The SS David Branch, carrying the segregated 97th Engineering Regiment to the Alaska Highway dropped anchor in Valdez Harbor on April 29, 1942. Valdez offered one ramshackle dock and no harbor pilots. On April 30 her captain, forced to an unassisted docking, managed to ram her bow into and through the end of the dock. …
Category Archives: North Country
Port of Valdez in 1942
Valdez grew a bit between the Gold Rush and 1942, but not much. Robert Kelsey and his Valdez Dock Company had installed a rickety dock mounted on timber pilings across the mud flats at the water’s edge. The town had acquired a Presbyterian Church and a Café. Gateway to the Richardson Highway Valdez had acquired …
Rika Wallen
“Rika Wallen”, researcher/Team Leader pounced this morning. “You posted about Judy Ferguson and John Hajdukovich. When are you going to post about Rika Wallen?” “Today”, I responded. Remember that she’s not just “Researcher”. She’s also “Team Leader”. Judy Ferguson wrote about Rika as well as about John and her book, Parallel Destinies, is my …
John Hajdukovich
Hajdukovich captured Judy Ferguson. I’ve recently shared the stories of two remarkable ladies of the far north—Mary Hansen of Alaska and Martha Black of Yukon. The North Country attracts and produces people like these ladies—resilient, independent, incredibly tough. Researcher recently discovered a writer named Judy Ferguson who has made a specialty of documenting the lives …