Category: 49 History

Thu, May 30, 2013

Alaskans In the News

Greetings, Alaska historians. Check out these interesting items from the recent news. First, Alaska Public Media has posted on its website a recording of Katie Ringsmuth’s recent lecture on “Wrangell Mountain Sky Boys: How Buffalo Bill, Buck Taylor and Bob Reeve Created Alaska’s Skyboy Narrative.” Part of the Centennial Flight of Alaska lecture series hosted by the Cook Inlet Historical Society, Ringsmuth delivered the lecture at the Anchorage Museum on April 18. The recording is available here: http://www.alaskapublic.org/2013/05/24/wrangell-mountain-sky-boys/ Also, poet Joan Naviyuk Kane... (Read More)

Sun, May 26, 2013

Exhibit Preview: “Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way of Living”

By Katie Myers Fire Bags, 1883, Ethnological Museum of Berlin, image from AMRC Although it is only just the start of summer, it’s not to late to think about an exciting exhibit at the Anchorage Museum that will open near the end of summer. Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way of Living will be on exhibit from September 12, 2013, through January 2014. If you’ll be in Anchorage during this time, be sure to check it out! About half of Alaska’s... (Read More)

Tue, May 21, 2013

Muktuk Marston’s Five-Point Plan

Even in a state whose history is populated with so many unique characters, Marvin “Muktuk” Marston stands out as one of the most incredible Alaskans of the twentieth century. In addition to organizing the Alaska Territorial Guard during WWII, a service that brought Alaska Natives into the political sphere with lasting effects to this day, Marston was as a miner, real estate developer in Anchorage, and delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1955-56.While commanding the ATG, the always outspoken Marston... (Read More)

Wed, May 15, 2013

Petersburg Newspapers, Digitized and Online (1913-1931)

The Petersburg Public Library has digitized editions of the Petersburg Weekly Report, Petersburg Press, Petersburg Herald, and The Progressive from 1913 to 1931. The issues are keyword-searchable and available online at:http://petersburg.advantage-preservation.com/As the library notes, “Discover people, places and events in the early days of our town. Use the archive to gain a local perspective on historical news, to research your family history or to read about a person or event that interests you.”

Sun, May 12, 2013

Common Waters

Note: The following column is also posted at Alaska's Historic Canneries (alaskancanneries.blogspot.com).When it came to Alaska fisheries, Anthony Dimond and W. C. Arnold didn’t see eye-to-eye very often. As the territory’s congressional delegate from 1933 to 1945, Dimond advocated local fisheries management, a hiring preference for Alaska residents, and the abolition of fish traps. As lawyer and lobbyist for the Seattle-based packing industry, Arnold opposed all of those things.On at least one point, however, the two men were in full... (Read More)