Life on Orcas Island with Edee Kulper

Son of a printer in a Mormon family, stockbroker in his 20s, printbroker, self-taught CD-ROM maker, marketing consultant and owner of a design/advertising agency for 10 years, father of 8 children, oilfield worker, and owner of a custom woodworking business (frames, tables, furniture, etc.) called Old Goat Creative, George's experiences have run the gamut. The desire to sail around the world brought him to Orcas Island...

Rolf Eriksen has a unique relationship with The Tower on Top of Mount Constitution, which is also the name of his book. He first visited the monument as a baby and then worked to repair it through the decades as the owner and general manager of Happy Acres Company for over 53 years. Rolf has bicycled up to the tower weekly for the past 25 years in order to assess wear and tear, document graffiti, and soak in its ethereal atmosphere at the highest point in the San Juan Islands. You can find Rolf and his book on summer Saturdays at the Farmers Market at the Village Green, along with honey, salve, and candles from his colony of 20,000-80,000 bees.

Consulting with theme parks, museums, zoos, and aquariums, and managing creative development with architects, graphic designers, writers, composers, painters, sculptors, fabricators, and contractors takes Brian Leonard all over the world, from Washington, D.C.'s National Geographic Museum of Exploration to the largest aquarium in the world in Abu Dhabi. Brian also has a few fun inventions he dreamed up – the Stiffy (a rod holder stabilizer while fishing) and the Ferry Fate Ball sold in stores locally (think Magic 8 Ball but for drivers waiting in line for the ferry, wondering if and when they’ll be able to board the boat).

Meet The German Magician: "I lost my mother when I was ten. The world stopped making sense. At seventeen, I was living alone, figuring it out. I picked up my first deck of cards - not for the art of magic, but to connect with people. Magic gave me something I didn’t expect: FAITH. For the next 18 years, I worked in Germany's automotive industry - Volkswagen, Porsche, stability and structure. But the magic inside me never left. The older I got, the louder the question became: Is this it? The suffering I’d been through wasn’t random - it was preparation for something bigger. In 2021, I answered that call. Left Germany. Left the security. Came to America seeking freedom - and found it on a small island where I could meditate, breathe, and finally become who I was meant to be. Now I bring wonder to audiences across America - from intimate gatherings to theaters, from weddings to corporate stages." From www.henryoz.com

A Tai Chi practitioner for 54 years and an instructor for decades, Stephanie radiates joy and an ever-growing zest for life, and speaks of the depth of physical, spiritual, and emotional lessons she has learned over the years.

Advice from a local Inuit man to "make sure you talk with the ancestors" has shaped Karl's mindset and survival, and he is preparing for his third season paddling the Canadian Arctic's Northwest Passage. Karl is the founder of Krüger Creative, a nonprofit dedicated to wilderness exploration, personal growth, and environmental awareness. Through Krüger Expeditions, he offers day sails and multi-day sail-to-ski or sail-to-surf journeys out of Hoonah, Alaska, aboard SV ANIMUS, a 64-foot steel cutter, immersing guests in his world.

Bruce Benton went from Peace Corps work in West Africa to the US Treasury Department’s Deputy-Director of the Office of Raw Materials and Oceans Policy to a career managing the World Bank’s efforts to defeat parasitic riverblindness in Africa. He has written a book of the same. Locally, Bruce continues to work hard to help the Island Rides program. A few years ago, he secured grant funding totaling $800,000 for electric vehicle infrastructure and transportation initiatives for the island - $400,000 for the EV Charger Project and $400,000 for the Green CarShare program sponsored by Island Rides, which received $200,000 in 2024 and $200,000 in 2025. This man is passionate about helping and motivated to see it through!

Modern-day explorer, Karl Krüger, is preparing for his third leg of a three-summer solo journey through the Canadian Arctic's Northwest Passage. He covered 900 miles combined in 2022 and 2023 on his stand-up paddleboard, and in the summer of 2027 he plans to use a Holopuni outrigger canoe instead to retrace the coast he explored on his SUP, starting in Tuktoyaktuk, continuing past Kugluktuk - his furthest east point from previous seasons - and finish in Pond Inlet, Nunavut. He is the only person to have competed on a stand-up paddleboard in the Race to Alaska (R2AK), covering 750 miles of the Canadian Pacific coast in 2017 in just over two weeks. He shares the very personal stories of his life that led to his drive to explore deep wilderness - solo and unsupported.

Georgette Wong's expertise is in impact investing and strategic consulting to strengthen local communities. She currently serves as Board Chair of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, the Investment & Audit Committee for The Russell Family Foundation, as well as the Investment Committee of the Orcas Island Community Foundation. She has been the CEO of Correlation Consulting for the past 10 years, focused on clients seeking to integrate their passion for social change and to create both financial and social rewards. What an intelligent, humble phenom she is!

Meet Jay Longfellow, a hunter, trapper, outdoorsman, and reader of the stoics. He has rid his life of all screens aside from his phone, and he joins me in the studio with his pointing lab, Marcus Aurelius, to talk about everything from difficult injuries to the fantastic flavor of certain species of waterfowl. This guy has some serious skills!!

A deep dive into Liberty's turbulent early years and what formed her sense of freedom, adventure, and the desire to be who she chooses to be and surround herself with people she trusts. Liberty talks here about biking across Finland, solo horseback riding in Mongolia among horse thieves and threatening bandits, feeling akin to orca whales, writing a series of books for children about a society of mermaids and facing adversity through the help of fantasy creatures (Liberty is an official mermaid, by the way), and a novella she wrote based on a screenplay she wrote that won four film festival awards. Liberty is a captain and naturalist, free diver, wing walker on airplanes, mountaineer, equine therapist, and so much more. She has swum with alligators, octopi, and Norwegian orcas, among hundreds of other adventures.

Geophysicist and stone sculptor Michael Yeaman is also the creator and curator of the Orcas Island Film Festival’s Classic Film Series. Films are at 4 PM on Sundays at Orcas Center from January 11 - February 8, 2026. They are free to the public and you can bring any food you'd like to enjoy with you!

Not only is Robin Lassen one of the warmest, most encouraging human beings you'll ever meet, she's also a tireless go-getter. While her fine art paintings hung in a local gallery and shop, she was zipping across the sky as a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines ~ a new hire at the age of 69. During summers, she trades the quiet life of Orcas Island where she practices challenging musical memorization on her piano for the on-call, around-the-clock role of a dynamic, indefatigable yacht chef and first mate. She also shares experiences as the director of operations of a software development company for 35 years, her passion for being a kidney donor, and why it is imperative to be grateful and optimistic. Robin is the absolute epitome of competence, humility, and joy.

Local legend Jimmy Mudd is known for the “Train Wreck,” a local jam time for any musicians interested, which he hosted every week for decades. I wanted to give an Orcas Island student the opportunity to be an interviewer with me at the radio station, and the school recommended Senior Kairam Bailey, vocalist of a local band called Bonzi. I asked who his ideal guest would be to interview, and the answer was a resounding "Jimmy Mudd!" 

Tony and Jenna brought the Día de los Muertos community celebration of remembrance to the island ~ first at their home, then at the Village Green. The Morenos are Paul Mitchell hairstylists, business owners, parents, and dreamers who live each day with joy, intention, kindness, and ambition.

Andy is a high school English, literature, Spanish, guitar, drama, history, government, and economics teacher at Orcas Christian School, a repeat pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago in Spain, a 6-language polyglot, a guitarist, Choral Society singer, world traveler, and adventurer in all things human and divine.

She goes by Liberty, and she lived out her list of hundreds of dreams by the age of 30. She has swum with orca whales in Norway, the only human to have been in a tank with 16-foot Florida alligators with nothing between them and her but a mermaid suit, she's a trained free diver, an equine therapist, a wing walker on small aircraft, a mountaineer, an author of several books, the only female captain in the San Juans, a naturalist, and has lived the life of ten people so far. She is currently practicing Italian every morning and in the middle of her 45th book this year. She writes book reports on Facebook each time she finishes a book. Her new list of dreams is on the horizon...

What hasn't Gordon Koenig done? He's a retired air tanker pilot, a band member in Olga Symphony and JP and the OK Rhythm Boys, a former dress store owner and cookie store owner, a ukulele instructor and craftsman (Barn Swallow Ukuleles), and the list goes on.

Sara Pelfrey grew up in a Sufi community and is one of the kindest, least judgmental people you will ever meet. Her education from a young age included a thorough understanding of and respect for other spiritual traditions, and she still considers herself a Muslim today.

Tenar is one of the few people you will catch a glimpse of out in the sea all year round, even in the cold, winter months. She circumnavigates Orcas Island in a day on her surfski, trains for competitions, and talks about being doggedly persistence over being blessed with a particular skill (though I believe she is an absolute phenom). She's a math lover and instructor, shares her stories of navigating autism, and attributes many of her academic strides to the magic of a gifted teacher in her youth.

Bob Nutt is the kind of guy whose full life has led to having a plethora of skills. He's a farmer and raises sheep with alongside his wife on their Warm Valley Orchard, where they sell apples, peaches, walnuts, handspun yarn, handmade garments, and more. He's a volunteer firefighter with decades of experience, and has done everything from working in the geology field to teaching math to school kids. He just published a book written by his deceased neighbor, Barbara Humes of Warm Valley Farm across the street.

Sam Blackman is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Google Ventures, Founder and Former Head of Research and Development at Day One Biopharmaceuticals, a retired Pediatric Oncologist, an avid writer and storyteller having won two of The Moth's GrandSLAM storytelling competitions, and he has climbed to Mount Everest Base Camp as part of a fundraising campaign to raise $1 million for cancer research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, despite being scared of heights. This man's intense curiosity about the world knows no bounds...

After making a living drawing intricate architectural renderings for big design firms representing everything from corporations with fancy building projects to the Port of Long Beach, Frank Loudin struck out on his own, painting scenes that made him famous in his hometown Catalina Island art shows. With his charming brand of self-effacing humor, he's also published two books of short stories while honing a darn good version of homemade pot pie.

Bob Waunch is a retired fighter jet pilot and the founder of the Airhawks Flying Club for local pilot instruction and scholarships. He was pivotal in founding Mercy Flights for people who need non-emergency medical transport to the mainland, instrumental in founding the Orcas Island Community Foundation, and helped coordinate fundraising for the Orcas Island Medical Center. Add to that his myriad forms of generous support to various community entities while also helping support the local animal shelter in multiple capacities, and you have a man who makes the world better wherever he goes. And a kind, humble man he is.

Both Ken and Karen had phenomenal careers in radio broadcasting before moving to Orcas Island, where they shifted into real estate and philanthropic work. Have you heard of the island's Music Advocacy Group, Community Band, and Orcatrazz swing band? Think Ken and Karen...

Looking at life from Anastasia Riddle's perspective: blind from birth, she shares her thoughts about the catch-all word "disabled" and how she prefers to be seen as a fellow human being rather than a blind person as she shares her thoughts, struggles, and dreams.

Rafe Pearlman is a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist who has performed all over the world. You can hear his voice featured on soundtracks for NBC, Netflix, Direct-TV, Thunder Road Films, and on Sony’s top video games. He got his start as a kid in the Alaskan wilderness singing with wolves, ravens, and sled dogs, and those are elements you'll still hear today in his performances.

Andy jokes that his life growing up was like a Stephen King novel. I thank him for his vulnerability in sharing intimate details of a psychologically dysfunctional family life - forced to live in a basement, sit on a carpet sample, fight for food, get frisked every day by his mother after school for contraband (books), and more. Incredible that his goals today often center on sharing love and kindness.