Tanana Yukon Historical Society

Your Fairbanks Historical Society Since 1959

December 1998 Newsletter
Vol. 3, No. 12

Index

• Cautions about proposed Economic Development Commission
• Holiday Event for TYHS
• President's Corner
• News From Around the State
• Lecture Review
• Preservation Activities from Around the State
• Another Candidate For Preservation?

CAUTIONS ABOUT PROPOSED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

We would like to join the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce in cautioning the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly to carefully assess plans for an Economic Development Commission. To avoid mistakes, economic development must look at the livability of our downtown area and preserve those people-friendly qualities of Fairbanks that make Fairbanks our home. At one time urban renewal was promoted as essential to the economic revitalization of cities but it often contributed to disfranchisation of whole neighborhoods.

Grandiose social experiences, whether on the local, state or federal level, even when initiated with the best of intentions, often fail. Masterplans are rarely sucessful and usually outdated before implementation. Greater Fairbanks however, does need a vision, a vision to retain those elements in the community that define our heritage, improve our quality of life and pave the way for developing sustaining economic benefits. Local government can assist the public in numerous ways in achieving these goals.

For anyone interested on strategies that work (and some that have not worked as they were envisioned) we recommend The Living City, How America's Cities Are Being Revitalized by Thinking Small In A Big Way, by Roberta Brandes Gratz. The Preservation Press. 1994 ISBN 0-89133-246-4: $ 16.95

A Holiday Event For THYS!

The Board of Directors of the Tanana-Yukon Historical Society cordially invites you to a holiday reception in honor of Wickersham House museum docents whose efforts have made this past season such a success. The reception will be held at the Noel Wien Auditorium, December 15, 1998, from 5:30 pm to 7pm.

A quilt raffle will be part of the festivities and tickets ($1.00) may be purchased up until the time of the drawing. Following the reception, the 1998 Preservation Honors Award will be presented to Ann and John Ringstad for their sucessful rehabilitation of "The White House."

This event is an opportunity to meet the people who have guided the society through this past year and to share with them ideas, suggestions, proposals or concerns you may have regarding the activities of the Society.

President's Corner

With the holiday season upon us I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many members of the Society that have worked so hard to support our many programs throughout 1998. Your support is greatly appreciated and has significantly contributed toward meeting our projections for this year.

We are especially proud of our newsletter and believe its contents timely and of interest to you. I would like to thank Oliver Backlund, our first editor, for implementing the newsletter and for continuously improving its content and design. Due to Oliver's efforts the TYHS became the recipient of the 1997 Alaska Historical Society's "Local Historical Society Newsletter Award". While Oliver is planning to take a sabbatical from his duties as editor we welcome Karen Farrell of IntelliGraphics who has volunteered her time to the project.

Susan Grigg has successfully seen our historical cookbook project take shape. The book is now ready to go to the printer and will be available in early spring. We thank the Alaska and Polar Regions Department for allowing us to reprint this rare 1909 treasure.

We would like to thank Roger McPherson for many hours of his time volunteered for the video project which focuses on First Avenue from the initial grant application through to its completion. The public service spots will be aired on local stations. We hope to air the PSAs during prime time and are looking for local sponsors.

The operation of the Wickersham House Museum is one of our great successes and continuing challenges. Wickersham House Museum is tastefully and authentically furnished and has become one of the main historical attractions in Fairbanks. Our many volunteers are knowledgeable and excellent interpreters of the history of early Fairbanks and Judge James Wickersham. It remains a challenge as we continuously re-evaluate our operation, adjust our exhibits and update information. This past year we replaced the old worn dining room rug with an authentic oriental rug in a historic pattern popular in early Fairbanks. The purchase depleted our Wickersham account and no further improvements to Wickersham House are planned until sufficient donations accumulate. Wickersham House has operated in the red for the past several years and has become a drain on our general fund. This trend has to be reversed! Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

This year we announced our "Five Most Endangered Historic Properties" list at the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce Luncheon. A new program was initiated this year, the "Fairbanks Historic Preservation Awards". The owners of the Fairbanks Exploration Company Inn and the White House, both on Illinois Street, became the first recipients of the prestigious award. Karen Farrell graciously contributed artwork.

Our monthly lecture series, under the capable guidance of Ron Inouye remains one of our most important services to the community and is universally appreciated. We are now back in our old location at the Noel Wien Library and are looking forward to stimulating lectures.

Most of all I would like to thank all the officers and Board members of the Society, and the many volunteers who helped throughout the year for their efforts in making good things happen.

Happy Holidays!

News from around the state

In 1997 Festival Fairbanks sponsored an International Mining Conference. The subsequent compilation and publication of the proceedings contributed to a better understanding of Alaska's Gold Rush era. This event secured for Festival Fairbanks (led by Dr. William R Wood) the Esther Billman Certificate of Excellence, which is given annually to an organization for outstanding achievement by the Alaska Historical Society. Congratulations to Dr. Wood and Michelle Roberts of Festival Fairbanks for earning the coveted award.

Congratulations are also in order for Lael Morgan. The journalism professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks was presented the Alaska Historical Society "Alaska Historian of the Year Award" for her vastly popular book Good Time Girls of the Gold Rush.

Fairbanks' own Candy Waugaman was chosen as this year's recipient of the Alaska Historical Society's President's Award for her work, interest and assistance in all things historical. The award, a tradition since the 1960's, is a beaver-chewed stick, carefully selected each year to be presented to the honoree. Thanks, Candy, for all your efforts in our behalf.

Review

In the event you missed our November program, Jean A. Murray's lecture on "Music of the Alaska Gold Rush", you missed a treat. But you can still hear the subject of the lecture; Murray offers her music on cassette tape and CD which is available for $12 or $15.95 respectively. The recording is a delight of yesteryear.

Preservation Activities from Around the State

This past year has been good for restoration efforts. Although not large projects, they have received positive public attention.

1. The Aleutian & Pribilof Islands Restitution Trust continue to move ahead on restoring the Russian Orthodox Churches in the Aleutian Chain and Pribilof Islands. In 1998 they restored the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church at Nikolski and the St. George's Orthodox Church at St. George on the Pribilof Islands. Money for restoring these churches is part of the U.S. restitution payment to the Aleuts stemming from their internment during World War II.
   
   
2. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has begun restoring the Sealing Plant on St. George Island. The Sealing Plant is the focal building of the Seal Islands Historic District National Historic Landmark. When constructed in 1954 to replace the original structure that burned, salt water was used to mix the concrete. Overtime, the salt has eaten away reinforcement and caused major spauling of the concrete. Present project will replace damaged concrete and reinforcement.
   
   
3. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) restored four line shacks, a workshop and a water tower along the Copper River and Northwest Railway (CR&NW). This restoration project was dictated by a Consent Decree stemming from a Clean Waters Act suit brought on ADOT&PF by the Corps of Engineers. The CR&NW ran from Cordova to Kennecott, serving the Kennecott mine. The railway was abandoned shortly after the mine closed in 1938. In 1991 the State began upgrading the railbed for vehicle traffic without the proper permits. The stretch of railbed where the line shacks are is heavily used by dipnetters during the salmon runs up the Copper River. The public will use the restored buildings.
   
   
4. Restoration activities continued on the Jualpa Mining Camp north of Juneau, focusing on the Locomotive Shed in 1998. These activities are being funded in part from CLG grants received from the Department of Natural Resources Office of History and Archaeology. Jualpa Mining Camp provided support for the gold mining operations of the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company within the Last Chance Basin area of the Juneau Gold Belt. The hardrock gold mining operations began in 1887 and continued to 1944.
   
   
5. The Alan Memorial Preservation Project, Inc. continues to work towards the preservation of Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka. Sheldon Jackson College is the oldest continuous educational institute in Alaska. Sheldon Jackson and the Presbyterian Church founded it in 1878. Between 1910 and 1911 an entire new campus was built, designed by the New York architectural firm of Ludlow and Peabody. Within a formal layout, the buildings were designed with a unifying architectural theme of English Tudor. The National Park Service is considering having the property identified as a National Historic Landmark. Allen Auditorium has had roof and siding repair and a fresh coat of paint. The Trustees of the College have committed to provide regular maintenance to the core buildings.
   
   
6. Kake Cannery in Southeast Alaska became a National Historic Landmark. The Kake Cannery consists of buildings constructed from 1912 to 1940. It is one of the better examples of an early cannery left in Alaska, retaining its architectural integrity, original worker housing, and period machinery. Owned by the Organized Village of Kake, actions to preserve the complex are on-going.
   
   
7. After ten years of effort on the part of private, state, and federal groups, Kennecott Mines and associated mill complex has been acquired by the National Park Service. This property had been one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 11 most endangered properties. The Kennecott Mine was developed in the first decades of this century to extract the rich copper ore and ready it for shipment to Cordova via the Copper River and Northwest Railway and then on to smelters in the states. Mining operations ceased in 1938, with everything from the company records to the milling machinery left in place. Efforts to have the property brought under the management of the National Parks Services was a concerted effort on the part of the State of Alaska, National Park Service, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Friends of Kennecott. The National Park Service is now conducting studies to address the level of management best suited for the resource and the role non-profits may have in this management.
   
   
8. Intensive archaeological excavations continued at Castle Hill in Sitka. The Russian-American Company selected Sitka as a settlement in 1804. The company's manager's home was constructed on top of what became known as Castle Hill. When Alaska's ownership changed from Russia to the U.S., the flag raising ceremony was held at the Castle Hill. The Russian-American era building on the hill burned in the 1960s and the site was developed as a park commemorating the flag raising ceremony and the acquiring of Alaska. The archaeological excavations are being performed in advance of a construction project that will provide access to the disabled. The excavations have revealed undisturbed material dating form the Russian-American Company occupation of the site, uncovering over 2,000 pounds of artifacts.
   
   
9. Alaska Gold Rush Centennial Task Force continues to hold events commemorating the centennial of Alaska's gold rushes. This year's activities center on the Nome gold discoveries. As part of the centennial programs (a 10 year event) interpretive signs are being developed and placed along the State's highway system. This past year 30 panels have been developed for the road system between Valdez and the interior.
   
   
10. The State has identified a sympathetic developer to rehabilitate the Matanuska Colony Creamery, Cannery and Warehouse in Palmer. The two parties are nearing the end of their negotiations that will transfer title from the State to the developer once the property is rehabilitated. The developer is performing the work to meet the requirements to receive historic tax credits. The Matanuska Colony was one of 99 agricultural colonies established during the depression. It is the last that maintains its integrity. The Creamery, Cannery and Warehouse is a focal point of the core area of the Colony.

Another Candidate For Preservation?

Lael Morgan, author of Good Time Girls of the Gold Rush, claims that the structure pictured at left was once a house of ill repute in Fairbanks's Red Line district. Just like many early Fairbanks structures the building needs to be moved. Morgan hopes to have the former "crib", or narrow "one room habitation", rehabilitiated for use as an interpretive center. While there is no documentation to support the history of the structure there is neither evidence that suggests otherwise.

Tanana-Yukon Historical Society
P.O. Box 71336
Fairbanks, AK 99701-1336