Alaska Film Archives

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 Highway travel, winter carnival, mining]
[Alaska Highway travel, winter carnival, mining]
This film contains footage of scenic outdoor views (possibly along the Alcan Highway), dog mushing, St. Joseph's Hospital and the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in downtown Fairbanks, The Cushman Street Bridge, buildings along the shore including the Pioneer Hotel and Northern Commercial Company power plant, scenes from a Fairbanks winter carnival including a blanket toss, people ice skating and playing hockey in outdoor rink, vehicles, a parade and crowds of people, footage of mining operations with a heavy piece of machinery, a man unloading wood near downtown Fairbanks, men standing in a field, airplanes parked on the ground, two men and a dog standing in snow, a small airplane taxiing in the snow, cars in front of a hardware store, a man standing in front of a house, a man and woman standing on a stone bridge (not in Alaska), mountain views (likely not Alaska), a man in a field with grapes, a woman tending a rose bush, a car in front of a house, scenic landscape views, a sunset through snowy woods, the Northward Building in downtown Fairbanks, a cabin in snowy woods, and a group of people at an indoor gathering.
[Alaska Native celebrations]
[Alaska Native celebrations]
This film contains scenes of different groups of Alaska Native peoples drumming and dancing in Southeast and Northern Alaska, people sharing and eating muktuk (whale) at a celebration in Northern Alaska, and a blanket toss in Northern Alaska (possibly Barrow).
[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 travel]
[Alaska travel]
This film contains scenes of mountains, the AJ Mine in Juneau, the state capitol building in Juneau, boat travel along the Inside Passage, a large steamship with three smokestacks or funnels, aerial views of glaciers and mountains, the Mendenhall Glacier, signs for White Pass and the Trail of ’98, Miles Canyon on the Yukon River near Whitehorse in Canada, Robert Service Camp, a brief glimpse of the sternwheeler S.S. Tutshi, men waving in front of a Lockheed Electric airplane (NC14906), aerial views of landscapes, aerial views of Fairbanks and landing at Weeks Field, the Old Main building at the University of Alaska campus in Fairbanks, a car driving on railroad tracks, a sign for the golden spike along the Alaska Railroad near Nenana, Alaska Railroad Engine No. 1 on display, a White Pass and Yukon Route train, the entrance to Mt. McKinley National Park, a red tour bus in the park, black and white scenes of Alaska wildlife, a large placer mining operation with a dredge, a log cabin, men at work using hydraulic giants and steam points, a gold mining operation near the ocean, totem poles at Stanley Park in Vancouver in Canada, Alaska Native people and homes in Nome, fishermen unloading halibut from a boat (possibly at Prince Rupert in Canada according to Stevens's notes - he adds that the halibut heads were cut off and used for fertilizer), adults and children playing shuffleboard on a ship deck, a man playing accordion aboard the ship, and aerial views of landscapes including rivers and mountains.
[Anchorage, Seward, Hooper Bay, glaciers and skiing]
[Anchorage, Seward, Hooper Bay, glaciers and skiing]
AAF-11873 is made up of ten smaller reels that have been combined. Reel 1 is labeled “Turnagain School” and contains exterior views of the Turnagain School building (during the mid-1950s or 1970s?). Reel 2 is labeled “1954 Downtown NCG and Lib and [GA?] Hill School etc., airplane in [inlet?].” It contains views of Anchorage area buildings and an airplane in the water. Reel 3 is labeled “Misc. Anchorage signs” and contains views of signs (circa 1970s?). Reel 4 is labeled “Train to Seward thru loop” and contains views of a train and from a train (circa 1950s?). Reel 5 is labeled “Hooper Bay” and contains exterior views of a building and people exiting the building (circa mid 1970s?). Reel 6 is labeled “Columbia Glacier by Air 50s” and contains scenes of glaciers (circa 1950s?). Reel 7 is labeled “Flying” and contains aerial views of water (circa?). Reel 8 is labeled “Flying looks like King Salmon?” and contains aerial scenes of water (circa late 1950 or 1970s?). Reel 9 is labeled “[Global?] cup at Alyeska” and contains scenes of skiers in a competition (circa late 1950s or 1970s?). Reel 10 is labeled “Nat’l Ski Racer” and contains views of skiers with bib numbers – original film was processed in April 1963. 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."
[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 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 - 5]
[Arnie M. Lee and Family collection - 5]
Notes with the film say “1949-50, Trapping, Copper River, Moving FE Dredge, Taken by Arne Larsen.” Writing inside the film can says “Moose Lake trapping, Hanegela[?] Valley, Living Seattle, Moving Dredge No. 2, Fairbanks Creek 1950” and “Trapping, Dredge No. 2 moving 1949-1950.” The film contains footage of snow-covered mountains, a red building with a “Strelna” sign, a small log cabin or cabins, a dog with puppies, beaver pelts stretched to dry, a man snow-shoeing as dogs follow, dogs pulling a sled up a steep hill as a man pushes, Pan American Airways and United Air Lines airplanes, bulldozers moving a dredge in winter, and a Goldstream mining office and buildings.
[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 - 7]
[Arnie M. Lee and Family collection - 7]
This film is labeled “Gold Hill from the beginning, Gold Hill Dredge moving from the start” and “Fairbanks Alaska, Arnie Larsen, Dredge No. 6 moving 1958, Moving dredge at Gold Hill.” The film contains scenes of bulldozers moving Dredge 6 from Gold Hill to Sheep Creek near Fairbanks in 1958, the dredge on wooden cribbing in its new location, and the dredge pond being filled with water via a pipe.
[Beluga whale hunt]
[Beluga whale hunt]
The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20049 numbered as Bacon 11-03 and titled “Air Shots of Kotzebue 1981.” 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: “Chilkat dancers, carving on the largest totem pole - The Japanese were having a World’s Fair and they wanted to have the largest totem pole so they went to Haines to have it carved; it was huge - Inuit Circumpolar Conference meeting in Nuke, Greenland in 1980, beluga hunting in Kotzebue - In the evening when the hunters bring in the whales they cut them up and hang them to dry - Nome inside shots of Omiak - When he went to Egg Island, big Omiak Eskimos climbed up the cliffs and got the bird eggs, puffin and seagull eggs - They get up there and drop the eggs down to a guy that catches them, and then he gives them to a guy in a boat where he has a basket with grass in it and they fill up the baskets - Bill got up the hill and it was so slippery from bird droppings that he kept slipping so he could not get down - They had to go around and climb up to the top and drop a rope down to him and pull him up - Says it was really embarrassing.” Notes on the film box are as follows: “Barrow Nulakatuk, ICC Meeting Inuvik NWT Canada 1960, ICC meeting Nuuk Greenland July 1, 1980, Eskimos going to ECC Island out from Nome 1950, Kotzebue beluga hunters return at night 1950” and “Reel 3: Kotzebue, bringing in Beluga whales, cutting up, hanging up.”
[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.
[Dawson Cooper collection]
[Dawson Cooper collection]
This footage features the Ice Carnival puppy parade and regular parade in Fairbanks, people at a wedding in a private home, people hauling boxes on a dog cart, a fishwheel, interior river scenes, a town on a riverfront, Ft. Yukon scenes, river scenes, flower gardens, people in a house, sled dog races on Chena River, teams passing under a foot bridge on Noyes Slough, downhill skiing on Birch Hill, a parade in the summer, hockey at Griffin Park ice rink, the Ice Carnival throne, an unidentified woman, a stack of logs, a walking dragline, conveyor and mine scenes in Ester, columns of smoke from a forest fire, the KFAR transmitter building, people on a picnic, the midnight sun, a car on a narrow road, mining equipment, car travel filmed from inside the car, airplanes, placer gold mine operations, sluice box clean-up, a box with gold amalgam, a dredge operating, a flower garden, and tomato plants.
[Ed Orbeck collection - sports and parades]
[Ed Orbeck collection - sports and parades]
This film contains footage of Alaska sporting activities during the 1950s and a 1957 parade in Fairbanks in support of statehood. The original notes from film canisters are as follows: Ladd CLC Baseball 1956, Midnight Sun Baseball 1956, 49ers Bears Football Chicago [note that game is played at Wrigley Field in Chicago], Summit Lodge, Anchorage Baseball Trip 1957; Harding Lake 1957, Oldtimers Dad, Juneau Oldtimers – Franich & Stepovich, John Lawn Mower Expert 1958, Dad Fairbanks Huskies Football 1958, Pre Statehood Parade 1957, Arctic Park Sunday parade; John Beginner Ski Hill 1957, McKinley Park Baseball Picnic 1957, Sharon Playing Softball 1957, High School Bands 1957, Juneau Fishing and Baseball 1957, Moyer Fishing Juneau 1957, Start of House Project 1957, Ketchikan Convention 1957, Totem Poles Ketchikan, Home Arctic Park 1956, Lathrop School, Dog Mushers Races 1956, Dog Mushers Weight Pulls 1956, U of Alaska, Chena Ice Pole, Phillips Field, Snow Shoe Softball 1957, Blanket Toss, John Now an Expert Ski Shots 1958, Sharon Ski Beginner and End 1958, John Hockey 1958, John Skiing 1961.
[Fairbanks scenes and Alaska travel]
[Fairbanks scenes and Alaska travel]
Handwritten notes on the film boxes are as follows: “Midnight Sun June 23, Fort Yukon, Paula, Man, Don, Statehood Day June 30.” “Camping at Clearwater July 23 and 24 1960.” “Joe Evie 1960.” “Picnic Moose 1960.” “Statehood view from 9th floor.” “Fairbanks autumn 1960, Stella Man’s [or Maris?] lawn, Ma, Kay, Auntie Vida, Paris – Place de l’Opera, Fairbanks February 1961, Mama skiing, March 1961.” This film contains scenes of a parade (brief), downtown Fairbanks in winter, the Fort Yukon post office and airport, aerial views of a DEW Line station, a parade (brief), people fishing and cooking at a campsite, sled dog races near Creamer's Dairy in Fairbanks, a winter carnival parade, people hiking on a hillside, people picnicking, a moose along the roadside, musicians at a picnic or celebration, Fairbanks in winter as seen from the Polaris Building, Fairbanks in summer as seen from the Polaris Building, scenes outside Alaska, and a woman downhill skiing at Cleary Summit near Fairbanks. Sites visible from the winter and summer Polaris Building views include: Griffin Park with bleachers, an ice rink with light poles, Slaterville across the Chena River, the USO Building, the Fairview Hotel, the Chamber of Commerce log cabin, the new Cushman Street bridge under construction in 1959 with a temporary bridge nearby, Samson's Building, Immaculate Conception Church, St. Joseph's Hospital, the new Cushman Street bridge in use with the temporary bridge no longer in place, changes to St. Joseph's Hospital, coal bunkers, FE Company power plant stacks and Bentley Dairy in the distance, and Wendell Street Bridge.
[Family activities]
[Family activities]
This film contains images of a family gathering at Christmastime, a boy and dog playing, a dead wolf, a mining operation, an airport, children dressed as cowboys, travel scenes outside Alaska, a parade outside Alaska, and the Hoover Dam.
[Family activities, Circle Hot Springs]
[Family activities, Circle Hot Springs]
This film contains footage of a little girl walking with help from woman, a woman holding a baby in her lap, a man holding a baby in his lap, a small child walking, a small child in a chair playing with toys, a small girl in a winter coat walking indoors, a small child playing with toys and a table, a 1st Birthday party, a child in a rocking chair, an airplane taking off over water, a scenic view of mountains, a group of people outside (possibly a picnic), children walking on a lawn, the Santa Claus House in North Pole, people lighting a wooden structure on fire and then driving through it with cars and bikes (possibly a stunt show?), an airplane (Boeing B-47 Stratojet) flying overhead, a woman with a very small baby, a horse-drawn wagon, Circle Hot Springs Hotel and gardens, a bridge with driftwood caught against it, mining operations, a dragline and conveyor at work in mining operations, two well dressed women walking outside, two children opening presents, two children playing with toys, a Christmas tree, views of the inside of a house decorated for Christmas with Christmas cards on the wall, a soft water company's storefront, a large group of elementary age children digging in dirt or sand, a large group of elementary age kids playing on a playground and sliding down a slide, children riding ponies, children on a spinning amusement park ride (airplanes suspended by cables), boats moving fast on the water, people at a formal sit-down dinner, a group of people posing for a group photograph, a woman walking around outside with a baby, a parade outside Alaska in the summer that includes a marching band and small cars and parade floats, a child's 2nd birthday party with lots of small children in attendance, a child opening presents, a birthday cake with two candles, children reading books while sitting together on a couch, children playing with each other indoors, and a little girl spinning around for the camera.
[Family activities, scenes inside and outside Alaska]
[Family activities, scenes inside and outside Alaska]
This film contains footage of two women standing outside of an Aeronca Sedan airplane in the snow, women washing a car, a wildfire, two women standing in front of a house with a small dog, a group of boys putting on heavy backpacks being handed to them out of the back of a truck, airplanes on floats on a lake, people water skiing on a lake, children playing next to a lake, a Christmas tree and Christmas presents, people opening Christmas presents, Spooks' Nook at Chitina, a waterfall, views of the mountains, children playing in the snow, a family gathering with a baby in a long (baptismal?) gown, children playing on a swings, a small child looking at a baby in a woman's arms, a Christmas tree, people opening Christmas presents, a child playing with a toy horse, a baby looking at toys, a parade outside Alaska with large floats, horse drawn carriages, motorcycles, old cars, a marching band, a person driving a tractor in a film superimposed over footage of a baby walking, footage of a family gathering, people posing for photographs superimposed over footage of a child walking on grass, men on horses herding cattle (likely not in Alaska), women standing in front of a car with a dog, children playing outdoors, people sitting on the grass, the sternwheeler Riverboat Nenana in Fairbanks, men in a boat on the water, and men next to a river and swimming in the river, a small child playing in the snow, and a family picnic outdoors.
[Family, Alaska, travel outside]
[Family, Alaska, travel outside]
This film reel is made up of 14 smaller reels. Reel 1 is labeled "Military unit, 1936 Carnival, family skiing," and it contains footage of ROTC formation marching and ice. Reel 2 is labeled "Children skiing, 1938 Carnival, First Air Mail," and it contains footage of skiing, the Winter Carnival, the Chena River, skiing, dog sleds, and an airplane. Reel 3 is labeled "Trip to Paxons July 1940, Kay catching salmon, Xmas scenes, Thelma in grass skirt, Thelma and I in blue uniform," and it contains footage as described in addition to children skating and skiing as well as hockey on the Chena River. Reel 4 contains footage of people dancing. Reel 5 contains footage of people outside with a camera. Reel 6 is labeled "My Last Days at Home, May and June 1942," and it contains footage of family scenes, boys in Boy Scout uniforms, boys tumbling, boys on bicycles, boys playing a ball game, a boy with a pack, more family scenes, and a man in a military uniform. Reel 7 is labeled "Matanuska Farm, Dawson's Film," and it contains footage of cows, sheep, family, an airplane, a lake, and mountains. Reel 8 is labeled "Ski meet Birch Hill, College, Russ, June 15, 1942, disposing of dynamite pwd, ski towing car, College Hill," "Thelma and I kissing," and "Skiing 1941." It contains footage of skiing, hockey, and a couple kissing. Reel 9 is labeled "Fishing, geese, Naknek, 1943," and it contains footage of fishing, people posing with fish, and river scenes. Reel 10 is labeled "Xmas 1946 at Vinton, Iowa," and it contains family scenes. Reel 11 is labeled "California, ferry Staten Island, ski trip Vermont, around Washington, 1947?," and it contains views of a ferry, people with skis, and Washington D.C. scenes. Reel 12 is labeled "Tok trip, Mary, buffalo, skiing, Cleary Summit," and it contains footage of a bison on the road and people skiing. Reel 13 is labeled "September 1949 to March 1950, Donn in football, skiing, hockey, 1950 Carnival, dogs and sled being parachuted, Toni, auto races," and it contains footage as described as well as a ski jump and blanket toss in Fairbanks. Reel 14 is labeled "Air Trip to States July 1953," and it contains footage of a station wagon and trailer, a "to Alaska" sign, aerial views of mountains, family scenes, and bears.
[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.
[Family scenes, Alaska Highway travel, winter carnival]
[Family scenes, Alaska Highway travel, winter carnival]
Film contains images of cars driving down a street, an aproximately 1-year-old girl outside of a red house climbing stairs and playing, the same girl indoors, sheep in a field, a group of people standing in the field, a group of people dressed up at an outdoor gathering, people sitting in a group in chairs outdoors in a social gathering, the exterior of a red house, children swimming in what appears to be a lake, a child aproximately 1-year-old walking, views of a beach and a sign that says "Indian Village" on it, scenic Alaska wilderness with a rainbow, children running through a sprinkler and playing with a hose on the lawn in front of a red house, a family standing in front of cars, children playing with a cat, children playing outside in the snow in the winter, adults and children standing for a group photograph, outdoor winter scenery, the Watson Lake Signpost Forest along the Alaska Highway in Yukon Territory of Canada, mountain scenery, a moose in winter in a field of snow, children being pulled on a sled, caribou pulling a dog sled, a Fairbanks Winter Carnival parade with parade floats, kids on a snowy beach throwing rocks into the water near a glacier, a parade in summer with a man riding in the parade and women marching in the parade, flowers in a garden, a barn in winter, well dressed people standing outside in winter with a bunch of cars in front of a church outside of Alaska, people pushing wagon wheels in the snow, a little girl opening presents next to a Christmas tree, a woman holding a baby, a Christmas tree, presents under a tree, a man with children on his lap, children sitting on a couch, children opening Christmas presents, children playing with toys, and children roughhousing and tumbling.
[Fur Rendezvous, dog races, Fairbanks, Anchorage and Matanuska Valley]
[Fur Rendezvous, dog races, Fairbanks, Anchorage and Matanuska Valley]
Footage includes a merry-go-round and a wolf dance at the Fur Rendezvous, the World Championship sled dog races in Anchorage, the Open North American sled dog races in Fairbanks, Roland "Doc" Lombard with a trophy, giant cabbages, Chilkat dancers in Haines, High Ridge, downtown Fairbanks, the University of Alaska campus in Fairbanks, Dr. Vic Hessler, an ice bridge across University Avenue in Fairbanks, a man tying reindeer to a truck bumper, a fur auction, dog races and an Eskimo Wolf Dance at the Fur Rendezvous, a radar site, soldiers eating a meal in a field during winter, military base housing, berries, harvesting grain, dogs, an Anchorage sign, a small well-drilling truck in High Ridge, Ernest Gruening, a health clinic, a mechanic working on a truck, a ski plane being moved and taking off from High Ridge lake during winter, Sara Machetanz paintings, Traeger Machetanz, a statehood headline, fly fishing, an Air France plane, glaciers in the Southeast, and men taking a canoe upriver to fish for grayling.
[Fur Rendezvous, polar bear, Kotzebue, Nome, Unalakleet, kayak races]
[Fur Rendezvous, polar bear, Kotzebue, Nome, Unalakleet, kayak races]
Footage features an Alaska Native dance demonstration in front of a crowd on an Anchorage baseball field, a blanket toss, and dog mushers racing across a flat area; polar bears on ice in Northern Alaska; the Kotzebue waterfront, fish drying on racks, children, the post office, the trading post, the Wien Arctic Hotel, a whalebone, and Alaska Native women and a man with closeup views of their faces; Native dancing in Nome with King Island Chief Aulaġana (John Olarana or Olaranna) and others, a blanket toss, and fish drying on racks; the Unalakleet waterfront with kayaks and an airplane on floats, kayak races, and a demonstration of a kayak roll by a man wearing a gutskin parka. The film is made from three shorter reels of film spliced together. The original boxes are labeled as follows: 1) Fur Rendezvous – 100’ $30.00 - #60013. 2) #54 Polar Bear - $15.00. 3) #28 Kotzebue, Unalakleet, Nome, Kayak Races.
[Gold mining, Alaska travel and activities 1]
[Gold mining, Alaska travel and activities 1]
Footage features a bulldozer caught in ice on the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks, a large Service Motor Company fire in downtown Fairbanks, mining activities, a man holding a large gold nugget, a bulldozer and dragline in operation at a large placer mine operation, men walking toward camp, a sluice, tailings piles, a bulldozer stuck in the Chena River after breaking through ice, people in parkas ice skating, a man photographing people on skates as well as a man ice fishing with a net, people weighing fish with a scale, Chena River and Cushman Street bridge, the railroad depot in Fairbanks, chained black bear cubs being fed, river views, people in a small boat and a man with a duck, a cow and pig, St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox church and graves in Eklutna, women feeding a baby moose with a milk bottle, a man in a small boat, a tent and campsite, a family at a camp or picnic, men and women posing by a Birch Lake sign, a woman outside of a log post office, placer mining operations, aerial views of a mine area, a man operating a dragline, and people posing near an airplane. Handwritten notes on the film boxes are as follows: “Service Motor.” “Tractor and Gold Mine.” “Alaska, trip to Palmer, grave house, baby moose, skating, Birch L. “Bert P[?].” “Trip to Ophir, [?] Barrow trip.”
[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.”