Fri, August 07, 2015
by Chris Allan Perpetual motion has been a dream of inventors and tinkerers for millennia, and during the 1890s, when gold was discovered in the Klondike and stampeders rushed northward seeking fortunes, this fantasy of a non-stop machine that needed no fuel arrived in the gold fields. Both dreamers and charlatans were drawn to the concept, and the frauds made money selling their designs or luring gullible investors to some larger scheme. While living in Dawson the Czech traveler and adventurer Jan Welzl (widely known...
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Sat, July 18, 2015
by William Schneider [caption id="attachment_3816" align="alignright" width="300"] Group portrait at the first Tanana Chiefs Conference, 1915. Seated front, L to R: Chief Alexander of Tolovana, Chief Thomas of Nenana, Chief Evan of Koschakat, Chief Alexander William of Tanana. Standing at rear, L to R: Chief William of Tanana, Paul Williams of Tanana, and Chief Charlie of Minto. Albert Johnson Photograph Collection, University of Alaska Fairbanks.[/caption] One hundred years ago this month (July 5-6, 1915), Native leaders from the Tanana...
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Sat, July 04, 2015
Alaska students Clare Howard, Camille Griffith, and Leo McNicholas were awarded the Junior Division Native American History Award at the annual National History Day (NHD) competition, held last month at the University of Maryland. Clare, Camille, and Leo, all from Anchorage, won for their documentary entitled Elizabeth Peratovich’s Leadership to Change Native Rights and Her Lasting Legacy in Alaska. Two entries from Alaska also received the Outstanding Entry Award, which recognizes quality work, well-rounded research, and great student achievement....
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Tue, June 02, 2015
Cod fishing is a rather rough life. —Anacortes American, 1911[1] For any disobedience of lawful commands from said Master or the Officers of the Vessel, whoever they may be, it is agreed to forfeit to the Owner One Thousand Codfish for each offense and for a false report of catch of codfish to the Master, the Fisherman agrees to forfeit the catch so falsely reported. —Alaska Codfish Company, 1912[2] BY: James Mackovjak Fishing for codfish in the Bering Sea...
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Fri, May 29, 2015
by Tobin Shorey In 1799, shipwrights in Dighton, Massachusetts, completed construction of the Juno. According to ship registries in Rhode Island, where the Juno was registered in 1800, she measured 82.5 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 12 feet deep, and could displace up to 295 tons fully loaded. [1] A three-masted ship with two decks, the Juno was a fast sailing merchant vessel that had a sharp keel lined with copper. Records say that she was fitted with a...
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