artists recognized with grants
- Tuesday, May 13, 2008
- Three local residents and a former Fairbanksan were among 18 Alaska artists receiving awards of $3,000 to $25,000 to pursue artistic endeavors in their chosen fields.
- Fairhill grads leave close-knit school
- Saturday, May 10, 2008
- The last day of school for the three Fairhill Christian School seniors was spent preparing for their graduation ceremony Friday evening in league with teachers, students and parents.
- Three North Pole Christian graduates explore the world after high school
- Friday, May 9, 2008
- A trio of well-traveled North Pole Christian School graduates paused Thursday night for graduation ceremonies before embarking on more life-changing activities ahead.
- Fairbanks is home to a large, and growing, group of genealogists
- Monday, May 5, 2008
- At times the quest is tedious and slow, but it turns exciting and rewarding when small but important little puzzle pieces surface and start fitting together into a whole.
- Golden Heart Awards recognize local volunteers
- Thursday, May 1, 2008
- Volunteers come in all shapes and sizes, young and old, with diverse talents and abilities, as evident at the 10th Annual Flint Hills Resources Golden Heart Awards on Wednesday evening.
- Tanana Valley hospice hires interim director
- Wednesday, April 30, 2008
- Mary Johnson, the newly hired interim director for Hospice of the Tanana Valley, walks into a freshly decorated office in Hospice’s new home at 2001 Gillam Way, which opened two months ago.