The Friends of the Homer Public Library will be honoring renowned whale-bone expert Lee Post with a Lifelong Learning Award. The annual award applauds an adult community member for making a lifelong commitment to acquiring an exceptional skill or knowledge.
Post, aka 'The Boneman,' is one of a handful of accomplished skeleton articulation experts in the country. But he didn’t gain that title through a traditional route. He came to Homer in the late 1970s and began volunteering at the Pratt Museum to help put together whale bones. At the time, there was little information on how to reconstruct whale skeletons.
So he tinkered, explored, and brainstormed with other artists and scientists. Post eventually wrote nine how-to-manuals on reconstructing skeletons of various animals. Now, he is considered a leading expert on the topic.
The Friends of the Homer Public Library is also giving a Youth Learner Award to high schooler Ben Kettle. A Homer High teacher nominated Kettle for teaching himself skills such as programming and website design as well as for consistently seeking out new opportunities based on his interests.
The Celebration of Lifelong Learning Awards will be on April 7 at the Homer Public Library and will feature Michael Carey, an editorial writer and columnist for the Anchorage Daily News as a keynote speaker.
