Alaska Film Archives

[George Steck collection 13]
[George Steck collection 13]
Footage includes the Binley Family Riverboat Discovery I, a group of people traveling down the Tanana River to Nenana on the Discovery, and people stopping for a picnic and to look at old buildings along the way.
[George Steck collection 14]
[George Steck collection 14]
Footage includes a parade in Fairbanks for the opening day of Alaska 67 Exposition A-67, an opening day ceremony with a boy scout color guard and military band, Captain Jim Binkley at a podium with dignitaries (including Governor Wally Hickel and Burl Ives), a ride around the park on an A-67 train, scenes from around the park, a woman on stilts, and a hot-air balloon being launched
[George Steck collection 15]
[George Steck collection 15]
Footage includes views of First Avenue in Fairbanks, Immaculate Conception Church and St. Joseph Hospital, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner building, a parade on Cushman Street, a baseball team (the Goldpanners) at the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce building on First Avenue, people along the banks of the Chena River watching the start of the Yukon 800 Marathon boat race, Goldpanners baseball practice, and construction at Growden Park.
[George Steck collection 16]
[George Steck collection 16]
Footage includes sled dog races at the Alaska Dog Mushers Association track on Farmers Loop Road in Fairbanks, Alaska.
[George Steck collection 17]
[George Steck collection 17]
Footage includes scenes at A-67 and Fairbanks just prior to the 1967 flood. Scenes include people making sand bags and the Chena River rising.
[George Steck collection 18]
[George Steck collection 18]
Footage features Fairbanks just after the flood waters receded and people started cleaning up the damage.
[George Steck collection 19]
[George Steck collection 19]
Footage shows the U.S. Air Force Blue Angels flying at Ft. Wainwright.
[George Steck collection 20]
[George Steck collection 20]
Footage features Fairbanks, the Cushman St. bridge, A-67 Exposition, and a Turtles concert at Bartlett Plaza.
[George Steck collection 21]
[George Steck collection 21]
This is the A-67 Civic Center Science Fair.
[George Steck collection 22]
[George Steck collection 22]
Footage features Armed Forces Day at Ft Wainwright in 1967.
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).
[Golden Days, Valdez, log home construction, Dawson City 1]
[Golden Days, Valdez, log home construction, Dawson City 1]
AAF-10409 is made up of several smaller reels of film. Handwritten notes on original film boxes are as follows: “Turnagain arm, Homer Spit, first of Golden Days parade 1989, Bell’s.” “Bell’s, Golden Days Parade 2 1989.” “Bell’s, 1989, Golden Days 3.” “Bell’s, 1989, Smalley Creek Mine.” “Bell’s, 1989, Valdez, Matanuska Glacier.” “Bell’s, 1989, Valdez.” This film contains footage of scenic travels, a large halibut, glacier views, a 1989 Fairbanks parade, Golden Days celebration scenes and parade, a man with a small sluicebox, gold flecks in a pan, calving glaciers, icebergs and seals, an eagle's nest, a waterfall, a dredge, a tour boat, sea otters, glaciers, and icebergs.
[Golden Days, Valdez, log home construction, Dawson City 2]
[Golden Days, Valdez, log home construction, Dawson City 2]
AAF-10410 is made up of several smaller reels of film. Handwritten notes on original film boxes are as follows: “Building of our log home.” “Building our house, log work, flying over Fairbanks, flying towards Mt. Mckinley.” “Dollie hauling toboggan downhill to our house.” “Old sternwheels, Dawson City, looking over Klondike.” “Porcupine River August 1978.” “Chitina Jon salmon dipping fireweed, 74 parade.” This film contains footage of land being cleared and a log home being built overlooking Fairbanks, aerial views of an airplane crash, aerial views of Fairbanks, a family dog pulling a toboggan, the Dawson City sternwheeler boneyard, river travel and fishing, and a family posing near a glacier.
[Goodnews Bay Mining Company and Platinum area scenes 2]
[Goodnews Bay Mining Company and Platinum area scenes 2]
AAF-16391 is a super-8mm film containing footage of a container ship or barge in a bay and men using the ship’s crane to offload a container onto the shore. The last few seconds of the film show a grabber dredge, a stream sluice, and a man working with a high pressure hose.
[Goodnews Bay Mining Company and Platinum area scenes 3]
[Goodnews Bay Mining Company and Platinum area scenes 3]
AAF-16392 is a super-8mm film labeled “Bird Island – Clean up at Plt Creek.” The film begins with daytime scenes of small motor boats traveling over open water. A whale surfaces a few times in front of the boats followed by scenes of a rookery. The sun sets behind a rock outcropping as birds fly by. A bulldozer moves mud and snow from a roadway or ditch. A man fishes for salmon from a motor boat, then two men show off their catch. This is followed by scenes of draglines and a large sluicebox and men working and cleaning the sluicebox with shovels.
[Goodnews Bay Mining Company and Platinum area scenes 4]
[Goodnews Bay Mining Company and Platinum area scenes 4]
AAF-16393 is a super-8mm film containing scenes of a bucket dredge in a frozen pond, a dragline moving water and mud from the pond, snow surrounding homes, snow piled almost to the top of the roofs, a bucket dredge working in an icy pond with mountains in the distance, a town as seen from a hill above, and more scenes of mining equipment in operation. A man works a dragline while a dog sits nearby. A group of adults gather around people who are processing salmon, and a man holds up a large salmon. The film ends with a shot of the Platinum Post Office and structures along a river or inlet with mountains in the distance.
[Governor and Mrs. Hammond at the Governor's Mansion]
[Governor and Mrs. Hammond at the Governor's Mansion]
Footage includes Governor Jay Hammond playing pool at the Governor's Mansion in Juneau with Frank Gold of Fairbanks. Additional footage includes Bella Hammond showing Frank artwork in the mansion.
[Governor Egan inauguration and speeches]
[Governor Egan inauguration and speeches]
This footage shows Lieutenant Governor Boucher and Governor Egan are sworn in followed by a portion of the Governor's inaugural address. Additional footage includes Governor Egan speaking before the Alaska Chamber of Commerce about the value of Prudhoe Bay oil, Governor Egan speaking about collective bargaining by public employees, Governor Egan swearing in Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court Rabinowitz, Governor Egan speaking about suing the Federal Government over land withdrawals, and Governor Egan speaking before the Alaska Visitors Association about bringing Alaska Natives into the visitors industry.
[Haines fishing]
[Haines fishing]
The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20045 numbered as Bacon 10-05 and titled “Haines, Fishing, People, Bears, Fish, Mining.” 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: “Carl Heinmiller repairs mask - He started the saving of the Tlingit culture - Carl was a WWII veteran - He came back and bought the houses for Chilkat at Haines - He bought two or three of the quarters that the army used and had them repaired - State ferry coming into Haines, pass by North Star landing at Skagway, the old pilings at the waterfront at Skagway; that is where the ships used to come in - It is all worn out now - This is where they used to have the dock.” Notes on the film box that pertain to this film are as follows: “Reel 5: Haines, fishing – people, bears, fish, mining scenes, scenery, leaving Haines for Skagway, Klukwan.”
[Haines rubber rafts]
[Haines rubber rafts]
The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20044 numbered as Bacon 10-04 and titled “Haines Rubber Raft.” 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: “Carl Heinmiller repairs mask - He started the saving of the Tlingit culture - Carl was a WWII veteran - He came back and bought the houses for Chilkat at Haines - He bought two or three of the quarters that the army used and had them repaired - State ferry coming into Haines, pass by North Star landing at Skagway, the old pilings at the waterfront at Skagway; that is where the ships used to come in - It is all worn out now - This is where they used to have the dock.” Notes on the film box that pertain to this film are as follows: “Reel 4: 1986 Rubber rafts in Haines.”
[Haines, totem poles, etc. 1]
[Haines, totem poles, etc. 1]
The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20,055 numbered as Bacon 12-2 and titled "Haines, Sue Silver Carver: 50 feet." 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 12 - 9 Reels, 1 black & white picture - Picture in box of Carl Heinmiller dancing. Picture doing the bear dance... Different upright poles; they had moved the old Whale House. They had four posts and one was a Strong Man Totem that describes a man pulling a killer whale apart and his father fell out of the whale. A Girl and Worm Totem pole; she was put into the totem pole to save until she became eligible for the chief to marry. She wanted to get out so a worm came along and ate all around the wood so she could escape. Potlatch trough was a huge log approximately 30 feet long. They dug all the wood out, carved it with head on the front, legs on the back and that is where they put all the food for a potlatch..."
[Haines, totem poles, etc. 2]
[Haines, totem poles, etc. 2]
The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20,055 numbered as Bacon 12-2, and titled "Haines, Sue Silver Carver: 50 feet." Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about these films is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: "...Silver carver and more inside the Whale House..."
[Haines, totem poles, etc. 3]
[Haines, totem poles, etc. 3]
The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20,057 numbered as Bacon 12-4 and titled "Inside Whale House: Rev EF Orig-100 feet." Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about these films is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: "...Different upright poles; they had moved the old Whale House. They had four posts and one was a Strong Man Totem that describes a man pulling a killer whale apart and his father fell out of the whale. A Girl and Worm Totem pole; she was put into the totem pole to save until she became eligible for the chief to marry. She wanted to get out so a worm came along and ate all around the wood so she could escape. Potlatch trough was a huge log approximately 30 feet long. They dug all the wood out, carved it with head on the front, legs on the back and that is where they put all the food for a potlatch..."
[Haines, totem poles, etc. 4]
[Haines, totem poles, etc. 4]
The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20058 numbered as Bacon 12-6 and titled "Haines, Chilkat Indian Dancers: ECN [Eastman Color Negative]-300 feet." 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 12 - 9 Reels, 1 black & white picture - Picture in box of Carl Heinmiller dancing. Picture doing the bear dance. Whale House clan at Klukwan inside Whale House..."
[Haines, totem poles, etc. 5]
[Haines, totem poles, etc. 5]
The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20059 numbered as Bacon 12-7 and titled "Haines fishing, Chilkat River, Joe Jurgelite Miner, Klukwon: ECN [Eastman Color Negative]-250 feet." Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about these films is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: "...fishing at Haines, people come there and fly fish. Chilkat River, Klukwan Village."
[Haines, totem poles, etc. 6]
[Haines, totem poles, etc. 6]
The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20060 numbered as Bacon 12-8 and titled "Miner Joe with gold, Fort Seward, Lynn Mountains, craft center: ECN [Eastman Color Negative]-350 feet." Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about these films is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: "...Potlatch trough was a huge log approximately 30 feet long. They dug all the wood out, carved it with head on the front, legs on the back and that is where they put all the food for a potlatch. Silver carver and more inside the Whale House. Miner gal with gold, air shots of Fort Seward in Haines, shots along the Lynn Canal, work in Indian Craft Center..."
[Hanes, totem poles, etc. 7]
[Hanes, totem poles, etc. 7]
The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20,061 numbered as Bacon 12-9, and it's titled "Haines, Indian craft center, Carl Heinmiller: ECN [Eastman Color Negative]-200 feet." See AAF-20,004 for an associated item originally labeled Bacon 12-5. 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 12 - 9 Reels, 1 black & white picture - Picture in box of Carl Heinmiller dancing. Picture doing the bear dance. Whale House clan at Klukwan inside Whale House. Different upright poles; they had moved the old Whale House. They had four posts and one was a Strong Man Totem that describes a man pulling a killer whale apart and his father fell out of the whale. A Girl and Worm Totem pole; she was put into the totem pole to save until she became eligible for the chief to marry. She wanted to get out so a worm came along and ate all around the wood so she could escape. Potlatch trough was a huge log approximately 30 feet long. They dug all the wood out, carved it with head on the front, legs on the back and that is where they put all the food for a potlatch. Silver carver and more inside the Whale House. Miner gal with gold, air shots of Fort Seward in Haines, shots along the Lynn Canal, work in Indian Craft Center, fishing at Haines, people come there and fly fish. Chilkat River, Klukwan Village."
[Harry Carter on Alaska Native Lands Claims history and issues]
[Harry Carter on Alaska Native Lands Claims history and issues]
AAF-13176 is a 1/2-inch open reel videotape labeled "Master Tape February 1972 Harry Carter AFN on Native Land Claims." Harry Carter, the executive director of the Alaska Federation of Natives, speaks about the history of land claims settlement, the AFN, land allocation, poverty, economic development, and other related issues.
[Haul Road, Fairbanks, Sam and Judy Little, John and Joan Wild]
[Haul Road, Fairbanks, Sam and Judy Little, John and Joan Wild]
This footage features scenes of people dancing at a bar as a band is playing, Haul Road scenes, a crane removing pipeline sections from a semi trailer, black smoke from a fire, a trucker (named "Billy Goat" according to notes accompanying the film) in the cab of a truck, men working on a truck and changing a tire, pipeline construction scenes, trucking and truckers, downtown Fairbanks, Haul Road views, a record cover for singer Sam Little, Sam playing guitar, Sam and his family (the woman is identified as Judy in notes accompanying the film), the family's trailer home, the family going car shopping at Aurora Motors in Fairbanks, a woman (identified as Joan in notes accompanying the film) being interviewed, a woman and child, Sam and Judy being interviewed, views of their home's interior, kids playing, a woman and man (identified in notes as John and Joan Wild) being interviewed and working at a cabin, man in a canoe, and a woman at a cabin.
[Haul Road scenes]
[Haul Road scenes]
Specific dates and other information noted on the original film are given here in parentheses. Footage includes a truck on the Haul Road in winter, men in an office, trucks on the Haul Road (segment titled "Kamikaze Trail outs, Great 80' pipe shots"), a truck parked at Sunset Strip (segment titled "Best Pipedriver"). a still image of a woman pouring coffee (segment titled "Sam and waitress"), a bumper sticker, hanging tire chains, a sign, the Tundra Inn, signs, a logo, a man, the Yukon Bridge in winter, a pump station and road (segment titled "Antigun"), a pass in the road (segment titled "Ice cut"), a trucker, still images of truckers (titled "Stutte," "Col. Custer," "Sourpuss hands," "Canadian," Kid Lyndoms," and "Riggles"), a worn tire, a mechanic, a Hilltop Roadhouse coffee cup, a man (segment titled "Hooking up brakes"), still images of truckers (segments titled "Squint," "Pudgy 1-2," "John Appleseed," "Lancaster," and "kid and Shader"), a buckle and ring, a still image of a woman (segment titled "Muleskinner"), still images of truckers (segments titled "wholesome," "Phil," and "Big Bust 1-2"), a logo, the Haul Road, a can of chewing tobacco, a boot kicking a tire, a logo, a steering wheel, a belt buckle, still images of truckers (segments titled "boots," and "Stutte buckle"), mechanics, truck chains, still images of truckers (segments titled "Burk," "Kid's buckle," and "Mr. Ardee"), logos, still images of women and men (segments titled "Fox cook 1-2," "John's buckle 1-2," and "John - several shots"), men changing a truck tire along the Haul Road, a sign, a truck, still images of a man in a truck (all titled "Sealang Hostler"), scenery and trucks along the Haul Road, camps, and signs (segment titled "Kamikaze live action).