Alaska Film Archives

[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."
[1969 North American Sled Dog Championship Race - Fairbanks, Alaska]
[1969 North American Sled Dog Championship Race - Fairbanks, Alaska]
These scenes from the 1969 North American Championship Sled Dog Races in Fairbanks, Alaska, filmed by Fairbanks photographer Richard L. Hansen, include: an Alaska Dog Mushers Association sign; a Sled Dog Races Sweepstakes sign; dogs in dog boxes on a truck; a truck with Malamak logos; a man removing dogs from dog boxes and placing dogs in harness; a race board with names including Lombard, Attla, Redington, Shepard, Taylor, Nayokpuk, McDougall, Lake, and Folger; a race announcer; a drum filled with slips of paper for a drawing; spectators watching as the race starts under snowy conditions; a variety of dogs in harnesses; spectators buying and eating cotton candy; close-up views of dogs; a close-up view of a Fairbanks Dog Mushers Association patch on a man’s coat; many people in colorful parkas and boots; dogs rolling in snow; a sign for George Attla sponsored by J.C. Penney Co.; mushers; a truck for Wright's Aurora Huskies; and dogs peeking out of dog boxes on a truck.
[Aftermath of 1964 earthquake in Anchorage]
[Aftermath of 1964 earthquake in Anchorage]
This footage shows the aftermath of the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake. Scenes include the severely damaged Government Hill Elementary School, businesses and homes, a yellow house sitting at an angle after the ground had fallen away, damage at the Alaska Sales and Service car dealership, and crushed cars.
[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 sheep and bear]
[Alaska sheep and bear]
This footage shows Dall sheep in the hills (focus is soft) and a bear near a river.
[Alaska statehood celebrations and scenery]
[Alaska statehood celebrations and scenery]
Footage contains images of a sign that says, "Deposit Wood for Statehood Bonfire Here!"; a sign that says, "This Property Guarded by Post 728 Explorer Scouts - Central Lutheran Church;" a view of the bonfire pile in downtown Anchorage; a boy holding a newspaper with the headline "Final Vote Hours Away;" crowds gathering near a large American flag hung on a building along Fourth Avenue in Anchorage; men, including Alaska Constitutional Convention delegates Victor Fischer and Marvin R. "Muktuk" Marston hold a small "49th state" banner; parade floats; neon signs along Fourth Avenue; crowds gathered around the statehood bonfire woodpile; the woodpile being set ablaze as horses run around the fire; people waving and celebrating; Alaska railroad travel in autumn; snowy mountains; aerial views of Anchorage, the Alaska Range, and a coastal town; Dall sheep; and people at an event with retriever dogs. Notes from the nephew of Wally Wellenstein in 2015: “Please remember that Uncle Wally put together several small spools of film to make the reels. We think that Wally was trying to tell a story for his family back in Minnesota, rather than relate in chronological order his adventures. Some of the scenes are out of order, date wise. The bulk of his movies were of his adventures in Alaska. He also spent time recording the life of his sister Joan’s family. [AAF-11870 includes scenes of] Statehood celebration at Federal Building, 4th Avenue, Anchorage; Statehood bonfire on park strip; various scenes along Seward Highway; flightseeing, Susitna Valley; flightseeing, Anchorage; flightseeing, viewing Mt. McKinley; flightseeing, Kodiak; Sheep at Windy Corner; and dog trials at Sand Lake."
[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.
[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 3]
[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 3]
This film is made up of several smaller reels labeled "Valdez 1973, To Whittier, Col Glacier," "Valdez 1973, O.B., John and Ruth, Party in Garage, Duck Camp 1973," "Healy Lake and Summit River, To Valdez," "Gulkana, Salcha," "Gulkana, Dawn and Vic [?]," "Gulkana," and "1969 Gulkana." The film contains views of the Columbia Glacier, a family traveling in Alaska to Valdez, people gathering and sitting at tables, people fishing and cleaning fish, boating on a river, a man and a dog sleeping, the interior of a cabin, a man washing and cooking inside a cabin, a baseball game, a woman and a boat, family and river scenes, a family fishing, and camping scenes.
[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.
[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 5]
[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 5]
This film is made up of several smaller film reels labeled "Yellowstone 1969," "Yellowstone," "Mexico 1969," "Acapulco," "Port Vallarta," "Rodeo 1970," "Rodeo Fair," and "Hoover Dam 1976 [?] Park [?]." The film contains scenes of travel outside Alaska, travel scenes that may or may not have been filmed in Alaska, and unusual rodeo scenes featuring circus animals.
[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.
[AMOCO-Navarin operations]
[AMOCO-Navarin operations]
The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20,000 numbered as Bacon 102-1 and titled "AMOCO-Navarin Operations: WP [workprint]-400 feet." It contains footage of men boarding a Boeing 234 Chinook helicopter, the helicopter taking off and then landing at an oil rig or platform in the ocean, a sign that says "Ocean Odyssey," a man in a small control room, drilling operations and men at work aboard an oil rig, a satellite dish and control room, a man being interviewed, more scenes aboard the oil rig, a cargo ship and a sign reading "Maersk Serangoon," a man with binoculars, a pipe and cargo aboard a ship?, a helicopter landing at an airport, and men disembarking from the helicopter. Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about these films is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: "Box 102 - 1 Reel - Film Bill did for AMOCO Oil. They had a contract. Also, they had a lease for fifty miles off of Anwar [ANWR] on the border of Canada and the United States and they wanted a film of the whole operation."
[Annabeth Hanlon collection 1]
[Annabeth Hanlon collection 1]
Footage includes a walking dragline and gold dredge in Ester, travel to Circle City, Indians in Circle showing parkas and furs, the sternwheeler Yukon arriving and passengers disembarking, buildings and scenes around Circle Hot Springs Resort, Eagle Summit, a brief view of the Miller House owners, children clearing snow from a skating rink, and various skating activities including racing and figure skating. Notes accompanying the original film can and box say "mining at Ester, Cripple Creek dragline, dredge, Dorothy Erin (?) go to Circle, Circle Indians, boat at Yukon, birds on road, Indian cemetery, Circle Springs, Miller House, Eagle Summit, Ada Williams, 1937 - Megan Florence and I go to Circle, school festival 1944"
[Annabeth Hanlon collection 2]
[Annabeth Hanlon collection 2]
Footage includes people panning for gold, a B-17 flying overhead, men cutting firewood with a truck-mounted saw in downtown Fairbanks, downtown buildings, Wien Alaska Airlines operations at Weeks Field, an airplane taking off, Jim Dodson's airplane, hangars on the field, fire, children ice skating, dog sled races on the Chena Rive, men launching a small barge, travel in an outboard motor-powered riverboat, the tug M.S. Otter of Fairbanks pushing a barge, a grouse on the road, men working on a cabin, a small boat being launched in a lake, men cutting ice for drinking water with a hand saw, a car pulling a sled with blocks of ice, a fire in a Fairbanks Laundry building, and a formation of military airplanes. Notes accompanying the film say: view of McKinley, Deadwood and Dr. Schiable, around Fairbanks, sawing wood, around 2nd Ave., Wien Airways & Jim in planes, old Pan Am, Dorothy's house, skating in Main School yard, my 8th, dog team races at end of 2nd, K9 team won, youngster falling down, Albas trip, grouse, McKinley, ducks, Hanlon, building at lake, kids, lake boat, Albert Martin, Bob Harwood, geese, cutting ice, Bud Shaw, (?), fire at laundry, Russian DC-3, P-63 to Russia led by B-25.
[Annabeth Hanlon collection 3]
[Annabeth Hanlon collection 3]
Footage includes people working on an Aeronca light airplane, people mugging for the camera, people unloading mail from train, McKinley Park Hotel, Horseshoe Lake, puppies, a cache on stilts, a log cache, Mt. McKinley and scenery, feeding ground squirrels, a tent camp for tourists, a fox, Fanny Quigley at a cabin with a dog, Open North American Sled Dog Races in Fairbanks, an early Arctic Cat snowmachine, Dr. Roland Lombard loading sled dogs into a truck, and curling matches at the Fairbanks Curling Club. Notes accompanying the original film can and box say "McKinley, Fannie Quigley, 1964 dog races, curling."
[Annabeth Hanlon collection 4]
[Annabeth Hanlon collection 4]
This footage shows a Wien Stinson airplane landing on ice in Anaktuvuk[?], Eskimo men ice fishing, and a Wien airplane departing. Footage featuring Eskimo life in Barrow includes school children in a Barrow classroom, elders weaving baleen baskets, a dog sled, an early tracked vehicle made from a truck, a Wien airplane arriving, hunters pulling umiaks across the ice using sled dogs, a whaling festival, a woman demonstrating how she carries a baby on her back under a parka, a dog sled hauling freight, a sod house on the tundra, people trading fur and baleen baskets for goods in a store, village scenes, a woman making dolls, women setting nets along the shore and pulling in a catch of small fish, young boys with puppies, and hunters in umiaks taking seal and walrus. Notes on the original film and can say "Barrow 1 and 2."
[Antarctic studies part 1 roll1]
[Antarctic studies part 1 roll1]
The original film is labeled, “Antarctic B&W Part 1 Roll 1.” The film contains aerial shots of vast ice fields, various tracked vehicles driving across the snow, a field camp, a man patting a penguin on the head, a person skiing, a U.S. Navy airplane, and scientists using various instruments to take measurements.
[Arnie M. Lee and Family collection - 1]
[Arnie M. Lee and Family collection - 1]
This notes on this film say “Anne leaving for Norway, trip on Livengood Road high water, bear hunting, Manley hot springs, Christmas at home, Oslo slab[?], Moss Pery[?], Akers Lees, Snirre.” The film contains footage of a family with a red car, an overview of an Alaska placer mine in a river valley, a summer celebration in downtown Fairbanks with couples dancing in the street as a replica steam train drives by and a KFAR-TV cameraman films the action, an Alaska Airlines airplane landing and taking off again, interior Alaska hillsides in summer and fall, a sluice box and mining operation, high water on the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks, a hunter with a dead bear, Manley Lodge, scenic Alaska landscapes and skies, winter in Fairbanks, a Fairbanks home and trees covered in frost, snowy hillsides, an aerial view of the Alaska Range mountains, passenger airplanes at an airport, and sites in northern Europe.
[Arnie M. Lee and Family collection - 6]
[Arnie M. Lee and Family collection - 6]
This film is labeled "San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Alaska Hiway [Highway] to Fairbanks” and notes with the film say “Might be Arne Larsen film, Hiway driving Chevy, 1950s Chevy, Fairbanks, Dave Larsen?, Birch Hill, Dragline, Jergen mining, Gold Dredge Ester or Fox, Circle Hot Springs, Jergen and Guri Lealand, San Diego shipyard, zoo, SFO, LAX.” The film contains footage of Alaska Highway travel, the Riverboat Nenana in a dry dock, Aurora Lodge, a panoramic overview of Fairbanks, mining activities, a gold dredge at work, a dragline in operation, a power plant building, a gold dredge in a float pond, a dragline, hydraulic giants, a conveyor belt, a Circle Hot Springs lodge, the Circle Trading Company building, and scenes outside Alaska.
[Arnie M. Lee and Family collection - 8]
[Arnie M. Lee and Family collection - 8]
Notes with this film say “1949 Charlotte Ames and Bob, Don, Mrs. Wiener, and Lee Family at Airport, Pan Am DC4; 1949 Norman and Ingrid at Badger Road cabin, 1962 Boat Races, Chena River in Fairbanks, Christmas 1961 Arne Jergen; 1962 Boat Races in Chena Rover; 1962 Norman’s second car 1956 Pontiac; 1962 Hydraulic mining Ester Alaska; 1962 Cleanup at Hassel’s Mine; 1962 Golden Days Fairbanks and Ingrid home in 1972; 1962 Arne and Arnold Nordale, Ferry at Nenana.” The film contains footage of a Pan American World Airways airplane, children playing, children hoisting one another with a rope and pulley system, children skiing, a Christmas tree in a home, a family meal in a home, the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks, power boats on the river, crowds gathered along the riverbank to watch boats, a Fairbanks home, hydraulic giants and a mining operation, men cleaning up a sluice box, dancing in downtown Fairbanks, Monty’s Department Store and Lacey Street Theater signs, views from aboard the Sternwheeler Yutana, the Nenana bridge, a fishwheel, highway travel, and Fielding Lake.
[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.
[Bill Larry collection 9]
[Bill Larry collection 9]
This video shows sled dog race teams in Creamers Field, Bill demonstrating a dirt bike, new motorcycles at Larry's Cycle Sales and Service, spring waterfowl, minor flooding in Johnson Subdivision, people unloading and test riding motorcycles at Larry's Cycle Sales and Service, a motorcycle race on an oval track at the fairgrounds, sled dog races at the ADMA track, construction work on the expansion of Larry's Cycle Sales and Service, and family activities around a house. Notes on the original can and film say "1967 dog races, Cheryl and Orvall, 1967 motorcycle races at fairground, ducks and geese at Creamers Field, Bultaco, flood 1967, 1968 4th of July race, trophy race, 1968 dog team mushing, 1968 dog races, 1969 shop and family."
[birch bark container]
[birch bark container]
Notes on the film reel says "Native woman demonstrates tracing and cutting pattern from small birch bark container."
[Boating on a river, camping]
[Boating on a river, camping]
This footage features three children in the front of a boat on a river, a boat passing a sternwheeler with tourists on the sternwheeler waving, a boat motoring to shore, a campsite with a teepee and campers, women preparing food at a campsite on the bank of a river, women roasting and eating hotdogs, a cliff face, sea gulls, and a cityscape viewed from across a body of water (likely not in Alaska).
[Bud Anderson film collection 1]
[Bud Anderson film collection 1]
This footage features a family with babies, cutting up moose meat, and a Golden Days Parade. Notes on the original film can say "September 1963 Glen and kids, cutting moose, July 1968 Golden Days parade, Grandma and Grandpa camping."
[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.
[Chuck Gray film collection further addition 6]
[Chuck Gray film collection further addition 6]
Footage features scenes of flying supplies in to establish a hunting camp in the Brooks Range. Airplanes include a Pilatus Porter, Cessna 170 (?) and Piper Super Cub. Additional footage includes moving supplies with an Argo off-road vehicle and a ground squirrel.
[Chuck Gray film collection further addition 7]
[Chuck Gray film collection further addition 7]
This footage features men clearing land with a small John Deere dozer, building a small cabin, and hunting sheep.
[Collapsed roof on building]
[Collapsed roof on building]
This video shows a building labeled "J & O Drilling," a collapsed building covered in snow, the inside of a collapsed building with the roof of the building resting on a large truck inside, a camper in the collapsed building, and a view of the inside roof of the collapsed building.
[David and Mike Doxey Film collection 6]
[David and Mike Doxey Film collection 6]
Footage includes a river break-up, Richardson Highway travel, children playing, sled dog races, downtown Fairbanks, a panorama, Dawson City, waterskiing at Harding Lake, a Golden Days Parade in Fairbanks, a Sheep Creek dredge being moved in 1958, children in Easter clothes, Open North American Sled Dog Races and the Fairbanks Winter Carnival parade. Footage from 1960 through 1966 includes a family at Harding Lake, the 1961 Winter Carnival parade, Harding Lake, travel outside of Alaska, the 1963 North American Championship Sled Dog Race, snowshoe baseball, a scramble race, the 1963 Yukon Marathon, Eskimo Olympics, the 1964 Golden Days parade, dog races, Tanana River break-up in Nenana in 1965 and snowmachines at the 1966 North American. Additional footage includes Harding Lake in 1966, snowmachines in March of 1967, waterskiing at Harding Lake in 1967, fireworks, the 1967 Chena River flood in Fairbanks, boat travel on the Salcha River, waterskiing in 1968, and Jason in 1978.