1. Browse Repository
  2. Alaska Film Archives

Alaska Film Archives

About the Collection

Over the past half century, the University of Alaska Fairbanks has built the largest collection of archival films in and about Alaska. The collection combines hundreds of donations of film and videos to UAF by individuals, organizations and institutions. Materials range from professional productions to amateur home-movies, made in and about Alaska from the earliest days of filmmaking through today. Since 1993 these materials have been held by the Alaska Film Archives, a unit of Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives in the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library. Films and videos selected for this portal project are a sampling of the thousands available for checkout on DVD through the Rasmuson Library. Unless otherwise noted, items are presented here in their entirety, unedited and uncut. Short, popular clips from the collection can be viewed on our YouTube channel. Read more about the Alaska Film Archives.

91 to 120 of 145 Objects
[Family travel and Alaska 2]
[Family travel and Alaska 2]
This film is made up of several smaller 8mm film reels labeled "Armed Forces Day at Airfield," "Seattle Zoo," "Zoo Animals," "Going to Hawaii," "Kodak, Hula, First Day at Aquarium," "Camper, Olympia Washington, Hawaii [?]," and [unlabeled]. The film contains views of military aircraft at a Fort Wainwright airshow, zoo animals including Polar Bears and Kodiak Bears, Valdez area scenes and camping, Hawaii travel and scenes, and Sitka.
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 5]
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 5]
This film includes scenes of the Dave and Mary Adler wedding party, Joanie Adler holding flowers and playing in a sprinkler, Joanie Adler's birthday party with seven or eight candles, Joanie Adler cooking in a kitchen with Joe Crosson, Jr., glacier and river scenery, Mrs. Adler carrying Joanie and Mr. Adler across a creek, Joanie Adler driving a small car built by Joe Crosson, Sr., Joe helping Don Crosson drive a car, Joanie Adler with puppies, Don Adler in uniform, people at an airport, Joanie and possibly Joe Crosson, Jr. gardening, dignitaries with Governor Ernest Gruening, a Grumman Goose airplane, Joanie Adler playing with dogs, and the Adler family canoeing. This film was labeled as follows: “Mary and Dave just got married; Little Joe and Joan cooking; Joan in car summer 1939..."
[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."
[Drag racing, air show, parade, construction, family, Haul Road 1]
[Drag racing, air show, parade, construction, family, Haul Road 1]
AAF-10405 is made up of several smaller reels of film. Handwritten notes on original film boxes are as follows: “Upside down truck, ag plane 28 mi, grizzlies feeding.” “Jon racing Eric’s car in drags.” “Jon’s Camarao 128 mph, Glennallen airshow 85.” “Glacier Bay 2, Jon popping wheelies, Severn’s.” “Sheep running on Atigun Pass, Bev and Katie with truck, Sheep on Atigun Pass and Katie B with cat 1983.” “Fire bombing, Henry’s, parade 1983.” “Golden Days parade 1983.” “Last part of Jon on porch very young, caribou.” “Stream[?], grizzly, Chezhs house, gold dredge, Cleary Summit, Bob Farmer, wife, Bev, Fairbanks Cr.” “Plane landing at Atigun Vern Bates, Wiseman caribou under pipeline, owl [?], Wiseman village, unloading truck at Wiseman, Vern Bate down in Haul Rd, Good pick adult caribou shot glimpse grizzly, caribou under pipeline.” This film contains footage of an overturned truck, flowers, a biplane airplane, bears, an airplane crashed on a road, drag racing, parachutists, an airshow, a post office, caribou, ice formations?, flowers, the Fairbanks airport, Alaskaland, a Golden Days celebration in Fairbanks, firebombers dropping retardant, motorcycles, family scenes, a cabin-building, an owl, a homestead, an airplane on a road, bears, caribou, and the pipeline.
[We Live in the Arctic - Reel 2]
[We Live in the Arctic - Reel 2]
Detailed summary information for this film was provided by the filmmakers, Bud and Connie Helmericks – see a film archivist for full information. According to these notes, films include scenes of an Inupiat family identified in notes as Nanny and George, son Apiak, and daughters Lydia and Martha; Nanny tending a fishnet set in the Arctic Ocean; Lydia (age 5) eating dried meat with an uluruk; Martha (age 17) holding a mirror and applying lipstick; a woman identified in the notes as Bessie with a homemade guitar made from a Prestone can; a whale boat in the Arctic Ocean; people identified in the notes as Oolak or Job (age 15), Little Jacob, Carrie with little Maugaulak or Mark, and Richard; Chandler Lake; a group of inland Inupiat or Nunamiut at Chandler Lake, including people identified in the notes as baby Franklin Roosevelt and his father, Simon Paneak; caribou skin tents covered with canvas; bear damage at a cabin; Connie picking berries; Bud and Connie hunting moose; Connie rendering tallow; Connie chinking a cabin with moss; Bud making a cabin window; Bud demonstrating winter wear; fishing through ice; Bud cutting ice blocks; and heating the airplane engine before take-off.
Alaska Review 17
Alaska Review 17
In the first segment, Mark O. Badger reports on airplane safety in Alaska and concerns over rising aviation accident rates. Those interviewed include: pilot Jack Swaim of Ketchikan; helicopter pilot Jim Isabelle of Teller; an unidentified pilot; Carl Jorwitz, tower chief at Anchorage International Airport; Martin Ondra, air traffic controller at Merrill Field; Joe Wilbur of Anchorage, owner of Wilbur Flight Operations and Wilbur Flight School; Sumner Putnam, commercial pilot; Captain Welch, Alaska jet pilot; Gene Morris, FAA accident prevention coordinator; and an unidentified private pilot. The program contains views of Anchorage International Airport and Merrill Field, Lake Hood, Wilbur Flight School, airplanes in flight near Valdez, a Juneau departure, a Sitka approach, a Ketchikan approach, and cockpits of various aircraft in flight. In the second segment, reporter Eric Eckholm examines the recently allowed use of cameras in Alaska courtrooms. Interviewees include: Art Snowden, court director; Joe Josephson, Anchorage lawyer; Rob Stapleton, Anchorage Daily News reporter; and Howard Weaver of the Alaska Advocate. The program contains views of courtrooms and pressrooms. The program also contains Public Service Announcements (PSAs) about alcohol awareness and the CARE program.
[Savoonga, Kenai, Homer, McNeil River]
[Savoonga, Kenai, Homer, McNeil River]
Location identifications are from Victor Rovier's notes. According to original notes accompanying this film, the first five segments, all dated 1966, were likely filmed by Jack Fuller in Savoonga and include scenes of women skinning seals, travel by umiak, a walrus laying on ice, walruses scattering after gunfire, a baby walrus swimming in water, Native men in a shelter, men pulling an umiak across snow, men with harpoons and guns shooting a walrus at a breathing hole, piles of muktuk, men pulling up and cutting a whale, a boat and a whale, men carving a whale in water, walrus tusks and meat, people with dogsleds and snowmachines meeting a airplane, a blanket toss, men harpooning a walrus through a hole in ice, and distant views of an umiak at sea. According to original notes, the following three segments were filmed by Victor Rovier in June of 1966 and include views of Anchorage, an earthquake-caused slump in Turnagain Arm, a man (identified in notes as Wilcox) fishing at Alexander Creek, airboat travel up Alexander Creek, oil tanks and an oil platform, Kenai, and dock facilities. Remaining film segments are all titled "McNeil 1967" and include images of filmmaker Victor Rovier packing a tent, men (identified in notes as Hans and Rovier) loading an airplane, the airplane taking off, buildings in Homer, takeoff of an airplane and aerial views, the instrument panel of an airplane, mountains, Rovier talking to the pilot, Mt. Augustine, McNeil River from the air, Rovier carrying gear at a beach, Rovier setting up a tent and blowing up an air mattress, bears wrestling, a bear with a red tag, waterfowl (poor focus), bears walking, Hans giving Rovier a shave while Rovier holds a revolver, bears fishing in a river, Rovier fishing in McNeil River, men (identified in notes as Rovier and Dick) wading across McNeil River, Rovier at McNeil Falls, Homer spit, fjords and islands en route to Seldovia, and Rovier with a camera in Seldovia.
[Valdez, Alaska and Outside travel]
[Valdez, Alaska and Outside travel]
The first segment in Alaska includes footage of blowing snow in Valdez the and aerial views of winter countryside. Footage outside of Alaska includes George Meals at his farm in Atkinson Nebraska with unidentified women, traffic at night, a Northwest Airlines airplane, a man chopping wood, a woman and dog, tourists watching a dog sled in the summer, mountains, women in a Valdez Light and Power office, men and women in a garden (Nancy, Frank and Ertha Mills in Sebastapol CA), seals in cages, homes and roads, lights in downtown Las Vegas, an old west town (Nancy and Ertha with figures), a dam site, Nancy and friends posing for the camera, homes, people posing (Nancy and family near Amarillo Texas, George Meals with a hay wagon, and farm scenes in Atkinson Nebraska with Melvin and Marvin Meals. The second segment includes footage of downtown Valdez, snow removal vehicles, a propeller-driven vehicle (probably built by Owen Meals) driving down a street, freight being unloaded from a ship, fuel tanks, Alaska Freight Lines and other semi-trucks with trailers and freight, a snowplow, parked semi-trucks, snow removal, a snowy road, wintertime dock activities, an Alaska Steamship Company trailer being offloaded from a ship,Valdez street scenes during winter, trucks hauling pipes, a Valdez Light Power & Telephone Company truck, a small helicopter landing and taking off, and dock views. The third segment includes footage at the Valdez airport with a military DC-3 and other airplanes, an airplane taking off, cars driving on a snowy road, Anchorage city lights, mountains and a lake, foxes at a fox farm, a small water wheel, a cabin and cache, a bear cub and people, scenic views, highway travel, a small airplane taking off and flying by, wind in the mountains, a no-hunting sign, a waterfall and ice, Valdez City School (built in 1936 and used until the 1964 earthquake), and views from a ship. The fourth segment outside of Alaska includes images of families posing for the camera, scenes at a large airport, a woman climbing oil derrick/tower stairs, oil-drilling operation, a small windmill, and oil rigs.
[Bristol Bay sailing fleet, Dickson crash and Woodley airways, Dickson family in Anchorage, Stinson tri-motor and Star Airlines]
[Bristol Bay sailing fleet, Dickson crash and Woodley airways, Dickson family in Anchorage, Stinson tri-motor and Star Airlines]
Summary: Part 1 (AAF-1158) footage includes Palmer buildings, the Tusk in Merrill Pass, stone marten furs, loading meat in Woodley floatplane near Nome, a sunset, spawning salmon, an aerial view of a river, an unidentified town, sport fishermen with mosquito nets, Bristol Bay sailing fleet fishing for salmon, pulling nets, a cannery, Star Airlines Bellanca on floats, a sailing fleet under sail, a cormorant nest, an airplane shadow with a circular rainbow, a fishing fleet, unloading fish at a cannery, and cannery activity. Part 2 (AAF-1159) includes Star Airlines Bellanca airplane on floats at Lake Spenard, Dickson Airways Waco biplane nosed over in ice on Prince William Sound island, Bud Seltenreich and Art Woodley with Coast Guard rescuers, Art Woodley drinking coffee, the Coast Guard cutter Haida, Woodley airplane and Dickson Waco, Bud Seltenreich and Roy Dickson under a rock outcropping used for shelter, mountains and steaming inactive volcanoes, Aiachak crater and Katmai crater. Additional footage features magma in St. Augustine volcano following the March 26 1931 eruption, Mt Redoubt, Woodley Travelair suspended from an Alaska Railroad crane during the conversion to floats, Mt. McKinley, a forest fire, Sand Point seen from the air, Aleutian Islands, Dr. Walkowski and an injured worker being loaded into Woodley Travelair on July 14 1937, mountains, Woodley float planes, Art Woodley with an Eskimo man in a kayak, Roy Dickson and a salesman, a spring flood on the Yukon River with Woodley float plane tied to a house, an unidentified village seen from the air, a fishwheel, a Nome bicycle race, an egg race, high kick, a blanket toss, games, King Island Eskimo kayak and umiak races, and an aerial view of the Yukon River.
[Our Alaskan Winter – original reel 2]
[Our Alaskan Winter – original reel 2]
Detailed summary information was provided by the filmmakers, Bud and Connie Helmericks. According to these notes, this film includes scenes of travel by dogsled while hunting for seals.Polar bear tracks. Connie comes up to her dead polar bear — shot from the tent at 1 a.m. in late May — feasting (not shown) followed immediately after butchering. Seal meat goes into a modern pressure cooker. Apiak serves the dogs their meal. A starving seal has lost its diving hole and can’t find the ocean — carried in a sack on the sled to the nearest seal hole and it finally dove down into the ocean. On shore after two months at sea. A summer tent. Lydia, Nannie, and George. Saying goodbye. Home to a cabin at Takahula Lake. Unloading cargo from Hughes, the trading post (100 miles away), at the new dock at Takahula Lake. Bud cuts a moose hide into strips and makes chairs. Connie casts for pike at a tent camp at nearby Iniakuk Lake. Broken airplane tail — Bud fixes it by taking off part of the tail and then fortunately it flew okay. Connie catches a grayling. Geese migrating. Grizzly bears, moose, and other animals. Roasting caribou ribs. Connie uses the little yellow kayak on Takahula Lake before winter. Ice pans float down the adjacent Alatna River. Arrigetch Peaks rising above the house. Bud and Connie, in full winter dress, are prepared for winter again. Connie reads contentedly by the blazing hearth.
[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.
[Dog mushing and travel, Haul Road and skiing 2]
[Dog mushing and travel, Haul Road and skiing 2]
AAF-10402 is made up of several smaller reels of film. Handwritten notes on original film boxes are as follows: “Trading post w/ Bev PO etc. – Bev in Gemes[?] stove, winter time.” “Truck Haul Road turning in Coldfoot Camp, Bev with Chena Dogs, Steve S, OK.” “Wild Lake with Gordons, river trip, truck.” “Jon and I skiing, snowmobiling at Chandler good.” “Jon and Dad at Chandlar skiing, cat train good, my new truck with Boss in Fbks.” “Skiing over Camaro, Haul Road winter accidents.” “Jon, Greg, sheep, skiing.” “Greg and Jon skiing down Atigun Pass, Fbks post office.” “Atigun Pass south, Flying with Les Zerbik[?] Waren McAllister.” This film contains footage of airplanes and cabins, a US Post Office, Haul Road scenes, airplanes on floats, fishing, snow machines, skiing, an ice-road train?, ski jumping over a car, overturned trucks on the Haul Road, dall sheep, winter scenes and skiing along the Haul Road, and aerial views of mountains and a road.
[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.
[Pipeline construction progress report]
[Pipeline construction progress report]
This is a 1977 Alyeska Pipeline construction progress report. Footage includes construction at Atigun Pass, aerial bombers spreading coal dust to speed thawing, construction in Keystone Canyon, and construction in Thompson Pass.
[KTVF news stories, bear hunt, Yukon 800, Golden Days]
[KTVF news stories, bear hunt, Yukon 800, Golden Days]
Some segments of film contain audio, and others are silent. Specific dates and other information noted on the original film are given here in parentheses. Footage includes men speaking, drawings of the Fairbanks Wastewater Treatment Facility on display (June 5, 1973) (silent), aerial views of a bear, a wildlife official and hunter being interviewed about bear hunting, an airplane and campsite (story titled "Bettles Bear Hunt") (June 9, 1973) (sound), people in downtown Fairbanks watching the start of a boat race, aerial views of boats racing on a river (story titled "Yukon 800 1973") (silent), a man being interviewed about an Alaska butterfly study (June 27, 1973) (sound), a man in handcuffs getting out of a car (segment titled "Walunga - Coed Murder") (December 11, 1972 - not 1973) (silent), a Golden Days Parade and activities in Fairbanks, a story about budget issues (1973) (sound), fair booths, the construction of buildings at fairgrounds in Fairbanks, a woman being interviewed about a new exhibit hall and office space (August 7, 1973) (sound), men at a hearing (segment titled "Gravel - E.P.A.") (August 9, 1973) (silent), people at a public hearing (segment titled "Meeds Hearing") (1973) (silent), civil rights activist Roy Wilkins being greeted at an airport by people holding N.A.A.C.P. signs (segment titled "Wilkins") (1973) (silent), Roy Wilkins and others speaking to an audience (August 12, 1973) (sound), military men cleaning up a fuel spill along a roadside (segment titled "Fuel Spill") (August 13, 1973) (silent), scenes from a midway (segment titled "Fair Opens") (August 15, 1973) (silent), parents attending classes at Lathrop High School during "swap day" (October 26, 1973) (sound), Fairbanks Office Supply moving to a new location, scenes at a Florcraft store (October 27, 1973) (silent), bank tellers wearing Halloween costumes at Alaska National Bank, an Alaska State Bank sign (October 31, 1973) (silent), a man speaking to an audience (story titled "Hiatt - UA") (November 5, 1973) (silent), people in an office looking at maps of Alaska (story titled "Claims") (November 15, 1973) (silent), an Alaska Army National Guard Unit Award being presented to troops, views of tanks, military vehicles, troops (November 17, 1973) (silent), snowmachines at Circle Hot Springs, and aerial views (segment titled "Sno-Fari 1973") (silent).
[We Live in the Arctic - Reel 1]
[We Live in the Arctic - Reel 1]
Detailed summary information for this film was provided by the filmmakers, Bud and Connie Helmericks – see a film archivist for full information. According to these notes, this film includes scenes of a Cessna 140 (the “Arctic Tern”) taking off from Tucson, Arizona; aerial views enroute to Alaska; Grand Prairie, Alberta; aerial views of Hughes, Alaska; Brooks Range mountains; landing at Takahula Lake; Connie and Bud at their log cabin at Takahula Lake; snowshoeing and seeing a “snow doughnut” that has rolled down from the mountain; Bud splitting wood and Connie collecting water; ice fishing on Takahula Lake while sunbathing; planting a garden; Connie climbing Takahula Peak; kayaking on the Alatna River; an airplane flight 300 miles north to the Arctic Ocean; cooking a meal of caribou and cornmeal along the Arctic Ocean; the village of Paulatuk in Canada; Royal Canadian Mounted Police at Cambridge Bay on Victoria Island; a power schooner (the “Tudlik”) traveling from Banks Land; Inuit hunters cooking caribou in northern Canada; Lakes Peter and Schrader in Alaska; and the filmmakers, Bud and Connie.
[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.
[Our Alaskan Winter – original reel 1]
[Our Alaskan Winter – original reel 1]
Detailed summary information was provided by the filmmakers, Bud and Connie Helmericks. According to these notes, this film includes scenes of the “Arctic Tern” (Cessna 170 airplane) on skis. Six different airplanes, all named the “Arctic Tern” and all painted with a bird symbol, were used in the production of the three Helmericks films over seven years. Upon return to the Brooks Range cabin after many months away, Bud takes down hanging empty gas cans left to scare bears away. Bud shows how the arctic dweller uses an ice chisel — it takes about one hour to cut through the four-foot ice of Takahula Lake; He lifts out net with fish. Icy lake water is hauled to the house. They tramp down an airfield for the plane with snowshoes. It is necessary to push a small piece of stove-wood under each ski of the airplane when parked to keep it from freezing down. This is followed by views of Oliktok Point on the Arctic Ocean. Friends run out of their door waving joyously. Tagiluk, the adopted older son, and little Lydia; Martha at the door is around age seventeen; Oolak, fifteen, in a pink snowshirt over caribou furs, turns the dogsled upside down and ices its runners. Bud and George work with shovels and flags to make a more safe airplane field; Oolak returns hours later with a load of small driftwood sticks for fuel — this wood is very scarce, and he must scavenge a large area to find it — the wood comes from large rivers which flow into the Arctic Ocean and have trees at their heads thousands of miles away. A sled with a big sail approaches out of the frozen ocean — the woman has a baby, born in a hospital in Point Barrow 200 miles away, hidden on her back under her warm caribou fur parka. Carrie with her boy Maugulauk and husband Jacob. When Carrie becomes ill, Bud flies her to Point Barrow Hospital during a wind storm. Back at Oliktok Point camp, Connie directs the airplane to safety. A dog buried in snow in a spring blizzard during the month of May. Another dogsled visitor arrives, and they all shake hands with Colliak, who has come from 100 miles inland. A caribou is butchered. Sawing out a new sled from driftwood as Lydia plays about. Apiak, the older son, builds sled flooring — it is necessary to make an entirely new sled almost every season. Apiak shows how he ties the flooring with sealskin — this enables the sled to bend and be pliable. A flight out over the polar ice fifty miles. Landing fifty miles offshore where Apiak had designated a hunting camp in his earlier explorations by sled. They pitch a tent. There's a rifle close at hand in case of polar bear. Travel via dogsled while hunting for seals.
[Family and Alaska scenes]
[Family and Alaska scenes]
This film reel is made up of 13 smaller reels. Reel 1 is labeled "1933-1934 military unit [...] skiing, 2nd inspection [...], muskoxen," and it contains footage of a military ceremony, spring breakup, a car on railroad tracks, people at a train station, a family swimming and boating, and musk oxen. Reel 2 is labeled "Skiing military unit, skating, ice carnival, Kay in snow, Thelma and flag, 1934?," and it contains views of skiing, skating, hockey, sledding, a military unit skiing on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, and a woman with a flag. Reel 3 is labeled "Kay and Donn about 1934" and "Children playing in snow May 10, children on skis, Donn's first skis, Donn in daddy's rubbers, boys in car trunk," and it contains footage of children playing as described. Reel 4 is labeled "Children on skis, January - February 1936," and it contains views of children skiing, a child with a toy wheelbarrow, children posing for the camera, and a man in uniform. Reel 5 is labeled "Boys and Salcha," and it contains views of men with a tripod, the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus [?], a truck and trailer, boys with a dog, and a dog pulling boys on a sled. Reel 6 is labeled "Eagle Summit, boys on garage roof, Carnival 1937," and it contains views of a family at Eagle Summit, boys skiing, boys playing on a roof, a dog sled, and parade scenes. Reel 7 is labeled "Trip to Circle Hot Springs August 1937," and it contains views of a family on a ferry or raft, children swimming and playing, small boats, cabins, and skiing. Reel 8 is labeled "Children, Burt, dragline, 1939" and "Steese Highway," and it contains footage of children ice skating and playing as well as dragline and mining scenes. Reel 9 is labeled "Conveyor, dragline walking, crane, bomber, turners, Cub Scouts," and it contains views of mining operations, an airplane, the Cushman Street bridge in Fairbanks, children racing, a potato sack race, a wheelbarrow race, mining scenes, and swimming scenes. Reel 10 is labeled "B-17, Rotary Field, meet, egg hunt, March - July 1941," and it contains aerial views, a parachute drop, and children playing. Reel 11 is labeled "Skiing 1944, Kay 1945?" and contains views of skiing. Reel 12 is a film negative and is labeled "Trip over Alaska Railroad from College Station 1935." The film is very dark. Reel 13 is a film negative and is labeled "Mogull Supersensitive Panchromatic 1939, Plymouth Massachussetts, Washington D.C., South Bend, Dr. Wier, O'Della [...], Mt. Rushmore." It contains footage of people swimming and boating, etc. (film is very dark).
[Farrar buggy, scenes outside Alaska]
[Farrar buggy, scenes outside Alaska]
The original film is labeled “Ray Farrar and buggy, me and Champ, Tom shoveling snow – Michigan, Toni on water ski, Siebert and deer.” The film contains scenes of a dog pulling a loaded sled, brief aerial views of a town and an airport landing strip, a large vehicle with many tires moving across the tundra, sections of pipe being hauled by vehicle, a demonstration of a vehicle’s ability to travel smoothly over rough terrain, a small airplane taking off from an airport, John Baker repairing the tail of an airplane, snow storm scenes, a workshop's interior, a deer near a barn, a man posing with a deer, a pheasant in snow, men moving a raft of logs, a water chute and logging operation, a man water skiing, and an airplane on floats landing on water. Some scenes were filmed outside Alaska.
[David and Mike Doxey Film collection 5]
[David and Mike Doxey Film collection 5]
This film is labeled "North Slope Boating 1978." Footage includes riverboat travel, grizzly bears on a hillside, more riverboat travel, a tent camp, a construction camp (?) on the North Slope, aerial views of the North Slope and Brooks Range, and landing in Fairbanks. Additional footage includes a raft trip down river, a caribou, swarms of mosquitoes, the arrival of a Grumman Widgeon seaplane, a Widgeon with a missing wing pontoon on the tundra, and a net with several fish in a river.
[Jeanie of Alaska – original reel 1]
[Jeanie of Alaska – original reel 1]
This film includes scenes of Bud and Connie Helmericks traveling with their young daughter, Jeanie, throughout northern Alaska. The date of 1952 was confirmed by Jean (Jeanie Helmericks) Aspen in 2015. Detailed summary information was provided by the filmmakers. According to these notes, the films include scenes of Bud, Connie, and their daughter Jeanie (just turned two years old) walking toward their airplane; an airport in Montana; the family en route to Alaska; scenes from Takahula Lake, including the Helmericks’ log cabin home in the Brooks Range (Jeanie had never seen it before); Connie lifting Jeanie out of an airplane; Jeanie’s first view of the Arctic following a five-day flight from the U.S.; Jeanie wearing a factory-made brown alpaca parka with a hood; the next day, Jean on her tiny snowshoes watching her daddy cut a hole through the four-foot ice of the lake; Ice-fishing; Connie in rubber boots carrying Jean through water to get out on the lake ice in May; Bud gassing up the airplane; ice on Takahula Lake getting slushy and treacherous, and so they must go north because the airplane’s landing field on the frozen lake is disappearing; arriving at the still-frozen Arctic Ocean, 300 miles directly north of the cabin; Bud setting up an Explorers Club flag on a staff; pitching a tent and making a polar camp; Jean watching from a gas can seat dressed in a new caribou fur parka; a dog team driven by a friend arriving from the shore by arrangement; Jean walking on her snowshoes; hunting seals; Jean helping her mother fetch a bucket of snow for melting; on sunny days, camp gear and bedding hung out over the airplane to dry out the dampness of living on the salt ice; Connie hanging child’s diapers to dry on the airplane prop; Bud stalking and killing a polar bear; Jean and her toy seal; ice getting dangerous; on shore again after two months; Oliktok Point, on the north coast of Alaska, changing the landing gear for summer flight; inside a tent – Nannie, Martha, and George; a summer evening on the Koyukuk River and an aerial view; a trading post at Hughes for mail and supplies; over the Brooks Range; a sunset rainbow over Takahula Lake in summertime; building a dock and steps to the cabin; planting a garden; Bud hanging moose antlers up on a gable; Connie and Jeanie paddling through the waters of Takahula Lake in a seven-foot homemade kayak, which was very tippy; on the Arctic coast in summer - the Helmericks family camping with a tent; mosquitos on Bud’s back; Point Barrow - a tractor pushing off a boat; two views of the polar ice pack as it looks in summer; a walrus hunt; a bull walrus charging the boat; and a walrus being harpooned and butchered.
[Sled dog races, family, Fairbanks and college scenes]
[Sled dog races, family, Fairbanks and college scenes]
This film reel is made up of 5 smaller reels. Reel 1 is labeled "Dog Races," and it contains views of sled dog races on the Chena River, Cushman Street bridge, Samson's Hardware, a title frame reading "Dog Derby Fairbanks Alaska Feb 18, 1934," mushers and dog teams starting and finishing on the Chena River, the king and queen of the Winter Carnival, a horse on a bridge, a ski jump on a river, ice skaters racing, skiers, a hockey game, and sled dog races. Reel 2 is labeled "Huber Children," and it contains footage of a woman with children, a nurse carrying a baby to a car parked in front of a hospital, babies at home being bathed, children playing outside with a dog and sled, children watching ice go out on the Chena River, Catholic Church and St. Joseph's Hospital, children playing, children opening presents at Christmas, and a father reading a book to boys. Reel 3 is labeled "Dawson, Fishing Trip, Summit Lake, Family Swimming Harding, Musk Oxen, Yak, Scouts, Thelma Making Coed Commanders Cap and Scarf, Boys Skiing, Carnival, Dog Teams, Skiing," and it contains footage of road travel, Rapids Hunting Lodge, Black Rapids Glacier and Summit Lake on Richardson Highway, Howard Hughes landing a Lockheed Super Electra airplane at Weeks Field in 1938, a family swimming, musk oxen in a pasture at Alaska Agricultural College (University of Alaska Fairbanks), loading a musk ox into a crate, loading the crated musk ox onto a railroad box car and the train departing, people boarding an Alaska Railroad train, herds of caribou, Yaks at UAF, Dall Sheep and a man with Dall Sheep, caribou or reindeer at UAF, musk oxen, Christmas scenes, skiing, a train, a woman in uniform, skiing at Birch Hill, sled dogs, a Boy Scout float in the Ice Carnival Parade, and ski-jumping at UAF. Reel 4 is labeled "College Scenes," and it contains the title frame "Farthest North College," views of ROTC students marching with rifles on the UAF campus, people skiing, people skijoring on skis being pulled by cars, a student picnic during spring, ROTC marching and a crowd at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Eielson Memorial Building at UAF, a brawl and student initiation, a Starvation Gulch bonfire, a ROTC formation including the marching band, the Winter Carnival parade, children with dog sleds, and skijoring on the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks. Reel 5 is labeled "Alaskan Game, Seal, Fox, Caribou, Buffalo, Moose," and it contains views of seals on rocks, foxes playing, herds of caribou, a herd of bison, and a bull moose.
[Lazy Mountain Children's Home activities, etc.]
[Lazy Mountain Children's Home activities, etc.]
Footage includes aerial scenes from a Kodiak to Karluk flight, a crashed plane, Mr. Stickwood in a boat, a Russian church, a plane leaving a lagoon, a trip to the States, and Lazy Mountain children's Home activities. 1964 Good Friday Earthquake scenes include a cracked highway, aerial views of Anchorage, Fire Island, Kachemak Bay, Homer Spit, and earthquake damage at Ouzinkie and Afognak.
[Chuck Gray film collection addition 3]
[Chuck Gray film collection addition 3]
The original reel and can notes for AAF-10077 are: "Bristol Bay, Valdez 1971, and winter fishing trips." The film includes fishing, airplanes on floats, a NCA seaplane landing and turning around onshore, a sign the says "Welcome to Brooks River Alaska - Katmai National Monument - Northern Consolidated Airlines - Anglers Paradise Camp" fly fishing near small waterfalls, cabins, fox closeups, a sign that says "Welcome to Kulik River Alaska - Northern Consolidated Airlines - Anglers Paradise Camp," children, a boat harbor, more waterfalls, a family on a boat, airport scenes in winter, airplanes on skis landing and taking off, and winter fishing.
[Juneau, Legislature]
[Juneau, Legislature]
Some segments of film contain sound, and others are silent. Specific information noted on the original film is given here in parentheses. The footage includes a story about the possible move of Alaska's capital, views of Juneau construction, the state capitol building, boats in a harbor, an airplane flying over boats, mountains and fog, town streets, the Red Dog Saloon, traffic and people, maps of Alaska, people in a meeting, construction, a reporter at the capitol building, a reporter overlooking the town, boats (silent and sound), views of Juneau, Bullwinkle's, buildings and a courtyard, flags being raised by the state office building (silent), a boat harbor in Juneau, the ferry "LeConte," men in a rowboat (silent), views of Juneau (silent), people in meetings, the legislature in session (segment titled "State House/State Senate") (silent), the legislature in session, and an Alaska senator being interviewed about outside interests in protecting Alaska's undeveloped areas as well as about conservation efforts in Alaska (silent and sound).
[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.
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.
[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.
[Hauling pipe to North Slope, work in icy waters, sailboat Endeavor]
[Hauling pipe to North Slope, work in icy waters, sailboat Endeavor]
AAF-10588 is labeled "BP Pipe to Slope work print." It includes images of men unloading an oil well or a feeder line pipe in the rail yard at Fairbanks, hauling pipe sections by truck, loading pipe sections onto a C-130 airplane, a cockpit and views from an airplane in flight, and Prudhoe Bay. The label on the film indicates that scenes cover the shipping process to Prudhoe Bay from train to truck to airplane to slope. The title "Ships to Slope" is also included, and this section of film contains images of boats and barges operating in extremely icy waters, pipe sections being unloaded, a man loading and setting sail aboard the small orange sailboat "Endeavor," and an oil well in the distance with cans of Polar Start oil displayed in foreground.