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Alaska Film Archives

About the Collection

Over the past half century, the University of Alaska Fairbanks has built the largest collection of archival films in and about Alaska. The collection combines hundreds of donations of film and videos to UAF by individuals, organizations and institutions. Materials range from professional productions to amateur home-movies, made in and about Alaska from the earliest days of filmmaking through today. Since 1993 these materials have been held by the Alaska Film Archives, a unit of Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives in the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library. Films and videos selected for this portal project are a sampling of the thousands available for checkout on DVD through the Rasmuson Library. Unless otherwise noted, items are presented here in their entirety, unedited and uncut. Short, popular clips from the collection can be viewed on our YouTube channel. Read more about the Alaska Film Archives.

1 to 10 of 10 Objects
[Dawson Cooper collection]
[Dawson Cooper collection]
This footage features the Ice Carnival puppy parade and regular parade in Fairbanks, people at a wedding in a private home, people hauling boxes on a dog cart, a fishwheel, interior river scenes, a town on a riverfront, Ft. Yukon scenes, river scenes, flower gardens, people in a house, sled dog races on Chena River, teams passing under a foot bridge on Noyes Slough, downhill skiing on Birch Hill, a parade in the summer, hockey at Griffin Park ice rink, the Ice Carnival throne, an unidentified woman, a stack of logs, a walking dragline, conveyor and mine scenes in Ester, columns of smoke from a forest fire, the KFAR transmitter building, people on a picnic, the midnight sun, a car on a narrow road, mining equipment, car travel filmed from inside the car, airplanes, placer gold mine operations, sluice box clean-up, a box with gold amalgam, a dredge operating, a flower garden, and tomato plants.
[Family and Alaska scenes]
[Family and Alaska scenes]
This film reel is made up of 13 smaller reels. Reel 1 is labeled "1933-1934 military unit [...] skiing, 2nd inspection [...], muskoxen," and it contains footage of a military ceremony, spring breakup, a car on railroad tracks, people at a train station, a family swimming and boating, and musk oxen. Reel 2 is labeled "Skiing military unit, skating, ice carnival, Kay in snow, Thelma and flag, 1934?," and it contains views of skiing, skating, hockey, sledding, a military unit skiing on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, and a woman with a flag. Reel 3 is labeled "Kay and Donn about 1934" and "Children playing in snow May 10, children on skis, Donn's first skis, Donn in daddy's rubbers, boys in car trunk," and it contains footage of children playing as described. Reel 4 is labeled "Children on skis, January - February 1936," and it contains views of children skiing, a child with a toy wheelbarrow, children posing for the camera, and a man in uniform. Reel 5 is labeled "Boys and Salcha," and it contains views of men with a tripod, the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus [?], a truck and trailer, boys with a dog, and a dog pulling boys on a sled. Reel 6 is labeled "Eagle Summit, boys on garage roof, Carnival 1937," and it contains views of a family at Eagle Summit, boys skiing, boys playing on a roof, a dog sled, and parade scenes. Reel 7 is labeled "Trip to Circle Hot Springs August 1937," and it contains views of a family on a ferry or raft, children swimming and playing, small boats, cabins, and skiing. Reel 8 is labeled "Children, Burt, dragline, 1939" and "Steese Highway," and it contains footage of children ice skating and playing as well as dragline and mining scenes. Reel 9 is labeled "Conveyor, dragline walking, crane, bomber, turners, Cub Scouts," and it contains views of mining operations, an airplane, the Cushman Street bridge in Fairbanks, children racing, a potato sack race, a wheelbarrow race, mining scenes, and swimming scenes. Reel 10 is labeled "B-17, Rotary Field, meet, egg hunt, March - July 1941," and it contains aerial views, a parachute drop, and children playing. Reel 11 is labeled "Skiing 1944, Kay 1945?" and contains views of skiing. Reel 12 is a film negative and is labeled "Trip over Alaska Railroad from College Station 1935." The film is very dark. Reel 13 is a film negative and is labeled "Mogull Supersensitive Panchromatic 1939, Plymouth Massachussetts, Washington D.C., South Bend, Dr. Wier, O'Della [...], Mt. Rushmore." It contains footage of people swimming and boating, etc. (film is very dark).
[Goodnews Bay Mining Company and Platinum area scenes 4]
[Goodnews Bay Mining Company and Platinum area scenes 4]
AAF-16393 is a super-8mm film containing scenes of a bucket dredge in a frozen pond, a dragline moving water and mud from the pond, snow surrounding homes, snow piled almost to the top of the roofs, a bucket dredge working in an icy pond with mountains in the distance, a town as seen from a hill above, and more scenes of mining equipment in operation. A man works a dragline while a dog sits nearby. A group of adults gather around people who are processing salmon, and a man holds up a large salmon. The film ends with a shot of the Platinum Post Office and structures along a river or inlet with mountains in the distance.
[Lewis Gibson films 3]
[Lewis Gibson films 3]
AAF-13919 was filmed in 1971 and is labeled, “Chena River, Discovery I and II, Speed Boat Race, Chena Hot Springs Pool, Davidson Ditch, Alaskaland, Forty Mile Area, Old Husky on Wheels, Buffalo Crossing Road, 1971.” The film contains scenes of the Riverboat Discovery sternwheeler in Fairbanks, views from along the Chena River, speedboats racing on the river, an indoor pool at Chena Hot Springs, old cabins and abandoned mining equipment, a man near Davidson Ditch, Alaska Railroad Engine 1 at Alaskaland, a sign for Fortymile Resource Management Area, a dredge, men riding small tracked vehicles through tall grass, mountain scenery, and bison near the roadside.
[Lounsbury film collection 3]
[Lounsbury film collection 3]
Some portions are left-to-right reversed. This footage includes travel outside of Alaska including a Rose Bowl parade. Alaska footage features Alaska Railroad travel, tent camp in Mt. McKinley National Park and activity at camp, sled dog races on Chena River in Fairbanks, sled dog demonstrations, Fairchild 71 airplane on skis and pilot Ed Young, Russian Junkers arriving in Fairbanks in March of 1931 carrying body of Ben Eielson, funeral procession in Fairbanks carrying body of Ben Eielson to the railroad depot, road travel, chained bear, bison and sheep at the University of Alaska, hydraulic giant, bi-plane at Fairbanks with pilot A.A. Bennett (?), aerial view of Fairbanks, Alaska Railroad train travel, sternwheeler at Nenana, U.S. Army Pilot Captain Hoyt at Fairbanks and hand-propping airplane, riverboat travel, houses and yards in Fairbanks, and summer parade at Fairbanks, and Mayor Rothenburg of Fairbanks handing flowers to George Lounsbury's mother Fay Jennings. Additional footage (from Johnny Repo) includes canoe, small mining operation and cabin, moving mining equipment by barges marked as Florence and Alyum Mining Co,. moving dragline, group of men outside the roadhouse at Wiseman with man getting haircut, people crossing mouth of Wiseman Creek in boats during break-up on the Koyukuk River, rowing and paddling on river, cutting wood, Wien Alaska Pilgrim airplane at landing strip, Wien airplane on landing strip with pilot Tony Schultz, cabins at creek, assembling dredge, flying boat Sikorsky S-42 (?), Glass Flying Service at Valdez, Ford Tri-Motor takes off from Valdez, winter storm at Valdez, airplanes at Valdez from different companies including Lyle, Mirow and Reeve, Pilgrim airplane on skis taking off, aerial views of mountains and gold camp, J-2 (?) Piper airplane taking off, Jim Dodson aircraft, break-up on unidentified river, Wiseman (?), man sawing firewood, men building cabin, men whipsaw lumber, mining operation with dragline and hydraulic giants, large dead bull moose being hauled off, Caterpillar pulling small building, aircraft, and aerial view of Fairbanks and mining operation. AAF-9547 begins with footage shot by donor George Lounsbury's grandfather, Guy Jennings, on a trip out of Alaska to buy a new Buick automobile. Following the scenes of the log buildings and wall tents at the entrance of McKinley Park is Jennie R. Jennings, Guy’s wife, wearing a fur coat and standing closest to the camera at the far edge of a group of four women. Following the scene of the vehicle driving on the park road, is a close-up shot of Alice Nordale and Austin E. “Cap” Lathrop, who wore a bill cap. Following scenes of men washing dishes at McKinley Park, is a close-up shot of Fay Jennings, daughter of Guy and Jennie, with dark hair, (and Alice Nordale?), standing in front of a vehicle. Following scenes of a parade in Fairbanks and Mayor Rothenburg handing flowers to Fay Jennings, who is wearing an aviation hat, there are scenes of a canoe and mining operations, and beginning with the canoe is footage shot by Johnny Repo (sp?). Scenes of airplanes at Valdez came from film obtained by the Lounsbury family through Bob Reeves. The final part of the reel, beginning with aerial views and then a color shot of the Ophir area, are films from Johnny Repo (sp?).
[Lounsbury film collection 4]
[Lounsbury film collection 4]
AAF-10856 includes aerial views of Nome, the Nome waterfront, aerial views of the Seward peninsula, a mining operation, a truck pulling a long length of pipe, Mirow Air Service Loening flying boat airplane, a dredge operating on the Seward peninsula, a Pacific Alaska Airways Lockheed Electra, a Caterpillar and power shovel working at a placer gold mining operation, men cleaning up gold in a sluice box, various views of placer mining operations, a small riverboat, brief views of Palmer, a hard rock mining operation in Hatcher Pass, an aerial tramway operating, an Alaska Railroad bus on rails, aerial views of Copper Center (?), aerial views of Fairbanks, a Northern Commercial Caterpillar shop on Second Avenue in Fairbanks, the interior of an office, railroad travel and family scenes, Ice Carnival Parades in Fairbanks, Ice Carnival dog races and activities on the Chena River (during 1940, 1946, and 1950), a barge trip with the riverboats Idler and Mudhen taking barges with Caterpillars and other equipment, and a Cat train during winter hauling freight through a wooded area and cross country to Wiseman. Additional film has suffered water damage. Footage includes Lounsbury boys, a village along the ocean, family and farm scenes taken outside of Alaska, winter scenes in Fairbanks, boys shoveling off a roof and playing in snow, and a family posing for photos. According to George Lounsbury, approximately the first 30 minutes are Dan Lhamon and Rod Wolff films ending with the parade sequence. The next approximately 15 minutes are Johnny Repo (sp?) and Walter Rasmussen (sp?) films beginning with the boat sequence and ending with views of the Third Rail at Wiseman. The remainder of the reel is Lounsbury family films beginning with footage of a mine at Ester Dome and scenes at Kotzebue followed by a family visit to Iowa.
[Mining operations]
[Mining operations]
This film contains images of a mining operation, a bulldozer pushing muck, sluice box cleanup, a snowy landscape, children playing, a truck loaded with logs, a man operating a hydraulic giant, Wien aircraft, a parade and other travel scenes outside Alaska, a Boeing VC-137B Air Force One aircraft painted in white-and-red color scheme at an airport outside Alaska.
[Vince and Evelyn Guzzardi collection 7]
[Vince and Evelyn Guzzardi collection 7]
This film consists of one reel of 8mm film labeled “Winter Carnival” on the outside of the film can and “#1 Cleary Hill” on a piece of tape applied to the reel itself. This film contains footage of mining operations, sled dogs and people dog sledding, scenery in Alaska in winter at sunrise/sunset, fireworks at night; an airplane in the snow; a caribou; people gathering at an outdoor location in winter (possibly a winter carnival), a parade taking place in the, and more dog sledding.
[Wilkins expeditions, wonders in motion etc. 3]
[Wilkins expeditions, wonders in motion etc. 3]
This footage features mining clean-up and a sluice box in operation, stacking tailings using a bucket, Stinson biplanes, Harding Lake recreation, Wilkins snow-motors seen from the air in 1926, grayling fishing, the paddlewheeler "Pioneer", dog races, and musher Joe Stickman being presented with a trophy (Endicott trophy?).
[Yukon River travel, Nenana and Eagle, seal skinning, sport fishing, commercial fishing, Unalakleet, gold dredge]
[Yukon River travel, Nenana and Eagle, seal skinning, sport fishing, commercial fishing, Unalakleet, gold dredge]
Part 1 (AAF-980) footage includes a dog team crossing ice, a riverboat on the Yukon River in autumn, a river pilot in a small boat checking water depth, a school in Nenana, people in Eagle Village, riverboat workers, a Dawson City street, going through Five-Finger Rapids, Alaska and Canada flags, Whitehorse, Skagway, Miles Canyon Rapids, and Lake Bennett. Part 2 (AAF-981) footage includes an Alaska Native woman wearing a parka, drying sea mammal intestines, whale butchering in Kotzebue, river scenery, sod houses, a cemetery at Pt. Hope, a gold dredge operating in Nome, a man speaking to an audience, Alaska Native dancers, a Ladd Field hangar, Athabascan men and women in Eagle, the Mission School in Nenana, Gren Collins float plane at a dock with people crowded around, and men trading furs in Canada. Part 3 (AAF-984) footage includes an Alaska Native woman skinning a seal at Pt. Hope. Part 4 (AAF-985) footage includes people at a picnic, small boats on the ocean, fly fishing on a creek, men catching salmon and flounder, the fishing boat "Radar,” a glacier, a flower garden, Sara Machetanz and a man with dogs pulling a three-wheeled cart in Nome, women in parkas, and Sara Machetanz with children eating ice cream. Part 5 (AAF-986) footage includes Sara Machetanz fishing, unloading salmon from a commercial fishing boat, a fishing fleet, crabs on a dock, totes of fish, emptying nets on fishing boats, salmon swimming upstream at a waterfall, Sara Machetanz with girls at a Girl Scout Camp near Ketchikan, women in parkas putting on mukluks, and boys playing on a rubber raft in a gravel pit. Part 6 (AAF-987) footage includes scenery around Unalakleet. Part 7 (AAF-988) footage includes men driving thaw points for a mining operation, men working hydraulic giants, and a large dredge in operation in Interior Alaska.