Guide to the Charles Lee Nelson memoir
1930-1955
Collection number: HMC-1391.
Creator: Nelson, Charles Lee.
Title: Charles Lee Nelson memoir.
Dates: 1930-1955.
Volume of collection: 0.01 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials are in English.
Collection summary: Memoir of an Alaska Railroad worker.
Biographical note:
Charles Lee Nelson was born in 1893. He was a resident of Cheboygan, Michigan when he moved to Alaska in 1930 for a job with the Alaska Railroad. His wife Rose joined him in Broad Pass in fall 1930. He moved to Palmer Station in 1942 and retired in 1955. Charles and Rose then purchased a farm near Bliss, Michigan and spent winters in California. Charles died in 1968 in Michigan. [Biographical details provided by the family.]
Collection description:
The collection consists of a typescript memoir covering the years 1930 to 1955. Alternately titled Cheechako to sourdough by an Alaskan and Alaska 1930 to 1955 as told by a railroadman. The memoir is a first-person account of Mr. Nelson’s travel to and time in Alaska working for the Alaska Railroad.
Arrangement: The memoir is in no particular chronological order.
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Copyright to the memoir is held by Archives and Special Collections.
Preferred citation: Charles Lee Nelson memoir, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Acquisition note: The memoir was given to the Archives in 2022 by James Ferris, son of Charles Lee Nelson, on behalf of the family.
Processing information: This collection was described by Arlene Schmuland in 2022.