Guide to the Gibbs family letters
1941-1942
An Alaska Historical Society collection
Collection number: HMC-1481-AHS.
Creator:
Alaska Steamship Co.
Gibbs family.
Title: Gibbs family letters.
Dates: 1941 July 3-1942 January 9.
Volume of collection: 0.2 cubic feet.
Language of materials: The collection is written entirely in English.
Collection summary: Letters to family members from a woman and her teenage daughter living in Ketchikan.
Biographical note:
Helena Gibbs was born Barbara Helena Paul in 1887 in Fort Dodge, Iowa. She married Charles DeWitt Gibbs, a civil engineer, in 1916. The couple had three sons, Paul, Charles, Jr., and Gordon, and a daughter, Joyce. In March of 1941, Charles Sr., who had been working for the Civilian Conservation Corps in Des Moines, went to Ketchikan, likely to work on construction of Annette Island Army Airfield. Helena and Joyce left Iowa in July 1941 to join Charles in Alaska. They traveled by train to Seattle and stayed for four weeks with family there, waiting for the next Army Transport ship to Ketchikan, where they arrived on August 7. While in Alaska, Joyce worked for the public library and the U.S. Forest Service. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States formally declaring war on Japan, wives and children of service members stationed in Ketchikan were ordered to leave. Helena and Joyce returned to Des Moines, and Joyce married Edwin F. Buckley, Jr. in 1946. Helena Gibbs died in 1970 and Joyce died in 2011.
Collection description:
The collection consists of letters written by Helena and Joyce Gibbs while traveling to Alaska and during their time living in Ketchikan. The majority of the letters were written by Helena Gibbs and sent to her sisters Anastasia (Stasia) Paul and Alice Hardiman, as well as her sons. There is one letter sent from Joyce Gibbs to her aunt, Stasia. In the letters, Helena’s husband, Charles DeWitt Gibbs, is referred to as either Dad or Dewey, perhaps to distinguish him from their son, also named Charles. The letters seem to have been shared among the family members. Letters dated July 3-5, 1941 discuss the train trip from St. Paul, Minnesota to Seattle. Letters dated July 5-31 describe Helena and Joyce’s extended stay in Seattle while waiting for transportation to Ketchikan. A letter written between August 3 and August 6 documents the journey aboard the S.S. Redwood from Seattle to Ketchikan. Letters dated August 7-December 28, 1941 discuss the Gibbs’ time in living in Ketchikan. A final letter dated January 9, 1942 was sent from Seattle. Subjects of the Ketchikan letters include the weather; scenery and layout of the town; the Gibbs’ apartment and furnishings; prices of consumer goods; social activities; Helena’s Catholic faith and practices; meals; ships coming and going; Helena’s feelings of homesickness for Iowa; and the war, particularly the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The majority of letters were transcribed by Joyce’s son Michael Buckley, who added footnotes to provide additional context surrounding individuals and events mentioned in the letters. The collection also contains Alaska Steamship Company menus from the S.S. Yukon dated November 29, 1941 to January 7, 1942.
Arrangement: The letters are arranged roughly chronologically. Where no dates are present, the order, as determined by Michael Buckley during the transcription process, has been preserved.
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: The Alaska Historical Society holds copyright to this collection and has given the Archives authority to grant use permissions.
Preferred citation: Gibbs family letters, Alaska Historical Society collections, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Works used in preparation of inventory:
“Barbara Helena Paul Gibbs.” Find a Grave. Added January 2, 2011. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63644244/barbara-helena-gibbs
“Joyce Louise Gibbs Buckley.” Find a Grave. Added July 16, 2023. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/256774770/joyce_louise_buckley
Related materials: For additional materials related to World War II, see our World War II in Alaska topic guide.
Acquisition note: This collection was donated to the Alaska Historical Society in 2024 by Mary Buckley. The Historical Society retains ownership of the collection and placed it on deposit in Archives and Special Collections in 2024.
Processing information: This collection was described by Gwen Higgins in 2024.