Alaska Film Archives

A Letter for Debra Anne
A Letter for Debra Anne
AAF-13990 and AAF-13991 are presented by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. Both films contain identical scenes with AAF-13990 narrated in English and AAF-13991 narrated in Yupik. The program is about the development of the Primary Eskimo Program (PEP), a bilingual language program introduced in Yupik-speaking Alaska Native communities of southwest Alaska. Opening credits list Area Director Clarence Antioquia, Assistant Area Director Emil Kowalczyk, Federal Program Director William Menojah, Jr., Title 1 Director Willard Walters, Agency Superintendent of Education S. William Benton, and Education Specialist Calvin Lundy. Cinematographer is Frank Johnson. Editor is Guy Bishop. Storyteller is John Haymer. Yupik interpreter is Oscar Alexie. The film is written and directed by Jerry Warner, and it's produced by Jerry Warner and Associates. The program contains scenes in Kwethluk and Akiachak, Alaska, including elementary-aged students learning to speak, read, and write in both Yupik and English. In 2018, Juliana Carlson, originally from Kwethluk, identified the following individuals who appear in the film: Ethel Peter (at 01:42, center girl with red and black shirt); Deborah, Mabel or Mary Constantine (at 02:16); Deborah Ann Michael of Kwethluk (at 5:07); the Kwethluk First Grade class including teacher Lillian Michael McGill, John Andrew, Jr., Paul Jackson, Anastasia Michael, Wassiliie Paul, Juliana Guy, Matthew Dillon, Minnie Nicori, William Nicolai and Olga Nick (at 05:41); Kwethluk First Graders John Andrew, Jr. and Juliana Guy (at 06:16); Lynn Jones (at 07:24); Alice Alexie, Veronica Michael (left), and Daniel Jackson (at 07:58); Samson Mann and Matthew Nicori (at 17:39); Kwethluk BIA first grade teacher Lillian Michael McGill (at 19:22); James Michael, Lillian Michael and Lola Evan (at 22:47); Sophie Owens Lowery (at 23:21); Kwethluk 3rd and 4th Graders (at 23:55); Elena Pasitnal (left), Elena Chimegalrea (center), and Marla Evan (right) (at 24:29); Deborah Michael of Kwethluk (at 26:46); and Wassillie Paul of Kwethluk (at 27:20).
Alaska 49th state : [part 1]
Alaska 49th state : [part 1]
This film was used for lectures by the Machetanzes when they travelled outside of Alaska. Footage includes the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner headline "Alaska 49th State," George Sundborg checking teletype and noting the passage of statehood legislation on June 30 1958, statehood headlines from the Anchorage Daily Times and Anchorage Daily News, men launching a large star suspended by helium balloons from the Polaris building's roof in Fairbanks, a line of people signing a giant telegram in Fairbanks, a statehood parade down Second Avenue in Fairbanks, Ernest Gruening shaking hands in Anchorage, and graphics showing routes to Alaska. Additional images include passengers embarking on the Riverboat Discovery near Fairbanks, Jim Binkley piloting the boat and talking on a microphone, Mary Binkley with a microphone and an unidentified assistant showing fur to passengers, Alaska Natives at Tanana River fish camp, Alaska Native men building a fishwheel, men retrieving salmon from a fishwheel and processing it for drying, an Alaska Native woman making a birch bark basket, Sara Machetanz looking at a birch bark baby carrier, and Sara with baby Traeger Machetanz. Additional images include children bottle feeding a moose calf, people harvesting grain and vegetables in the Matanuska Valley, an aerial view of an oil drill rig, Healy coal mine, men operating a hydraulic giant and driving thaw points near Fairbanks, a dredge operating near Fairbanks, men using Caterpillars and a dragline to operate a large sluice box, sluice box clean-up, and a man smelting gold into an ingot. Additional images include the Machetanzes Hi Ridge cabin near Palmer during winter, Fred using a dog team and chainsaw to obtain firewood, a moose at a cabin, Fred and Sara travelnig to Palmer during winter, a snow plow and rotary snowblower on the road, and Jan Koslosky with a rifle showing a large Polar Bear hide. Images at the Fur Rendezvous in Anchorage include a fur auction, a weight-pull contest, a blanket toss, a merry-go-round, the start line of World Champion Dog Sled Races, and Northern Alaska Native dancers performing the Wolf Dance.
Alaska 49th state : [part 2]
Alaska 49th state : [part 2]
This film was used for lectures by the Machetanzes when they travelled outside Alaska. Footage includes Open North American dog sled races in Fairbanks and Dr. Roland Lombard wearing bib number one. Additional images include travel on the Alaska Railroad during winter, a man with a reindeer in Fairbanks, downtown Fairbanks, a party at the Atwood home in Anchorage, international travelers arriving at the Anchorage International Airport and Bob Reeve at the airport, a musical conductor and choral group, KTVA television studios and Norma Goodman, and shoppers in a grocery store. Southeast Alaska images include glaciers and travel by ship, amphibious aircraft taking off in Juneau, loggers cutting and hauling trees, Ketchikan Pulp Mill, salmon in a stream, purse seiner and cannery. Additional images include two men going upstream in a canoe and fishing for grayling, and campus buildings at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.
Alaska Division: Great Falls to Fairbanks
Alaska Division: Great Falls to Fairbanks
This is an Army Air Corps training film for crews ferrying aircraft from Great Falls, Montana to Fairbanks, Alaska, where Soviet pilots then took possession of the airplanes. The aircraft were part of the Lend-Lease program in which the United States sent war supplies to the Soviet Union during World War II. Footage includes graphics showing the route, aerial views of runways along the route, views of runways during landings, and graphics advising pilots of procedures for aborting flights. During the life of the Lend-Lease project, nearly 8,000 planes flew along this route, also known as the Alaska-Siberia (ALSIB) route, from Montana to Alaska then on to Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. The film was made by the U.S. Army Air Forces Air Transport Command Overseas Technical Unit.
Alaska Review 03
Alaska Review 03
Hosts Ed Bennett and Eric Eckholm introduce the program. The first segment deals with small airplane safety issues in Alaska. Issues include the increased number of airplane crashes, safety concerns, pilot training, weather conditions and preparedness, and FAA regulations. Those interviewed include: pilot Jerry Olson; head of the Alaska office of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Frank Malone; owner of Webber Air Service in Ketchikan Jack Swaim (misidentified in title screen); pilot Wes Lynch in Kivalina; air service owner Paul Haggland of Fairbanks; Alaska Governor and pilot Jay Hammond of Naknek and Juneau; Alaska Regional Director of the FAA Lyle Brown; and the unidentified witness of a small plane crash. The second segment examines oil tanker safety in Alaskan waters, including Prince William Sound. Footage includes the breakup and sinking of the oil tanker Argo Merchant in 1976, the Port of Long Beach in California, N.A.S.C.O shipyards in San Diego, Puget Sound in Washington, and the Port of Valdez and Valdez Narrows in Alaska. Issues discussed include oil tanker construction, navigation challenges at the Port of Valdez, and ways to minimize oil spill risks. Those interviewed include: Chuck Champion, Alaska's Pipeline Coordinator; Walt Parker, leader of the Alaska Governor's task force on tankers; Captain Roletti of the oil tanker Sea Tiger; Admiral Hayes, head of the Alaska Command of the U.S. Coast Guard; Dave Stevens, State of Washington tanker expert; Alaska State Senator Chancy Croft; Ernst Mueller, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation; A.B. Mookhoek, head of Exxon's Marine Oceans Operations and chairman of the Marine Subcommittee of Alyeska; Bill Morrice, Valdez Port Director; Captain Bill Fiskin, in charge of vessel loading; and Dr. Betty Willard of the President's Council on Environmental Quality. The third segment, reported by Janet Archibald, covers the struggle to keep the Anchorage Daily News in business. Those interviewed include: Kay Fanning, publisher of the Anchorage Daily News; Hugh Fleisher, co-chairman of the Committee for Two Newspapers; Robert Atwood, publisher of the Anchorage Daily Times; and Lee Jordan, publisher of the Chugiak-Eagle River Star. Program includes public service announcements (PSAs) about the Council on Aging, child abuse, and human development.
Alaska Review 04
Alaska Review 04
Hosts Ed Bennett and Eric Eckholm introduce the program. In the first segment, Alaska Review correspondent Janet Archibald examines the future of the military in Alaska. Interviewees include: General James Boatner of the U.S. Army; Captain Richard Frase of the U.S. Army; Sergeant Jonny Ray of the U.S. Army; Major Dave Moss of the U.S. Army; Colonel George Robertson of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Richard Eakins, director of the Alaska Division of Economic Enterprise.Footage features wintertime Jack Frost training exercises at Ft. Greely, the Bolio Lake Test Site, Eielson Air Force Base, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Fort Richardson, Fort Wainwright, and U.S. Coast Guard vessels at Juneau. In the second segment, the conflict between the Teamsters Union in Alaska and the Prinz Brau Brewery in Anchorage is investigated. Ed Bennett interviews: Peter Bading, brewery developer and founder of Prinz Brau Brewery in Alaska; Tom Kelly, former Alaska Commissioner of Natural Resources; Gerhardt Konitzky, Prinz Brau brewery manager; Heinrich Reich, brewmaster for Prinz Brau Brewery; Mike Gordon, owner of Chilkoot Charlie's in Anchorage; and Larry Wooten, owner of Party-Time Liquors. Many others involved in Alaska's alcohol industry are mentioned or quoted. Images include brewing and bottling facilities at Prinz Brau Brewery, Alaska liquor stores, and the Teamsters Mall and Hospital. [Note: Ed Bennett calls Prinz Brau the first brewery in the state. He corrects himself on Alaska Review #5. Prinz Brau is the first producing brewery in Anchorage.]. The third segment explores the ways in which lobbyists and lobbying influence Alaska lawmaking. Eric Eckholm interviews: Alaska State Senators Bill Ray, Pat Rodey, and Clem Tillion; Alaska State Representative Bob Bradley; lobbyists Waco Shelly representing Mobil Oil, J.B. Hanford representing Odom, Tim Bradner representing BP-Alaska, Lewis Dischner representing Teamsters Local 959 and other entities, and Bill Overstreet representing Alaska School Boards; former Alaska State Representative Bill Parker; and Herb Montoya, chairman of the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC). Program also contains Public Service Announcements (PSAs) about alcoholism, gas mileage stickers on new cars, and services available for disabled children.
Alaska Wonders In Motion No. 3
Alaska Wonders In Motion No. 3
Images include the title screen "Educational Films Corporation America Presents Alaska Wonders In Motion No. 3 Produced by Al.I.Smith." This film's scenes feature early Anchorage, Alaska Railroad construction, Childs Glacier calving, and men hunting Kodiak bears. It also includes scenes of Anchorage streets and log structures, the Alaska Labor Union building, a laundry tent, Fourth of July celebrations featuring an eating contest, a baseball game, and Anchorage area bungalows.
An American Senator
An American Senator
Contains footage from Senator Ernest Gruening's visit to Turkey. Original notes accompanying film contain the following scene descriptions: "1) Senator is met by Deputy Governor at Eskisehir Border. 2) Senator enters the Province Building. 3) Senator meets the Governor of Eskisehir and talks with him. 4) Departure from the Province Building. 5) Senator receives information on the statue in front of the Province Building. 6) Senator visits the Air Forces Commandership in Eskisehir. 7) Senator visits the Turkish Railway shops in Eskisehir. 8) Senator meets the students at the Eskisehir shops. 9) Senator rides on Devrim Car (first Turkish manufactured car). 10) Senator visits Eskisehir Forest Nursery. 11) Senator visits Iron Industrialists Association in Eskisehir. 12) Senator lunches at Liman Restaurant in Istanbul. 13) Senator, his wife and AID Deputy Director. 14) AID Deputy Director's speech. 15) Senator delivers a speech. 16) Director of Education delivers a speech. 17) The guests listen [to] the speeches. 18) Turkish teachers who participated in course in the United States receive certificates. 19) Senator visits the warehouses constructed by US AID."
Elitnaureyaraq Yupigtun
Elitnaureyaraq Yupigtun
AAF-14564 and AAF-14565 are films that contain identical scenes with AAF-14564 narrated in English and AAF-14565 narrated in Yupik. The film was produced by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, Juneau Area Office, to demonstrate approaches to bi-lingual education in Alaska. The program contains scenes of daily life and school in Akiachak, Alaska, along the lower Kuskokwim River. Teachers are shown instructing students of various ages and are interviewed about the process of providing education in both Yupik and English. The film also contains scenes of people hauling water in winter, girls using story knives, people listening to a radio, men repairing a snowmachine, boys with a dog team, students saying the Pledge of Allegiance in school, and men and women at a school board meeting. University of Alaska educators and local instructors create new instructional materials. Students sing a song to the tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” in Yupik. The film credits list the following names: teachers Mary Ann Lomack, Molly Lomack, and Bernadine Featherly; technical assistants Anna Alexie, Sophie Parks, Marie Nick, Elizabeth Worm, Molly Lomack, Susan Smalley, Mary Ann Lomack, Bernardine Featherly, and Mary Perela; consultants Warren Tiffany and Walter T. Featherly of the BIA and Irene Reed of University of Alaska Eskimo Language Workshop; narrator Marx Hartman; sound technician Lauchy McMillan; writer Richard Hawk of University of Washington; cameraman and editor Thomas Williams; and producer and director Donald J. Morrow. Local community members identified the following individuals in 2018: Actor Henry Lomack, translators Pascal Afgan and Ted Brink, and Yup’ik narrator Rev. Teddy Brink.
Films North
Films North
Film contains scenes of artist Fred Machetanz beginning work on a painting in his studio, outside in winter stacking firewood, and in his studio finishing a painting of polar bears.
Glacier priest
Glacier priest
This is a series of highly dramatized reenactments from the life of Father Bernard Hubbard, a scientist and missionary. Occasionally, the reenactments don't jibe with the story. Scenes dramatized include: climbing the Taku Glacier, traveling by dogsled to the village of Holy Cross to combat an influenza epidemic (the musher is shown wearing short, Sami-style boots and three nuns are shown in their fur-hooded cloaks), Father Hubbard's run to an unnamed village when he was sick with the flu himself, Father Hubbard's ascent of Aniakchak Volcano (men dig through a layer of ash to find clean snow), exploring the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (men cross rocky terrain with a wheeled dog sled, men in a forest of dead trees, men and a dog wear gas masks as they approach the volcano), his work among the King Island Eskimos (many shots of King Islanders including a Wolf? dance), and his promotion of Alaska as a place to settle in (children play on an old-fashioned merry-go-round, a man digs up large potatoes, and agriculture scenes which may have been shot in Matanuska Valley).
McCall Glacier Project
McCall Glacier Project
AAF-20835: “McCall Glacier Project,” copyright 1974 by the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska, was presented as a contribution to the International Hydrological Decade. The film covers scientific studies on the McCall Glacier, and includes detailed explanations of scientists’ activities, equipment used, and data analyzed. Director of photography and editing is Milan J. Alexander. Narration by William Huhn. Sound by Steve Browne. Music by David J. Rychetnik and Gary Westcott. Studies on McCall Glacier were supported by grants from the Atmospheric Science Section, National Science Foundation. Senior Scientists were Gerd Wendler and Carl Benson. One title screen reads as follows: "We express our appreciation to the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory, Point Barrow, for logistic support, the Air National Guard for two excellently executed air drops, and the skillful Alaskan Bush pilots Chuck Meggill, Lowell Thomas Jr., Mike Van Hutten, Merrill Wien, Richard Wien and Al Wright.” According to Dr. Carl Benson in 2016, the film includes scenes of departure from Fairbanks and a flight to the Romanzof Mountains in the Brooks Range, the McCall Glacier on Mount Hubley, and scientists – including University of Alaska Fairbanks professors Will Harrison and Gerd Wendler, graduate students Dennis Trabant and Charlie Fahl, Yuji Kodama of the National Institute of Polar Research in Tokyo, and scientists from the Institute of Low Temperature Science at Hokkaido University in Japan – using instruments to study weather conditions and glacier depths.
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.
North to fiasco 1
North to fiasco 1
This is a spoof film made by employees of the Department of Transportation in Fairbanks for a Christmas party. An alternative version of this film can be found on AAF-10628.
North to fiasco 2
North to fiasco 2
This is a spoof film made by employees of the Department of Transportation in Fairbanks for a Christmas party. An alternative version of this film can be found on AAF-10627.
Once our way
Once our way
This film includes interviews with people from the community of Tununak, Alaska. It includes scenes featuring subsistence activities, drumming, and dancing.
People of the Tundra
People of the Tundra
Marvin "Muktuk" Marston, former commander of the Native Scouts utilized by the Alaska Territorial Guard during World War II, gives his personal views of Native life. Marston shows scenes of Eskimo whaling and festivals, fishwheels and preserving fish in pits along the Yukon River, sternwheelers, and a dog playing with bear cubs. Diomede Island footage includes Eskimo men climbing cliffs and harvesting bird eggs as well as a hunter catching birds using decoys and a long pole with a small net. Nunivak Island footage includes funeral services for a departed elder. Additional footage includes Governor Gruening's recruitment of Alaskan Natives into the Alaska Territorial Guard, construction of Alaska Territorial Guard facilities by Eskimo women, Marston and Sam Mogg travelling by dogsled to recruit members of the Alaska Territorial Guard, and use of reindeer to replace sled dogs. Additional footage includes Russian pilots and American Lend-Lease aircraft painted in Russian colors in Nome, Alaska Territorial Guard soldiers, Nome street scenes, a propeller driven snowmachine, dogs pulling a three-wheeled cart, Eskimo children, and portraits of several people.
Radar Observations of Sea Ice at Barrow, Alaska
Radar Observations of Sea Ice at Barrow, Alaska
In this film, title screens and diagrams explain how observations of sea ice were performed and how data were interpreted. The University of Alaska Sea Ice Radar System was a 3-CM, X-Band ship’s radar used to sense natural reflecting surfaces on the ice. It was mounted on a tower about 12 meters above sea level and typically operated at a scanning range of three nautical miles, or 5.5 kilometers. Data acquired by the radar system were recorded by a camera which photographed the radar display at 3-minute intervals, and the resulting film could then be shown as a time-lapse motion picture showing sea ice movement. The area under observation was the Chukchi Sea coast just north of Barrow. The time lapse radar images include dates during which observations were made. Conclusions and unusual events are noted in title screens. See also AAF-11495 and AAF-11497, which contain images related to this study.
Tageesh: wolverine of the north
Tageesh: wolverine of the north
Filmed during Ed Borders' ski trip from Fairbanks to Hazleton, British Columbia. He travels through wilderness on one of the proposed routes for the Alcan Highway. Contains some title frames and map references Footage includes Donald MacDonald with a map, aerial views of mountains, a gold placer mining operation, gold clean-up, a small cat train, cross country skiing, dog mushing, a trapper and camp, cabins in winter, a Pacific Alaskan Airways (PAA) airplane landing, a woman with a dog team, a PAA airplane taking off, a man and woman with a dog team, camp cooking, a hunter on snowshoes, glaciers, sunsets, an Native camp, mountain sheep, an animal kill site, a village with cabins, hitching up freight sleds and dog teams, skiing, a village, Native children playing on skis, a camp, wilderness scenes, a pack dog, a title frame reading "April 23... 91 days from Fairbanks," camping, travel with pack dogs, mountains, a group of people and cars, the U.S. Border in Washington State, Seattle, and Donald MacDonald typing.
Thinking Cold
Thinking Cold
AAF-20588 is a film titled “Thinking Cold," an informative program about Husky Oil operations and the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. A film by Pendleton Productions, Inc., of Anchorage Alaska, and presented by Husky Oil N.P.R. Operations, Inc. Directed by George E. Lukens, Jr. Principle photography by George Lukens, Jeff Mart and Bill Bacon. Contains scenes of Alaska's North Slope, maps of Alaska, workers and construction camps, James Dowden and Phil Jeans of Husky Oil, cargo airplanes, mess hall in a construction camp, food service operator Bill Jenkins, administrative coordinator Sally Van Horn, the moving of portable camps across snowy landscape, Arnold Palenske of Tetra Tech, technicians in the field searching for oil drilling sites, geophysics manager Alan Balby, Carroll Livingston of Husky Oil, offices and managers in Anchorage, environmental director John Schindler, caribou, surveyors at work, archaeological workers, archaeologist Mike Kuntz of the Bureau of Land Management, helicopters flying low over the terrain and hauling cargo, oil drills, pipe-yard, airplanes landing on snowy runway, medic Bobbie Hendricks, transportation manager James Schwartz, construction manager Thomas Brooks, construction of ice roads, environmental specialist Philip Smith, installation of drill pad and drill rig, Rolligon, drilling manager Jack McCarthy, geology manager Sam Hewitt, lab and office scenes, and wintry Cat train scenes.
Through Alaska with A.A. Humfrey and Red Can- part 1
Through Alaska with A.A. Humfrey and Red Can- part 1
This film has title screens and shows highlights from a five-month tour of Alaska. It includes footage of Juneau, the Hills Brothers Coffee shop, Territorial Governor George Parks, Dr. W. W. Council, the Mendenhall Glacier, Lynn Canal and Skagway, Chilkoot Barracks Army Post, White Pass and Yukon Railway travel, Whitehorse, the White Pass Hotel, the steamship "Yukon," Larry Higgins at Miles Canyon, Whitehorse Rapids on the Yukon River, the steamship "Keno" pushing a barge, the sternwheeler "Casca," passage through Five Fingers Rapids, loading of cord wood or firewood onto a steamship, travel downriver with brief stops for wooding up and at Dawson City, and the towns of Eagle, Circle, Fort Yukon, Rampart, and St. Michael. Travel continues across the Bering Sea to Unalakleet and Nome with several views of the town. Footage in Nome includes Noel Wien fueling and hand-propping the Hisso Standard J1 biplane "Fairbanks.” This is followed by travel from Nome to Seattle on the steamer "Victoria” with a stop at Akutan whaling station in the Aleutian Islands. Travel resumes from Seattle to Ketchikan with several views of the fishing town. Enroute to Wrangell, the ship passes a tug towing a salvaged ship. There are views of Wrangell. Travel continues to Juneau, Skagway, Sitka , through the Gulf of Alaska in bad weather with high seas, then on to Cordova. From Cordova, travel continues on the Copper River and Northwestern Railway with scenes of the two million dollar bridge, Miles and Childs Glaciers, Abercrombie Rapids on the Copper River, Koskulina [Kotsina?] Canyon bridge, Chitina River, Railroad Superintendent Fred A. Hansen, purchasing agent W. B. Sprague, the town of Chitina, Long Lake, a farm near McCarthy, Kennecott Mine, Valdez, Seward, Seldovia, the steamer "Admiral Evans," Captain Gilje, pilot Obert, purser "Jiggs" Rowland, Alitak Cannery on Kodiak Island, Kodiak, Seward Railroad Depot, Kenai Lake, the loop section and tunnels on the railway, Spencer Glacier, Turnagain Arm, and Cook Inlet. Views of Anchorage include buildings and streets, customer A.A. Shonbeck, and Alaska Railroad employees Joe Elmes and Tod Cunningham. Travel on the Alaska Railroad includes Wasilla, an overnight stay at the Curry Hotel, Hurricane Gulch, Broad Pass, Cantwell, McKinley Park, Healy, and Nenana, where Tom DeVane is preparing to leave for Ruby with his launch "Dorothy.” Travel continues to Fairbanks with views of the college, the Elmes Mining Company at Ester, travel on a railroad "gas car" and travel on the Tanana Valley Railroad narrow gauge portion of the ARR to Fox Gulch and Chatanika. Travel continues from Fairbanks on the Alaska Railroad using a "speeder.” Travel continues from Juneau on the launch "Ventura" with a final brief view of Sitka.
Through Alaska with A.A. Humfrey and Red Can- part 2
Through Alaska with A.A. Humfrey and Red Can- part 2
This film has title screens and shows highlights from a five-month tour of Alaska. It includes footage of Juneau, the Hills Brothers Coffee shop, Territorial Governor George Parks, Dr. W. W. Council, the Mendenhall Glacier, Lynn Canal and Skagway, Chilkoot Barracks Army Post, White Pass and Yukon Railway travel, Whitehorse, the White Pass Hotel, the steamship "Yukon," Larry Higgins at Miles Canyon, Whitehorse Rapids on the Yukon River, the steamship "Keno" pushing a barge, the sternwheeler "Casca," passage through Five Fingers Rapids, loading of cord wood or firewood onto a steamship, travel downriver with brief stops for wooding up and at Dawson City, and the towns of Eagle, Circle, Fort Yukon, Rampart, and St. Michael. Travel continues across the Bering Sea to Unalakleet and Nome with several views of the town. Footage in Nome includes Noel Wien fueling and hand-propping the Hisso Standard J1 biplane "Fairbanks.” This is followed by travel from Nome to Seattle on the steamer "Victoria” with a stop at Akutan whaling station in the Aleutian Islands. Travel resumes from Seattle to Ketchikan with several views of the fishing town. Enroute to Wrangell, the ship passes a tug towing a salvaged ship. There are views of Wrangell. Travel continues to Juneau, Skagway, Sitka , through the Gulf of Alaska in bad weather with high seas, then on to Cordova. From Cordova, travel continues on the Copper River and Northwestern Railway with scenes of the two million dollar bridge, Miles and Childs Glaciers, Abercrombie Rapids on the Copper River, Koskulina [Kotsina?] Canyon bridge, Chitina River, Railroad Superintendent Fred A. Hansen, purchasing agent W. B. Sprague, the town of Chitina, Long Lake, a farm near McCarthy, Kennecott Mine, Valdez, Seward, Seldovia, the steamer "Admiral Evans," Captain Gilje, pilot Obert, purser "Jiggs" Rowland, Alitak Cannery on Kodiak Island, Kodiak, Seward Railroad Depot, Kenai Lake, the loop section and tunnels on the railway, Spencer Glacier, Turnagain Arm, and Cook Inlet. Views of Anchorage include buildings and streets, customer A.A. Shonbeck, and Alaska Railroad employees Joe Elmes and Tod Cunningham. Travel on the Alaska Railroad includes Wasilla, an overnight stay at the Curry Hotel, Hurricane Gulch, Broad Pass, Cantwell, McKinley Park, Healy, and Nenana, where Tom DeVane is preparing to leave for Ruby with his launch "Dorothy.” Travel continues to Fairbanks with views of the college, the Elmes Mining Company at Ester, travel on a railroad "gas car" and travel on the Tanana Valley Railroad narrow gauge portion of the ARR to Fox Gulch and Chatanika. Travel continues from Fairbanks on the Alaska Railroad using a "speeder.” Travel continues from Juneau on the launch "Ventura" with a final brief view of Sitka.
Wheels from the Arctic
Wheels from the Arctic
Original film taken by John Logan of travel with Slim Williams from Fairbanks to Washington State overland in 1939 on BSA motorcycles. The two men were promoting the idea of a highway connecting Alaska to the Lower 48 states. Footage includes their departure from Fairbanks, Tanana River travel, visiting the RCMP in Dawson City Yukon Territory, difficulties encountered along the trail, constructing a boat to cross the Klappan River, travel with the horse pack train of Alfred and Elma Milotte, arrival at the Canada - U.S. Border, and travel in Washington state.
Wonders in Motion
Wonders in Motion
This footage features buildings in Anchorage, the wooden trestle at Eagle River, track laying crews, and other construction activities. Childs Glacier near Cordova is also shown.
[1939 New York World's Fair, travel]
[1939 New York World's Fair, travel]
This film reel is made up of 6 smaller reels. Reel 1 is labeled "West Point, World's Fair New York 1939," and it contains scenes of men doing calisthenics, men boxing, men fencing and wrestling, men in uniform and marching, and scenes from the world's fair. Reel 2 is labeled "New York to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, June and July 1939," and it contains footage of New York City streets, a West Point gathering, and Puerto Rico. Reel 3 is labeled "July 1939, Trip to Clearwater with Jim Ryan and Ray Henderson 193[?]," and it contains views of children playing, a pilot climbing into a biplane, people with a captive bear cub, Hap Arnold's B-10 Bomber flight from Washington D.C. landing at Weeks Field and pilots in Fairbanks in August 1934, a military aircraft at Weeks Field, a boy's birthday cake, children playing in a garden, and a boat on the Tanana River traveling to the Delta Clearwater River. Reel 4 is labeled "July and August 1939, Plymouth, Washington D.C., Marengo, Black Hills, Seattle, Juneau, Fairbanks," and it contains footage of Washington D.C., people at home, people swimming, farm scenes, a man in a boat, a family gathering, Mt. Rushmore, Elkhorn Mountain, camping, a family eating watermelon along the roadside, Columbia River, boats and fishing, Juneau, and trucks on the Richardson Highway. Reel 5 is labeled "Fort Riley - Marengo," and it contains scenes of men in uniform, children playing, a family gathering, farm scenes, a waterfront and ships, totem poles, glaciers and icebergs, a car towing a trailer, travel along the Richardson Highway, a glacier, "Devil's Elbow," a family at Christmas, hay being loaded, and women getting into a car. Reel 6 is labeled "Bear, Sunset, Village of Ruby, Caribou, Mendenhall Glacier," and it contains footage of the Ruby waterfront, wildlife, the Black Rapids Glacier near Richardson Highway during its advance in the 1930s, and scenery.
[1947 Nalukataq whale feast at Barrow]
[1947 Nalukataq whale feast at Barrow]
Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about these films is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: “Barrow, Nulakatuk, 1947. After a successful whaling season they have a Nulakatuk celebration which is to celebrate the parting of the whales soul so there is no hard feeling to the whales so they will come again the next year. All the whaling captains get together and have this celebration and if there are a lot of whales killed that season they may have two or three celebrations on different days.", From the Alaska Film Archives, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks., From the William W. Bacon III collection. APR Collection Number 2015-203., AAF-20,079 transferred in 2016 by Reflex Technologies of Burbank, California, to Blu-ray Disc, DVD, and Mac-format external hard drive. Some light and color corrections may have been applied to Blu-ray disc and DVD by Reflex Technologies., Filmmaker's original labeling scheme has film AAF-20,079 numbered as Bacon 17, and titled “1947 Nulakatuk Whale Feast, Barrow.” Film contains scenes of whale and muktuk being distributed at the Nalukataq whale feast at Barrow, people eating and celebrating, blanket toss, men in military uniforms, Alaska Native dancers and drummers, children running and chasing after large vehicle, and more blanket toss.
[1949 Fairbanks flood, mining activities]
[1949 Fairbanks flood, mining activities]
Film contains footage of the Ladd Field Post Cafeteria sign, a man and a woman walking together, a man welding, large machinery, boats on the Chena River, flooded areas in downtown Fairbanks, 1st Avenue Dress Shoppe, swimming pool, Wells Alaska Motors, flooding in a neighborhood, flooding around houses, flooding in the woods, men in a boat, men walking through flood waters, boating in flood waters, Northern Commercial Company power plant with a sternwheeler riverboat parked along bank, Samson Hardware and Mining Machinery, a sunrise in the woods, large pieces of mining equipment, a dredge, men working with hydraulic giants, men working a sluicebox, people around a campfire, people in the woods camping, large mining machinery, farmland (potatoes?), a large dredge bucket, a dragline, two men in a little yellow raft on the water, men walking on the Davidson Ditch pipe, Discovery Claim Felix Pedro sign, people gold panning, a group shot of people showing off goldpans with gold and gold nuggets in them, the landscape surrounding the mining area, KFAR building and tower, the Rapids Meals and Rooms building, Rapids Hunting Lodge (Black Rapids Roadhouse), a group of men on and around a truck, and a large building on fire.
[1967 Fairbanks flood]
[1967 Fairbanks flood]
This film features what are likely relief efforts during the 1967 Fairbanks flood. A handwritten label on the film box says "Dan[?] airport, Kul[?], Church of God, Westgate, A67, Mom[?], Henry and High school, [?] Day, [?], Flood."
[1971 Midnight Sun 600]
[1971 Midnight Sun 600]
Footage includes mechanics (likely in Fairbanks) preparing snowmachines for Midnight Sun 600 racing, Brian Willner cleaning a snowmachine, motorhomes and support vehicles with snowmachine trailers (likely leaving Fairbanks for Anchorage), the distribution of race bibs in an auditorium in Anchorage, racers at the start line in Anchorage, Bob Hamme in a red helmet, crews picking up broken-down machines along the highway, a wrecked truck in a ditch, mechanics welding skis and rebuilding snowmachines in a shop (and possibly doing overnight repairs in Glennallen or Tok), snowmachines and racers at the start line for second-day start (possibly in Glennallen or Tok), individual racers heading out, racers on the highway, and racers returning to the finish area.
[1974 Chena flood dam construction]
[1974 Chena flood dam construction]
This film features earth-moving equipment at work on dam construction as well as culverts filling with water.