Alaska Film Archives

[Fort Yukon, people and activities]
[Fort Yukon, people and activities]
This is a reel of 16mm film made up of seven smaller reels of film. Reel 1 is labeled “Rube & Bill Mason” and contains footage of a number of individuals carrying items out of a cabin and loading them onto a boat as well as a man and a woman carrying bags, boxes, and miscellaneous household items across the shore to the boat. Reel 2 is labeled “Emil Bergman & Mrs. Burk” and contains footage of two or three individuals looking at large ice floes and ice jams on a river. It also contains footage of a town and buildings with water in front of them (possibly flooding). Reel 3 is labeled “John Thomas 9” and contains footage of a large group of adults and children standing on the edge of a large river, scenic views of the river, and two women walking up to the river. It also shows ice flowing on the river, three children playing by the water, an Alaska Native woman with a small child on her back and two older children, ice floes in the river, two men looking at the river, a small girl looking at the camera, and a group of children playing. Reel 4 is labeled “John Thomas” and contains footage of a child paddling a canoe, children playing with the canoe in the water, children swimming in the water, children playing on the beach next to the water, a person in a bathing suit paddling a canoe, a person paddling the canoe standing up, and two men in another canoe. Reel 5 is labeled “Muskrat Hunting” and contains footage of a man leading a group of large sled dogs, dogs pulling a dogsled from the perspective of the sled driver, a man and a boy with guns evaluating the tundra closely and setting a trap, a man being pulled on a dogsled, a man standing with the sled dogs, a man and boy walking through the snow in the woods, a man and boy checking the traps, the boy showing the camera his catch, and a man and boy striking an animal (likely a muskrat) with a stick and holding it up by the tail. Reel 6 is labeled “1930-1940 Doctor Burke’s 4th of July” and “Dr. Burk’s Pictures 4th of July.” It contains footage of a man walking up a dock, two men paddling a canoe (possibly through flood waters), two men walking past a building, two men getting into a canoe and paddling a canoe, a large number of well-dressed children playing in a field with adults looking on, children engaged in wheelbarrow races, children engaged in three-legged races, and a large group of adults watching as other members engage in an unidentified game. Reel 7 is labeled “Steamboat” and contains footage of well-dressed women walking, priests and men in suits talking next to a body of water, people on a large riverboat with a sign that says “U.S. Mail,” well-dressed people on a beach in front of the riverboat, a number of people shaking hands with what appears to be the captain of the riverboat, people standing on the shore next to the riverboat and waving as the ship departs, and people milling around on the shore.
[Miscellaneous Alaska scenes]
[Miscellaneous Alaska scenes]
The donor’s original number and title for AAF-20844 are: “RW 109. Travel Scenes, St. Moritz, Skiing.” This film features scenes outside Alaska, which include a road trip in the United States and skiers at St. Moritz in Switzerland. Scenes in Alaska include the Russian Orthodox Church and Spirit Houses at Eklutna, Skagway street scenes, Skagway Inn, Kirmses Curios shop, White Pass & Yukon Railroad train trip, men at a fancy dinner, aerial views of mountains, a boat trip to a glacier, competitive downhill skiing, people eating and huddling around newspapers, men being served an extravagant meal including wine and caviar on an airplane, a series of historic black and white photographs, a group of Alaska Native children eating, William Egan meeting with people, entertainer Burl Ives at Alaskaland, cabins and carnival rides and games at Alaskaland (also known as A-67 or Alaska 67 Centennial Exposition), and Alaska Native people dancing with masks. This is followed by scenes of a lighted sign for Alaska Airlines Golden Nugget Jets followed by "Golden Samovar Service" aboard a Boeing 727 Golden Nugget Jet. Passengers are served an extravagant meal that includes hors d’oeurves, wine, caviar, soup and a main course. Alaska Airlines introduced “Golden Nugget Service” in the early 1960s as a tribute to the 1890s gold rush era. Passenger planes were decorated in red and gold wallpaper and plush red seats. In the early 1970s, Alaska Airlines added the extravagant samovar service to highlight the fact that it had recently begun offering charters to the Soviet Union. This is followed by black-and-white scenes (striations indicate this may be Kodacolor film) of an Alaska town (possibly Rampart?) and flowers, well-dressed people at a conference or meeting, soldiers fighting in Vietnam, William Egan and Henry "Red" Boucher talking to men and women at a dinner, “Egan for Governor” sign, a map of the Bay of Bengal, a moose, the Santa Claus House in North Pole, people on go karts on a track in downtown Fairbanks, Woolworths Building in the background of the track, a log cabin visitors center in Fairbanks, an airplane taking off in Fairbanks and landing at Umiat, a Wien airplane, and a small totem pole.
[Seppala family film 2]
[Seppala family film 2]
Footage includes Leonhard Seppala mushing dogs outside of Alaska, log dam repairing washout on Davidson Ditch, slow-motion of Leonhard mushing in Ottawa Dog Derby in 1930, and Fairbanks Winter Carnival dog races on the Chena River. Additional footage includes Seppala's cabin and Leonhard mushing dogs at Chatanika, a small car ferry, the sternwheeler Casca traveling on the Yukon, Seppala's cabin with flowers in summer and Leonhard and Constance with puppies and dogs, Seppala's cabin at Chatanika in the fall, Leonhard working on the Davidson Ditch, sternwheeler travel, road travel, another small car ferry, Leonhard in Dawson City, the Fairbanks Winter Carnival, Leonhard mushing dogs and with dogs in a dogyard, flowers, Nome streets, lightering people to a ship in Nome, a Wien Detroiter airplane in Nome, a reindeer herd, hides hanging by a cabin, and people along streets in Fairbanks during the winter carnival.