This is the first of what I hope are regular monthly or bimonthly updates as to what has happened recently in the Archives. So what are we doing with our summer?
We’re keeping busy!
Collections now available (the link points to the collection guide):
- Jack Rieur photographs: Mr. Rieur served in the Aleutians during WWII and this collection includes the images he took while stationed there. The collection also includes several hundred carousels of slides taken all over the world but those aren’t accessible quite yet: we have a student worker currently rehousing and describing all the slides.
- Alice and Robert Arwezon slides: Rick Sinnott delivered this gift of photographs from two long-time Anchorage residents. The Arwezons were involved in dog mushing here in Anchorage. We’ve already added 77 of the images from the collection to the Alaska’s Digital Archives: those are the images that relate to the 1964 earthquake.
- Identity Inc. records. Identity Inc. has placed their records on deposit with us here at the Archives. Identity Inc. provides programs supporting equality for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community and its allies.
- Edmund Patterson Douglas photographs. In 1937, Sigizmund Levanevsky’s plane disappeared on an over-the-pole flight from Moscow to the United States. Mr. Douglas took part in the search efforts and this collection contains his photographs of his travels in Alaska. A gift of Judi Douglas Fuhrmann and Katherine Arai-Hanes.
- Anchorage Rotary Club records. This local civic organization has placed their records on deposit with the Archives.
- Randy Brandon photographs. Mr. Brandon, owner of Third Eye Photography based in Girdwood, has given us his photographs relating to the Fur Rondy.
- Seward (Alaska) residents list. A gift of the family of Jane Behlke, these documents date from the 1940s and include hand-drawn plats of Seward residential areas and lists of the residents of Seward and surrounding communities.
- Janie Leask papers. Janie Leask, president of the Alaska Federation of Natives from 1983 to 1989 has given us papers she created and collected while in that position. The collection includes her speeches, ANCSA subject files, and copies of the articles she wrote for the Anchorage Times.
- Henry S. Kaiser Jr. papers. As a young man, Mr. Kaiser was a patient at the Seward tuberculosis sanatorium from 1950-1953. The collection includes many portraits of staff and fellow patients, most labeled with names and hometowns.
New subject guides to collections. These are multi-collection guides that can help researchers find a cross-section of our holdings relating to specific topics:
What our researchers are doing:
- Jean Meaux, author of In Pursuit of Alaska: an Anthology of Travelers’ Tales 1879-1909 spoke at the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center.
- Gary Freeburg, one of our long-time researchers, has recently published his book of his photographs of the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. He included a few photographs from our National Geographic Society Katmai Expedition photographs collection. He was in Anchorage in July and spoke at the UAA Bookstore and at the Northern Renaissance Arts and Sciences series of lectures.
- Accord Publishing released their 2014 Weather guide calendar. One of the many images in it comes from our Parisi collection: a view of Leonhard Seppala and his dog team. Seppala was perhaps best known for his involvement in the 1925 Nome serum run.
Other projects:
- The 1964 Earthquake grant project (funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services through the Alaska State Library) continues with additions to both the main portal site and to the exhibit site. The main portal provides a guide to primary source resources in archives, museums, and libraries in Alaska. The exhibit site provides a look at several hundred images relating to the quake’s after-effects. Be patient with the exhibit site: it takes a moment to load and we’ve discovered that not all the images show up when you view it using Internet Explorer so you may want to consider a different browser for viewing that site.
Personnel-wise:
- Mariecris attended the Archives Leadership Institute at Luther College, Decorah, IA. It’s a highly competitive process to get in: nearly 100 applicants and only 25 spots.
- Our recruitment for our 3 year term Assistant Archivist position is moving along
- We’ve gone live with the recruitment for our 2 year term Hickel Archivist position with an anticipated start date of November 2013.
And so much else! To keep up with us on a more regular basis, be sure to follow us on Facebook. All the news plus photographs and documents that catch our attention.