Viciously inhospitable, unique in the world, the remote, austere, breathtakingly beautiful area spanned by the intended route for the Alaska Highway made clear that in the subarctic north nature is a dictator, not a ‘mother’. Link to another story “The Subarctic North Lay in Wait” To this day the region is a vast expanse of …
Tag Archives: History
Sad Comment—Marl Brown
A sad comment appeared on one of my posts last night. Aaron OrKaden wrote “Hey folks. Sadly, this great man just passed a few days ago. I’m honored to be one of his grandkids. He will be sadly missed.” The sad comment appeared on the following post about Aron’s grandpa, Marl Brown. Everyone who has …
Tech 5 Hargoves
Tech 5 Hargoves had no idea, but events in Washington would change his life profoundly. In early 1942, in the near panic that followed Pearl Harbor, FDR and the War Department ordered the Corps of Engineers to create a land route to Alaska—yesterday! At Camp Livingston, Louisiana Tech 5 Hargroves and the other men of …
Dieppe
Dieppe, a port city in Northern France, offered the Allies an opportunity. Their German enemy controlled the entire continent, and to win the war the Allies would sooner or later have to make a successful amphibious attack. A raid on Dieppe would test equipment, teach valuable lessons, and make a serious dent in Germany’s continental …
Rika Wallen–Roadhouse Savior
Rika Wallen and people like her couldn’t keep motorized vehicles and airplanes from killing off most of the roadhouses along the Richardson Highway. They could, though, save a single roadhouse by improving it and knowing how to run it. Big Delta where travelers ferried across the Tanana River on their way to Fairbanks hosted two …
Maternity Ward–Alaska Style
Maternity ward? A cabin in Eagle Alaska—in January. Obstetrician and nurse? A young husband. New mother? The kind of woman who becomes an Alaskan. If the history of the subarctic north fascinates you, people who choose to live there especially fascinate you. The weather, the terrain, the geology, all downright hostile, draw utterly unique people …
Inexperience and Consequences
Inexperience can have consequences. The fuel tank exploding under his bottom shouldn’t have surprised Pvt. Hall, but it did. Inexperience… Donald L. Hall drove trucks in convoy out of Dawson Creek in 1942. He negotiated the Alaska Highway at the rear of the convoy, piloting a truck full of spare parts and tools. When trucks …
Most Horrific
Most horrific event in recorded history, World War II has no real competition for that title. But horrific events challenge those who face them and epic challenge inspires epic response. The construction of the Alaska Highway offers a perfect example. The words, “World War II”, familiar, prosaic, have long since lost the power to convey …
Free Land
Free land has drawn people from the lower 48 to Alaska throughout the twentieth century. Free land or no, most of those people turned around and headed back home after the first winter. The ones who stayed became Alaskans. Alaskans A few months ago, one of those Alaskans, Shirley Balinski, commented on one of my …
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 …