Category: 49 History

Wed, August 07, 2013

Trip of a Lifetime: WWII Aleutian Sites

By John CloeTen of us, including six intrepid Alaskans, recently completed the first commercial tour of World War II military sites in the Aleutians, organized by Valor Tours of Sausalito, California. Our goal included determining the feasibility of safely visiting World War II historic sites in remote and difficult to reach places. Our trip was more of an expedition than your normal tour of well-groomed Civil War battlefields.The tour commemorated the 70th anniversary of the ending of the Aleutian Campaign... (Read More)

Mon, July 29, 2013

Alaska’s Endangered Canneries

By Anjuli Grantham Diamond X Cannery on the Ugashik River in Bristol Bay.This photo was taken in 1994. The cannery is now totally destroyed.Image courtesy Bob King.Recently, the Alaska Association for Historic Preservation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Alaskan canneries as endangered historic properties. The NTHP listed Kake Cannery as one of the organization’s 11 Most Endangered properties in the nation, and the AAHP listed both Kake Cannery and Alaska’s historic canneries in general on the list of the... (Read More)

Mon, July 22, 2013

Preserving the Legacy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

By Anjuli Grantham “The oil spill’s impact on the psychosocial environment was as significant as its impact on the physical environment.” —Lawrence Palinkas et al. “Community Patters of Psychiatric Disorders after the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill” I was just in 2nd grade when the crude oil from the hull of the Exxon Valdez coated the water and coastline from Prince William Sound down to Kodiak. I remember booms used to contain the spread of oil floating in the sea, shouting... (Read More)

Wed, July 10, 2013

Remembering Kaguyak

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... (Read More)

Mon, July 01, 2013

Rhubarb Patches and Beach Peat: Kodiak’s Agricultural Heritage

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... (Read More)