This week, Crude will be revisiting the top 5 most popular episodes of 2020. Number 5 on the list is with Mike Ward, the co-owner of The Pioneer Bar. The Pioneer Bar, better known as Pio, is a classic Alaskan bar located in downtown Anchorage. It’s been around since the 1950s, before Alaska became a state. Back then, it was a working class bar with a regular crowd of blue collar workers and barflies. It eventually began to attract a younger crowd in the late 1990s. That trend has continued to this day, where crusty sourdoughs and weekend warriors drink side-by-side.
Mike’s relationship with The Pio goes all the way back to his childhood, when his dad was a regular there and he would bring Mike with him. That was around 1980. Mike and his business partner Dave Croffut bought the bar in 2013, and they quickly learned that the idea of owning a bar is much different than the reality of it. In reality, you have to deal with controlling crowds, local politics, and all the repairs that come with owning a 100-year-old building.
Museums in a Climate of Change: Chatter Marks EP 72 Creating sustainable exhibitions with Lizzy Bakker of NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam
EP 137 Carrying on a storied history with Matt Fernandez of Anchorage Community Theatre
Museums in a Climate of Change: Chatter Marks EP 71 How climate change is affecting the traditional Sámi way of life with Anne May Olii of the Sámi Museum in Norway
Museums in a Climate of Change: Chatter Marks EP 70 The myth of climate indifference with Miranda Massie of the Climate Museum
Museums in a Climate of Change: Chatter Marks EP 69 Imagining the future with Lath Carlson of the Museum of the Future in Dubai
EP 136 Frances changed my life with John Gourley
EP 135 What happened is what was supposed to happen with Josh Boots
Chatter Marks Ep 67 Culture comes from our environment with Cordelia Qiġñaaq Kellie
EP 134 Inuit soul music with Qacung
Chatter Marks EP 65 Anchorage made me who I am today
Chatter Marks EP 64 A responsibility to be optimistic about the future with Mary Mattingly
EP 133 The story of JB Deuce with Jason Borgstede and Jesse Burtner
EP 132 Did Darian Draper land the first double-cork in snowboarding?
EP 131 All or nothing with Rosey Fletcher
Chatter Marks EP 62 Alaska history from the bottom up with Ian Hartman
EP 130 Being authentic and a fear of forgetting with Zane Penny
Chatter Marks EP 60 Little, wild places with Erin Ggaadimits Ivalu Gingrich
EP 129 A leap of faith with Geoff and Marcy Larson of Alaskan Brewing
EP 128 Self-realization, reclamation and embracing their Eyak heritage with Brother Buffalo
EP 127 Alaska cold cases, a family tragedy and the book that helped him process it all with Glen Klinkhart
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