sitka historical society newslettersitka to host history and museum statewide conference: call for...
TRANSCRIPT
SITKA HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Sitka Historical Society
And Museum 330 Harbor Drive Sitka, AK 99835
Voice (907)747-6455
Fax (907)747-6588
E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.sitkahistory.org
Board of Directors President: John Stein
Vice Pres: Pat Alexander
Secretary: Karen Christner Treasurer: Ernestine Massey
Doris Bailey
Jim Davis Jerry Dzugan
Sabra Jenkins
Chris Todd
Linda Trierschield
Executive Director
Robert Medinger
Curator
Jacqueline Fernandez
Visitor Services Manager
Rhonda Kingwell
Find us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/
pages/Sitka-Historical-Society-
Museum /167383696691834
CONTENTS:
New Museum Planning Efforts We Were Mill Families
Successful 1st Annual Fund
Drive Executive Director’s Report
Membership Information
Recent Acquisitions and
Activities Sitka to host History and
Museum Statewide Conference:
Call for papers
New Museum
Planning Efforts
By Bob Medinger
February 10th, was the 55th
anniversary of the birth of Sitka
Historical Society. In 1970 the
Museum was created in Centennial Hall via a partnership
with the City of Sitka, Chamber
of Commerce and the Centennial Hall Building Committee.
For well over thirty years the
Historical Society and its membership has had the goal of
expanding the museum and its
capabilities. The last major effort
three years ago was the collaboration of the “Sitka
Museum and Repository
Consortium” that seriously investigated the Stratton
Library building after the
closing of the SJ College.
A new and ambitious effort is now underway, via a
collaboration of the City and
Borough of Sitka and Sitka Historical Society. The
Centennial Harrigan Hall facility
is due for a major renovation in an effort to upgrade the 45 year-
old conference and visitor center.
The Sitka Historical Museum,
originally named the City Museum and for a time named
the Isabel Miller Museum, was
established in an original meeting room. The Museum has outgrown
the facility and must store
valuable historic artifacts, photos and documents at four locations
around Sitka.
The City has included a
request for Capital Project funding from the state legislature
this year, totaling $4.1 million,
Feb - Mar, 2012
“We Were Mill Families”
One Man’s Story of the
Alaska Lumber
& Pulp Company
By Jacqueline Fernandez
In an interview, Shawn McLeod
talked about his days working for
the Alaska Lumber & Pulp
Company, its impact on his life and the community of Sitka, and what it
was like to be a part of the
community of mill workers. McLeod worked at the pulp mill
from 1975 until its closure in 1993.
He had come to Sitka with his family in the 1950s as an infant
from Renton, WA. Shawn’s father,
who had worked in shipyards in
Bellingham as part of the crew that built the first ferries that came to
Alaska, had heard about the mills
being built in Ketchikan and Sitka, and wanted to relocate to work at
the mill.
The McLeod family was only one of many families to move to
Sitka to work at the mill. Families
first started coming in 1957, when
construction at the site began. Those workers who were among the
first to be given employment
opportunities at the mill, which began operating and producing pulp
in 1959. Nearly 400 men and
women eventually came to Sitka to
Page 1 Continued on page 2 Continued on page 2
Page 2
We were Mill Families (cont’d from page 1)
work for the Alaska Lumber & Pulp Company.
While his father was working at the mill, Shawn
attended school in Sitka and witnessed many changes to the town. The mill “was a boom to
Sitka because it was transformed from a fishing
town of 3,000 to a town with an additional 400 mill employees. With people coming with their wives
and kids it translated into an additional 2,000-3,000
people.” Houses were brought in on Cascade Creek
and Lakeview Drive to house employees; Blue Lake Dam was built and turbines were established
that provided electricity to the town; Blue Lake
Campground and Whale Park was built, and roads were paved. Back then there was no ferry system,
no bridge out to Japonski Island, no Crescent
Harbor. Aside from the changes to the physical
landscape of Sitka, there were changes in the
community itself. “The sense of community was
really strong at that time.” He continued,
“Everyone was welcomed and felt like they were wanted here because it was helping the community. The quality of life in town went up a lot. Sitka
would never be what it is now if it hadn’t been for
the mill. The mill put on so many events.
ALPARA, the recreation group for the company put on salmon derbies and deer derbies, Christmas
events for the kids. And the mill donated so much
New Museum Planning Efforts (Continued from page 1)
including additional funds for parking. The effort
is to provide not only for a new museum, but a
dedicated Visitor Center within the complex. There are two pools of funding from Cruise Ship
passengers. The potential funding for this Museum/
Visitor facility would not be from our local “head tax” pool of funds that the City receives and
allocates to improved cruise passenger safety and
enjoyment, but from a specific type of tax, the “Commercial Passenger Funds”, that are generated
from tour boat passengers who cruise Alaska
waters for at least 24 hours. The legislature &
governor allocate these special funds for projects in impacted communities.
Because of this news, the Sitka Historical
Society applied for, and was accepted into the Rasmusson Pre-Development Program to facilitate
planning.
Program Highlights: Funding & selection into the program provided
by the Rasmuson Foundation
Pre-Development management by the Foraker
Group & Chris Kowalczewski A Pre-Development Museum Committee was
established with membership listed below.
The group will have met at least seven times over six months.
Project Manager Martha Schoenthal contracted
as lead consultant. Museum Consultant Mary Pat Wyatt contracted
to investigate and prepare a major report of
recommendations.
Architect Paul Voelckers of MRV hired to develop concept designs for the building.
Overall Goals of Pre-development: Collaboration between the City & Borough of
Sitka and the Sitka Historical Society.
Assuring the size of the facility is adequate for storage, exhibits, and visitation by Sitkans as
well as tourists.
The facility supports revenue generation for
operations. A Visitor Center is included.
Collaboration with partners & organizations are
explored. The ability of the Historical Society to operate
the facility on a sustainable basis is
demonstrated.
A funding plan is developed to spell out responsibilities of a capital campaign.
All Pre-Development meeting information, minutes, documents, recommendations, schematics
and dates are available on the Sitka Historical
Society and Museum’s website:
www.sitkahistory.org/
Museum Planning Committee Membership:
John Stein, Ernestine Massey, Pat Alexander,
Society Board Members Bob Medinger, Society Executive Director
Mike Reif, Assembly Member
Michael Harmon, City Public Works Director
Tonya Rioux, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Executive Director
Marilyn Knapp, Retired Curator
Scott Carrlee, Alaska State Museum Curator of Museum Services
Jeff Feldpausch, Sitka Tribe of Alaska
Martha Schoenthal, Project Coordinator,
Foraker Group Mary Pat Wyatt, Museum Consultant, Foraker
Group
Paul Voelkers, Architect, MRF
Continued on page 3
Page 3
Visit our Web Site:
www.sitkahistory.org
You will find a wealth of
information plus a
Membership Form
online
We were Mill Families (Cont’d from Pg 2) money to the town for so many things. Whale Park
wouldn’t be in Sitka if it hadn’t been for the pulp
mill – that was built. A lot of the sports fields in
town and buildings and projects wouldn’t have happened, except for the mill.”
McLeod attended Blatchley Middle School,
where he was part of the school’s first sixth grade class, and Sitka High then just a small school.
While in college, he worked at the mill in the
summer, like lots of kids, including his brothers and sisters, to pay for school. Around 70% of the kids
Shawn knew in town, kids he would ride the shore
boats with to go to the theatre at Japonski Island,
either worked with him to fund their education or had some connection to the company. “It was like a
little community in a community”, he said. Shawn
started full-time at the mill after graduation and while there, he met a young woman, whose sister
had come to town to marry one of his co-workers.
They married and had three children. There were many different departments and
positions at the pulp mill. There was the log deck, a
wood room, a bleach plant, an acid plant, digesters,
a finishing room, a carpenter shop, a tire shop, and a mechanic shop. While at the mill, McLeod
worked through the ranks, from the log deck to
running tugboats. As a bundle deck man, Shawn was posted where bundles of logs weighing around
seventy-five tons and tied tightly with bands would
come in to be readied for being brought into the
mill to be processed into pulp. His job was to cut the bands holding the bundles together and run
behind the bunkers as the logs dropped down. After
the logs were released another man operating a crane would open two big grapples to move the
logs that would flow down the log deck on chains
into the mill. There was a man who ran the chains, a sorting crane operator, and a peco operator who
operated the crane that went out above the water
and could pick up to around 300,000 pounds of
weight and drop the logs on the deck, and boom men on boats who would push the logs.
“I should tell you it was one of the best jobs I
ever had. I’d hold a twenty foot pipe pole, wear caulk boots, and run the logs. Just to be out there
alone in the middle of the night. No lights and you’d just be running the logs and dropping boom
sticks and tying up rafts with boom chains and
running these big donkey lines that would tow in
these massive log rafts so you could break them down, stack them on the boat, wind up the
cables…That was probably the funnest time I’ve
ever had. What better job than for a young man to do that?...Sometimes, when I got down on the
water working the boats, I’d take my pole and troll
for salmon when I was out working. You weren’t supposed to,” McLeod laughed, “but we just did
it.”
The pay was good, more than what McLeod
could earn in any other position at the time, but the work was hard, the hours long, and because it was
an industrial site, there were sometimes accidents.
“We worked so many days”, he recalled. “Some of us worked 12 noon to 12 midnight everyday,
months on end with no holidays, no days off. Then
we’d switch and half of us would work 12 midnight to 12 noon.” As a bundle deck man,
Shawn would find himself in the water up to his
chest at times and employees were only given sixty
minutes to dry off in the winter time and thirty minutes to dry off in the summer.
Despite the demands of overtime and
sometimes soggy working conditions, Shawn took heart in being a part of another community – the
community within the mill site itself. He spoke
with admiration of the people he trained under and
worked with, of their skills and knowledge and described the friendships he formed there as ones
that will “probably last forever”. “We were mill
families. The mill employees were one big family out there. Each department was a family. Those
guys were like brothers and sisters. We’d be
working together and we would plan what we were going to do on our days off or plan vacations
together.” He and other mill families brought their
children to many of the events hosted by the mill,
including the fishing derbies where they had a prize for every fish, deer derbies, and Christmas
parties, like the ones in his own youth. Like other
mill families, Shawn’s shopped at the mill
Continued on page 4
Page
4
First Annual Fund Drive
there. Everything I had was a direct result of working at the mill, my boats, my cars, my house,
everything. So I was driven to do something else.
All the work that I did was to stay here.”
Shawn did stay. After the closure he and some former fellow co-workers got together and applied
for a grant for a re-training program to mitigate the
effects of the shutdown. A program was set up in Wrangell, in Juneau, and in Sitka for former
employees to get training on writing resumes and
taking interviews and to take tests to help them figure out what other career options were most
suited to their skill sets. Shawn learned he was well-
suited for surveying or mapping. He felt as if, by
working at the mill, he had taken a lot from the environment. “It really bothered me, so I decided to
go back to school to obtain a degree in natural
resources, horticulture, and outdoor recreation. It was sort of like, hey, I can give back now a little bit
of what I took from working at the mill.” Shawn ran
Sitka Trail Works for three years after graduating, worked for the Forest Service for a little while, and
today, is the Maintenance Supervisor for Parks and
Recreation for the City of Sitka. “Now in the
position I’m in it’s almost like I’m tied to the community again. It seems like I was meant to do
this.”
For McLeod and Sitka, much has transpired since 1993 and the demise of the Alaska Lumber & Pulp
Company, but one thing hasn’t changed – the desire
to remain, in the case of those who stayed, and the
desire to return, for those who have left, remains strong. “My son is living away right now with his
girlfriend who is completing her medical degree.
And where will they go when she’s finished? Here. They will come back to Sitka. I’m glad that my kids
have an opportunity to come back and stay here and
be a part of this community.”
Photo of Roger & Mary Hames of Hames Corp.,
part of the generous donors to our annual fund drive From left: Mary Hames, John Stein, Roger Hames,
Jackie Fernandez and Bob Medinger. Our sincere
thanks.
We were Mill Families (Cont’d from page 3)
commissary, which was almost like a Costco, and sold goods at low prices. (The commissary closed
in the seventies because it was too expensive to
run.) Some of his favorite memories of time at the mill are of when each department would shut down
at Christmas and New Year’s Eve and have its own
party. Staff would go from one department to the other and exchange gifts with each other. “It seems
like it was a different world”, Shawn said with a
bittersweet look in his eyes. And it was a different
world. In 1987, everything changed for Shawn and
many of the mill employees when there was a
vicious strike that had been preceded by five years of wage and benefit cuts. The strike divided the
entire community. There were fights. The president
of the union was run over the first day by one of
the workers. Strike breakers were brought in from around the United States and workers were
replaced. Shawn described the replacements as
people who “weren’t tied to the community” and people whose sole function was to travel around
the country to break strikes. It was painful for him
and others to watch others be offered more in pay than locals, “just because the mill wanted the union
gone…So many of us had given so much of
ourselves for so long.”
In the end the courts awarded the employees millions of dollars that was split amongst them, but
by the time of the settlement, many people had left
or passed away. Some were given as little as $5,000; others were awarded $400,000; deceased
employees’ families received nothing. “Was it
worth it?” McLeod asked himself aloud. “ No…I
love this town. It took a long time for the wound to heal and for some, it will never heal.”
Shawn returned to work at the mill two years
after the strike, but he had to begin at the bottom of the ladder as a bundle deck man again, and he
never worked his way back up to where he was
before the strike – the pulp mill closed in 1993 before he had a chance. The closure of the mill had
a major impact on the town and Shawn. People lost
their jobs. People had to leave Sitka because they
couldn’t find work. Husbands and wives divorced. Families fell into financial ruin. Shawn himself felt
“lost” and “in panic mode.” “Sitka is a special
place and what the mill gave to me was a means to stay here. When I lost my job, my whole focus was
to find a way to stay because I just loved it. I was
so afraid I’d have to leave. I had been here for thirty-five years… I didn’t know what I was going
to do. The pulp mill had given me everything in
my life. My father had worked there, I had worked
Page 5
Executive
Director’s Report
Bob Medinger
The Society and
Museum has never
been busier since I joined the team in
2007. At the forefront is always
our mission of preserving and
promoting the events, stories and artifacts of the human history of the
Sitka area for the inspiration,
education and benefit of the public and future generations.
Summary of Projects and Efforts
—Jackie Fernandez has just
completed her first year as our
Curator of Collections and Exhibits and has done an amazing job in
organizing our collections and
supporting our mission. Her efforts are now shifting to museum exhibit
Susan Padilla
Megan & Walter Pasternak
Virginia Rush & Ira Perman
Sandy & Thad Poulson
Melanie & Mike Reif Nancy Rickets
Rich Riggs
Emily & Tom Rogers
Kathryn & William Ruddy
Alice & Robert Schell
Linda Schmidt
Bradley Shaffer
Vitaly Sivakof
John Stein
Dorothy (Brownie) Thomsen
Pat Glaab & Chris Todd
Linda Trierschield Robert Ellis & Joan Vanderwerp
Cheryl & David Vastola
Candace Waugaman
Dirk & Trish White
Clark Pete Wingert
Patricia & Don Alexander
Shirley & August Anderson
Doris Bailey
Kathleen & Harvey Brandt
Dorothy Breedlove Susan & Thomas Brown
Davey Lubin & Lisa Busch
Ken Cameron
Thelma Carter
Karen & Jere Christner
Edward Cohen
Stella & Jay Coon
Cynthia Dalmadge
Shirley & Steven Dalquist
James W. Davis
Carole & Bill Denkinger
Jerry Dzugan Sherry & William Foster
Pauline Frederickson
Kris & John Fulton
Wayne Hagerman
Barbara & Lloyd Hames
Mary & Roger Hames
Paulla & Dave Hardy
Sam Heindel
Leslie Wood & Steve Hinshaw
Forrest Dodson & Mary Jane Holzman
Jack & Betty Howard Judy Johnstone
Lillian Trierschield Kasnick
Betty & Dan Keck
Joyce Kelley
Lailah & Dusty Kidd
Marilyn & David Knapp
Kenneth Kranhold
Connie & Marcel LaPerriere
Susan & Michael Litman
Jan & Robert Love
Ernestine Massey & Robert Peel
Bob Medinger Mary Kaye Medinger
Mary Miller
Monica Mills
Chuck & Theresa Olson
Willis Osbakken
Rebecca Osborn
Jack & Judy Ozment
CW and Mary Pat Paddock
changes that will focus on our residents, so stay tuned.
—New museum planning efforts (see
included article)
—Successful 1st Annual Fund Drive (see included article)
—The Sitka Historical Society and
Museum, and the community of Sitka has been selected as the host
community for the October 2012
Statewide Conference of the Alaska Historical Society and Museum’s
Alaska organization. (see included
article)
—We are helping in the planning for the Heritage and Cultural Tourism
Conference that starts March 26th,
and encourage you to attend. —The Society did complete an
agreement with the Forest Service to
secure the use of the historic Geodetic White House for 10 years
at a fee of $100/year. This building
has been critical to our mission, and
will continue to be important, even if we secure a new museum.
—We are working with the ANB &
ANS in the creating of historical interpretive panels celebrating the
100 year anniversary of the
formation and accomplishments of
the ANB. I secured a state historic preservation grant to fund the
project.
—Our board of directors continues to work hard in support of our
mission, meets monthly at
Centennial Hall, and were critical not only in helping with our annual fund
drive, but each committed at least
$500 for the drive.
—Via a Rasmuson Grant of $17,000, we will be publishing a 350 page
book highlighting forty of the
professional papers presented at the 2010 4th Annual Conference on
Russian America held in Sitka and
co-coordinated by the Society and Sitka National Historical Park.
—In November through generous
community support, we were able to
raise the funds necessary to purchase a spectacular collection of Dale
DeArmond prints, wood blocks, and
Successful 1st Annual Fund Drive
2011 marked the year for the Sitka Historical Society to begin its first annual Fund Drive. In order to meet current increasing costs of
operation of the Museum, the Board felt this drive should be in the
forefront of their efforts. Sitka Historical Society Board & staff truly appreciate all our
donors and thank you for your support. The following list are those
who believe in the cause of preserving and promoting the events, stories and artifacts of the human history of the Sitka area for the
inspiration, education and benefit of the public and future generations.
Cont’d on Pg 6
Page 6
Climb with us as a Member the
Sitka Historical Society
Please Circle Membership Level
Castle Hill 13 feet Senior over 62 $ 20 Krestoff Mountain 1598 ft Under 25 $ 20 Gavan Hill 2530 ft Individual $ 40 Cross Mountain 3031 ft Family $ 50 Arrowhead Mountain 3048 ft Donor $100 *Mount Verstovia 3117 ft Business $ 250 *Business Membership includes link on our website
Three Sisters 3599 ft Sustaining $1000 Mount Katlian 3999 ft Benefactor $5000
____________________________________________________ Name (s)
____________________________________________________ Other Family Members (Family Membership)
____________________________________________________ *Business Name (and contact person)
____________________________________________________ Mailing Address
____________________________________________________ City State Zip
____________________________________________________ Email Address ____________________________________________________ Phone Enclose Check payable to Sitka Historical Society or Charge to Credit Card (specify card type below)
Card Type _________ Expiration Date _______________ Card # _____________________________________________ Signature _____________________________________________ Circle Membership Type New Membership or Renewal Mail to: Fax to: Sitka Historical Society 907-747-6588 330 Harbor Drive Online Membership Form
Sitka, AK 99835 www.sitkahistory.org
Membership
Thanks to the support of a strong membership base,
February 10th was the 55th anniversary of the birth of Sitka Historical Society. Your membership is key to
the protection of Sitka’s History and Culture. A
membership form, and levels, is included here or on our
website. Please, won’t you join us to help continue our
mission. You may join or renew your membership by
mail, phone, or visiting the museum.
Our Mission:
To preserve and promote the events, stories and
artifacts of the human history of the Sitka area for
the inspiration, education and benefit of the
public and future generations.
Executive Director’s Report (cont’d from page 5)
associated items of Dale’s. This included the wonderful exhibition of the items prepared by
curator Jackie Fernandez.
—The Society is also fully engaged in the city effort to develop new signage for Sitka, including
both way-finding signs, and historical interpretive
signs. The city Tourism Commission, whom our
president John Stein has applied to join, and city staff are working together on the project.
—Many thanks to our super volunteers who
commit many hours of work in fostering our mission: Nancy Rickets, Bob Peel, Marilyn
Knapp, Rosemary Carlton, Kara Knox, Bill Foster,
Betty DeCicco, and all of our board members. —I’d like to thank Shirley Dalquist for her
wonderful efforts as our visitor’s service manager,
as she is moving on from the position. I’d also like
to welcome her replacement, Rhonda Kingwell, who will be getting up to speed on our operation
and preparing for the visitor season.
—In my spare time, I have been elected to the Sitka Chamber of Commerce Board and am supporting
their mission for a healthy Sitka economy, and am
also working toward the support of our history and
culture. —Stay tuned for an important announcement that
will positively affect Sitka via the leadership and
efforts of the Alaska Historical Commission, and its Chairman Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell.
Sitka Historical Society Committees:
Membership/Marketing: Ernestine Massey, Doris
Bailey, Sabra Jenkins, Pat Alexander, Chris Todd,
Bob Medinger, Linda Trierschield
Fund Development: Pat Alexander, Bob Medinger,
John Stein
Newsletter: Linda Trierschield Ernestine Massey,
Bob Medinger, Jacqueline Fernandez
Annual May Cemetery Cleanup: Doris Bailey, Sabra Jenkins
Finance Committee: Ernestine Massey, Jerry
Dzugan
Collections Committee: Jerry Dzugan, Jere Christner, Sabra Jenkins, Jackie Fernandez,
Bob Medinger Call the Museum 747-6455 if you wish to serve on one
of these board committees.
Page 7
Recent Sitka Historical
Society & Museum Acquisitions Jacqueline Fernandez, Curator
Commemorative
Key 2012.36.1
Large
commemorative key presented by H.D.
Cavin, chief
engineer of the construction of the Alaska Lumber & Pulp
Company site in Sitka Alaska, to Thomas R. Stein, mill manager. The engraving at the top of the key reads: "Key to
Alaska Lumber & Pulp Co. Inc. Sitka, Alaska June 29,
1960 From H.D. Cavin to T.R. Stein." John Stein, son of T.R. Stein, donated this key along with various documents
related to the Alaska Lumber & Pulp Company, including
drawing of site plans and correspondence written to and
from T.R. Stein.
Kodak Camera
2012.37.2
This black 3A Folding Pocket Kodak
camera was manufactured between 1903 and 1915. This model was Eastman
Kodak's first postcard format camera. The
camera opens and is in excellent condition.
Microscope with wooden
case
2012.37.1A-F
A.S. Aloe & Co. Microscope patented Oct. 3, 1876
Monica Mills, donated this
microscope, which belonged to her husband Russell. Inside
the case were three oculars or eye pieces and fifteen slides.
Some of the slides had labels on them reading “lung” and
“tuberculosis”. Several were from Louisville Medical College and were dated December 23, 1893! Monica
generously donated various other items, including two E.W.
Merrill original photographs and historic books.
Collection of Photographs from Willis Osbakken
Willis Osbakken donated a collection of archival
documents and over 100 historic photographs, including
many photographs of the Van Horn, McGraw, Osbakken, and Hanlon families.
Bill Foster, winner
of Isabel Miller
Award, presented
at annual meeting
October 2011
Speaking at annual meeting on Aviation, the
theme of Alaska Day, from left:
Bud Rude, Long time pilot and airline investor
in Alaska, Jim Johnson, Retired VP of Alaska
Airlines, Ken Bellows, owner and pilot of AirSitka, formerly BellAir and Sabra Jenkins,
daughter of Bob Ellis of the former Ellis
Airlines in Alaska . Thank you all.
Dale DeArmond collection exhibit, a new
purchase for the Museum, made possible by
many donations from Sitkans. The exhibit
was an opportunity for the community to view
this rare collection.
Activities
Successful wine tasting and silent auction
fund raiser held at the SheeAtika Hotel in
December 2011
Sitka Historical Society 330 Harbor Drive Sitka, Alaska 99835
Change Service Requested
Page8 Sitka to host History and Museum Statewide Conference
Sitka has been selected as the site for this year’s Joint Annual Conference of the Alaska Historical Society and
Museums Alaska organizations. Mark your calendars for October 10-13, as we host roughly 150 visitors from
throughout Alaska. History buffs as well as published historians and museum professionals will join our local
participants in a wide array of presentations and activities. The Sitka Historical Society is the core organizer for the
local events, and we have been joined by multiple Sitka organizations in the effort, including the SCVB, SNHP SJ
Museum, STA/STE, SCVB, Chamber, SMHS, City and Borough, USFS, and the Fine Arts Camp.
Following is your chance to present at the conference via the various options below, or a paper. Sitka has so many
historical stories and topics that could apply, please review the call for papers below, or contact Bob Medinger at the
museum if you want some help on deciding if you might submit a proposal.
Alaska Historical Society - Call for Papers - 2012 Conference, Sitka Alaska - on the World Stage
The Alaska Historical Society invites paper and panel proposals for the 2012 annual conference, “Alaska on the
World Stage,” to be held in Sitka from October 10-13. The AHS also welcomes proposals for facilitated discussions,
round-table sessions, workshops, and “reports from the field.”
In spite of being the most eastern, western, and northern of frontiers during the course of its history, Alaska is an
international land. The inter-national encounters among peoples originated with the complex relations among the
dozens of Alaska Native groups. With the advent of Russian colonization, Alaska became a linchpin to the Pacific
World and a site of international trade and contact. Since then, Russian fur traders, Scandinavian fishermen, Asian
cannery workers, American gold seekers, Alaskan Natives, Japanese and American servicemen, and a host of
international scientists, artists and others have comingled in the Great Land. The state is perhaps most famous for its
global exports, including oil, minerals, and seafood. The ethos of Alaska has been sold to the world’s imagination
through travelogues, contemporary television series, ethnographic collections found in international museums, and past
and current scientific expeditions. Alaska as an intellectual export includes its central place in global debates over
climate change and resource extraction.
The AHS welcomes all papers that explore the theme of “Alaska on the World Stage” for its Sitka conference. Sitka,
the former capitol of Russian America, is a fitting place to explore Alaska’s global connections. For consideration,
individuals should send an abstract of no more than 250 words with their name, affiliation, and contact information to
Anjuli Grantham ([email protected]) by May 1, 2012.
PRESORTED STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID SITKA, AK PERMIT NO. 17