Alaska Film Archives

A Story of Fur
A Story of Fur
The original narrated DVD is labeled “John Baker - A Story of Fur.” The original silent film is labeled “No. 1 Winter Trapline.” The narrated version is played back at a different frame rate and is slower and longer than the silent version. This is the narrated version. The film contains footage of the B&K Trading Company building and the Roadhouse in Talkeetna; Carol and Verna Close baking bread; a dog named Queenie with John Baker checking a trapline during winter; Queenie wearing a dog pack; John Baker hiking in snowshoes and checking a beaver trap; John Baker and trapping partner Gene Lanzaro building a small log cabin from start to finish, including peeling logs, scribing and notching logs, and sawing boards from logs; setting a wolverine trap; a pilot and mailman Cliff Hudson delivering mail via small airplane; John Baker nailing a roof on a cabin, cutting out a window on a cabin, installing a chimney through a cabin roof, looking at Mount McKinley (Denali) through cabin windows, demonstrating window shutters, and showing bear protection around windows; Gene Lanzaro cutting fireweed and the dog Queenie pulling a sled with logs; cooking meat and pancakes inside cabin; John Baker with a lynx that he trapped; a captive marten kept as a pet; a moose; John Baker demonstrating hiking in snowshoes versus without snowshoes in deep snow; John Baker showing a marten he has trapped and field dressing a spruce grouse; a new snowmachine; Queenie barking at a trapped wolverine; scenes of setting and checking a beaver trap, including fresh beaver signs in spring, a beaver snare, a beaver lodge with steam emerging, skinning a beaver, and Queenie pulling a sled; John Baker starting up and flying a small airplane on skis, aerial views of snowy landscapes, and groups of moose; landing an airplane on skis; a moose walking through deep snow; John Baker butchering a moose and loading it onto an airplane; aerial views of mountains and moose; a ptarmigan in white plumage; a snowmachine pulling a sled; showing off a trapline catch at Summit log cabin; Queenie running behind a snowmachine and riding on a sled; an airplane in a windstorm and John Baker digging out the airplane after the storm passes; Lake Hood airplanes and a hangar damaged by a windstorm near Anchorage; John Baker with a roll of furs and a pickup truck at Lake Hood airstrip; Anchorage Fur Rendezvous scenes, including Fourth Avenue in Anchorage, brief glimpses of George Attla and Jimmy Malemute, Roland Lombard mushing along a trail, a helicopter flying over the trail, Jonas Brothers Taxidermy shop in Anchorage, and a fur auction; Myers Furs shop in Michigan, a furrier at work, and John Baker’s father posing in a beaver coat and hat.
[Alaska flying in winter and summer]
[Alaska flying in winter and summer]
The original film is labeled “Winter storm, wind storm with Champion, have on video.” The film contains scenes of driving along a snowy road in winter, caribou along the roadside, John Baker gassing up an Aeronca Champion airplane on skis, an airplane taking off, an airplane at a remote location, a man removing wing covers and hand propping the airplane, Queenie the dog going into the airplane, an airplane on skis taking off from a remote strip, a truck crossing a narrow bridge across a river, caribou, aerial views of the landscape, Queenie with a pack, John Baker brushing away a horde of mosquitoes, a bulldozer digging a trench, many airplanes around a lake, construction crews, aerial views of Anchorage, men hunting, and a small tracked vehicle.
[Alaska summer and fall]
[Alaska summer and fall]
The original film is labeled “Fall and summer.” The film contains scenes of small airplanes around a float pond, John Baker fishing, Alaska wildflowers, canvas-sided cabins, Queenie the dog, a sternwheeler pushing a barge on a river with a fishwheel in the foreground, flowers, a ptarmigan, a barge on a river, a floatplane taxiing on water with railroad cars in the background, travel along a gravel road, road construction possibly in Mt. McKinley/Denali National Park, a glacier, a red squirrel on a picnic table, a magpie, Dall sheep, caribou, a close view of a grizzly bear feeding, blueberries, autumn colors across the tundra, trees, a ptarmigan, a moose, an arctic ground squirrel, a moose, airplanes on skis taking off and landing, John Baker with an airplane, John Baker hunting goose, a beaver in a pond, and a dog chasing after fish.
[Aleutians travel, Old Town Valdez]
[Aleutians travel, Old Town Valdez]
The original film is unlabeled. The film contains scenes of ocean waves crashing against a rocky shore in the Aleutian Islands – likely Amchitka, a large abandoned building, a man with a sign that says “Amchitka forest,” a sea otter in ocean waves, otters playing in an enclosed pool, military buildings and Quonset huts, a man fishing, grave markers, a barbed wire fence, wrecked military airplanes, a large airplane hangar, a gun turret, a Reeve Aleutian Airways DC-6 airplane landing, aerial views of clouds and a volcano, grebes in water, a man with a string of fish, John Baker with a string of fish, a road sign for New Valdez and Old Valdez, homes and buildings in Old Valdez that were abandoned following the 1964 earthquake, Pioneer Hall, the oldest building, an old cable office, Hotel Valdez, an abandoned vehicle, old oil tanks along the shoreline, the wrecked boat “Gulf King,” Valdez sheet metal works, a Gilson’s sign, a church, a boy with a bicycle, and pickup truck driving out of town.
[Baker family films]
[Baker family films]
The original film is labeled “Ma and pa golfing, cutting and bringing in Christmas tree, Ma and Tom and Queenie.” The film contains scenes of the Baker family golfing in Michigan, Queenie the dog pulling people on a sled, a small airplane flying low along a shoreline, two people cutting a Christmas tree that is then towed to the truck by Queenie, and blue jays at a bird feeder.
[Farrar buggy, scenes outside Alaska]
[Farrar buggy, scenes outside Alaska]
The original film is labeled “Ray Farrar and buggy, me and Champ, Tom shoveling snow – Michigan, Toni on water ski, Siebert and deer.” The film contains scenes of a dog pulling a loaded sled, brief aerial views of a town and an airport landing strip, a large vehicle with many tires moving across the tundra, sections of pipe being hauled by vehicle, a demonstration of a vehicle’s ability to travel smoothly over rough terrain, a small airplane taking off from an airport, John Baker repairing the tail of an airplane, snow storm scenes, a workshop's interior, a deer near a barn, a man posing with a deer, a pheasant in snow, men moving a raft of logs, a water chute and logging operation, a man water skiing, and an airplane on floats landing on water. Some scenes were filmed outside Alaska.
[Kenai – with Roy and Ethel Koshney]
[Kenai – with Roy and Ethel Koshney]
The original narrated DVD is titled “Kenai.” The original silent film is labeled “Roy Koshney Kenai.” This is the narrated version. The film contains footage of Roy Koshney planting a garden and mending nets for commercial fishing, Roy heading out in an old cannery boat to the fishing grounds on Kasilof or Kenai River, Roy running nets out from his fishing boat, Roy pulling in nets, a sunset over the inlet, a boat hold full of fish, Roy moving fish using a peugh, men offloading fish at a cannery, Roy and Ethel Koshney cutting up salmon, Roy and Dina or Deena Koshney picking berries, the fishing boat PG 78 in a dry dock, and fishermen baiting and running out longline for halibut. An un-narrated scene at end includes a small fishwheel along a river and a man with a string of salmon.
[Mining with Bob Young 1970s - HDR]
[Mining with Bob Young 1970s - HDR]
The original narrated DVD is titled “Mining with Bob Young 1970s.” The original silent film is labeled “Bob Young Mining.” Note that this is the HDR scan, not the narrated version. The film contains scenes of Bob Young and John Baker with a Caterpillar D-9 bulldozer traveling in winter from Talkeetna to Falls Creek, a bulldozer breaking though ice on a river and crossing through deep water, a bulldozer breaking a trail through snow, an Invader snowmachine parked at a summit, Bob Young building a shower, placer mine scenes, a man sluicing and panning for gold, a bulldozer pushing gravel into a sluice box, a bulldozer pushing tailings piles, a man removing screens from sluice boxes, a man shaking and cleaning rugs at the bottom of a sluice box, Bob Young drinking a can of Pepsi, Bob Young panning and holding a pan full of gold, Bob Young measuring and weighing gold, and Bob Young’s grandmother and mother cooking in a kitchen.
[Mining with Bob Young 1970s]
[Mining with Bob Young 1970s]
The original narrated DVD is titled “Mining with Bob Young 1970s.” The original silent film is labeled “Bob Young Mining.” Note that image quality is in some respects superior in the HDR scan. This is the narrated version. The film contains footage of Bob Young and John Baker with a Caterpillar D-9 bulldozer traveling in winter from Talkeetna to Falls Creek, a bulldozer breaking though ice on a river and crossing through deep water, a bulldozer breaking a trail through snow, an Invader snowmachine parked at a summit, Bob Young building a shower, placer mine scenes, a man sluicing and panning for gold, a bulldozer pushing gravel into a sluice box, a bulldozer pushing tailings piles, a man removing screens from sluice boxes, the man shaking and cleaning rugs at the bottom of the sluice box, Bob Young drinking a can of Pepsi, Bob Young panning and holding a pan full of gold, Bob Young measuring and weighing gold, and Bob Young’s grandmother and mother cooking in a kitchen.
[Talkeetna and Local People of the 1970s]
[Talkeetna and Local People of the 1970s]
This video combines narration by John Baker recorded during the 1990s with a 2017 film scan of a 1970s film. The original narration, recorded on VHS videotape, is titled “John Baker’s old films” and is numbered AAF-16366. The audio contains some interference and background noise. The original film is labeled “Talkeetna and local people of the 70s.” Name spellings in the following paragraph have not been verified. The films include footage of Tom Baker tapping a birch tree for sap to make syrup, Andy Anderson with an old vehicle, Robin Jenne preparing to start the moose-dropping parade, Suzy Kellard in the parade, Johnny Wallace’s daughter in the parade, Penny Bennett and Sally O’Malley with Harold Menasse, Mike Fisher with Harold, Karen Mannox with camping gear, Red Berry, an Alaska Railroad train, Andy Anderson, Tom Baker in a 1931 Model-A automobile, Pete Dana pulling the big moose dropping in the parade, Tony Wolfe and Rocky Cummins in a 1951 Chevy, Elizabeth Kellard with women dressed as mail order brides for the parade, Suzy, Millie Campbell, Rocky Cummins, Harold Menasse with Doug Geeting gassing up an airplane, Jim Beaver working on his cabin, Brevis Kofron giving Frank O’Brien a haircut, Vern Altman dodging the camera, Ollie Hudson and Sparky, Rose Jenne gassing up helicopters, Rod Dunne and Betty Pierson working in their garden at Gold Creek, Betty Pierce or Pierson fishing at Chelatna Lake, the cabin housing the original library, Tony Wolfe and Myron Stevens in a MEA truck, the trailer housing the post office, fire chief John Carlson at the post office, Mount McKinley (Denali) behind the Talkeetna welcome sign, Mike Fisher working on his house, fireweed going to seed, John Baker digging up potatoes, Bob Young and George McCullough moving a cabin, Tony Wolfe holding up wires, the Roadhouse, Short Ducharme helping to move the cabin, John Baker with giant turnips in his garden, Larry Yasinski riding a motorbike, aerial views of Bob Young’s mine on Falls Creek off of Cache Creek, Bob Young showing the aftermath of a bear breaking into his food cache, Bob Young and Larry Yasinski displaying gold in jars, Bob crossing a creek in a truck, a water gate, aerial views of John Baker’s property, Tom Baker in a 1931 pickup truck, Dan Mahaney's wedding outside of the Fairview, John Baker with a giant cabbage and squash and turnips, Don Bennis, Joe Bennis, Al Soussa, and Leroy Ekiss at a picnic, Revis with dogs, Tom Baker working on his cabin, Bob Young panning for gold at Clear Creek, and McWilliams and Sonny Kragness with a pan of gold.