By Karen Brewster
In celebration of American Archives Month, the Alaska and
Polar Regions Collections and Archives at Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University
of Alaska Fairbanks hosted a series of weekly presentations in October 2013.
On October 8, an open house was held that included display
of special material from the collections, demonstration of Project Jukebox,
tours of the archives stacks and the vault, and an oral history listening
station. Curators and archivists were on hand to discuss collections and answer
questions from the public.
On October 16, Leslie McCartney, Curator of Oral History,
presented “Pioneer Voices: Highlights of the Tanana-Yukon Historical Society
Audio Collection.” Over the years,
the Tanana-Yukon Historical Society has deposited several hundred reel-to-reel
recordings made by the Society with the Oral History Collection at the
University of Alaska Fairbanks. These recordings span from approximately when
the Society was formed (March 1958) up until the late 1980s. The TYHS
collection is estimated to have about 250 recordings in it. The recordings
highlight special speakers at meetings, individual interviews with pioneers,
and various speeches. The presentation featured the following sound
clips: Harrie Hughes who talks about the
history of the Pioneers of Alaska, plans for a Pioneer park and why the TYHS
was formed; a 1959 recording of Terris Moore interviewing Admiral Donald Baxter
McMillan who was Perry’s Quartermaster; Clara Rust explaining in 1970 who
Fairbanks street names were named after; Neville Jacobs interviewing Louis
Black in 1974 about prospecting; Mattie Gilbertson Leckwold, who was one of the
few women who ran a mail route with a dog team; Noel Wien talking about his
flying experiences; Glenn Burrell talking about brewing and selling whiskey in
Fairbanks in 1927/28; and Mike Dalton, Nancy Mendenhall, and Cora Cook
talking about their 1974 hike on the Chilkoot Trail.
On October 22, Rose Speranza, Assistant Archivist, presented
“Seek and Perhaps Ye Shall Find ... Religious Records and Resources for the
Study of Alaskan History.” Her presentation focused primarily on the written
records created by various Christian denominations — where they are housed, the
type of materials one might expect to find and the uses that can be made of
them. About her presentation Rose said, “We reinvigorated old ties.” She
discussed with audience members oral history recordings related to the Assembly
of God Church already in the collection, as well as additional related
materials for possible donation to the Archives.
On October 30, the Alaska Film Archives offered a showing of
historical films from the collection, including 16mm films from the 1960s
through the 1980s. Titles included: “Alaska is Our Campus,” “Fairbanks, Where
We Live,” and “Permafrost Frontier.” Angela Schmidt, Interim Film Archivist,
also gave a brief overview of the Film Archives and talked about the 16mm film
format.
These events were well received by the public, with
attendance for each averaging about thirty people. The audiences were very
appreciative of what the Archives had to offer and included new people as well
as old friends. At the film showing, there were even a few younger folks,
thereby increasing hopes for reaching the younger generations. Rachel Seale,
Associate Archivist, was pleased with the success of their community outreach
efforts: “Archives month events reached a different audience every week and I
was very pleased with the turnout and the staff's efforts.”
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