Alaska Stories

By: Michael R Dougherty
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  • Alaska History, Facts, and Pioneers

    www.alaska-stories.com
    Michael R Dougherty
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Social Sciences World
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Episodes
  • Bettles, Alaska and a Pioneering Man from Montana

    Bettles, Alaska and a Pioneering Man from Montana
    Dec 22 2024
    In the photo above is the old Bettles Trading Post on the Koyukuk riverDriven by gold fever, you’re constantly looking for the next big strike.The Klondike gave up a lot of gold, but quickly became played out. So many stampeders were looking for another strike to cool their fever. They found one.A man named Johnny Folger discovered gold near the middle fork of the Koyukuk River in 1893. When word got out, around 2,000 gold seekers left the Klondike, and headed near the Arctic Circle in Alaska. The Koyukuk Gold Rush of 1902 was on.It was Rough and TumbleBut the Cheechakos from places like New York, Michigan and Illinois, were not prepared for the hardships they encountered on the Koyukuk River. Pictured above is Gordon C. Bettles in 1898 from the Bettles Family Collection“My father was in practically every stampede in Alaska, and he walked to most of them, a pack on his back and a rifle in his hand.”—Mr. Bettles' daughter Marguerite Bettles GolderGordon Bettles was a fur trader, shopkeeper, prospector, and newspaperman.Bettles was in the Klondike, looking for gold, when he heard about the strike on the Koyukuk River. Because of the strike, Gordon Bettles left the Klondike and ordered 20 tons of supplies and formed, G.C. Bettles & Co. His newspaper advertising motto was, “From Pickaxe to a Candle”.On the Koyukuk River, he established the outpost, or “Bean Shop” (a store) of Bergman and another store farther north that he named Bettles. Along the way, Gordon Bettles became known as a kind man who would “grubstake” a miner in need with food and supplies.Yes, You can Share this EditionImagine how happy your friends and family will be when they get to discover Bettles, Alaska because you were thoughtful enough to share this with them. You’ll be their hero.Click on the following link:Thanks for reading Alaska Stories. This post is public, so feel free to share it.By 1899, Gold Fever in the Area had FadedIn the photo above are the first buildings in Bettles, in 1900By 1901, the tiny outpost of Bettles had a post office and the trading post was still doing business with the remaining local miners. The Post Office later closed in 1956.Gordon Bettles passed away on May 18, 1945, in Seattle, Washington.BONUSGet to know Gordon Bettles: Koyukuk Pioneer and discover.So, Where is Bettles Today?In the photo above is the new Bettles on the right, with Evansville on the left. All on the banks of the Koyukuk River.The residents of the original Bettles have moved the community about five miles east to Evansville because the military had left an abandoned airfield at that location.The original, “Old” Bettles became a ghost town. The “New” Bettles was incorporated in 1985.The new Bettles is located on the Koyukuk River, 20 miles south of the Arctic National Park Reserve. It’s on the Dalton Highway as a winter only ice road that crosses the Jim River. Bettles is 35 miles north of the Arctic Circle, just south of the Brooks Range.BONUSEnjoy this video about Old BettlesAlaska Short StoriesFrom the “Tsunami” story:“We were near the nonexistent entrance of the boat harbor trying to lasso another boat when the northeastern wave hit us and drove us sideways into the southwestern wave, and the combination of the two forces generated a giant whirlpool.We were now going backwards with the main engine in full forward position in this swirling vortex with about a ten-degree list. The skipper told me to go down and drive that wedge back into the throttle, which I did in record time. The skipper had the wheel hard over to no avail.There was a red house on the hill just north of the city dock that had been washed from its foundation and was floating along with all the other flotsam, only this house had somehow managed to enter the swirling vortex inside the Fortress.It started to break up and disappeared right before our eyes. We could look right down into this black hole.”Read the 1964 Alaska Earthquake Tsunami short storyConnect with Mike and MaryThis Alaska Stories look at Gordon C. Bettles, and Bettles, Alaska, was a surprising look at the history of Alaska, and the beginning of a town.Do you have a comment about this story? Just reply to this email. Or you can Contact Us to say, “I’ve been to Bettles”. Mike and Mary love to hear from our North Stars (that’s you).Until Next TimeMike and MaryAlaska Stories Get full access to Alaska Stories at www.alaska-stories.com/subscribe
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    3 mins
  • See the Beautiful Site Summit Star, a Surprise Gift to Anchorage, Alaska

    See the Beautiful Site Summit Star, a Surprise Gift to Anchorage, Alaska
    Dec 15 2024

    Alaska’s mountains are tall, commanding, and majestic.

    But mount Gordon Lyon in the Chugach mountains, overlooking Alaska’s largest city, has become special to the citizens of Anchorage.

    Illuminated during those long winter nights, the “Site Summit Star” was a gift to Anchorage from the soldiers at Site Summit.

    Nike Site Summit

    The U.S. Army established a Nike Hercules missile installation on Mount Gordon Lyon in 1958 to help protect the U.S. during the Cold War.

    Site Summit in Action

    In the photo above, the Site Summit Army post, tests a Nike-Hercules missile

    Mike of Alaska Stories was a student at Clark Junior High in Anchorage. One day, the students were escorted to the front of the school to watch the first test launch of a Nike-Hercules missile from Site Summit. Like the picture above, it was an impressive site.

    How the Gift of the Star came About

    In 1958, Battery Commander, Captain Douglas Evert, had an idea.

    At nearly 4,000 feet up the mountain, Evert wanted to set up a 15 foot illuminated star on the Site Summit gate house as a holiday symbol that would be seen and enjoyed by all of Anchorage.

    But the first star was too small.

    So, a 117-foot star replaced the original in 1960.

    Oops!

    An avalanche destroyed the star in 1989.

    Later, the damaged star was replaced by a 300-foot wide star.

    Yes, You Can Share This Edition

    Your friends and family will be so happy when you share this edition of Alaska Stories with them. You might even get a special Christmas gift… well, it could happen.

    Just click on the following link:

    Thanks for reading Alaska Stories. This post is public, so feel free to share it.

    Now That’s a Lot of Bulbs

    Photo by Crystal A. Jenkins, US Air Force

    Can you guess?

    How many bulbs do you think it used to take to light up a 300-foot star?

    The Answer is:

    There were around 350 bulbs that require year round maintenance. Yes, those light sockets froze and the movement of snow caused damage as well.

    The Site Summit Star Today

    Modern technology has caught up with the star.

    Light bulbs have been replaced with LED lights.

    The star is 300 feet wide. Compare that to the length of a football field, which is 360 feet.

    When Can You See the Star?

    According to a Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson publication, the star is lit every year on Thanksgiving and remains on until the last Iditarod dog sled musher crosses the finish line in Nome – sometime in March.

    The Beauty of the Star

    Water color courtesy of Alaskan artist Cindy Pendleton

    Sit back and enjoy the beautiful vision of the Site Summit Star that is captured so well by Alaskan artist, Cindy Pendleton in the water color image above. Our thanks to Cindy for sharing her art with Alaska Stories.

    BONUS

    To learn more, visit Friends of Site Summit and discover.

    Visit Anchorage Memories.com

    You’ll discover a treasure chest of memories, including stories, pictures, and videos.

    Take a look at Anchorage Memories and enjoy.

    Connect with Mike and Mary

    This is one of those great Alaska Stories that warm your heart.

    If you live in Anchorage, or visited during the holidays, what was your reaction, the first time you saw the Site Summit Star?

    Send us your comment by replying to this email, or you can Contact Us right now to say, “I love the Site Summit Star”.

    Until Next Time

    Mike and Mary

    Alaska Stories



    Get full access to Alaska Stories at www.alaska-stories.com/subscribe
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    3 mins
  • Meet the Shrewd, Ruthless Man who Founded Fairbanks, Alaska

    Meet the Shrewd, Ruthless Man who Founded Fairbanks, Alaska
    Dec 8 2024
    Meet Elbridge Truman “E.T.” Barnette, (1863–1933)The man who founded Fairbanks.He was a riverboat captain, a banker, and a swindler.Gold FeverWhen the steamship Portland arrived at the West Coast with its one ton of gold from the Alaska gold strike, like many others, E.T. Barnett came down with a bad case of gold fever.He decided to take the “Rich Man’s Route” to avoid Skagway and the passes. He boarded the ocean steamer, Cleveland in Seattle to travel to St. Michael, where he had booked a river steamer to Dawson City.But the Cleveland ran into fog, bad weather, and had a fire in the hold compartment. A disease also broke out among the passengers. Eventually, the steamer made it to St. Michael, where Barnette discovered that his river steamer to Dawson had already left.So Barnette and 60 other passengers from the Cleveland purchased their own river steamer, the St. Michael, to take them to Dawson.More TroubleOn their way to Dawson, the St. Michael became frozen in the river at Circle City.But Barnette was determined to get to the Klondike. So, he bought a fast dog team to take him to Dawson.Once he was there, Barnette discovered that every creek on the Klondike river had already been claimed.E.T. Barnette was forced to take a job to earn enough money to go back home.Yes, You Can Share ThisDid you know that you can easily share this edition of the Alaska Stories podcast with your friends and family?And when you do, they will be so happy that they will send you on an all-expense trip to Grace Bay Beach in the Turks and Caicos Islands, rated #1 in 2022 according to TripAdvisor users… well, it could happen.To share this, click on the following link.Thanks for reading Alaska Stories. This post is public, so feel free to share it.Try, Try AgainBy the early 1900s, Barnette had enough money and decided to go back to Alaska, where this time he would set up a Trading Post along a new Railroad Route at Tannana Crossing.In St. Michael once again, along with 130 tons of freight to start his Trading Post, he bought the river steamer, Arctic Boy.Unfortunately, the Arctic Boy struck a rock and sank in St. Michael harbor.So Barnette convinced Captain Charles Adams of the steamer Lavelle Young, to take him, his wife Isabelle, his employees and freight to Tannana Crossing.The Captain agreed, with one important contractual agreement.Barnette, his wife, employees, and freight would be put ashore at the “farthest point” the boat was able to reach… regardless of where that was.Low WaterEventually, as they headed up the Tannana River, they ran into low water. But Barnett convinced Adams to head for the Chena River.But, as they headed up the Chena, they ran into low water once again.This time, Barnette and Captain Adams had an argument that ended with Barnette, his wife, several employees and 130 tons of freight being put off the steamer and on to the banks of the Chena River.As Captain Adams and his steam boat headed back down the Chena, Isabelle Barnette stood on the riverbank and cried.Photo above is the first Trading Post camp on the Chena River in 1903E.T. Barnette established his trading post.Some time later, in a conversation with Judge James Wickersham, the Judge convinced Barnette to name his trading post after U.S. Senator Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana.Yes, Fairbanks was founded because of a series of mishaps and was named following a conversation with a Judge.BONUSTo learn more, and how a swindle nearly caused a hanging, take a look at:Fairbanks, Alaska and discover.From our North Stars (that’s you)From “This is the Remarkable Z.J. Loussac” editionBearpawz made this observation:“Sounds like ZJ Loissac was a really good guy.. I do like the design of the midtown library. The old city hall building downtown is supposed to turn into a new branch eventually, but I'm not sure what the timeline on that is.”Wandal remembers:“This “Loussac Edition” brought back many fond memories. My parents arrived in Anchorage with me and my sister in 1952 when I was 6 years old and not much of a reader. Then I discovered the Loussac Library and read Andre Norton’s “Starman’s Son”. From then on, there was no looking back and the library became my favorite hangout. By late grade school I was checking out 12 books per week (the limit) and in Jr High (O D Clark) made a book report on The World Book Encyclopedia. Must be inheritable as my kids are now ‘addicted to books’. Thanks you ZJ”And Irene said this:“I loved that library. In 1955 I was 11 years old and that library was fascinating. Thanks for the wonderful memories.”Larry added this:“I remember going downstairs to the Assembly meetings with Mayor George Sullivan around 1971-1972.”Contact Mike and MaryDid you enjoy learning about E.T. Barnette and the founding of Fairbanks?You can easily send us a comment by replying to this email. And you can even Contact Us us to say, “hey, I love the Alaska Stories podcast.”Until Next ...
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    4 mins

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