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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.

121 to 150 of 160 Objects
Midnight Sunland Alaska. U.S.A.
Midnight Sunland Alaska. U.S.A.
This program was produced to promote Alaska tourism by Wien Alaska Airlines and hosted by Lowell Thomas Jr. The footage includes glaciers, highway travel, a chained wolf at a roadhouse near Tok, Paxson, glaciers along Alaskan roads, travel in Southeast Alaska aboard a ship, glaciers in Southeast Alaska, aerial views of Juneau and Skagway, views of Anchorage, cabbages and a vegetable stand in the Matanuska Valley, the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus and aerial views of it, aerial views and street scenes in Fairbanks, an aircraft at the Fairbanks International Airport, and travel on a Wien F-27 to Ft. Yukon, Nome, Kotzebue, and Pt. Barrow. Village scenes include cabins, fishwheel operation and a fish camp near Ft. Yukon, street scenes and gold panning in Nome, people pulling in a beluga whale and Eskimo Dancers in Kotzebue, and children excavating Native artifacts. Additional footage includes Harding Lake, the hotel in McKinley Park, ivory carvers, and an Eskimo blanket toss in Kotzebue.
[Mining activities, winter carnival parade]
[Mining activities, winter carnival parade]
This film contains footage of a moose in the woods, a large warehouse, Williams Equipment Company, people in the woods, a field, cars racing around a dirt track, mining activities including digging out dirt, a sluicebox, men operating mining equipment, scenic views of the landscape, a sunset, a fishwheel, a small boat on the river, scenic views of the river, several draglines in operation mining and dredging gravel out of a pit, men working on mining activities, the outside of a red house in the winter, a winter parade with floats, the Ladd Air Force Base marching band, SS Lathrop float, military men marching, fire trucks, marching bands, Santa Claus North Pole float, Uncle Panch KFAR-TV cart, dog mushing, airplanes in the sky including a T-33 Shooting Star and/or Northrop F-89 Scorpion, people dancing indoors, the Chicken Roadhouse and other buildings, a person walking in snow, people coming out of a cabin, a sign for Sadie and Gertie and Myrtle, people in parkas, a winter landscape, people playing with a dog outside in the snow, a winter parade with floats, women in white fur parkas with red hearts on sleeves, a military band, troops in arctic gear, white and black camouflaged tanks, Pioneers of Alaska float with "then and now" design, fire trucks including the College Community Fire Department trucks, Randy Acord flying over in a v-tailed Bonanza airplane with "KFAR" and "Acord" written on the wings and side of aircraft.
[Mining, Fairbanks parades]
[Mining, Fairbanks parades]
This film contains footage of a two little girls in dresses in front of a big piece of equipment, a man and woman holding babies, men camping out of the back of a truck, men spear fishing, piglets, a rosebush, two people playing with dogs, people gold panning, a woman with a large gold nugget, two people showing off fish they caught, people fishing in a river, overview of a mining camp or town, a man cutting firewood in front of a cabin with a double-bladed axe, a parade in winter with troops marching and an "iceworm" float, Fairview Hotel visible in background of the parade, people in parkas, a blanket toss, a man parachuting, cars racing around track, a large structure on fire, a man standing in front of a small airplane in a field next to a church, the Mines Building at the University of Alaska under construction, a Felix Pedro monument, scenic views of a small town in winter, a man chipping snow and ice off a roof, a parade in winter including large floats and horses and women marching, businesses along Cushman Street in Fairbanks, airplanes parked in a field, people wading in a river, people gold panning, a small airplane landing in a field, a winter celebration with a blanket toss and Alaska Native dancing and dog mushing, a banner for North American Grand Champion Sled Dog Derby, a man digging a small airplane out of snow, four men walking past Alaska Railroad cars, the Nenana Bridge over the Tanana River, and abuilding with "Nenana" on roof.
[Miscellaneous Alaska scenes]
[Miscellaneous Alaska scenes]
The donor’s original number and title for AAF-20844 are: “RW 109. Travel Scenes, St. Moritz, Skiing.” This film features scenes outside Alaska, which include a road trip in the United States and skiers at St. Moritz in Switzerland. Scenes in Alaska include the Russian Orthodox Church and Spirit Houses at Eklutna, Skagway street scenes, Skagway Inn, Kirmses Curios shop, White Pass & Yukon Railroad train trip, men at a fancy dinner, aerial views of mountains, a boat trip to a glacier, competitive downhill skiing, people eating and huddling around newspapers, men being served an extravagant meal including wine and caviar on an airplane, a series of historic black and white photographs, a group of Alaska Native children eating, William Egan meeting with people, entertainer Burl Ives at Alaskaland, cabins and carnival rides and games at Alaskaland (also known as A-67 or Alaska 67 Centennial Exposition), and Alaska Native people dancing with masks. This is followed by scenes of a lighted sign for Alaska Airlines Golden Nugget Jets followed by "Golden Samovar Service" aboard a Boeing 727 Golden Nugget Jet. Passengers are served an extravagant meal that includes hors d’oeurves, wine, caviar, soup and a main course. Alaska Airlines introduced “Golden Nugget Service” in the early 1960s as a tribute to the 1890s gold rush era. Passenger planes were decorated in red and gold wallpaper and plush red seats. In the early 1970s, Alaska Airlines added the extravagant samovar service to highlight the fact that it had recently begun offering charters to the Soviet Union. This is followed by black-and-white scenes (striations indicate this may be Kodacolor film) of an Alaska town (possibly Rampart?) and flowers, well-dressed people at a conference or meeting, soldiers fighting in Vietnam, William Egan and Henry "Red" Boucher talking to men and women at a dinner, “Egan for Governor” sign, a map of the Bay of Bengal, a moose, the Santa Claus House in North Pole, people on go karts on a track in downtown Fairbanks, Woolworths Building in the background of the track, a log cabin visitors center in Fairbanks, an airplane taking off in Fairbanks and landing at Umiat, a Wien airplane, and a small totem pole.
[Nome airfield and ATG, Eskimo villages and ATG, Anchorage and fishing, Family film, land clearing, Cemetery, Eskimo activity]
[Nome airfield and ATG, Eskimo villages and ATG, Anchorage and fishing, Family film, land clearing, Cemetery, Eskimo activity]
Part 1 (AAF-1523) footage includes Eskimo people pulling nets containing fish onto shore, a snow-blower, Lend-Lease bombers with Russian identification at Nome airfield, Governor Dewey of New York during a visit, Quonset huts, Eskimo hunters on an icepack, a wolf chained in a dogyard, a reindeer herd and harnessed reindeer, a Jeep with "Follow Me" in English and Russian, Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG) troops drilling, a village, Eskimos landing umiaks, Jack Jefford standing next to a DC-3 with "King Chris" painted on the nose, whaling festival activity, and a small sternwheeler. Part 2 (AAF-1524) footage includes Eskimos with dog teams and in boats, military aircraft, village activity, men building a log structure, a group of Eskimos, children on a teeter-totter, a bear cub, an aircraft buried in snow, military officers looking at an Alaska map, boys in a pie-eating contest, ATG troops training, a man with a net catching birds (?), a fishwheel, ice fishing, and village scenes.
[Nyac]
[Nyac]
Filmed at the mining community of Nyac east of Bethel, Alaska. Footage includes buildings in Nyac, a boy riding a moped, children and people, loading amalgam into a furnace, pouring molten gold into a mold, a boy with a gold brick, men with matching bear hides (sow and cubs), men skinning a bull moose that is hanging from a crane, a single-engine Northern Consolidated airplane departing, people on an operating gold dredge, a man in a skiff in a dredge pond, a man holding a gray jay, a winter snow storm, and 1955 chevrolet cars.
[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.
[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.
[Parachute jumps, cargo preparation, training]
[Parachute jumps, cargo preparation, training]
Film contains scenes of parachute jumps as viewed from air at an unknown location, parachute jumps as viewed from air over Fairbanks area, parachute jumps, interior views of the airplane, parachute cargo drops, landing at Ladd Field on Fort Wainwright, a forklift in operation, men bundling boxes of C-rations, PBY Catalina or similar airplane at Fort Wainwright, the parachuting of boxes and barrels, cargo being loaded onto a DC-3 airplane, men performing practice jumps from a tower onto a trampoline, a tower with sign "Exit and Shock Tower," a Boeing 707 commercial airplane flying overhead, parachute jumps as viewed from ground, men jumping into an area of scrubby spruce, a parachutist on the ground unhooking from chute, a man on the ground with a radio, men cutting spruce with chainsaws, men sharpening chainsaw, a Huey helicopter, men hiking into a forest, a sign on a tree that says "Pump Training - Mosquito Alley - Mendido and Prince[?]," a helicopter in a clearing, men at a shelter made from a tarp, Alaska Native men and other men practicing short jumps from a platform, men jumping from a zipline and rolling on the ground, men climbing knotted rope, men on monkey bars and a climbing tower, a man spraying grass and spruce with a water hose, a man with a pack on his pack creating spot burns, men carrying boxes with carrying poles, men with a helicopter and gear, men in a clearing packing gear, a helicopter taking off, a small fire for burning trash, men building shelters, a helicopter landing in a clearing, a parachute caught in a tree, men untangling and packing a chute, a helicopter with a sling full of gear landing in a cleaning, a sign that says "Line Construction - Instructors Tommy Albert and Bob Berry," and men clearing scrub spruce. According to Alaska Smokejumper Chris Swisher in 2014, a portion of this film contains scenes of Paracargo Kicker Training, in which a group of men, all from Stevens Village, Alaska, are practicing emergency aircraft exits. Marty Sharp was in charge of the Paracargo program and training at that time.
People of the Tundra
People of the Tundra
Marvin "Muktuk" Marston, former commander of the Native Scouts utilized by the Alaska Territorial Guard during World War II, gives his personal views of Native life. Marston shows scenes of Eskimo whaling and festivals, fishwheels and preserving fish in pits along the Yukon River, sternwheelers, and a dog playing with bear cubs. Diomede Island footage includes Eskimo men climbing cliffs and harvesting bird eggs as well as a hunter catching birds using decoys and a long pole with a small net. Nunivak Island footage includes funeral services for a departed elder. Additional footage includes Governor Gruening's recruitment of Alaskan Natives into the Alaska Territorial Guard, construction of Alaska Territorial Guard facilities by Eskimo women, Marston and Sam Mogg travelling by dogsled to recruit members of the Alaska Territorial Guard, and use of reindeer to replace sled dogs. Additional footage includes Russian pilots and American Lend-Lease aircraft painted in Russian colors in Nome, Alaska Territorial Guard soldiers, Nome street scenes, a propeller driven snowmachine, dogs pulling a three-wheeled cart, Eskimo children, and portraits of several people.
[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.
[Pipeline Reports #1 and #2]
[Pipeline Reports #1 and #2]
Some segments of film contain sound, and others are silent. Specific information noted on the original film is given here in parentheses. The film includes aerial views of tundra and mountains, a reporter at a pipe yard talking about pipeline construction permits and cost estimates, a reporter and a map of Alaska, the Prudhoe Bay pipeline test facility, Prudhoe Bay scenes, the Valdez terminus, ships in a bay, work camps, a Valdez trailer park and campground, construction scenes, a reporter and a map, a man being interviewed about construction north of the Yukon River, another man being interviewed about construction activities south of the Yukon River, aerial views of the pipeline and construction camps, a Yukon River crossing and bridge construction, a reporter speaking about the impact of pipeline construction on Fairbanks and other communities (segment titled "Alaska Pipeline Report #1") (silent and sound), a reporter in a pipe yard introducing pipeline report topics, construction camp scenes, men playing basketball, workers being interviewed about pipeline work and camp life, liquor store scenes, a camp, a woman being interviewed about a camp recreation program and about life in a camp, a reporter at a telephone company talking about the impact of pipeline activity on the telephone system, housing and traffic, telephone operators, Fairbanks International Airport, pipe sections being loaded onto an airplane, airport scenes including tower activity and a ticket counter, a runway, a reporter talking about the deaths of road construction workers, a map, pipeline and Haul Road scenes, the tanker "Arco Fairbanks" being christened, and a reporter talking about changes in Alaska (segment titled "Alaska Pipeline Report #2") (silent and sound).
[Richard and Janet Ward collection 1]
[Richard and Janet Ward collection 1]
Footage includes a porcupine, Dick Ward with a chained sled dog, Dick Ward in a Pan American World Airways (PAA) uniform in Metlakatla, the PAA terminal building, a PAA Dc-4 or DC-6 passenger plane, Annette Island scenery (?), trucks and equipment at an asphalt plant, men paving a runway, cars and trailers at the Log Cabin Inn on the Glenn Highway, a gold dredge in operation, ice going out on the Chena River during break-up, aerial views of mountains, cars and a semi truck on a muddy road, a glacier moraine, early tripod-style power poles or telegraph/telephone poles used by ACS, a river, a rainbow, power boats, a parade in downtown Anchorage, power boat races on Spenard Lake (?), a squirrel, a light airplane taxiing across railroad tracks, and a small boy. Footage from outside Alaska includes palm trees, scenery, neon lights, an orange grove, highway travel, and a variety of locations. Additional footage includes Alcan Highway scenes during winter, Whitehorse, U.S. Customs at the Alaska border, Macintosh Trading Post, Alcan Highway scenes during summer, sternwheelers and street scenes in Whitehorse, Peace River Bridge, and travel back to the U.S. Border. Additional footage from outside Alaska includes a college, road travel, a flock of sheep on a road, beach and city scenes, PAA and logging trucks, crew members, and (back in Alaska) scenes in Fairbanks following a large snowfall. Additional footage from outside Alaska includes neon lights, travel, a cactus, small children and adults, and a parade.
[Richard and Janet Ward collection 2]
[Richard and Janet Ward collection 2]
Footage includes a construction camp for the Anchorage International Airport, and airport construction scenes from both summer and winter. Additional footage includes winter travel, University of Alaska buildings in Fairbanks, a weasel tracked vehicle, airplanes that were damaged in the Easter 1949 wind storm at the Fairbanks airport, winter travel scenes, bison on a road, a muddy street in Fairbanks, the General Store in Fox, vapor trails, people skiing, travel on the Glenn Highway, ice going out on the Chena River during break-up, Copper Center Roadhouse, Keystone Canyon, people traveling by outboard-powered riverboat, a picnic, men working on a Caterpillar, a road construction camp, and 40 Mile Roadhouse. Additional footage includes a bear cub, salmon drying by a cabin, people traveling in umiaks, an unidentified village, a Cessna 195 light plane taking off, a gold dredge, a small outboard riverboat, caribou, black bears at a dump, summer scenes, ships at a dock in Seward or Whittier, Alaska Railroad travel, Alcan Highway travel, Seward, light planes, Winter Carnival activities, and people sport fishing.
[Rockney Family films part 3]
[Rockney Family films part 3]
Two smaller film reels were combined to make this item. Reel 1 is labeled “Whitehorse” and contains scenes of Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, sternwheeler riverboats and an airplane on floats on the Yukon River, Riverboat Aksala, railroad tracks, the church at Bennett Lake in Yukon Territory, glaciers, people with a wooden canoe and camping and fishing supplies, and people hiking with packs. Reel 2 is an edited film labeled “Pictorial of Alaska” which contains descriptive title screens and scenes of life in Alaska such as travel along a river, dog mushers and dogs, an airplane on skis landing and being met by horses pulling a sled, a woman and a girl with flowers, Winter Carnival scenes in Fairbanks, a dredge and hydraulic giant, a mining community, girls playing with a puppy in a yard, women and a man walking among flowers, Fairbanks homes, university graduation scenes in Fairbanks, a man with a small child, two small children (twins?) with toys in the snow, a family cross-country skiing, children playing on the Davidson Ditch pipeline, a family at a house, and a sunset over a cabin community.
[Russ and Thelma Huber Film Collection, Trails to Highways, Diesel Trail to the Orient]
[Russ and Thelma Huber Film Collection, Trails to Highways, Diesel Trail to the Orient]
This film reel is made up of 3 smaller reels. Reels 1 and 2 are labeled "Trails to Highways Pt.1 and Pt.2," and they contain views of earth-moving and road construction equipment, an ox pulling a cart, road construction crews at work, and cars on the road. Reel 3 is labeled "Caterpillar Tractor Company presents 'The Diesel Trail to the Orient,'" and it contains views of a Pan American World Airways Flying Boat airplane, barges, earth-moving equipment, Hawaii [?], and a China Clipper airplane.
[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.
[Seppala family film 2]
[Seppala family film 2]
Footage includes Leonhard Seppala mushing dogs outside of Alaska, log dam repairing washout on Davidson Ditch, slow-motion of Leonhard mushing in Ottawa Dog Derby in 1930, and Fairbanks Winter Carnival dog races on the Chena River. Additional footage includes Seppala's cabin and Leonhard mushing dogs at Chatanika, a small car ferry, the sternwheeler Casca traveling on the Yukon, Seppala's cabin with flowers in summer and Leonhard and Constance with puppies and dogs, Seppala's cabin at Chatanika in the fall, Leonhard working on the Davidson Ditch, sternwheeler travel, road travel, another small car ferry, Leonhard in Dawson City, the Fairbanks Winter Carnival, Leonhard mushing dogs and with dogs in a dogyard, flowers, Nome streets, lightering people to a ship in Nome, a Wien Detroiter airplane in Nome, a reindeer herd, hides hanging by a cabin, and people along streets in Fairbanks during the winter carnival.
[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.
[Smoke jumpers parachute and fight fire]
[Smoke jumpers parachute and fight fire]
This footage shows firefighters parachuting into a wildfire area, a crew collecting and organizing gear, airplanes flying through thick smoke, firefighters looking at a map, a helicopter flying over a burn area, aerial views of a fire, a helicopter carrying and dropping loads of firefighting materials, aerial views of a linear explosion (perhaps to create a fire line?), and firefighters digging and working.
[Southeast Alaska travel, Yakutat, Nome fire aftermath and villages 1]
[Southeast Alaska travel, Yakutat, Nome fire aftermath and villages 1]
Filmed by George and Lona Morelander during a portion of their teaching careers in Alaska. Summary: Part 1 (AAF-2930) footage includes Wrangell street scenes, an unidentified location, a group of Alaska Natives aboard a steamship, travel in Southeast Alaska, unloading salmon at a cannery, a man with gun on a beach, fishing boats, men arriving at a floatplane and the float plane taking off, and a small child. Part 2 (AAF-2931) footage includes travel in Southeast Alaska, glaciers, people with rifles on a beach, unloading salmon, people on a ship, and a man climbing rigging. Additional footage includes people at a picnic, a child doing cartwheels on a beach, houses on beach railroad tracks, and children sledding. Images at Yakutat (?) include buildings and people, games and races on a large dock, and boys and men boxing.
[Stenberg films 7]
[Stenberg films 7]
This is a late 1950s film labeled “Moving dredge - coal mine - ferry at Nenana.” The film contains aerial and ground views of a large dredge being moved – likely Dredge Number 6 being moved from Gold Hill to Sheep Creek near Fairbanks in 1958. The film also contains aerial views of mountains, a mining operation, and Fairbanks International Airport as well as footage featuring a railroad bridge in Nenana and the sternwheeler Yutana in Nenana.
A Story of Fur
A Story of Fur
The original narrated DVD is labeled “John Baker - A Story of Fur.” The original silent film is labeled “No. 1 Winter Trapline.” The narrated version is played back at a different frame rate and is slower and longer than the silent version. This is the narrated version. The film contains footage of the B&K Trading Company building and the Roadhouse in Talkeetna; Carol and Verna Close baking bread; a dog named Queenie with John Baker checking a trapline during winter; Queenie wearing a dog pack; John Baker hiking in snowshoes and checking a beaver trap; John Baker and trapping partner Gene Lanzaro building a small log cabin from start to finish, including peeling logs, scribing and notching logs, and sawing boards from logs; setting a wolverine trap; a pilot and mailman Cliff Hudson delivering mail via small airplane; John Baker nailing a roof on a cabin, cutting out a window on a cabin, installing a chimney through a cabin roof, looking at Mount McKinley (Denali) through cabin windows, demonstrating window shutters, and showing bear protection around windows; Gene Lanzaro cutting fireweed and the dog Queenie pulling a sled with logs; cooking meat and pancakes inside cabin; John Baker with a lynx that he trapped; a captive marten kept as a pet; a moose; John Baker demonstrating hiking in snowshoes versus without snowshoes in deep snow; John Baker showing a marten he has trapped and field dressing a spruce grouse; a new snowmachine; Queenie barking at a trapped wolverine; scenes of setting and checking a beaver trap, including fresh beaver signs in spring, a beaver snare, a beaver lodge with steam emerging, skinning a beaver, and Queenie pulling a sled; John Baker starting up and flying a small airplane on skis, aerial views of snowy landscapes, and groups of moose; landing an airplane on skis; a moose walking through deep snow; John Baker butchering a moose and loading it onto an airplane; aerial views of mountains and moose; a ptarmigan in white plumage; a snowmachine pulling a sled; showing off a trapline catch at Summit log cabin; Queenie running behind a snowmachine and riding on a sled; an airplane in a windstorm and John Baker digging out the airplane after the storm passes; Lake Hood airplanes and a hangar damaged by a windstorm near Anchorage; John Baker with a roll of furs and a pickup truck at Lake Hood airstrip; Anchorage Fur Rendezvous scenes, including Fourth Avenue in Anchorage, brief glimpses of George Attla and Jimmy Malemute, Roland Lombard mushing along a trail, a helicopter flying over the trail, Jonas Brothers Taxidermy shop in Anchorage, and a fur auction; Myers Furs shop in Michigan, a furrier at work, and John Baker’s father posing in a beaver coat and hat.
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.
Through Alaska with A.A. Humfrey and Red Can- part 1
Through Alaska with A.A. Humfrey and Red Can- part 1
This film has title screens and shows highlights from a five-month tour of Alaska. It includes footage of Juneau, the Hills Brothers Coffee shop, Territorial Governor George Parks, Dr. W. W. Council, the Mendenhall Glacier, Lynn Canal and Skagway, Chilkoot Barracks Army Post, White Pass and Yukon Railway travel, Whitehorse, the White Pass Hotel, the steamship "Yukon," Larry Higgins at Miles Canyon, Whitehorse Rapids on the Yukon River, the steamship "Keno" pushing a barge, the sternwheeler "Casca," passage through Five Fingers Rapids, loading of cord wood or firewood onto a steamship, travel downriver with brief stops for wooding up and at Dawson City, and the towns of Eagle, Circle, Fort Yukon, Rampart, and St. Michael. Travel continues across the Bering Sea to Unalakleet and Nome with several views of the town. Footage in Nome includes Noel Wien fueling and hand-propping the Hisso Standard J1 biplane "Fairbanks.” This is followed by travel from Nome to Seattle on the steamer "Victoria” with a stop at Akutan whaling station in the Aleutian Islands. Travel resumes from Seattle to Ketchikan with several views of the fishing town. Enroute to Wrangell, the ship passes a tug towing a salvaged ship. There are views of Wrangell. Travel continues to Juneau, Skagway, Sitka , through the Gulf of Alaska in bad weather with high seas, then on to Cordova. From Cordova, travel continues on the Copper River and Northwestern Railway with scenes of the two million dollar bridge, Miles and Childs Glaciers, Abercrombie Rapids on the Copper River, Koskulina [Kotsina?] Canyon bridge, Chitina River, Railroad Superintendent Fred A. Hansen, purchasing agent W. B. Sprague, the town of Chitina, Long Lake, a farm near McCarthy, Kennecott Mine, Valdez, Seward, Seldovia, the steamer "Admiral Evans," Captain Gilje, pilot Obert, purser "Jiggs" Rowland, Alitak Cannery on Kodiak Island, Kodiak, Seward Railroad Depot, Kenai Lake, the loop section and tunnels on the railway, Spencer Glacier, Turnagain Arm, and Cook Inlet. Views of Anchorage include buildings and streets, customer A.A. Shonbeck, and Alaska Railroad employees Joe Elmes and Tod Cunningham. Travel on the Alaska Railroad includes Wasilla, an overnight stay at the Curry Hotel, Hurricane Gulch, Broad Pass, Cantwell, McKinley Park, Healy, and Nenana, where Tom DeVane is preparing to leave for Ruby with his launch "Dorothy.” Travel continues to Fairbanks with views of the college, the Elmes Mining Company at Ester, travel on a railroad "gas car" and travel on the Tanana Valley Railroad narrow gauge portion of the ARR to Fox Gulch and Chatanika. Travel continues from Fairbanks on the Alaska Railroad using a "speeder.” Travel continues from Juneau on the launch "Ventura" with a final brief view of Sitka.
Through Alaska with A.A. Humfrey and Red Can- part 2
Through Alaska with A.A. Humfrey and Red Can- part 2
This film has title screens and shows highlights from a five-month tour of Alaska. It includes footage of Juneau, the Hills Brothers Coffee shop, Territorial Governor George Parks, Dr. W. W. Council, the Mendenhall Glacier, Lynn Canal and Skagway, Chilkoot Barracks Army Post, White Pass and Yukon Railway travel, Whitehorse, the White Pass Hotel, the steamship "Yukon," Larry Higgins at Miles Canyon, Whitehorse Rapids on the Yukon River, the steamship "Keno" pushing a barge, the sternwheeler "Casca," passage through Five Fingers Rapids, loading of cord wood or firewood onto a steamship, travel downriver with brief stops for wooding up and at Dawson City, and the towns of Eagle, Circle, Fort Yukon, Rampart, and St. Michael. Travel continues across the Bering Sea to Unalakleet and Nome with several views of the town. Footage in Nome includes Noel Wien fueling and hand-propping the Hisso Standard J1 biplane "Fairbanks.” This is followed by travel from Nome to Seattle on the steamer "Victoria” with a stop at Akutan whaling station in the Aleutian Islands. Travel resumes from Seattle to Ketchikan with several views of the fishing town. Enroute to Wrangell, the ship passes a tug towing a salvaged ship. There are views of Wrangell. Travel continues to Juneau, Skagway, Sitka , through the Gulf of Alaska in bad weather with high seas, then on to Cordova. From Cordova, travel continues on the Copper River and Northwestern Railway with scenes of the two million dollar bridge, Miles and Childs Glaciers, Abercrombie Rapids on the Copper River, Koskulina [Kotsina?] Canyon bridge, Chitina River, Railroad Superintendent Fred A. Hansen, purchasing agent W. B. Sprague, the town of Chitina, Long Lake, a farm near McCarthy, Kennecott Mine, Valdez, Seward, Seldovia, the steamer "Admiral Evans," Captain Gilje, pilot Obert, purser "Jiggs" Rowland, Alitak Cannery on Kodiak Island, Kodiak, Seward Railroad Depot, Kenai Lake, the loop section and tunnels on the railway, Spencer Glacier, Turnagain Arm, and Cook Inlet. Views of Anchorage include buildings and streets, customer A.A. Shonbeck, and Alaska Railroad employees Joe Elmes and Tod Cunningham. Travel on the Alaska Railroad includes Wasilla, an overnight stay at the Curry Hotel, Hurricane Gulch, Broad Pass, Cantwell, McKinley Park, Healy, and Nenana, where Tom DeVane is preparing to leave for Ruby with his launch "Dorothy.” Travel continues to Fairbanks with views of the college, the Elmes Mining Company at Ester, travel on a railroad "gas car" and travel on the Tanana Valley Railroad narrow gauge portion of the ARR to Fox Gulch and Chatanika. Travel continues from Fairbanks on the Alaska Railroad using a "speeder.” Travel continues from Juneau on the launch "Ventura" with a final brief view of Sitka.
[Trucker on Haul Road]
[Trucker on Haul Road]
Footage features semi-trailers on the Haul Road in Alaska, the "furthest north" white spruce tree, a road being repaired, a trucker cleaning off his windshield, the Hammond River, Coldfoot Cemetery, semi-trailers on a road in twilight and snow, a trucker driving, an airplane landing on a runway, an Arctic Circle sign, mountains, bridges, pump station signs, and a trucker eating and driving.
[Trucking in Alaska]
[Trucking in Alaska]
Footage includes a bulldozer clearing snow at Alaska Freight Lines in Valdez, Tsaina Lodge, an Alaska Road Commission sign, blowing snow in Valdez, 40 Mile Lodge, a Beechcraft Bonanza airplane, a Canadian border station, a small sawmill in Port Chilkoot, people loading lumber, a Golden North airlines C-46 airplane loading polar bear cubs, "Polar Bear Line" painted on a C-46, car races at Rendezvous raceway in Fairbanks, an Alaska Freightlines van, travel on the Richardson Highway during winter, a minor truck accident during winter, clearing snow in Thompson Pass, a buffalo on the road, travel on the Richardson Highway during summer, early telegraph tripod poles along a highway, the Lowe River, a washed out bridge, Keystone Canyon, a tunnel on a road, unloading a ship at Valdez, Paxson Lodge, a damaged bridge near Sheep Mountain on Glenn Highway, a truck with flat tires being repaired along the highway, winter travel scenes showing overflow sections or glaciering across the highway, Knik River Bridge, and downtown Anchorage.
[Trucking on the Dalton Highway]
[Trucking on the Dalton Highway]
Footage includes still shots of a sign on a building, truckers and trucks, trucks on Haul Road in the summer and fall, views of trucks hauling pipeline sections in summer and fall, views from aboard a truck, views of Fairbanks, trucks on Haul Road, an airplane landing, an airport at Old Man camp, an airplane taking off in slow motion, a truck on Haul Road in early winter, stills of a trucker [identified on the original film as Sam Little?], a mechanic working on a truck in a shop, a man driving a truck, a truck parked in twilight, a man climbing into a truck, Fox Roadhouse, a trucker reading the "help wanted" ads in a cafe, closeups of a truck, a truck on Haul Road (some sections of film are double-exposed), a garage, a trucker climbing into a Sourdough Freight Lines truck, and a truck driving through Fairbanks.
[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.