Category: 49 History

Sun, March 29, 2015

How Seward Escaped Being Named Vituska

By J Pennelope Goforth The curious story of the naming of the town of Seward was documented aboard the steamer BERTHA out of Seattle bound for Alaska on her regular monthly voyage in the summer of 1902. A party of engineers for the Alaska Central Railway headed to Resurrection Bay and a professor of history from the University of Washington made their acquaintance on deck. The result of their meeting has preserved how the town of Seward narrowly escaped... (Read More)

Tue, March 17, 2015

Debunking a Myth: Enough, Already!

by J. Pennelope Goforth [Reader discretion advised: this rant contains strong language and truthiness.] It’s right up there with Dewey Wins! and Mission Accomplished and it’s just as wrong. The phrase has been said so many times in ignorant error that I refuse to let it be a search word term in this opinion piece. You know the one I’m talking about. The one that describes Secretary of State William Seward’s support for the Treaty of Cession as a mindless... (Read More)

Thu, March 12, 2015

SIKULIAQ: History in the Making

by J Pennelope Goforth Earlier this month Seward welcomed the Polar Class 5 ice-capable vessel SIKULIAQ to its homeport. The name derives from the Inupiaq for ‘young sea ice’ and is pronounced ‘see-KOO-lee-auk’. She is a new 261-foot oceanographic research vessel. A commissioning ceremony and community reception for the SIKULIAQ was held in Seward. [caption id="attachment_3638" align="alignright" width="300"] The commissioning ceremony in Seward, March 7.[/caption] The ‘commissioning’ of a vessel is one of the major events in a... (Read More)

Mon, March 02, 2015

STARR in the wake of DORA: Mail Ships of the Aleutians

by J. Pennelope Goforth Back in the day, in Alaska anyway, mail ships had personalities that summoned devoted fans who enthusiastically met each arrival at the dock. The mail boat brought not only first and second class mail, but current newspapers, fresh foodstuffs, cargo and most importantly, people. Teachers, doctors, priests, and loved ones returning home. These ships of yore spawned legends and myths along Alaska’s thousands of miles of coastline and river fairways for their bravery and courage... (Read More)

Mon, February 09, 2015

Wide Open on Top: Alaska and the Cold War

By John Haile Cloe Shortly after the end of World War II, James Pitt wrote an unpublished book, “Wide Open on Top,” warning of Soviet bomber attacks over the Polar Region and the vulnerability of Alaska to air attacks.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... (Read More)