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.