Guide to the Marie Louise Peters papers
1933-2002
An Alaska Historical Society collection
Collection number: HMC-1484-AHS.
Creator: Peters, Marie Louise.
Title: Marie Louise Peters papers.
Dates: 1933-2002, bulk 1957-1962.
Volume of collection: 2 cubic feet.
Language of materials: The majority of the collection is in English, with a small amount of material in Spanish.
Collection summary: Papers and scrapbooks of a Regional Nursing Administrator with the Alaska Department of Health.
Biographical note:
Marie Louise Peters (née Baloga) was born May 2, 1925 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Pittsburgh. Following a back injury while working in Vermont, she developed and interest in orthopedics and pursued further training in the specialty. In 1957, after completing her Master’s in nursing from Boston University, she moved to Alaska to work for the territorial government, and later the State of Alaska, following statehood in 1959. She was first assigned to the government hospital at Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka and later became a Regional Nursing Administrator, based in Anchorage. The area she served covered much of Western Alaska, and she conducted site visits to remote communities in the region to oversee nursing operations at the local health clinics there. In 1962, she left Alaska to work for the World Health Organization and later received her Master’s in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh, with her thesis titled “A Survey of the Alaskan Eskimo Culture, Particularly in Relation to Maternal and Child Care Practices.” She settled in Dallas, Texas in 1976 and married Dr. Leo J. Peters. Marie Louise retired from nursing in 1987 and later moved to San Diego, California, where she passed away in 2024.
Collection description:
The collection consists of documents and scrapbooks related to Marie Louise Peters’ time in Alaska. Documents include research materials related to health in Alaska, general information about Alaska, clippings and voter information related to statehood, a copy of her master’s thesis, descriptions of villages that she served as Regional Nursing Administrator, correspondence, photography releases, and site visit reports from villages. The scrapbooks primarily document Marie Louise’s visits to the communities she served and include informational brochures, newspaper clippings, and written descriptions of the communities, correspondence with community members, and photographs taken in the communities. The photographs depict colleagues, patients, local residents, buildings, and scenery. There is an additional photograph album, along with some loose album pages, compiled by Marie Louise’s sister, Regina Fabian. The photographs in the album are similar in content to, and in some cases, duplicates of those in the other scrapbooks. There is also one folder of loose photographs.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged by document type.
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Access restrictions: Due to the presence of personal health information, access to certain materials in the collection is limited to digital surrogates that have had patient names and identifying details redacted. Please consult an archivist for more information.
Rights note: The Alaska Historical Society holds copyright to this collection and has given the Archives authority to grant use permissions.
Preferred citation: Marie Louise Peters papers, Alaska Historical Society collections, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Works used in preparation of inventory:
Find a Grave. “Marie Louise Baloga Peters.” Accessed December 5, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/97310525/marie_louise_peters
Legacy. “Marie Peters Obituary.” Published June 11, 2024. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/marie-peters-obituary?id=55316654
Separated materials: Selected publications have been removed from the collection and added to the library’s Rare Books collection.
Related materials:
For other collections related to nursing in Alaska, see our Nursing archival collections topic guide.
Other collections related to medicine and health in Alaska can be found in our Medicine and health topic guide.
Acquisition note: This collection was donated to the Alaska Historical Society in 2024 by Ben Fabian, nephew of Marie Louise Peters. 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.
Container list:
| Box/Folder | Description | Dates |
| 1/1 | Annotated U.S. Census reports for Alaska | 1960 |
| 1/2 | Letter to the editor printed in World Health | 1963 |
| 1/3 | Alaska research materials | 1946-1960 |
| 1/4 | “Alaska’s flag and other Alaska info.” Brochures, newsletters, BIA map of schools in Alaska, information sheets, and clippings | 1958-1961 |
| 1/5 | Anchorage Chamber of Commerce information sheets | 1957 |
| 1/6 | “Statehood-stamps.” Bumper stickers, brochures, voter information sheets, and clippings about Alaska statehood and commemorative stamp | 1958 |
| 1/7 | Village descriptions | 1960-1962 |
| 2/1-7 | Field visit reports. Due to the presence of personal health information, access to these folders is restricted to redacted digital surrogates. | 1958-1962 |
| 1/8 | “Letters & Earthquake Info from Dora, Kodiak.” Letters from Dorothy Kramer and list of 1964 earthquake casualties. Also includes photograph releases, a hand drawn map of Old Harbor with phrases, possibly in Alutiiq, and a family data sheet for Vera Shugak Senafont. | 1959-1964 |
| 1/9 | “A Survey of the Alaskan Eskimo Culture, Particularly in Relation to Maternal and Child Care Practices.” Thesis for Master of Public Health degree from the University of Pittsburgh. | 1964 June |
| 1/10 | Loose photographs | 1958-1964 |
| 1/11 | Kodiak Island field visit reports with photographs | 1959 |
| 1/12 | Aniak Village trip description with photographs | 1960 August |
| 3/1 | Bethel scrapbook | 1958-1961 |
| 3/2 | Bristol Bay scrapbook. Communities represented include Dillingham, Clark’s Point, Aleknagik, Ekwok, Manokotak, Togiak, and Platinum. | 1958-1962 |
| 4/1 | Scrapbook: Edgecumbe, Anchorage, Eek, Mekoryuk. Also includes Hooper Bay. One page of the scrapbook is restricted due to the presence of personal health information. | 1933-2002 |
| 4/2 | Kodiak Island scrapbook. Includes Kodiak, Ouzinkie, Afognak, Old Harbor, Kaguyak, Alitak, Karluk, Larsen Bay, and Port Wakefield. Also included are loose photographs of a crab processing plant in Port Wakefield. | 1957-1962 |
| 5/1 | McGrath scrapbook. Also includes Aniak, Nikolai, Takotna, Shageluk, Holikachuk, Anvik, Holy Cross, Russian Mission, and Red Devil | 1958-1961 |
| 5/2 | Naknek scrapbook. Also includes King Salmon, Iliamna, Kokhanok, Levelock, Pilot Point, Egegik, Iguigig, and South Naknek | 1959-1961 |
| 6/1 | “M.L.B. [Marie Louise Baloga] in Alaska” photograph album compiled by her sister, Regina T. Fabian. Some photographs are duplicates of those in other scrapbooks. | 1957-1961 |
| 6/2 | Loose album pages compiled by Regina Fabian. | 1960-1962 |