Mon, February 09, 2015
By John Haile Cloe Shortly after the end of World War II, James Pitt wrote an unpublished book, “Wide Open on Top,” warning of Soviet bomber attacks over the Polar Region and the vulnerability of Alaska to air attacks. At the time, America had developed the nuclear bomb and the means to deliver it. The Soviet Union lacked both. The Soviets, however, quickly moved to catch up by exploiting American technology through espionage and old fashioned luck. In...
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Fri, January 23, 2015
by Rebecca Poulson I've been volunteering at the middle school to lead a Literature Circle with a small group of 7th graders. Back in December, we read Jack London's The Call of the Wild. Of course, right? It was even on a list of books for a contest this spring, one reason I chose it. If you haven't read it, it's about a dog that's stolen from a ranch in California, and sold as a sled dog on...
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Fri, December 05, 2014
by Ross Coen From the very start of the salmon packing industry in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska in the nineteenth century, Great Britain was by far the largest importer of canned salmon, in some years accounting for up to 95% of the total export market. The packers accordingly designed their labels to appeal to British customers. Some labels featured portraits of Queen Victoria, while others played upon Anglo-American loyalties. The label shown below, Electric (circa 1880s), is an example...
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Thu, December 04, 2014
by Lael Morgan Editor’s note: It probably goes without saying, and yet I’m going to say it anyway, that readers should be forewarned the post below on the use of coarse racial language in historical accounts contains coarse racial language. The editor hopes Lael’s piece will open a dialogue on this important historiographical issue. Readers may send comments—either for publication on this blog or not, please specify—to rcoen (at) uw.edu. Last week I got a query from a...
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Wed, November 26, 2014
The Alaska Historical Society wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! As we celebrate this year, please enjoy the following note about William H. Seward’s thoughts on Thanksgiving, written by Billye J. Chabot, director of the Seward House Museum in Auburn, New York: While people have celebrated the harvest for thousands of years, the national practice of Thanksgiving is relatively recent. Each state governor had the authority to proclaim a Thanksgiving Day. However in 1863, secretary of state Seward suggested to...
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