Queen of Fairbanks

Irene Sherman was well known in Fairbanks, especially if you lived there in the last half of the twentieth century. She was brash and loud, and walked or biked her three-wheeler as she greeted friends, new and old. Wearing layers of old clothes, usually topped with a parka, even in the summer’s heat, Irene was a sight. Further, it was clear that she’d been badly burned at some point. Scars covered her face and hands, the only visible parts of her body. Overs the years, many had repeated rumors of how she was scarred, why she was so forcefully friendly, and where she went at the end of each day.