<\/a>Veronica Friend, right drives spikes into a wood beam using an axe as contest officials and spectators watch Saturday during Juneau Gold Rush Days. The crowd also sang “Happy Birthday” to mark that occasion as she competed in the event, which was won by her daughter, Allesandra. (Mark Sabbatini \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Less expectedly, upon a prompting from the announcer, was a singing of “Happy Birthday” for Veronica Friend that brought a mirthful laugh from her in the midst of her pounding.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“That’s why I didn’t win,” she quipped afterward.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
But the real reason was also cause for celebration, as the honor went to her daughter Allesandra, 18, who took less than half as much time to drive her spikes in as her mother. The winner said she’s been competing in Gold Rush Days events since the age of six and took part in her first spike driving contest at age 13.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“You kind of pick up little things everyone is doing,” she said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
This year, however, the teenager may need to pick a lot more up since she’s competing in eight women’s events during the weekend, a majority of them for the first time.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“I just signed up for all of them,” she said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>James Whistler, 8, operates a mini excavator during Gold Rush Days on Saturday. People young and old were offered a chance to place tires around traffic cones and other challenges after getting a brief introduction to the excavator. (Mark Sabbatini \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
A different sort of pick-up effort was being made by James Whistler, 8, in a small fenced-off circle where for $5 people could spend five minutes trying to perform feats with a mini excavator such as ”ringing” tires around traffic cones. He managed to drape a couple of tires over the tips of cones and, even though he knocked the cones over doing so, it was more than some older novices with heavy equipment achieved.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“All you had to do was pick it up and put it on,” Whistler explained about the tires afterward, although his five-minute-lesson didn’t quite allow him to describe the controls that accomplished the feat.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Making considerably more racket during the first competitive event of the morning were the men participating in the jackleg drilling event, involving boring deep holes in concrete with a water-flushed drill that weighs considerably more than a DeWalt cordless. It’s not something the competitors typically train for in these modern times.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t