Harriet Pullen, one of the ladies who joined a flood of men in their rush for Klondike gold, found her fame and fortune in Skagway, Alaska. She had no need to go on to the Klondike. “I only had seven dollars to my name. I didn’t know a soul in Alaska. I had no place …
Category Archives: Skagway
Soapy Smith
Soapy Smith came to Skagway to get rich—like everybody else in the Gold Rush years. But Jefferson Randolph Smith had no intention of mining gold. Soapy came to mine miners. Link to another story “Fascinating Skagway” A confidence man up from Georgia, dressing and presenting like a southern gentleman, Soapy took his name from one …
Lieutenants
Lieutenants? Where would the army be without them? In June 1942 Lt. Darrel M. Schumacher of the 340th Engineering Regiment cooled his heels in Skagway. He and his men would walk to the Teslin River as soon as the 93rd built them a trail. In the meantime, they waited. Then the Japanese bombed the American …
All Hell Broke Loose
All hell broke loose when the US Army invaded little Skagway, Alaska in the spring of 1942. Endless ships of every description came up the Lynn Canal, tied up in Skagway’s harbor and disgorged soldiers—thousands of soldiers—then turned and went back for more. For old timers the sudden arrival of the Corps brought memories of …
The Most Unique Contribution
The most unique contribution to Skagway atmosphere probably came from “Old Man Davis”. He considered bathing an unnatural activity, incompatible with good health. Residents knew to be up wind when they encountered Davis. Harriet Pullen brought her three sons to Skagway with the miners—sold them pies. When the miners left, she opened a small hotel, …
A Narrow Strip of Land
A narrow strip of land forms the boundary between the water of the Lynn Canal—at sea level– and the towering mountains of Canada’s Coastal Range. Skagway, Alaska occupies that tiny strip of land. The great Klondike Gold Rush just after the turn of the 20th Century created Skagway, a boomtown of mythic proportions virtually overnight. …
Russell Wesley on the WP&YR
Russell Wesley’s comment popped up on my post about the White Pass and Yukon Railway the other night, and it took my breath away. Russell got my attention with this, “When I worked on the Yukon and White Pass Railway in the early 70’s, we had no modern equipment. We had a radio that was …
Inwood to Skagway
Inwood, Iowa to Skagway, Alaska—Doctor Peter Dahl moved his family to an utterly different, utterly unique world. Wife Vera liked Iowa just fine, but “whither thou goest…” The move struck eleven-year-old Lew, ten-year-old Robert, and even three year old Roger as pure excitement. Buffalo Soldiers in Skagway In his memoir, After the Gold Rush, …