Wed, July 10, 2013
By Anjuli Grantham“That’s what I was doing. I was taking a banya.” Sally Carlough related her story of surviving the 1964 earthquake and tsunami in the village of Kaguyak to a class of middle school and high school students last month. The students were enrolled in a two-week history and film intensive, during which they researched, shot, and edited their own mini-films about the history of the Good Friday Earthquake and Tsunami in the Kodiak Archipelago. Alutiiq elder Sally Carlough...
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Fri, July 05, 2013
Note: What follows is an excerpt of the testimony of August Buschmann, pioneering cannery operator and fish trap operator, taken from the Special Subcommittee on Alaskan Problems, House Committee on Merchant Marines and Fisheries, on the Elimination of Salmon Traps in the Waters of Alaska, November, 1949. Not only does Buschmann describe the genesis of many canneries in Southeast Alaska, his testimony clearly shows the speed at which canneries proliferated around the bays and inlets of Alaska. Readers interested in...
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Mon, July 01, 2013
By Anjuli GranthamHoop houses have replaced Quonset huts as the most commonly sighted semi-circular structures in Kodiak these days, as gardeners have taken full advantage of USDA tax credits to promote food self-sufficiency. Now, one can eat fresh salad greens throughout the winter that were not shipped in a container van from Seattle. And although Kodiak gardeners are vaguely aware of the fact that people have been gardening in Kodiak for awhile, people are generally surprised to learn that Kodiak...
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Sun, June 23, 2013
By Rachel MasonPresident Warren G. Harding’s trip to Alaska in the summer of 1923, followed by his sudden death in California, has been well documented in various sources. Patricia Ray Williams, one of very few people if not the only one alive who remembers President Harding’s July 1923 visit to Seward, suggested that an appropriate June entry for the 49 History blog might talk about Harding’s motives and preparations for the trip. Pat’s father, L.V. Ray, was the mayor of...
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Wed, June 19, 2013
From friends in Anchorage comes this reminder of a historic gem worth a visit this summer:The Oscar Anderson House Museum offers guided tours all summer through September 1. The museum is located downtown at 420 M Street, along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail at Elderberry Park. Visitors will enjoy a 45-minute guided tour of the House Museum, recently named a Distinctive Destination by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Visitors will learn about the history and day-to-day life of early...
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