Alaska Film Archives

[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 1]
[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 1]
This film is made up of several smaller reels labeled: "Raft Race and Rodeo," "August 1967, Mom and Dad Arriving, Valdez Trip, Floods, [?] House," "Raft Race," "Raft Race," "Wisc Kids 1966," "Wisc Kids #2," "Ferry to Whittier 1972," and "Square Dance 1973." The film contains footage of a raft race on the Tanana River near Fairbanks, a rodeo, Wien airplanes at an airport, Valdez area waterfalls, a man and boy holding fish and standing near a camper, flooded homes in a neighborhood, North Star Borough School buses, family scenes outside Alaska, scenes viewed from the deck of a ferry, and people square-dancing.
[Goodnews Bay Mining Company and Platinum area scenes 1]
[Goodnews Bay Mining Company and Platinum area scenes 1]
AAF-16390 is a super-8mm film labeled, “Start flight into camp, end with [illegible] and fox.” The film contains aerial views of snowy mountains as seen from a small airplane, coming in for a landing over a spruce forest onto a snowy runway, aerial scenes of a small settlement [possibly Good News Bay?], coming in for another landing on a snowy runway [possibly the Platinum airport?], a grab dredger moving what looks like chunks of ice, a dog team in the distance, a snowshoe hare running, and four men working with what appears to be a clamshell bucket while a smaller grab dredge removes ice from a slushy pond in the background. Additional scenes include a dredge that appears to have a huge chunk of ice stuck on its bucket, a snowy landscape, a helicopter, a group of people shoveling [possibly digging clams] in a tidal area, snowy mountains in the background, a mining camp and surrounding areas, a smaller dredge, a general overview of area, a fox, and a grab dredge with another large piece of machinery.
[Arnie M. Lee and Family collection - 9]
[Arnie M. Lee and Family collection - 9]
This video is composed of footage from four film reels. AAF-16334 is from a film likely shot by Lee family friend Fred Torsak. It is labeled “1936?, Weeks Field airplanes, Cushman Street Bridge, Dad, dog team, polar bear.” (a post office date stamp on the film box says July 26, 1937). The film contains footage of airplanes at Weeks Field in Fairbanks, a Pacific Alaska Airways hangar, Cushman Street in Fairbanks, the Samson’s hardware store building, Cushman Street bridge over the Chena River, a polar bear in a cage, and people riding in a dog sled. AAF-16335 is from a film likely shot by Lee family friend Fred Torsak. It is labeled, “Fairbanks Alaska, Gold Dredge mining.” (The post office date stamp on the film box is April 2, 1938). The film contains footage of a large placer mining site, hydraulic giants at work, a man with a camera filming the mining operations, an overburden being blasted or falling in large chunks, a mining camp, a man walking along the pipeline (Davidson ditch or siphon?), a dredge at work, and tailings piles. AAF-16336 is from a film likely shot by Lee family friend Fred Torsak. It is labeled “Gold mining with great cleanup gold.” (The post office date stamp on the film box is February 13, 1939). The film contains color footage of hydraulic giants and a bulldozer at work, a man in a large sluice box, a man holding a large pan full of gold, people working a smaller sluice box, and Main School in Fairbanks. AAF-16337 is from a film likely shot by Lee family friend Fred Torsak. It is labeled “Weeks Field, dog team, Main School.” (The post office date stamp on the film box is also February 13, 1939). The film contains color footage of a dog team next to an airplane, a woman taking photos of a dog team, an airplane flying overhead, Main school in Fairbanks, and the wooden Fairbanks Airplane Corporation hangar on Rickert's field situated across from Weeks Field on Cushman Street in Fairbanks.
[KFAR television news footage 2]
[KFAR television news footage 2]
This footage features men and women being searched by police, a dog sled race, raised homes, people on a sternwheeler, a building with a sign that says "Bank Interior City Branch," aerial views of Alaska countryside, an airplane dropping some type of powder or smoke, people racing and having fun at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a man preparing for an art exhibition, outdoor city scenes on a windy winter day, large lengths of pipe being loaded onto a truck, airplanes at rest, a man using a snowblower, a truck removing snow, children playing, views from inside Alaskaland, the sternwheeler Nenana, a Pan American airplane taxiing, a man exiting the airplane onto a red carpet, a small car traveling down railroad tracks, scenic views of mountains and rivers, a locomotive engine pulling a single car on train tracks, a bridge over a river, surveyors and construction equipment on a dirt road, a steel bridge spanning a large canyon in Alaska, views of Nenana, the military practicing with large guns, crops, views of Barrow, Alaska Natives processing meat, oil workers operating machinery, scenes from inside a very large airplane (including the cockpit), the Wien Consolidated Airlines building in Barrow, scenes from aboard a large ship named the Manhattan, a helicopter landing on the ship, construction equipment moving earth, men and women dining, views from the inside of a power plan (?), men pouring and smoothing concrete, and scenes from a Golden Days parade in Fairbanks.
[Arnie M. Lee and Family collection - 4]
[Arnie M. Lee and Family collection - 4]
Notes with this film say “1946 DC3 PAA FAI-Norway at Weeks Field Oct, Winter in Fairbanks lots snow, Emil and Jergen, Canada? dam, PAA plane DC3, gold dredge, Fairbanks winter carnival parade, reindeer Ingrid and Norman, Norway ski jump Holmekolen, Seattle – New York Farm.” Writing inside the film can says “Lee Family going to old country, Fairbanks winter time, Vancouver Island, back to Fairbanks, Dredge No. 3 1946, Fairbanks Creek Dredge 2, Winter Carnival, Skibowel [Skibowl?] Seattle, Graham, Palsbo." The film contains footage of a Pan American World Airways Clipper DC-3 airplane, frost-covered trees and snow-covered homes in Fairbanks, a mammoth tusk leaning against a utility pole, scenes outside Alaska, a Pan American airplane, a dredge in operation, a downtown Fairbanks Winter Carnival parade, a Pioneers of Alaska float, a Fraternal Order of Eagles float, other parade marchers and floats, a captive reindeer, and ski-jumping and other scenes outside Alaska.
[Nyac]
[Nyac]
Filmed at the mining community of Nyac east of Bethel, Alaska. Footage includes buildings in Nyac, a boy riding a moped, children and people, loading amalgam into a furnace, pouring molten gold into a mold, a boy with a gold brick, men with matching bear hides (sow and cubs), men skinning a bull moose that is hanging from a crane, a single-engine Northern Consolidated airplane departing, people on an operating gold dredge, a man in a skiff in a dredge pond, a man holding a gray jay, a winter snow storm, and 1955 chevrolet cars.
[Nome airfield and ATG, Eskimo villages and ATG, Anchorage and fishing, Family film, land clearing, Cemetery, Eskimo activity]
[Nome airfield and ATG, Eskimo villages and ATG, Anchorage and fishing, Family film, land clearing, Cemetery, Eskimo activity]
Part 1 (AAF-1523) footage includes Eskimo people pulling nets containing fish onto shore, a snow-blower, Lend-Lease bombers with Russian identification at Nome airfield, Governor Dewey of New York during a visit, Quonset huts, Eskimo hunters on an icepack, a wolf chained in a dogyard, a reindeer herd and harnessed reindeer, a Jeep with "Follow Me" in English and Russian, Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG) troops drilling, a village, Eskimos landing umiaks, Jack Jefford standing next to a DC-3 with "King Chris" painted on the nose, whaling festival activity, and a small sternwheeler. Part 2 (AAF-1524) footage includes Eskimos with dog teams and in boats, military aircraft, village activity, men building a log structure, a group of Eskimos, children on a teeter-totter, a bear cub, an aircraft buried in snow, military officers looking at an Alaska map, boys in a pie-eating contest, ATG troops training, a man with a net catching birds (?), a fishwheel, ice fishing, and village scenes.
[KTVF news stories, Anchorage airport construction, dredge]
[KTVF news stories, Anchorage airport construction, dredge]
Some segments of film contain audio, and others are silent. Specific dates and other information noted on the original film are given here in parentheses. Footage includes a short clip of man speaking about his decision to run for state government (no date or description) (sound), hospital patients going through rehabilitation (segment is titled "Exercise") (no date) (silent), a woman talking (no date or description) (silent), children talking to a man in a Santa Claus costume (no date or description) (silent), people at a meeting, a Civil Air Patrol airplane (segment is titled "Migliaccio Film") (no date) (silent), views of a tower and parking lot at the Anchorage airport, airplanes taxiing to a terminal, Anchorage scenes, construction scenes (no date) (silent), men working on utility poles (segment is titled "MUS Update") (August 2, 1973) (silent), boats in a harbor (segment is titled "Places - Sitka Boat Harbor") (no date) (silent), scenes from aboard the fishing boat Anna J, a bumper sticker that says "Stop Foreign Fish Pirates" on a vehicle belonging to a state legislator, Pioneer Home residents (segment is titled "Fishing Boat, Pioneer Home outs") (no date) (silent) a promotion video for a program about the Hogatza gold dredge, one of the last large operating dredges in Alaska (July 20, 1971) (sound), a man playing banjo, a man in a dog yard talking about his support of Steve Cowper for state government, Steve Cowper walking through snow (no date) (sound), women in an exercise class (no date or description) (silent), a woman talking about her life as a legislator living aboard a houseboat in Juneau (segment is titled "Sally Smith") (no date) (sound), a commercial for Piccadilly wigs in the basement of the Arctic Bowl building in Fairbanks (no date) (sound), a disc jockey at work in a radio studio (segment is titled "Chuck Benson R.B. Request Line") (no date) (silent), a brief clip of a woman being interviewed about a sled dog race (segment is titled "Roxi Brooks") (no date) (sound), Jim Kowalski being interviewed about his organization's suit against the Alyeska Pipeline company as well as about his thoughts on the opening of the pipeline and Haul Road (no date) (sound), construction scenes at the Fairbanks airport, a new tower being constructed (no date) (silent), Steve Cowper standing near pipeline construction materials and speaking about impact funding (no date) (sound), Fairbanks firefighters (no date or description) (silent), church services at Eielson Church of Christ (no date) (silent), men and women in Golden Days costumes (no date) (silent), views of a backyard pool, a woman cleaning a pool, a water slide (segment is titled "Rees Pool") (no date) (silent), Steve Cowper talking about his candidacy for Alaska State House (no date) (sound), and ice fog in and over Fairbanks (no date) (silent).
[Fort Wainwright 1970s]
[Fort Wainwright 1970s]
This film contains scenes from the early 1970s of troops at Fort Wainwright boarding a C-130 aircraft, aerial views of the landscape, and scenes of soldiers with parachutes exiting the aircraft.
[KTVF news stories, Chitina, Riverboat Discovery II]
[KTVF news stories, Chitina, Riverboat Discovery II]
Some segments of this film have sound, and others are silent. Specific dates and titles were noted on some segments and are included here in parentheses. The footage includes views from a Winnebago camper as it drives along the highway, people swimming in a lake, boats and houses on a lake, a person water-skiing (July 10, 1972) (silent and sound), Liberty Falls Campground, a KTVF Winnebago camper, men and boys with fish, a Chitina sign, views of a road and buildings, a Chitina store, old vehicles, people dip-netting, a Pioneer Access Road sign, an old log church, hikers, old buildings (August 28, 1972) (sound), a man in a hard hat being interviewed about fighting a fire at the McKinley Park Hotel (no date) (sound), clouds and sunsets (August 1, 1972) (sound), Carpenter's Local 1243 on strike, picketers in front of a Tanana Valley Clinic construction site and married-student-housing site (August 1, 1972) (silent), United States Secretary of the Interior Morton speaking about progress on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline project (August 2, 1972) (sound), a small airplane taking off (August 2, 1972) (silent), Japanese men stepping off an Alaska Railroad train car (August 3, 1972) (silent), women holding up an award plaque, reception scenes (August 3, 1972) (segment is titled "Fohn-Hansen Award") (silent), a man being interviewed on the UAF campus about the similarities between Australia and Alaska (August 4, 1972) (segment is titled "Ambassador Plimsoll") (sound), exhibits at the University of Alaska museum (August 4, 1972) (silent), a man being presented with a gold key and a gold pass (August 4, 1972) (segment is titled "Barker Award") (silent), the Fairbanks railroad station, a pile of cabbages (August 4, 1972) (silent), and people boarding the Riverboat Discovery II on a fundraising tour for U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. Aboard the boat, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Morton talks with Senator Stevens about the pipeline, conservation and development issues, jobs and population growth in Alaska, and hiring preferences on the pipeline project. Subsequent footage shows Captain Jim Binkley talking about the future of tourism and riverboats in Alaska (August 7, 1972) (sound), people viewing paintings (August 7, 1972) (segment is titled "Engles Art Show") (silent), firefighters battling a blaze in a burning house (August 8, 1972) (segment is titled "Grahhl Fire") (silent), Dr. William Wood and others speaking (August 9, 1972) (segment is titled "Reindeer Symposium") (silent), a man being interviewed about traffic flow on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus (August 9, 1972) (sound), buildings and satellite dishes, a man being interviewed (August 10, 1972) (segment is titled "Space Data Acquisition Facility") (sound), people boarding a small riverboat, river views, a Ronald McDonald clown entertaining children (August 9, 1972) (segment is titled "Openings/Fisher") (silent), protestors holding signs about a rent-raise at Birch Park housing (August 9, 1972) (silent), the construction of apartments, a health spa, a service station (August 12, 1972) (sound), circus trucks and a tent, circus animals (August 12, 1972) (silent), the M.B. Equipment Company building, and junk in a field (August 12, 1972) (silent).
[Wilkins expeditions, wonders in motion etc. 5]
[Wilkins expeditions, wonders in motion etc. 5]
This footage includes cutting hay with a team of horses, Charlie Creamer (?) in a field with shocks of hay, a large commercial garden and greenhouses, a picnic and political rally, a sluice box operating, a truck pulling Hubert Wilkins' Fokker fuselage through Fairbanks, a crashed Fokker with a broken wing, the wing being removed by men, a crashed Fokker with collapsed landing gear during winter, and snow-motors clearing a runway.
[Glaciers, Wonder Lake, Merrill and airplane]
[Glaciers, Wonder Lake, Merrill and airplane]
This film contains images of men sorting supplies for a field expedition (likely including Roscoe Bonsal, Ben Wood, Percy Pond, Andrew M. “Andy” Taylor, and Paul Kegal), a man unloading supplies from a small boat onto shore, men with packs hiking across an uneven glacier surface, a rock slide in the distance, canvas tents on a glacier, men hiking and posing for the camera, men hiking alongside crevasses, men roped together while hiking, men looking out across an icefield, snow covered mountain peaks, a glacier calving into water, mountain peaks as viewed from a boat, men on a boat, men posing with mountain goats they’ve hunted, a boat moving through icy waters, men with animal hides on a dock, a man (possibly skipper Paul Kegal) repairing the boat M/V Eurus, Paula and John Anderson’s fox farm and roadhouse (Polly’s roadhouse) at the north end of Wonder Lake in what is today Denali National Park, dogs pulling a sled in summer with one man driving and another riding in the sled, men at a cabin near the lake, a man and woman (possibly Paula and John Anderson) at a cabin, dogs, railroad tracks as viewed from a moving train, a train going through a tunnel, a south or southeastern coastal Alaska town, the Anchorage No. 1 Travel Air biplane taking off and climbing steeply, men in a rowboat towing the Anchorage No. 1 on floats, pilot Russel Merrill fueling an airplane, a man cranking and hand propping the Anchorage No. 1 airplane, aerial views of landscapes and shorelines from an airplane, a totem pole, Ketchikan, the Ketchikan Spruce Mill, a fish trap tender boat named the "Eureka of Seattle" with a fish scow alongside it named "APEX No. 3" (or possibly No. 8 or No. 9). The poles sticking out of the water are part of a fish trap known as a standing trap or pile trap. Identifications were made by comparing the film to photos in “With a Camera in My Hands: William O. Field, Pioneer Glaciologist: a Life History as Told to C. Suzanne Brown,” edited by C. Suzanne Brown and published by University of Alaska Press, 2004. According to Ketchikan author and retired Alaska Marine Highway System Captain William M. Hopkins in 2016, the end of the film contains views of Ketchikan, including the old Spruce Mill at the mouth of Ketchikan Creek. The waterway scenes are of the Eastern Channel of the southern end of Tongass Narrows between Mountain Point and the Coast Guard base and the Spruce Mill. If the entire clip was filmed in the same general area, the fish trap is possibly located somewhere along the southern Tongass Narrows or along nearby Annette Island.
[KTVF news stories, cross country skiing, snowmachines, baseball, airplanes]
[KTVF news stories, cross country skiing, snowmachines, baseball, airplanes]
Some segments of film contain audio, and others are silent. Note that this transfer is from a film negative. Specific dates and other information noted on the original film are given here in parentheses. Footage includes a cross country ski race in Fairbanks, a 20-kilometer Skiathon patch (silent) (undated), spectators watching a snowmachine race (silent) (segment titled "Midnight Sun 600") (undated, but possibly 1970 race start at Kulis Air National Guard Base in Anchorage), a Glacier Pilots baseball game, views of the crowd (silent) (undated), aircraft, and an official being interviewed about the search efforts for a missing aircraft that disappeared shortly after departing Anchorage (silent and sound) (segment titled "Begich, Boggs, Stocker") (October 18, 1972).
Midnight Sunland Alaska. U.S.A.
Midnight Sunland Alaska. U.S.A.
This program was produced to promote Alaska tourism by Wien Alaska Airlines and hosted by Lowell Thomas Jr. The footage includes glaciers, highway travel, a chained wolf at a roadhouse near Tok, Paxson, glaciers along Alaskan roads, travel in Southeast Alaska aboard a ship, glaciers in Southeast Alaska, aerial views of Juneau and Skagway, views of Anchorage, cabbages and a vegetable stand in the Matanuska Valley, the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus and aerial views of it, aerial views and street scenes in Fairbanks, an aircraft at the Fairbanks International Airport, and travel on a Wien F-27 to Ft. Yukon, Nome, Kotzebue, and Pt. Barrow. Village scenes include cabins, fishwheel operation and a fish camp near Ft. Yukon, street scenes and gold panning in Nome, people pulling in a beluga whale and Eskimo Dancers in Kotzebue, and children excavating Native artifacts. Additional footage includes Harding Lake, the hotel in McKinley Park, ivory carvers, and an Eskimo blanket toss in Kotzebue.
[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?).
[Pipeline Reports #1 and #2]
[Pipeline Reports #1 and #2]
Some segments of film contain sound, and others are silent. Specific information noted on the original film is given here in parentheses. The film includes aerial views of tundra and mountains, a reporter at a pipe yard talking about pipeline construction permits and cost estimates, a reporter and a map of Alaska, the Prudhoe Bay pipeline test facility, Prudhoe Bay scenes, the Valdez terminus, ships in a bay, work camps, a Valdez trailer park and campground, construction scenes, a reporter and a map, a man being interviewed about construction north of the Yukon River, another man being interviewed about construction activities south of the Yukon River, aerial views of the pipeline and construction camps, a Yukon River crossing and bridge construction, a reporter speaking about the impact of pipeline construction on Fairbanks and other communities (segment titled "Alaska Pipeline Report #1") (silent and sound), a reporter in a pipe yard introducing pipeline report topics, construction camp scenes, men playing basketball, workers being interviewed about pipeline work and camp life, liquor store scenes, a camp, a woman being interviewed about a camp recreation program and about life in a camp, a reporter at a telephone company talking about the impact of pipeline activity on the telephone system, housing and traffic, telephone operators, Fairbanks International Airport, pipe sections being loaded onto an airplane, airport scenes including tower activity and a ticket counter, a runway, a reporter talking about the deaths of road construction workers, a map, pipeline and Haul Road scenes, the tanker "Arco Fairbanks" being christened, and a reporter talking about changes in Alaska (segment titled "Alaska Pipeline Report #2") (silent and sound).
[Family scenes, Alaska Highway travel]
[Family scenes, Alaska Highway travel]
Film contains footage of a little girl (aproximately 1 year old) at a birthday party with a cake and presents, a little girl playing with toys, a little boy's 3rd birthday party with children, cake, the child opening presents, a truck on a snowy road, scenic views of mountains and winter snowscape, a little girl about 2 years old, a man, woman, and child standing outside on the side of a road in winter, snowscapes viewed from a moving vehicle, snowy roadway viewed from a moving vehicle, winter landscapes, tall cabin at Whitehorse in Canada, sternwheeler riverboats on a shore at Whitehorse, cars racing around a snow track in the winter on the Chena River in Fairbanks, ice skaters performing for a crowd outside in winter on the Chena River in Fairbanks, views of Fairbanks businesses along river, views of the outside of a building, a man standing with a dog, scenic views of the landscape, ships on the water, a church with a Nativity scene in front, a bridge (not in Alaska), a woman and man standing outside of a brick home (not in Alaska), Pan American airplane at an airport, the mountains filmed from an airplane in flight, a man and a boy standing in snow in front of a truck, military vehicles along a snowy road, views from a truck driving down the Alaska Highway, and a truck at Whitehorse in Canada with sternwheeler riverboats on the shore in the background.
[KTVF news stories from Fairbanks during 1973 - 4]
[KTVF news stories from Fairbanks during 1973 - 4]
Footage includes a press conference at which a man talks about Bill Rogers's retirement, conservation in Alaska, pipeline workers, oil reserves. It also features an auction, a man explaining feasibility studies for the pipeline's terminus, scenes from James C Ryan Junior High School, scenes from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the smoldering remnants of a structure, radiation signs in a rural area, exterior and interior views of several grocery stores, men working with insulation in an attic, fire fighters at the Fairbanks Fire Department, and several people exiting a Pan Am airplane.
[Eyth Family collection films 2]
[Eyth Family collection films 2]
This film contains scenes featuring people posing and getting into a small airplane, a small framed cabin, a log cabin, boats on a river, women and a cabin, cabins and caches along a river, a family at a cabin, many people in a boat, a moose in a river, and mountains as seen from a river.
[Drag racing, air show, parade, construction, family, Haul Road 2]
[Drag racing, air show, parade, construction, family, Haul Road 2]
AAF-10406 is made up of several smaller reels of film. Handwritten notes on original film boxes are as follows: “Good of mud going up Chandlar shelf, get caribou from Song River, caribou truck, caribou on Peterbuilt hood, Jason and Loren 18 mo old on porch.” “Children Jason, Loren, Larissa, Summer 1981, Nani’s house.” “Grandchildren sliding 1983.” “Jason, Priscilla, Bev, Jason on Haul Road, Livengood Gold Mining Camp.” “Train, RR crossing, Bud Wilson and I Atigun Pass, L and Larry wedding.” This film contains footage of men building something from wood, road construction on a muddy road, men with caribou racks posing near a truck, young children playing and posing for the camera, family scenes, a family in winter sledding downhill on an innertube and down a roadway on runner sleds, a snowmachine pulling people and sleds uphill, a mountain reflection in water, people at ERA Helicopters Inc.'s North Slope Operations Center in Deadhorse, a Wien airplane taxiing on a runway, a child with a trucker driving a truck, a man changing a tire on a truck, llamas or alpacas along a road, an overturned truck, driving on a muddy road as seen from the driver’s perspective, construction on a very muddy road, a wedding, a just-married car in winter, a truck driving on icy roads, railroad crossings with Alaska Railroad cars going by, truckers putting chains on tires, snowy roads and trees, and dog mushing activities near Fairbanks.
[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.
[Bush pilot John Thompson]
[Bush pilot John Thompson]
The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20080 numbered as Bacon 18-01 and titled “Bush Pilot John Thompson.” Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about the group of films that includes this film is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: “Stan Price at his home - He is an old-timer who lived on Saxman Island - There were these bears and he knew them and he could walk around and they never bothered him because he knew them - He had a garden there - There is his obituary in the box - Riverboat in Nenana - It was put in down river from the bridge - They wanted to bring the riverboat up to Fairbanks so they had to wait until high water to get the boat up to Chena but it could not fit under the bridge - There was a big pole in the way so they had to take a big saw and cut enough of the pole to make it under the bridge - Homesteader Paul Elbert’s new D9 cat. He is cleaning his farmland outside of Fairbanks in a place called ‘Happy Valley.’" Notes on the film box are as follows: “Stan Price at his home with the bears, Rusty Heurlin at his log home in Ester June 1974, break-up 1961, Riverboat Nenana under the bridge in Nenana, coming up the Chena River tying up in Fairbanks, Obituary of Stanton Price” and “ Reel 1: Bush pilot John Thompson.”
[KTVF news stories, GOP convention, Alyeska report]
[KTVF news stories, GOP convention, Alyeska report]
Footage includes the Jim Thompson Ford dealership in Fairbanks (silent) (9/17/73), men speaking at a United Way meeting (silent) (9/25/73), the dedication of the Hutchison Center with aircraft mechanic Jim Hutchison and other dignitaries in attendance (sound) (9/29/73), a bomber aircraft sitting on a ramp at an airport (silent) (9/22/73), Fairbanks Police Department investigating a S&W Insulation truck explosion (sound) (10/5/73), singer Anne Murray being greeted by bagpipers at the Fairbanks airport (sound) (10/6/73), a semi-truck load of pumpkins arriving in Fairbanks (sound) (10/11/73), the swearing in of assembly and school board members (silent) (10/12/73), a woman being interviewed about nutrition and the cost of school lunches (sound) (10/13/73), rooms and beds in the Fairbanks Native Association Sleep-Off Center (sound) (11/20/73), Rickshaw Chinese - American Restaurant (silent) (11/21/73), a story about emmissions from the Fort Wainwright power plant (sound) (11/21/73), airport scenes (silent) (11/22/73), a Thanksgiving meal being served to a large group (silent), Alaska State Senator Keith Miller speaking out against incumbant U.S. Senator Mike Gravel at a local GOP convention (sound) (11/23/73), men working on street lights near Penneys building in Fairbanks (silent), Art Linkletter speaking in support of President Nixon at a local GOP meeting (sound) (11/26/73), Ted Stevens at a meeting (silent) (11/24/73), a story about the communication links between Anchorage and Fairbanks that will provide Fairbanks with live TV (sound) (11/27/73), Nerland Hall and lower campus dorms at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (silent) (12/3/73), the Fairbanks Datsun dealership and cars (silent), a bank's exterior and interior (silent) (12/4/73), the Chena View Hotel construction site (silent) (12/5/73), and Alyeska officials in Anchorage reporting on projected numbers of workers needed to build the Trans-Alaska Pipeline so that Alaska communities could plan for the impacts caused by the coming influx of workers and their familes (sound) (12/5/73).
[Chuck Gray film collection addition 2]
[Chuck Gray film collection addition 2]
The original reel and can notes for AAF-10076 are: "Dune Lake 1 and 2 - 1970, Beaver Creek 1956, and Old John 1 and 2 - 1970." The writing on film leader is "Dune Lk. 1989." The footage features building supplies being offloaded at a remote site in winter, a large vehicle with a trailer, a cabin being constructed, an airplane on floats, men clearing an ATV trail, a man on a snowmachine setting traps, ice fishing, an airplane on skis, men in snowshoes fishing in open water, fishing and boating, men and a campfire, cooking and eating in a camp, and loading supplies into an airplane.
[Family travel and Alaska 1]
[Family travel and Alaska 1]
This film is made up of several smaller film reels labeled "1960 At Home, Diamond Mine [?], 707 Jet, Mike, Arkansas [?], back in Tex, [?] and Me, Plane at Post at Home," "Girls at Wisc Lake at Home [?] 1962," "At Home in Park 1964, Debbie and [?] 1962," "Parade 1964," "May 1964, Mike at Home, First Fishing, Ice and Snow, Pile Driver Slough," "Xmas 1965 and New Year 1966," "Fall 1966 Spring 1967, First Trip to Gulkana, Sourdough, Beautiful Scenes," and "At Home, Crappie, Dad and Shorty, Pat and the Kids, Swimming, June 7." The film contains a mix of footage from Alaska and travel outside Alaska, including family gatherings, airplanes, children fishing and playing, an Alaska parade, a man walking on an icy river, a public pool, and a beach.
[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 4]
[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 4]
This film is made up of several smaller reels labeled "Gulkana, Donky[?] River," "Flood 1967, Up Gulkana, Xmas 1967, Ski Cleary," "Gulkana River, Last Day at Dickie," "Porky, Salcha, D&V Cabin, Up Gulkana, Starting [?]," "Gulkana 1974 Paxon, Summit Lake, Boat Races #2," "Fish Trip Moose Shaw Creek, Salmon on Gulkana, Summer 1972," and "Summit Lake, First Day at Dicky." The film contains scenes of Alaska road and river travel, interior cabin views, a brief flooded neighborhood view, a man in a boat on a river, family Christmas and skiing scenes, people fishing and boating, an airplane, boats racing on a river, and people at a cabin.
[Fairbanks ice carnivals and aviation]
[Fairbanks ice carnivals and aviation]
This footage features the 1929 Fairbanks Ice Carnival Queen contest, a flight with Ed Young, a film shot by Dan Lhamon, Howard Hughes in Fairbanks in August 1938 during his 1938 Around the World Flight in a Lockheed Super Electra, a Pan American airplane, a Pacific Alaska Airways airplane, a Wien Alaska Airlines airplane, and the 1948 Ice Carnival sled dog races. According to George Lounsbury, approximately the first five minutes of footage is a Lounsbury family film, and it contains images of George's mother in the late 1920s. Scenes of Howard Hughes were from a film obtained from Earl Pilgrim. Scenes of Russian airplanes, Juneau, and Nome were films from Dan Lhamon and Rod Wolff. The remainder is film George Lounsbury received from his brother, but the origin is unknown, and the Lounsbury family does not appear in that part of the film.
[Hetherington films, reel 2]
[Hetherington films, reel 2]
This film contains scenes of a large military parade in downtown Fairbanks, a sign for "US Navy Petroleum Exploration NPR4," military equipment on display near the Lacey Street Theatre area in downtown Fairbanks, a Cat train, military aircraft and pilots, sailors near an Interior dredge in operation, people standing around a burned airplane (with all the fabric burnt off), a blanket toss in Barrow, large equipment including barges and backhoes at work along the beach (construction of NARL?), Navy ships along the coast, Quonset huts, and another blanket toss in Barrow.
[Gold mining, Alaska travel and activities 2]
[Gold mining, Alaska travel and activities 2]
Footage features people aboard a boat outside of Alaska, dog mushing, a tractor pulling a load of timber or logs with the Cushman Street Bridge visible in the distance, small girls at a birthday party, a girl with a dog, a bridge and road, people posing for the camera, a Farmall tractor pulling a boat out of the river at Cushman Street Bridge, hay piles, mountain scenes, Savage Rock at Denali or McKinley National Park, a large coal chute near Healy, a truck loaded with coal, mining operations, men and women in a boat, a waterfall, mountains and a sunset, aerial views of a river and mountains, airplanes and a camp on a rocky beach in northern Alaska, men posing by an airplane, aerial views of wildfires and mountains, men with cameras posing along with children in a northern Alaska coastal village (Barrow?), children in parkas posing, village homes, a woman chopping wood, a caribou, children in parkas with a small dogsled in Fairbanks, a brief glimpse of Leonhard Seppala with a dog team in Fairbanks with the Samson Hardware Building in the background, winter carnival scenes in Fairbanks, women in parkas posing near a Pacific Alaska Airlines airplane, a brief aerial view of the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, people disembarking from a DC-3 airplane, women and a man posing, people re-boarding the airplane, winter carnival lights, people shoveling deep snow at a cabin, men and women posing with a dog team, a man placing dogs in harnesses (black & white section of film with the first man identified as Jeff Studdert by local historian George Lounsbury in 2014), dogs running under the Noyes Slough swinging bridge and out onto the Chena River in Fairbanks, and another man driving a dog sled as a woman rides in the sled. Handwritten notes on film boxes are as follows, though the order does not seem to correspond with the order of scenes above: “Boat trip, Bowler[?].” “Dog team and tractor.” “Trip to Delta – loop.” “Fire scenes at Mc Park, coal mine at Healy.” “Lake Chelan boat trip sunset.” “Trip to Barrow, caribou, carnival and dog sled ride.”
[KTVF news stories from Fairbanks between 1972 and 1975]
[KTVF news stories from Fairbanks between 1972 and 1975]
Footage includes an interview with Mac Fenton about school board issues concerning smoking in schools, Mayor Julian Rice and Wally Droz being interviewed about the relationship between the mayor and the city clerk, an unidentified man being interviewed by reporter Sunny Carpenter about a satellite telemetry project at the University of Alaska, and a Capital International Airways DC-8 crash story from Anchorage International Airport.