Newly released: At the APK episodes!

One of the things we really miss during the coronavirus closure is public programming. In the four years since we opened the APK, we've developed a regular series of author and artist talks, presentations by historians, film screenings, and youth art activities that highlight the collections and exhibits of the Library, Archives, and Museum in interesting and entertaining ways.

Thanks to a partnership with 360 North, we've been able to capture many of those programs on video. Our new 360 North producer, Bethany Lowrance, has edited and posted the latest season of episodes. Here are a few of our favorites from the past year.

Kirk Johnson and Ray Troll on Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline

Kirk and Ray, the scientist and the artist behind last summer's Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline exhibit, obviously have a great time when they get together, and so did the audience. Kirk, a paleontologist and director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, packed a ton of science into his presentation, illustrated by Ray's quirky humor.

Emily L. Moore on Proud Raven, Panting Wolf: Carving Alaska's New Deal Totem Parks

This talk and the accompanying book tie in perfectly to the Library, Archives, and Museum. One chapter focuses on the Proud Raven totem pole, previously called the Lincoln pole, on exhibit in the Museum's Foreign Voyagers gallery. Dr. Moore also used archival records and historic photographs to document the creation of southeast Alaska's most iconic tourist destinations.

Alaska State Museum staff presentations

I never get tired of hearing my colleagues share their knowledge, and we were fortunate to have three of them talk about some of their favorite topics in the past year.

Steve Henrikson presents The Case for Tranquility Base

For the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, Curator of Collections Steve Henrikson recounts the saga of the Museum's missing moon rock, a real-life museum detective story complete with international intrigue, possible arson, and a top secret trip to NASA to retrieve "the football." The moon rock returned to Alaska and was one of the last exhibits in the old Museum before it closed in 2014.

Anjuli Grantham on Tin Can Country: Southeast Alaska's Historic Salmon Canneries

Curator of Museum Services Anjuli Grantham wears many hats, including historian and book editor. Along with contributing author and "fishtorian" Bob King, Anjuli talks about the role that salmon canneries played in Alaska history.

Andrew Washburn presents Illuminating Subjects: Snippets of Lighthouse History and Preservation in Alaska

Museum Registrar Andrew Washburn is both a museum professional and the Vice President of the Cape Decision Lighthouse Society. He combines these two roles in a presentation about the history of the lighthouse service in Alaska and the challenges and successes of groups preserving lighthouses around southeast.

The At the APK playlist includes other great episodes from previous seasons, including U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, Ken Coates on the Princess Sophia, Leland Hale on What Happened in Craig? and Tlingit master carver Wayne Price. A big thanks to 360 North for recording, editing, and posting these programs. Happy viewing!

Alaska Folk Fest memories

It's no secret that the Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum have a great love for and strong connection to the Alaska Folk Festival. What started as a small gathering at the Museum has grown into a multi-venue week of music, workshops, and revelry enjoyed by musicians and music lovers from around the world. Bob Banghart, our former deputy director, has been a driving force behind Folk Fest since its inception.

Cover of the program for the 19th annual Alaska Folk Festival in 1993, designed by Bill Hudson. From Alaska State Library Manuscript Collection 118.

Like many in Juneau, we're sorry that the Festival is canceled this year and miss seeing familiar faces come through our doors and share their memories of music in the Museum, so we're taking a walk down memory lane with our collections. The Library's Historical Collections has some phonotape audio recordings from the early festivals, and has an active Alaska Folk Festival memorabilia collection, which grows every year and includes posters, buttons, stickers, programs, a "Folk Fest family album" from 1994, and even some painted backdrop panels created by University of Alaska Southeast students for the 2009 festival. You can see a selection of the programs on Alaska's Digital Archives and some even have notes, comments, and ratings of performances.

Bill and Clarissa Hudson wrote this note on the 1978 program they found and sent to the Folk Fest organizers in 1994. The Hudsons created many of the iconic Folk Fest posters in the '80s and '90s.

There are also some mysteries about Folk Fest history that even die hard fans haven't been able to help us solve. Did Folk Fest begin in 1974 or 1975? Although the Alaska Folk Festival website says 1975, others (including the Hudsons, see above) say the original concert was in 1974 and the first festival was in 1995. Who were the original Folk Fest performers? Do programs or flyers from 1974 or 1975 exist in someone's attic, basement, or guitar case? If you know the answers to these questions or have early Folk Fest memorabilia to donate, please contact the Historical Collections.

Although these guys were about 70 years too early for Folk Fest, they'd fit right in at a jam session. From Alaska State Library Photograph Collection 44-03-184.

Guest post: Damon Stuebner on the film Report from the Aleutians

On Friday, November 10, the APK will host three showings of the award-winning World War II film Report from the Aleutians by filmmaker John Huston at 1, 2, and 3 pm. LAM film and video specialist Damon Stuebner shares some background on the film. -Claire

Damon Stuebner during filming of his documentary about the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Storis.

Report from the Aleutians is the official U.S. Army film documenting the combat operations and daily life of soldiers serving in the Aleutians during World War II. While he is not officially credited, Hollywood filmmaker John Huston wrote, directed, edited, and narrated Report from the Aleutians.

Prior to the war, John Huston was Hollywood’s go-to-man for fixing poorly written scripts. His first venture into directing feature films won him two Academy Awards for the film, Maltese Falcon (1941). At the start of the World War II, Huston enlisted in the Army and was assigned to the recently established U.S. Army Signal Corps - Motion Picture Unit as a lieutenant.

Huston was quickly promoted to captain after receiving his first assignment to film at a remote Aleutian outpost on Adak Island in Alaska. Capt. Huston and his small film crew spent 6 months on Adak living and working out of the same tent and filming in all types of weather conditions. His chief cameraman, Lt. Rey Scott (a well-regarded Hollywood cinematographer prior to the war) received a medal for flying nine combat missions over Kiska in six days. While filming bombing missions himself, Huston had several close-calls. On one mission, enemy fire killed the gunner standing next to him. On another mission, the bomber that he was filming in crashed and caught fire upon landing.

Title card from Report from the Aleutians via Wikipedia.

Along with Huston’s narration, Report from the Aleutians also featured his father, Hollywood actor Walter Huston, as co-narrator, and bomber pilots who had flown combat missions over Kiska played themselves in voice-over roles.

The U.S. Army wanted Report from the Aleutians to be released as a short film, but Huston insisted that the film be released in its original form as a feature length documentary. The film won a New York City Film Critics Circle Award (1943) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary (1944). The film lost to Divide and Conquer, directed by famed Hollywood filmmaker, and Huston’s commanding officer, Major Frank Capra (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It’s a Wonderful Life).

Huston also served as chief cameraman for the joint U.S./British Army film Tunisian Victory, and he shot newsreel footage during the Allied Invasion of Italy.

Report from the Aleutians was the first of three films Huston directed for the U.S. Army. His second, Battle of San Pietro, became the standard for how Hollywood makes war films even today. While billed as a documentary, it was largely a re-enactment of how U.S. forces, despite being greatly outnumbered and having taken heavy casualties, captured the San Pietro Valley in Italy. His third film, Let There Be Light, which examined the effects and treatment of “combat fatigue” (now known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), was deemed so controversial by the U.S. Army that it was listed as classified until 1980, when it was released to the National Archives. Today, film critics consider Let There Be Light to be one of Huston’s greatest films.

After the war, Huston returned to Hollywood as an actor and director. He appeared in 54 films and went on to direct 47 motion pictures, including such Hollywood classics as The Treasure of Sierra Madre, The African Queen, and Moby Dick.

How can I find historical Alaskan weather?

Here in Juneau, we're constantly talking about the weather, even though it's pretty consistent, especially this summer (read: so.much.rain). But what if you want to know what the weather was in the past?

We recently had a question like this from a patron looking for the weather on the day he was born. He asked that we send him the weather section from the newspaper in the town where he lived. That was a great idea. It worked especially well because there was a big storm on his birthday so there was a full article on the weather. We have one of the most complete Alaska newspaper microfilm collections in the world and our microfilm scanners make it easy to scan an article and send it by email.

Juneau's weather report from Wednesday, September 13, 1916 as reported in The Alaska Daily Empire.

You can also find historical weather information from the National Weather Service, although the amount of information may differ depending on the local forecast office. Let's say I wanted to know what the weather was like in Nome fifty years ago. When I looked up Nome, it said that the local forecast office is in Fairbanks, with a link on the right side. Then I went to Climate and Past Weather.

The local forecast office page for Fairbanks. There is a link to Climate and Past Weather at the top of the page.

From the Climate and Past Weather page, you can find a tab called NOWData, which stands for NOAA Online Weather Data.

In NOWData, you can select the location and information type. Several of the options will give you historical weather data in various formats, so it's up to you which product type you select. I chose the Daily Almanac for September 13, 1967, which shows the high, low, and average temperature, precipitation, snowfall, and snow depth. It also provides the record highs and lows for the observation period, which goes back to the 1890s for many Alaskan locations.

The Daily Almanac for September 13, 1967 shows that the high temperature was 55, low was 36, and there was no precipitation or snowfall.

Guest post: Historic Alaskan newspapers online with Leah Geibel

Imagine firing up your computer, opening your web browser, and with the click of a button, searching through 100,000 pages of digitized Alaskan historical newspapers from the comfort of your home. Whether for historical research, genealogy, or school projects, this will soon become a reality for Alaskans with the Alaska State Library’s participation in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

National Digital Newspaper Project Coordinator Leah Geibel, with her microfilm reader and project notes.

What is NDNP?
The National Digital Newspaper Program is a joint collaboration by the Library of Congress and National Endowment for the Humanities dedicated to preserving and providing access to our nation’s historical newspapers through digitization and inclusion in Chronicling America, a freely accessible web-based text-searchable newspaper database.

AKDNP: Alaska’s Role in NDNP
The Alaska State Library is coming up on one year since its inclusion in NDNP – so what do we have to show for it? First, let’s start with the roles and responsibilities of the library, which will help explain where we are now and where we’re going in the future.

By the end of the grant cycle, in August 2018, the Alaska State Library will have digitized 100,000 pages of Alaskan historical newspapers from across the state ranging in date from 1898-1922. These pages will be sent to Library of Congress in 10,000 page batches which will then be made available free to the public on Chronicling America (see above section). This will involve two sections within the library, Historical Collections and the Micrographics Lab. Micrographics is responsible for creating preservation quality duplicates of all microfilm reels being digitized for the grant which will eventually make their way into the hallowed stacks of the Library of Congress as preservation copies. Historical Collections is in charge of day-to-day management of grant operations ranging from gathering page level metadata from the historical titles chosen, to shipping content to vendors for digitization and performing quality control checks, to managing outreach through social media and creating programs and content aimed at providing instruction awareness of Chronicling America as an instructional resource for researchers, educators, and students.

Jerry Duncan, Microfilm/Imaging Operator, duplicates reels of newspaper microfilm in the lab at the APK. The red light is safe to use without exposing the film.

What titles were selected for digitization and how were they picked?
There was a lot of time spent, effort organizing, and views debated before a final list of titles was chosen. A sixteen member advisory committee comprised of community members diverse in experiences, geographic locations, and professions, but united in their passion for preserving Alaska’s history was tasked with this very important aspect of the project. Several factors influenced their final title selection such as technical specifications provided by Library of Congress, geographic coverage of the paper, completeness of the paper (meaning we weren’t missing huge chunks of its run), date range, and diversity of viewpoints recorded within the paper. With over 300 titles to choose from, 10 were selected for digitization during this grant cycle which the committee members felt were papers of record, had close to complete runs, were diverse in geographical coverage, and fell within the specifications recommended by Library of Congress.

1. The Alaska daily empire (Juneau, AK ). 1912-1922
2. Douglas Island news (Douglas City, AK). 1898-1921
3. The Thlinget (Sitka, AK). 1908-1912
4. The daily Alaskan (Skagway, AK). 1898-1922
5. The Nome nugget (Nome, AK). 1901-1922
6. The Alaska prospector (Valdez, AK). 1902-1918
7. The Iditarod pioneer (Iditarod, AK). 1910-1919
8. The Cordova daily times (Cordova, AK). 1914-1922
9. The Seward gateway (Seward, AK). 1904-1922
10. The Alaska citizen (Fairbanks, AK). 1910-1920

Where are we now?
The first batch of digitized pages is now available on Chronicling America. It includes 1,206 issues of The Alaska Daily Empire (1912-1918), 448 issues of the Douglas Island News (1898-1907), and 47 issues of The Thlinget (1908-1912). These pages are free to search at chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. You can expect to see new batches of 10,000 pages go up monthly until we reach our 100,000 page limit.

The first page of the first issue of the Douglas Island News, November 23, 1898, viewable on Chronicling America.

Where are we going?

Anastasia Tarmann, the Alaska Digital Newspaper Project Director, has been meeting with educators to bring historic newspapers and other primary sources into the classroom, and plans to support other Alaska institutions with supplementary projects. We plan to continue educating Alaskans and other researchers on navigating Chronicling American and promoting NDNP through exhibits, social media, and public programs. We will also be focusing on reapplying for the next grant cycle, where we hope to extend our title selection to papers covering smaller, more diverse, and underrepresented communities!

Learn More & Follow Along!
For frequent project updates and a behind the scenes look you can check out the Alaska Digital Newspaper Project’s blog at akdnp.wordpress.com

For project highlights, content features, photographs, contests and more follow the Alaska Digital Newspaper Project’s Instagram account @AlaskaHistoricalNewspapers

To contact the Project Coordinator for more information email Leah Geibel at leah.geibel@alaska.gov. To contact the Project Director, email Anastasia Tarmann at anastasia.tarmann@alaska.gov.

Thanks to Leah for contributing this guest post! Leah has been with the Library since February and is busy bringing historic Alaskan newspapers to you! As someone who spends a lot of time looking through Alaska newspaper microfilm, I'm thrilled that this project will make research easier. -Claire

First Folio at the APK

We were so honored to be Alaska's host site for the national traveling exhibition First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare, on tour from the Folger Shakespeare Library. The exhibit opened on July 26 and closed on August 24.

The exhibition featured an original First Folio, the first edition of Shakespeare's collected works, printed in 1623. Photo by MaryLou Gerbi.

The First Folio exhibit was different from our usual fare of Alaska history, and some visitors were surprised to find the nearly 400-year old treasure here in Juneau. One visitor remarked, "Last summer we were in London and didn't see a First Folio. This year we're in Alaska and we find one here!" It's been fun to hear about peoples' encounters with Shakespeare, from those who remember memorizing the To Be Or Not To Be speech in high school to people who have acted in Shakespeare's plays. One fifth-grade Shakespeare fan showed up wearing The Tragedie of Hamlet printed on her pants!

Enrique Bravo performs the To Be Or Not To Be speech from Hamlet with Theatre in the Rough on August 12, 2016.

The First Folio exhibit has been a wonderful way for us to connect with our community in our new facility. We had four weeks of diverse programming, including art and theater workshops for kids, performances in our beautiful atrium, and school visits by several brave teachers, who brought their classes during the first week of school! We shared lectures via the Online With Libraries videoconferencing system, thanks to a little bit of ingenuity from our IT wizard and the OWL support team at UAF.

Participants in Shakespeare's costumes & crafts youth activity, led by guest artist Valerie Snyder of BrownBoots Costume Co., show off their creations.

If you read a part in the Theatre in the Rough dramatic readings, led a workshop or gave a lecture, or came by to enjoy the exhibit, thank you for making this incredible opportunity so fantastic. And thank you to the generosity of the project sponsors and the fearlessness of the Folger Shakespeare Library in sending their intrepid First Folios out into the world.  

First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare, on tour from the Folger Shakespeare Library, is made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and by the support of Google.org, Vinton and Sigrid Cerf, the British Council, Stuart and Mimi Rose, and other generous donors. It is produced in association with the American Library Association and the Cincinnati Museum Center.

• Missed one of the First Folio lectures? You can find them on our YouTube page:
•  Who Wrote the First Folio? - Presented by Jim Hale on July 29, 2016
• Alaska in the Time of Shakespeare - Presented by Dr. Rick Knecht on August 10, 2016
• Shakespeare Explained: Hamlet - Presented by Professor Nina Chordas on August 12, 2016
• Shakespeare Explained: Romeo & Juliet - Presented by Professor Nina Chordas on August 19, 2016
• Thank you to all of our supporters and volunteers!

Save the date for our grand opening, June 6, 2016!

The Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum will celebrate its grand opening on June 6, 2016. After years of planning, developing, and moving, we are so excited to reopen as an integrated facility in our beautiful new building.

SLAM pictured on April 7, 2016. Just two more months until we're open to the public!

June 6 is a significant day for us and for Alaska. On June 6, 1900, U.S. Congress passed the Alaska Bill or Alaska Civil Code, a massive piece of legislation that created a civil government for Alaska. The Alaska Bill became Chapter 786 of Session 1 of the 56th Congress. It created three judicial districts, based in Juneau, Saint Michaels, and Eagle City. It outlined the powers of the governor, which included everything from appointing the notary public to managing the sealing industry to leading the militia. It set taxes, moved the capital from Sitka to Juneau, and established the district historical library and museum.

ALASKA BILL HAS PASSED. Daily Alaska Dispatch, June 12, 1900.

The original district historical library and museum was funded by fees paid by lawyers admitted to the bar and by commission fees for notaries, which were both ten dollars. The library and museum was charged with collecting and maintaining "copies of all laws relating to the district, and all papers and periodicals published within the district, and such other matter of historical interest...The collection shall also embrace such curios relating to aborigines and the settlers as may be by the governor deemed of historical importance."

Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff was the first dedicated curator and librarian of the Alaska Historical Library and Museum. He was appointed by Governor Thomas Riggs and led the institution from 1919 until his death in 1940. Alaska State Library Historical Collections, PCA 243-3-007.

When Alaska became a territory in 1912, the district historical library and museum became the territorial library and museum, and eventually the Alaska State Historical Library and Alaska State Museum. The Information Services section of the Alaska State Library was added in 1955 to support research in the territory and the Alaska State Archives was created in 1970. All the entities joined together as the Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums in 1991, and 2016 will be the first time that we will be together in one facility.

Please join us in celebrating the beginning of the next chapter for the Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum. We look forward to seeing you on our 116th birthday, June 6, 2016!

Alaska State Archives releases Iditarod collection

The Alaska State Archives recently posted a collection of records of Territorial Governor Scott C. Bone relating to the 1925 serum run to Nome, which served as the inspiration for today's Iditarod sled dog race.

Governor Scott C. Bone, 10th Governor of the Territory of Alaska, 1921-1925. Alaska State Library Historical Collections, PCA 274-3-1.

The story of the serum run is well-known throughout Alaska. Diphtheria hit the isolated town of Nome during the coldest part of winter, sparking an epidemic that killed five people and had the potential to infect the region. The area's lone doctor, Curtis Welch, sent out telegrams pleading for fresh supplies of the diphtheria antitoxin. Bad winter weather discouraged the use of planes, so the serum was delivered by sled dog relay, running the 674 miles from Nenana to Nome in a record 5 days, 7 hours. Gunnar Kaasen and his lead dog, Balto, ran the last leg, bringing the serum into Nome on February 2, 1925.

Gunnar Kasson [Kaasen] & Balto in their race to Nome. Alaska State Library Historical Collections Portrait File.

Archivist Zach Jones writes, "These records consist of the original correspondence files of Territorial Gov. Scott C. Bone, whose telegrams and correspondence provide day-by-day documentation of the 1925 Serum Run and those who participated." The urgency of the correspondence is palpable in the terse telegrams and one can only imagine the helplessness that Gov. Bone must have felt trying to aid his constituents from far-away Juneau.

Telegram from Nome, January 27, 1925, requesting that the dog team continue beyond Ruby until meeting the next team. "OUR TEAM LEAVING NOME TODAY WITH LEONARD [Leonhard] SEPPALA SWEEPSTAKES RACE WINNER DRIVING LIGHT." Alaska State Archives SR726-VS243

Primary source records like these add a rich dimension to the story of the Iditarod. Although improvements in transportation and information technology have made Alaska seem like a smaller place, the challenges of providing access to health care, resources, and information to its far corners persist today.

Learn more:

• Governor Scott C. Bone's correspondence files on the 1925 Serum Run to Nome, January to February 1925. Alaska State Archives, SR726-VS243-pt1
• Governor Scott C. Bone's correspondence files on the 1925 Serum Run to Nome and health issues in Alaska, March to December 1925. Alaska State Archives, SR726-VS243-pt2
• When the dog beat the plane. Alaska Dispatch News article, March 1, 2016.
• Diphtheria and the Alaska Iditarod. Center for Disease Control.

Celebrating Alaska Book Week!

It's Alaska Book Week, a celebration of Alaskan authors and their books, created by 49 Writers. Libraries, bookstores, and schools hold book signings, author talks, writing workshops, and other special events that highlight writing in Alaska.

We're big fans of Alaska books at the Alaska State Library. Our collections and our research have a strong Alaskan focus, so we live and breathe Alaska books and documents. Here are a few recent titles that we've enjoyed this year.

Published by University of Nebraska Press, 2014.

Fu-Go: The Curious History of Japan's Balloon Bomb Attack on America by Ross Coen
The fu-go campaign was a little-known episode from World War II in the Pacific. The Japanese military launched thousands of paper balloons rigged with incendiary devices that were meant to drift across the ocean to start wildfires and wreck havoc in the western United States and Canada. Although hundreds of these balloons were found, including many in Alaska, only one resulted in casualties, killing a minister's wife and several teens in Oregon. Ross visited the library in June and gave us a behind-the-scenes look at Fu-Go, including dozens of previously classified images. Although Fu-Go is a riveting read on its own, Ross' lecture added another dimension to my enjoyment of this book. If you missed it, you can watch the video here. We apologize for some technical difficulties with the screen-sharing at the beginning of the recording.

Published by Alaska Northwest Books, 2014.

Animal Stories: Encounters with Alaska's Wildlife by Bill Sherwonit
I'm not the only library staffer who's been recommending Bill Sherwonit's collection of nature stories. Sherwonit, a former outdoors writer for the Anchorage Times, writes about his extraordinary and everyday animal encounters in a friendly, thoughtful style. The surreal feeling of meeting a wild animal on the street will resonate with many urban Alaskans, and Sherwonit includes not just bears and moose but other less common critters like wood frogs, sandhill cranes, and lynx.

Published by University of Nebraska Press, 2015.

So, How Long Have You Been Native? by Alexis Bunten
This anthropological exploration of cultural tourism is based on Bunten's experience working as a tour guide for a tribally owned tourism business in Sitka. Bunten addresses the struggle that Alaska Native communities face when trying to decide if they should embrace or denounce cultural tourism, which brings economic benefits but can also be viewed as selling out Native culture. Working in tourism is a rite of passage for many Alaskans, but this insider look at working in cultural tourism is unique.

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.

 A Wolf Called Romeo by Nick Jans
For several years, Juneau was home to a friendly, solitary black wolf, who loved to frolic and play with local dogs around Mendenhall Glacier. He appeared in late 2004 and soon became a regular winter fixture. Nick Jans, a well-known Alaska nature writer and photographer, was among the first to encounter the wolf who was soon nicknamed Romeo by everyone in town. A Wolf Called Romeo is a great choice for dog lovers, nature enthusiasts, and anyone who had the brief opportunity to be adopted as a member of Romeo's pack. Nick Jans will be speaking about this book at University of Alaska Southeast's Egan Library for Evening at Egan on October 16.

Published by Epicenter Press, 2014.

Dreaming Bears by J. Michael Holloway
After Mike Holloway's first year of medical school, he was determined to have the most remote Alaskan adventure possible, so he caught a bush plane from Fairbanks to Venetie, then hiked to Gold Camp, the tiny home of Johnny and Sarah Franks. Johnny showed Mike traditional ways of hunting, fishing, and boat-building, and constantly told stories of his people. This began a lifelong friendship between a young doctor and the Gwich’in elder who became his mentor. Dreaming Bears is a quiet book about finding unlikely kindred spirits and learning from others’ extraordinary lives. I read this shortly after Karsten Heuer’s Being Caribou, and enjoyed the different perspective on the region and the people who have lived among caribou for thousands of years.

Published by Doubleday, 2014.

In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton Sides
Although not written by an Alaskan author, In the Kingdom of Ice will appeal to Alaska history buffs for its grim but fascinating retelling of the doomed polar voyage of the USS Jeannette, which set sail for the Arctic in 1879 and was locked in the ice off Siberia for two years before wrecking. Based on Captain George De Long's diaries, rescued from the ice by engineer George Melville, this book tells a largely forgotten story of polar exploration in the Gilded Age. The library has several other titles on this subject, including two volumes of De Long's journals.

What Alaska books have you enjoyed this year? If you're looking for your next Alaska book, check out Amy Fletcher's list of new and upcoming releases in Capital City Weekly.

What was the equivalent of counties in Alaska before boroughs were created at statehood?

Prior to the creation of boroughs, it seems that there really wasn’t anything analogous to counties in Alaska, but perhaps the closest things were judicial districts. There were three, and later four, judicial districts, and they did take care of some administration responsibilities for their areas. You can find more information on this at the Alaska History and Cultural Studies website from the Alaska Humanities Forum.

Melville C. Brown was the first judge of the Division No. 1 district, which covered southeast Alaska. Alaska State Library - Historical Collections, Brown-Melville-C.

Arthur H. Noyes was the first judge of the Division No. 2 district for western Alaska. Noyes used his position to jump claims and was removed from the judgeship in 1902. Alaska State Library - Historical Collections, Noyes-Arthur-H-1.

James Wickersham, who later went on to be Alaska's congressional delegate, was the first judge of the Division No. 3 district for interior and southcentral Alaska. This district was later divided into two separate districts. Alaska
State Library - Historical Collections, ASL-Wickersham-James-1.

As mentioned, there are currently four judicial districts. You can find them listed, with the courts located within each, at the Alaska Court System website.

Learning about Japanese balloon bombs with Ross Coen

In June, historian Ross Coen came to the Alaska State Library to present a lecture on fu-go, Japanese balloon bombs used in a strange and little-known campaign during the end of World War II. The lecture was based on research for Coen's new book, Fu-Go: The Curious History of Japan's Balloon Bomb Attack on America, published last year by University of Nebraska Press, and included many historic photographs that were once considered highly classified.

The Japanese hoped that the balloon bombs would start wildfires and terrorize Americans by raining fire from the sky. However, several factors contributed to the overall failure of the campaign. First, due to seasonal winds, the balloons could only survive the trans-Pacific flight during the winter, when Pacific forests were the least susceptible to fires. Second, the U.S. military requested media silence on all stories concerning the balloons, and although the order was not mandatory, most news outlets complied. Thus, although hundreds of the balloons reached North America, the Japanese had no way of knowing if the balloons were surviving the oceanic flight, and eventually the lack of discernible results and resource shortages led to the termination of the campaign.

This balloon, recovered at Alturas, California, on January 10, 1945, was reinflated for testing by the U.S. military. U.S. Army Air Corps (Air Force) photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

We shared Ross' presentation on the Alaska Online With Libraries (OWL) videoconferencing network, and were joined by participants from Craig, Ketchikan, Skagway, Sitka, Fairbanks, and Haines. If you missed the presentation, you can watch the archived videoconference recording online. Sharing a program like this on OWL was a new endeavor for us, so please excuse the screen sharing difficulties during the first few minutes of the video.

Ross' book is available at many local libraries, including the Alaska State Library, and as an e-book on ListenAlaska.

Read more:

• "Japan's Secret WWII Weapon: Balloon Bombs." National Geographic, May 27, 2013.
• "Military unit blows WWII-era Japanese balloon bomb to 'smithereens." The Globe and Mail, October 10, 2014.
• "Beware of Japanese Balloon Bombs." NPR History Department, January 20, 2015.
• The fu-go campaign is mentioned in Ivan Doig's novel The Eleventh Man, about a college football team that is scattered around the globe on different assignments during World War II.

Connecting to Collections: Beaded tunic in Winter and Pond photographs

Last month, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the grand opening celebration for Sealaska Heritage Institute's new Walter Soboleff Center. The event featured speeches, dance performances, unveiling of monumental artworks, and a traditional ceremony.

The Yees Ku Oo dancers perform in front of the Soboleff Center, May 15, 2015.

During the traditional ceremony, representatives from clans from around southeast Alaska presented clan hats and other at.oow to be displayed in the Nathan Jackson Gallery. Bill Thomas of Haines presented several pieces of regalia, including a beaded tunic. During his speech, he mentioned that the tunic can be seen in some historic photos taken by Winter and Pond.

Bill Thomas speaks about the beaded tunic held by Chuck Smythe of Sealaska Heritage Institute, May 15, 2015.

The Alaska State Library Historical Collections has a large collection of Winter and Pond photographs, which include some of the most iconic images of southeast Alaska from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Partners Lloyd Winter and Percy Pond arrived in Juneau in 1893, and over the next fifty years, took thousands of photographs that documented life in southeast Alaska. Pond died in 1943, and two years later, Winter sold the business to Francis Harrison, who managed the company until it closed down in 1956. The photographs and negatives were transferred to the Alaska State Library Historical Collections in 1981.

Percy Pond (left) and Lloyd Winter in front of the Taku Glacier. Alaska State Library Historical Collections PCA 87-1280

Photographs from this time frequently depicted Native Americans in ways that served to justify colonialist policies that subjugated Native peoples. This is especially true of staged photographs of Native people meant to make them appear primitive or savage. In the Winter and Pond collection, there are a few exoticized studio portraits of Alaska Natives, but there are also many photos taken in Native communities that provide a glimpse of Tlingit life at the turn of the century. In The Tlingit Encounter with Photography, author Sharon Bohn Gmelch notes, "Winter and Pond's photographs are notable for the range of subjects and conditions they show. They did not limit themselves to narrow stereotypes or attempt to create falsely romantic images of the Tlingit by removing traces of modernization or Western culture."

A significant portion of the Winter and Pond collection can be viewed on vilda.alaska.edu, Alaska's Digital Archives. I searched the digital collection and found two images that show the tunic, or one that is very similar. Both photographs were probably taken in Klukwan around 1894 or 1895, according to Victoria Wyatt in Images from the Inside Passage. The top photo was taken outside the Frog House. The lower photo was taken in a makeshift tent studio. In both, the tunic is worn by a man on the far right.

Alaska State Library Historical Collections PCA 87-0035.

Alaska State Library Historical Collections PCA 87-0037

The opening of the Soboleff Center was a significant event, in part because the Center is a place where young Native people can feel connected to their history. Hopefully, these 120-year old photographs can contribute to that experience. Seeing these old photos alongside the actual tunic made me think about the tunic's long life and its significance to the people who made, wore, and cared for it. It also made me appreciate the ways that Alaska's cultural and historical institutions work together to help preserve and interpret history.

The tunic is now on display in the Nathan Jackson Gallery at the Walter Soboleff Center, and you can see it for yourself.

Learn more:

• View the finding aid and read background information about the Winter & Pond Photograph Collection (PCA-87) at the Alaska State Library Historical Collections
• See Winter & Pond photographs on vilda.alaska.edu 
• Read articles by LAM staff about problems of early photographic depictions of Alaska Natives.

• By Sorrel Goodwin of the Alaska State Library Historical Collections: Photography and Colonialism in North America: "Looking is not an innocent act." Alaska State Museum Bulletin: No. 43. August 2011.
• By Zachary Jones of the Alaska State Archives: Images of the Surreal: Contrived Photographs of Native American Indians in Archives and Suggested Best Practices. Journal of Western Archives: Vol. 6: iss. 1, Article 6.

Naming the SLAM

On Tuesday, Alaska Governor Bill Walker signed SB63, which officially names our new building, affectionately called the SLAM, after two great Alaskans. The building's formal name will be the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum.

Governor Walker signing SB63 at the Alaska State Library Historical Collections. Behind him from left to right: legislative aide Bianca Carpeneti, Education & Early Development Commissioner Mike Hanley, Deputy Director of Libraries, Archives, and Museums Bob Banghart, Mayor Merrill Sanford, Representative Sam Kito III, Senator Dennis Egan, and legislative intern Heather Evoy.

From 1919 until his death in 1940, Father Kashevaroff served as the first curator and librarian of the Alaska Historical Museum and Library. Although the institution was created by an act of Congress in 1900, it didn't open its doors until 1920, and Father Kashevaroff personally greeted the visitors.

Reverend A.P. Kashevaroff standing outside the Alaska Historical Museum
P243-3-007

Father Kashevaroff was uniquely positioned to lead the fledgling institution. As a Russian Orthodox priest with Alaska Native heritage, Kashevaroff had a deep interest in Alaska's history and culture. His strong relationships with Alaska Native and Russian American communities allowed him to acquire the objects that form the foundation of the Alaska State Museum's collections and to advocate for the library and museum.

The Reading Room on the second floor will be named for Representative Richard Foster of Nome, who served in the Alaska legislature from 1989 until his death in 2009. Representative Foster was a Democrat who often caucused with the Republicans, and was well-known for crossing party lines to benefit his community. He was also a great user of the Alaska State Library, and would walk from the Capitol to the library and the archives to read newspapers and research Alaska's history.

Representative Richard Foster
Alaska State Library Historical Collections Portrait File

We look forward to opening the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum and Representative Richard Foster Reading Room next spring. We'll be honored to work in a place bearing the names of these two men and we hope to see you there, helping us write the next chapter in the State Library, Archives, and Museum story.

More on the naming of SLAM:

• Read the full text of bill SB63
• See KTOO's Lisa Phu report on the signing of SB 63 
• Read a biography of Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff
• Watch Dorene Lorenz's five-part series on the Kashevaroff family legacy on Your Alaska Link
• Read an article reporting Representative Richard Foster's death in the Alaska Dispatch News
• Read Senator Lisa Murkowski's statement on the passing of Representative Richard Foster

Since You Asked! Episode 18: Juneau Teacher Tales, 1930-1959

The Juneau Retired Teachers Association recently published the second edition of their book about Juneau teachers' experiences. The book includes personal histories by teachers who worked in Juneau in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, as well as information about Juneau's educational history. In this podcast, librarian Claire Imamura talks with retired teachers Barb Potter and Marie Darlin about the project.

Listen to Podcast (.mp3)
[ 20 minutes]
Recorded on September 29, 2014


Learn more about the Juneau Retired Teachers Association and find resources for your own historical research project:

• Alaska Retired Educators Association
• Juneau History Grant
• Alaska State Library Historical Collections

Since You Asked! Episode 3: Exxon Valdez Litigation Documents Project

Librarian Julie Niederhauser speaks with archivist Larry Hibpshman about the Exxon Valdez Litigation Documents project.  Larry is an archivist with the Alaska State Archives and responsible for overseeing this important project.

Listen to Podcast (.mp3)
[ 18 minutes ]
Recorded on October 26, 2013

Contact the Alaska State Archives:

• Staff Directory
• Email: archives@alaska.gov
• Phone: 907.465.2270

Additional Resources:

• Larry's presentation slides

Alaskan historical census data

Question: How many WWI veterans lived in Anchorage in 1970?

Answer: 82, according to "Table 102, Social Characteristics for Places of 10,000 - 50,000: 1970" found on page 3-135 of the US Census "General Social and Economic Characteristics: Alaska" from the 1970 Census.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development/Research and Analysis Division has scanned and posted PDFs of Alaska related census reports from 1880, 1910 and 1940 through 1990 at Alaska Census 1880-2010. For 1980, these reports include:

Number of Inhabitants
General Population Characteristics
Detailed Population Characteristics
General Social and Economic Characteristics

Alaska Census Data from 2000 and beyond can be located at Labor's Alaska Census Data and Information page.

Finding Congressional activity

Question: How do I find what occurred in the US Congress on September 11, 2001?

Answer: One method is to use Thomas from the Library of Congress. Click on:

1. "Congressional Record", currently on the left hand side of the page, then
2. "Browse Daily Issues", currently to the right of "Search the Congressional Record", then
3. "107" for the daily listing of the 107th Congress. We know that this is the correct Congress because the years 2001-2002 are listed at the top.

You will find September 11, 2001, towards the bottom of the page with links to the floor activity in the House, extensions on remarks made in congress, and a digest summary of the day's activities. There doesn't seem to have been any floor activity in the Senate on that day, but if there were, that would have been listed too.

The Fifty-Niners

Question: Could provide me with some information on the Alaska 59ers?

Answer: In March of 1959, two months after Alaska became a state, a group of about three dozen people, primarily from the Detroit area, left the lower-48 to homestead in Alaska. They settled along the Susitna River. In the articles that follow they are called the “Detroit 59ers” or simply just the “Fifty-Niners.”

• Smith, William E. In Alaska: Homesteading. Time, 12 November 1984. Available at ttp://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926918,00.html (Accessed on February 26, 2010).
• Alaska: Call of the Wild. Time, 11 May 1959. Available at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,865796,00.html (Accessed on February 26, 2010).
• Zacharias, Pat. Detroit 59ers – Alaska or Bust! The Detroit News, 5 March 1998. Available at http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=69 (Accessed on February 26, 2010).
• The 59’ers Find Promised Land. Life, 20 April 1959, p. 141. Available at http://books.google.com/books?id=W0gEAAAAMBAJ&source=gbs_all_issues_r&cad=3 (Accessed on February 26, 2010). You will need to browse to page 141 to view this article, which also includes photographs.
• Coen, Ross. Alaska or Bust! The Ester Republic, March 2009, p. 25. This article is not available freely on the internet. 
• Coen, Ross. The Detroit 59ers, the original 'Alaska or Bust' caravan. Anchorage Daily News, 8 March 2012. Available at http://www.adn.com/article/detroit-59ers-original-alaska-or-bust-caravan.

Reading about Alaska's history

Question: Can you suggest books about the history of Alaska and its major cities?

Answer: Before I go into some specific recommendations, I wanted to suggest this book of recommended Alaska titles:

Alaska Historical Society. (2006). The Alaska 67: a guide to Alaska's best history books. Walnut Creek, CA: Hardscratch Press. See holding libraries at http://worldcat.org/oclc/74733103. This has annotations on 67 books related to specific aspects of Alaska history.

Another good source of recommendations for nonfiction and fiction about Alaska is our library's "Some Books About Alaska" guide, which was published from 1994-2000. You can find those issues at http://library.state.ak.us/hist/publications.html#Some%20Books%20About%20Alaska.

Now for some recommendations about specific books:

State History:

Naske, C.-M., & Slotnick, H. E. (1979). Alaska, a history of the 49th State. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. See holding libraries at http://worldcat.org/oclc/4665300. This is considered one of the standard works on Alaska.

Haycox, S. W. (2002). Alaska: an American colony. Seattle: University of Washington Press. See holding libraries at http://worldcat.org/oclc/49225731. This work links Alaska history under Russia and the United States to colonialism.

Whitehead, J. S. (2004). Completing the union: Alaska, Hawai'i, and the battle for statehood. Histories of the American frontier. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. See holding libraries at http://worldcat.org/oclc/55665367. This is the most painless and fun read of the story of how Alaska became the 49th State of the Union.

City Histories:

By 2000 population, our largest five cities are: Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan (Source: American Factfinder http://factfinder.census.gov).

Anchorage
Tower, E. A. (1999). Anchorage: from its humble origins as a railroad construction camp. Fairbanks: Epicenter Press. See library holdings at http://worldcat.org/oclc/41603147. I've read this book myself and offer an enthusiastic recommendation.

Fairbanks
Cole, D. (1999). Fairbanks: a gold rush town that beat the odds. Fairbanks, [Alaska]: Epicenter Press. See library holdings at http://worldcat.org/oclc/41579911.

Juneau
De Armond, R. N. (1967). The founding of Juneau. Juneau, Alaska: Gastineau Channel Centennial Association. See library holdings at http://worldcat.org/oclc/2118319. Considered the major work on Juneau history.

Stone, D., Stone, B., & Bradley, P. R. (1980). Hard rock gold: the story of the great mines that were the heartbeat of Juneau. Juneau, Alaska (155 S. Seward St., Juneau, Alaska 99801): Juneau Centennial Committee, City & Borough of Juneau. See library holdings at http://worldcat.org/oclc/7672030.

Sitka

Andrews, C. L. (1922). The story of Sitka; the historic outpost of the northwest coast, the chief factory of the Russian American company. Seattle: Press of Lowman and Henford. See list of holding libraries at http://worldcat.org/oclc/1647149.

Roppel, P. (1982). Sitka, and its ocean/island world. Alaska geographic, v. 9, no. 2. Anchorage, Alaska: Alaska Geographic Society. See library holdings at http://worldcat.org/oclc/8195040.

Ketchikan
Allen, J., & Charles, P. (1992). Spirit!: historic Ketchikan, Alaska. Ketchikan, Alaska: Published by Lind Printing for Historic Ketchikan. See library holdings at http://worldcat.org/oclc/30637949.

Harrington, L. B., & Smith, M. C. (1999). Clams on the beach and deer in the woods: a collection of oral histories from southern Southeast Alaska. Ketchikan, Alaska: Friends of the Public Library. See library holdings at http://worldcat.org/oclc/48247467. If you like personal stories, then this is the book to read about Ketchikan.