SITKA HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

Sitka Historical Society

And Museum 330 Harbor Drive Sitka, AK 99835

Voice (907)747-6455

Fax (907)747-6588

E-mail: sitka.history@yahoo.com Web: www.sitkahistory.org

Board of Directors President: John Stein

Vice Pres: Pat Alexander

Secretary: Karen Christner Treasurer: Ernestine Massey

Doris Bailey

Jim Davis Jerry Dzugan

Sabra Jenkins

Chris Todd

Linda Trierschield

Executive Director

Robert Medinger

Curator

Jacqueline Fernandez

Visitor Services Manager

Rhonda Kingwell

Find us on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/

pages/Sitka-Historical-Society-

Museum /167383696691834

CONTENTS:

New Museum Planning Efforts We Were Mill Families

Successful 1st Annual Fund

Drive Executive Director’s Report

Membership Information

Recent Acquisitions and

Activities Sitka to host History and

Museum Statewide Conference:

Call for papers

New Museum

Planning Efforts

By Bob Medinger

February 10th, was the 55th

anniversary of the birth of Sitka

Historical Society. In 1970 the

Museum was created in Centennial Hall via a partnership

with the City of Sitka, Chamber

of Commerce and the Centennial Hall Building Committee.

For well over thirty years the

Historical Society and its membership has had the goal of

expanding the museum and its

capabilities. The last major effort

three years ago was the collaboration of the “Sitka

Museum and Repository

Consortium” that seriously investigated the Stratton

Library building after the

closing of the SJ College.

A new and ambitious effort is now underway, via a

collaboration of the City and

Borough of Sitka and Sitka Historical Society. The

Centennial Harrigan Hall facility

is due for a major renovation in an effort to upgrade the 45 year-

old conference and visitor center.

The Sitka Historical Museum,

originally named the City Museum and for a time named

the Isabel Miller Museum, was

established in an original meeting room. The Museum has outgrown

the facility and must store

valuable historic artifacts, photos and documents at four locations

around Sitka.

The City has included a

request for Capital Project funding from the state legislature

this year, totaling $4.1 million,

Feb - Mar, 2012

“We Were Mill Families”

One Man’s Story of the

Alaska Lumber

& Pulp Company

By Jacqueline Fernandez

In an interview, Shawn McLeod

talked about his days working for

the Alaska Lumber & Pulp

Company, its impact on his life and the community of Sitka, and what it

was like to be a part of the

community of mill workers. McLeod worked at the pulp mill

from 1975 until its closure in 1993.

He had come to Sitka with his family in the 1950s as an infant

from Renton, WA. Shawn’s father,

who had worked in shipyards in

Bellingham as part of the crew that built the first ferries that came to

Alaska, had heard about the mills

being built in Ketchikan and Sitka, and wanted to relocate to work at

the mill.

The McLeod family was only one of many families to move to

Sitka to work at the mill. Families

first started coming in 1957, when

construction at the site began. Those workers who were among the

first to be given employment

opportunities at the mill, which began operating and producing pulp

in 1959. Nearly 400 men and

women eventually came to Sitka to

Page 1 Continued on page 2 Continued on page 2

Page 2

We were Mill Families (cont’d from page 1)

work for the Alaska Lumber & Pulp Company.

While his father was working at the mill, Shawn

attended school in Sitka and witnessed many changes to the town. The mill “was a boom to

Sitka because it was transformed from a fishing

town of 3,000 to a town with an additional 400 mill employees. With people coming with their wives

and kids it translated into an additional 2,000-3,000

people.” Houses were brought in on Cascade Creek

and Lakeview Drive to house employees; Blue Lake Dam was built and turbines were established

that provided electricity to the town; Blue Lake

Campground and Whale Park was built, and roads were paved. Back then there was no ferry system,

no bridge out to Japonski Island, no Crescent

Harbor. Aside from the changes to the physical

landscape of Sitka, there were changes in the

community itself. “The sense of community was

really strong at that time.” He continued,

“Everyone was welcomed and felt like they were wanted here because it was helping the community. The quality of life in town went up a lot. Sitka

would never be what it is now if it hadn’t been for

the mill. The mill put on so many events.

ALPARA, the recreation group for the company put on salmon derbies and deer derbies, Christmas

events for the kids. And the mill donated so much

New Museum Planning Efforts (Continued from page 1)

including additional funds for parking. The effort

is to provide not only for a new museum, but a

dedicated Visitor Center within the complex. There are two pools of funding from Cruise Ship

passengers. The potential funding for this Museum/

Visitor facility would not be from our local “head tax” pool of funds that the City receives and

allocates to improved cruise passenger safety and

enjoyment, but from a specific type of tax, the “Commercial Passenger Funds”, that are generated

from tour boat passengers who cruise Alaska

waters for at least 24 hours. The legislature &

governor allocate these special funds for projects in impacted communities.

Because of this news, the Sitka Historical

Society applied for, and was accepted into the Rasmusson Pre-Development Program to facilitate

planning.

Program Highlights: Funding & selection into the program provided

by the Rasmuson Foundation

Pre-Development management by the Foraker

Group & Chris Kowalczewski A Pre-Development Museum Committee was

established with membership listed below.

The group will have met at least seven times over six months.

Project Manager Martha Schoenthal contracted

as lead consultant. Museum Consultant Mary Pat Wyatt contracted

to investigate and prepare a major report of

recommendations.

Architect Paul Voelckers of MRV hired to develop concept designs for the building.

Overall Goals of Pre-development: Collaboration between the City & Borough of

Sitka and the Sitka Historical Society.

Assuring the size of the facility is adequate for storage, exhibits, and visitation by Sitkans as

well as tourists.

The facility supports revenue generation for

operations. A Visitor Center is included.

Collaboration with partners & organizations are

explored. The ability of the Historical Society to operate

the facility on a sustainable basis is

demonstrated.

A funding plan is developed to spell out responsibilities of a capital campaign.

All Pre-Development meeting information, minutes, documents, recommendations, schematics

and dates are available on the Sitka Historical

Society and Museum’s website:

www.sitkahistory.org/

Museum Planning Committee Membership:

John Stein, Ernestine Massey, Pat Alexander,

Society Board Members Bob Medinger, Society Executive Director

Mike Reif, Assembly Member

Michael Harmon, City Public Works Director

Tonya Rioux, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Executive Director

Marilyn Knapp, Retired Curator

Scott Carrlee, Alaska State Museum Curator of Museum Services

Jeff Feldpausch, Sitka Tribe of Alaska

Martha Schoenthal, Project Coordinator,

Foraker Group Mary Pat Wyatt, Museum Consultant, Foraker

Group

Paul Voelkers, Architect, MRF

Continued on page 3

Page 3

Visit our Web Site:

www.sitkahistory.org

You will find a wealth of

information plus a

Membership Form

online

We were Mill Families (Cont’d from Pg 2) money to the town for so many things. Whale Park

wouldn’t be in Sitka if it hadn’t been for the pulp

mill – that was built. A lot of the sports fields in

town and buildings and projects wouldn’t have happened, except for the mill.”

McLeod attended Blatchley Middle School,

where he was part of the school’s first sixth grade class, and Sitka High then just a small school.

While in college, he worked at the mill in the

summer, like lots of kids, including his brothers and sisters, to pay for school. Around 70% of the kids

Shawn knew in town, kids he would ride the shore

boats with to go to the theatre at Japonski Island,

either worked with him to fund their education or had some connection to the company. “It was like a

little community in a community”, he said. Shawn

started full-time at the mill after graduation and while there, he met a young woman, whose sister

had come to town to marry one of his co-workers.

They married and had three children. There were many different departments and

positions at the pulp mill. There was the log deck, a

wood room, a bleach plant, an acid plant, digesters,

a finishing room, a carpenter shop, a tire shop, and a mechanic shop. While at the mill, McLeod

worked through the ranks, from the log deck to

running tugboats. As a bundle deck man, Shawn was posted where bundles of logs weighing around

seventy-five tons and tied tightly with bands would

come in to be readied for being brought into the

mill to be processed into pulp. His job was to cut the bands holding the bundles together and run

behind the bunkers as the logs dropped down. After

the logs were released another man operating a crane would open two big grapples to move the

logs that would flow down the log deck on chains

into the mill. There was a man who ran the chains, a sorting crane operator, and a peco operator who

operated the crane that went out above the water

and could pick up to around 300,000 pounds of

weight and drop the logs on the deck, and boom men on boats who would push the logs.

“I should tell you it was one of the best jobs I

ever had. I’d hold a twenty foot pipe pole, wear caulk boots, and run the logs. Just to be out there

alone in the middle of the night. No lights and you’d just be running the logs and dropping boom

sticks and tying up rafts with boom chains and

running these big donkey lines that would tow in

these massive log rafts so you could break them down, stack them on the boat, wind up the

cables…That was probably the funnest time I’ve

ever had. What better job than for a young man to do that?...Sometimes, when I got down on the

water working the boats, I’d take my pole and troll

for salmon when I was out working. You weren’t supposed to,” McLeod laughed, “but we just did

it.”

The pay was good, more than what McLeod

could earn in any other position at the time, but the work was hard, the hours long, and because it was

an industrial site, there were sometimes accidents.

“We worked so many days”, he recalled. “Some of us worked 12 noon to 12 midnight everyday,

months on end with no holidays, no days off. Then

we’d switch and half of us would work 12 midnight to 12 noon.” As a bundle deck man,

Shawn would find himself in the water up to his

chest at times and employees were only given sixty

minutes to dry off in the winter time and thirty minutes to dry off in the summer.

Despite the demands of overtime and

sometimes soggy working conditions, Shawn took heart in being a part of another community – the

community within the mill site itself. He spoke

with admiration of the people he trained under and

worked with, of their skills and knowledge and described the friendships he formed there as ones

that will “probably last forever”. “We were mill

families. The mill employees were one big family out there. Each department was a family. Those

guys were like brothers and sisters. We’d be

working together and we would plan what we were going to do on our days off or plan vacations

together.” He and other mill families brought their

children to many of the events hosted by the mill,

including the fishing derbies where they had a prize for every fish, deer derbies, and Christmas

parties, like the ones in his own youth. Like other

mill families, Shawn’s shopped at the mill

Continued on page 4

Page

4

First Annual Fund Drive

there. Everything I had was a direct result of working at the mill, my boats, my cars, my house,

everything. So I was driven to do something else.

All the work that I did was to stay here.”

Shawn did stay. After the closure he and some former fellow co-workers got together and applied

for a grant for a re-training program to mitigate the

effects of the shutdown. A program was set up in Wrangell, in Juneau, and in Sitka for former

employees to get training on writing resumes and

taking interviews and to take tests to help them figure out what other career options were most

suited to their skill sets. Shawn learned he was well-

suited for surveying or mapping. He felt as if, by

working at the mill, he had taken a lot from the environment. “It really bothered me, so I decided to

go back to school to obtain a degree in natural

resources, horticulture, and outdoor recreation. It was sort of like, hey, I can give back now a little bit

of what I took from working at the mill.” Shawn ran

Sitka Trail Works for three years after graduating, worked for the Forest Service for a little while, and

today, is the Maintenance Supervisor for Parks and

Recreation for the City of Sitka. “Now in the

position I’m in it’s almost like I’m tied to the community again. It seems like I was meant to do

this.”

For McLeod and Sitka, much has transpired since 1993 and the demise of the Alaska Lumber & Pulp

Company, but one thing hasn’t changed – the desire

to remain, in the case of those who stayed, and the

desire to return, for those who have left, remains strong. “My son is living away right now with his

girlfriend who is completing her medical degree.

And where will they go when she’s finished? Here. They will come back to Sitka. I’m glad that my kids

have an opportunity to come back and stay here and

be a part of this community.”

Photo of Roger & Mary Hames of Hames Corp.,

part of the generous donors to our annual fund drive From left: Mary Hames, John Stein, Roger Hames,

Jackie Fernandez and Bob Medinger. Our sincere

thanks.

We were Mill Families (Cont’d from page 3)

commissary, which was almost like a Costco, and sold goods at low prices. (The commissary closed

in the seventies because it was too expensive to

run.) Some of his favorite memories of time at the mill are of when each department would shut down

at Christmas and New Year’s Eve and have its own

party. Staff would go from one department to the other and exchange gifts with each other. “It seems

like it was a different world”, Shawn said with a

bittersweet look in his eyes. And it was a different

world. In 1987, everything changed for Shawn and

many of the mill employees when there was a

vicious strike that had been preceded by five years of wage and benefit cuts. The strike divided the

entire community. There were fights. The president

of the union was run over the first day by one of

the workers. Strike breakers were brought in from around the United States and workers were

replaced. Shawn described the replacements as

people who “weren’t tied to the community” and people whose sole function was to travel around

the country to break strikes. It was painful for him

and others to watch others be offered more in pay than locals, “just because the mill wanted the union

gone…So many of us had given so much of

ourselves for so long.”

In the end the courts awarded the employees millions of dollars that was split amongst them, but

by the time of the settlement, many people had left

or passed away. Some were given as little as $5,000; others were awarded $400,000; deceased

employees’ families received nothing. “Was it

worth it?” McLeod asked himself aloud. “ No…I

love this town. It took a long time for the wound to heal and for some, it will never heal.”

Shawn returned to work at the mill two years

after the strike, but he had to begin at the bottom of the ladder as a bundle deck man again, and he

never worked his way back up to where he was

before the strike – the pulp mill closed in 1993 before he had a chance. The closure of the mill had

a major impact on the town and Shawn. People lost

their jobs. People had to leave Sitka because they

couldn’t find work. Husbands and wives divorced. Families fell into financial ruin. Shawn himself felt

“lost” and “in panic mode.” “Sitka is a special

place and what the mill gave to me was a means to stay here. When I lost my job, my whole focus was

to find a way to stay because I just loved it. I was

so afraid I’d have to leave. I had been here for thirty-five years… I didn’t know what I was going

to do. The pulp mill had given me everything in

my life. My father had worked there, I had worked

Page 5

Executive

Director’s Report

Bob Medinger

The Society and

Museum has never

been busier since I joined the team in

2007. At the forefront is always

our mission of preserving and

promoting the events, stories and artifacts of the human history of the

Sitka area for the inspiration,

education and benefit of the public and future generations.

Summary of Projects and Efforts

—Jackie Fernandez has just

completed her first year as our

Curator of Collections and Exhibits and has done an amazing job in

organizing our collections and

supporting our mission. Her efforts are now shifting to museum exhibit

Susan Padilla

Megan & Walter Pasternak

Virginia Rush & Ira Perman

Sandy & Thad Poulson

Melanie & Mike Reif Nancy Rickets

Rich Riggs

Emily & Tom Rogers

Kathryn & William Ruddy

Alice & Robert Schell

Linda Schmidt

Bradley Shaffer

Vitaly Sivakof

John Stein

Dorothy (Brownie) Thomsen

Pat Glaab & Chris Todd

Linda Trierschield Robert Ellis & Joan Vanderwerp

Cheryl & David Vastola

Candace Waugaman

Dirk & Trish White

Clark Pete Wingert

Patricia & Don Alexander

Shirley & August Anderson

Doris Bailey

Kathleen & Harvey Brandt

Dorothy Breedlove Susan & Thomas Brown

Davey Lubin & Lisa Busch

Ken Cameron

Thelma Carter

Karen & Jere Christner

Edward Cohen

Stella & Jay Coon

Cynthia Dalmadge

Shirley & Steven Dalquist

James W. Davis

Carole & Bill Denkinger

Jerry Dzugan Sherry & William Foster

Pauline Frederickson

Kris & John Fulton

Wayne Hagerman

Barbara & Lloyd Hames

Mary & Roger Hames

Paulla & Dave Hardy

Sam Heindel

Leslie Wood & Steve Hinshaw

Forrest Dodson & Mary Jane Holzman

Jack & Betty Howard Judy Johnstone

Lillian Trierschield Kasnick

Betty & Dan Keck

Joyce Kelley

Lailah & Dusty Kidd

Marilyn & David Knapp

Kenneth Kranhold

Connie & Marcel LaPerriere

Susan & Michael Litman

Jan & Robert Love

Ernestine Massey & Robert Peel

Bob Medinger Mary Kaye Medinger

Mary Miller

Monica Mills

Chuck & Theresa Olson

Willis Osbakken

Rebecca Osborn

Jack & Judy Ozment

CW and Mary Pat Paddock

changes that will focus on our residents, so stay tuned.

—New museum planning efforts (see

included article)

—Successful 1st Annual Fund Drive (see included article)

—The Sitka Historical Society and

Museum, and the community of Sitka has been selected as the host

community for the October 2012

Statewide Conference of the Alaska Historical Society and Museum’s

Alaska organization. (see included

article)

—We are helping in the planning for the Heritage and Cultural Tourism

Conference that starts March 26th,

and encourage you to attend. —The Society did complete an

agreement with the Forest Service to

secure the use of the historic Geodetic White House for 10 years

at a fee of $100/year. This building

has been critical to our mission, and

will continue to be important, even if we secure a new museum.

—We are working with the ANB &

ANS in the creating of historical interpretive panels celebrating the

100 year anniversary of the

formation and accomplishments of

the ANB. I secured a state historic preservation grant to fund the

project.

—Our board of directors continues to work hard in support of our

mission, meets monthly at

Centennial Hall, and were critical not only in helping with our annual fund

drive, but each committed at least

$500 for the drive.

—Via a Rasmuson Grant of $17,000, we will be publishing a 350 page

book highlighting forty of the

professional papers presented at the 2010 4th Annual Conference on

Russian America held in Sitka and

co-coordinated by the Society and Sitka National Historical Park.

—In November through generous

community support, we were able to

raise the funds necessary to purchase a spectacular collection of Dale

DeArmond prints, wood blocks, and

Successful 1st Annual Fund Drive

2011 marked the year for the Sitka Historical Society to begin its first annual Fund Drive. In order to meet current increasing costs of

operation of the Museum, the Board felt this drive should be in the

forefront of their efforts. Sitka Historical Society Board & staff truly appreciate all our

donors and thank you for your support. The following list are those

who believe in the cause of preserving and promoting the events, stories and artifacts of the human history of the Sitka area for the

inspiration, education and benefit of the public and future generations.

Cont’d on Pg 6

Page 6

Climb with us as a Member the

Sitka Historical Society

Please Circle Membership Level

Castle Hill 13 feet Senior over 62 $ 20 Krestoff Mountain 1598 ft Under 25 $ 20 Gavan Hill 2530 ft Individual $ 40 Cross Mountain 3031 ft Family $ 50 Arrowhead Mountain 3048 ft Donor $100 *Mount Verstovia 3117 ft Business $ 250 *Business Membership includes link on our website

Three Sisters 3599 ft Sustaining $1000 Mount Katlian 3999 ft Benefactor $5000

____________________________________________________ Name (s)

____________________________________________________ Other Family Members (Family Membership)

____________________________________________________ *Business Name (and contact person)

____________________________________________________ Mailing Address

____________________________________________________ City State Zip

____________________________________________________ Email Address ____________________________________________________ Phone Enclose Check payable to Sitka Historical Society or Charge to Credit Card (specify card type below)

Card Type _________ Expiration Date _______________ Card # _____________________________________________ Signature _____________________________________________ Circle Membership Type New Membership or Renewal Mail to: Fax to: Sitka Historical Society 907-747-6588 330 Harbor Drive Online Membership Form

Sitka, AK 99835 www.sitkahistory.org

Membership

Thanks to the support of a strong membership base,

February 10th was the 55th anniversary of the birth of Sitka Historical Society. Your membership is key to

the protection of Sitka’s History and Culture. A

membership form, and levels, is included here or on our

website. Please, won’t you join us to help continue our

mission. You may join or renew your membership by

mail, phone, or visiting the museum.

Our Mission:

To preserve and promote the events, stories and

artifacts of the human history of the Sitka area for

the inspiration, education and benefit of the

public and future generations.

Executive Director’s Report (cont’d from page 5)

associated items of Dale’s. This included the wonderful exhibition of the items prepared by

curator Jackie Fernandez.

—The Society is also fully engaged in the city effort to develop new signage for Sitka, including

both way-finding signs, and historical interpretive

signs. The city Tourism Commission, whom our

president John Stein has applied to join, and city staff are working together on the project.

—Many thanks to our super volunteers who

commit many hours of work in fostering our mission: Nancy Rickets, Bob Peel, Marilyn

Knapp, Rosemary Carlton, Kara Knox, Bill Foster,

Betty DeCicco, and all of our board members. —I’d like to thank Shirley Dalquist for her

wonderful efforts as our visitor’s service manager,

as she is moving on from the position. I’d also like

to welcome her replacement, Rhonda Kingwell, who will be getting up to speed on our operation

and preparing for the visitor season.

—In my spare time, I have been elected to the Sitka Chamber of Commerce Board and am supporting

their mission for a healthy Sitka economy, and am

also working toward the support of our history and

culture. —Stay tuned for an important announcement that

will positively affect Sitka via the leadership and

efforts of the Alaska Historical Commission, and its Chairman Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell.

Sitka Historical Society Committees:

Membership/Marketing: Ernestine Massey, Doris

Bailey, Sabra Jenkins, Pat Alexander, Chris Todd,

Bob Medinger, Linda Trierschield

Fund Development: Pat Alexander, Bob Medinger,

John Stein

Newsletter: Linda Trierschield Ernestine Massey,

Bob Medinger, Jacqueline Fernandez

Annual May Cemetery Cleanup: Doris Bailey, Sabra Jenkins

Finance Committee: Ernestine Massey, Jerry

Dzugan

Collections Committee: Jerry Dzugan, Jere Christner, Sabra Jenkins, Jackie Fernandez,

Bob Medinger Call the Museum 747-6455 if you wish to serve on one

of these board committees.

Page 7

Recent Sitka Historical

Society & Museum Acquisitions Jacqueline Fernandez, Curator

Commemorative

Key 2012.36.1

Large

commemorative key presented by H.D.

Cavin, chief

engineer of the construction of the Alaska Lumber & Pulp

Company site in Sitka Alaska, to Thomas R. Stein, mill manager. The engraving at the top of the key reads: "Key to

Alaska Lumber & Pulp Co. Inc. Sitka, Alaska June 29,

1960 From H.D. Cavin to T.R. Stein." John Stein, son of T.R. Stein, donated this key along with various documents

related to the Alaska Lumber & Pulp Company, including

drawing of site plans and correspondence written to and

from T.R. Stein.

Kodak Camera

2012.37.2

This black 3A Folding Pocket Kodak

camera was manufactured between 1903 and 1915. This model was Eastman

Kodak's first postcard format camera. The

camera opens and is in excellent condition.

Microscope with wooden

case

2012.37.1A-F

A.S. Aloe & Co. Microscope patented Oct. 3, 1876

Monica Mills, donated this

microscope, which belonged to her husband Russell. Inside

the case were three oculars or eye pieces and fifteen slides.

Some of the slides had labels on them reading “lung” and

“tuberculosis”. Several were from Louisville Medical College and were dated December 23, 1893! Monica

generously donated various other items, including two E.W.

Merrill original photographs and historic books.

Collection of Photographs from Willis Osbakken

Willis Osbakken donated a collection of archival

documents and over 100 historic photographs, including

many photographs of the Van Horn, McGraw, Osbakken, and Hanlon families.

Bill Foster, winner

of Isabel Miller

Award, presented

at annual meeting

October 2011

Speaking at annual meeting on Aviation, the

theme of Alaska Day, from left:

Bud Rude, Long time pilot and airline investor

in Alaska, Jim Johnson, Retired VP of Alaska

Airlines, Ken Bellows, owner and pilot of AirSitka, formerly BellAir and Sabra Jenkins,

daughter of Bob Ellis of the former Ellis

Airlines in Alaska . Thank you all.

Dale DeArmond collection exhibit, a new

purchase for the Museum, made possible by

many donations from Sitkans. The exhibit

was an opportunity for the community to view

this rare collection.

Activities

Successful wine tasting and silent auction

fund raiser held at the SheeAtika Hotel in

December 2011

Sitka Historical Society 330 Harbor Drive Sitka, Alaska 99835

Change Service Requested

Page8 Sitka to host History and Museum Statewide Conference

Sitka has been selected as the site for this year’s Joint Annual Conference of the Alaska Historical Society and

Museums Alaska organizations. Mark your calendars for October 10-13, as we host roughly 150 visitors from

throughout Alaska. History buffs as well as published historians and museum professionals will join our local

participants in a wide array of presentations and activities. The Sitka Historical Society is the core organizer for the

local events, and we have been joined by multiple Sitka organizations in the effort, including the SCVB, SNHP SJ

Museum, STA/STE, SCVB, Chamber, SMHS, City and Borough, USFS, and the Fine Arts Camp.

Following is your chance to present at the conference via the various options below, or a paper. Sitka has so many

historical stories and topics that could apply, please review the call for papers below, or contact Bob Medinger at the

museum if you want some help on deciding if you might submit a proposal.

Alaska Historical Society - Call for Papers - 2012 Conference, Sitka Alaska - on the World Stage

The Alaska Historical Society invites paper and panel proposals for the 2012 annual conference, “Alaska on the

World Stage,” to be held in Sitka from October 10-13. The AHS also welcomes proposals for facilitated discussions,

round-table sessions, workshops, and “reports from the field.”

In spite of being the most eastern, western, and northern of frontiers during the course of its history, Alaska is an

international land. The inter-national encounters among peoples originated with the complex relations among the

dozens of Alaska Native groups. With the advent of Russian colonization, Alaska became a linchpin to the Pacific

World and a site of international trade and contact. Since then, Russian fur traders, Scandinavian fishermen, Asian

cannery workers, American gold seekers, Alaskan Natives, Japanese and American servicemen, and a host of

international scientists, artists and others have comingled in the Great Land. The state is perhaps most famous for its

global exports, including oil, minerals, and seafood. The ethos of Alaska has been sold to the world’s imagination

through travelogues, contemporary television series, ethnographic collections found in international museums, and past

and current scientific expeditions. Alaska as an intellectual export includes its central place in global debates over

climate change and resource extraction.

The AHS welcomes all papers that explore the theme of “Alaska on the World Stage” for its Sitka conference. Sitka,

the former capitol of Russian America, is a fitting place to explore Alaska’s global connections. For consideration,

individuals should send an abstract of no more than 250 words with their name, affiliation, and contact information to

Anjuli Grantham (anjuligrantham@gmail.com) by May 1, 2012.

PRESORTED STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID SITKA, AK PERMIT NO. 17