Category: 49 History

Sat, April 06, 2013

Pacific Fisherman Digitized Collection Now Online

Pacific Fisherman, a fishing industry journal published for six decades in the early- to mid-twentieth century, was a vital source of information for fishermen in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Today, its countless thousands of articles, photographs, advertisements, and data on various species is an incredible resource for scholars in several fields, historians included.The Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington recently digitized more than five thousand pages of Pacific Fisherman. The collection is available at:http://content.lib.washington.edu/pacfishweb/index.htmlAccording to Special Collections at... (Read More)

Mon, April 01, 2013

Opening Day

By Katie Ringsmuth“We have observed several parties of youngsters playing base, a certain game of ball….Let us go forth awhile and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our close rooms….the game of ball is glorious.”—Walt Whitman Baseball players in Anchorage,July 4, 1915 (UAA-hmc-0778-5-14)April 1, 2013 is Opening Day, the start of a new baseball season. It’s hard for a historian not to love baseball, for our national pastime is steeped in tradition. In the PBS documentary Baseball,... (Read More)

Wed, March 06, 2013

William H. Seward, Political Fixer

In recognition of Seward's Day this month, we're posting the following column by Tom Kizzia that was first published in the Anchorage Daily News and is reprinted here with the author’s permission. Kizzia’s book “Pilgrim's Wilderness” will be published later this year.In the years just after the American Civil War, were bribes paid to win congressional approval for the purchase of Alaska? And did the American politician credited by history with making the deal know about the payments?The answer to... (Read More)

Mon, February 25, 2013

Honoring Melvin Dempsey: Part II

A continuation of the story of Melvin Dempsey, a half-African-American, half Cherokee prospector who contributed much to the establishment of early Valdez.by Andrew GoldsteinWith George Hazelet and A.J. Meals, Dempsey discovered gold on Chistochina River in the fall of 1899. Starting for the interior via the glacier route, he arrived at Chisna, placing numerous claims along the Chistochina River between 1899 and 1901. In March 1898, Dempsey became the center of a controversy. Since 1897, the Valdez town site had... (Read More)

Thu, February 21, 2013

Honoring Melvin Dempsey: Part I

by Andrew GoldsteinIn recognition of Black History Month, we’d like to honor one of Old Valdez’s fascinating and influential early residents. Melvin Dempsey was a prospector of African-American and Cherokee descent and an educated man who remains an “unsung hero” in his accomplishments establishing the town’s early infrastructure.Melvin Dempsey, circa 1905Dempsey was born a slave in 1857 in North Carolina, the son of a Cherokee plantation owner and an African-American slave. He moved around in his early life, living in... (Read More)