Guide to the Marie and Ralph George papers
1916-2004
Collection number: HMC-0763.
Creators:
George, Marie.
George, Ralph.
Title: Marie and Ralph George papers.
Dates: 1916-2004.
Volume of collection: 2.15 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials are in English.
Collection summary: Papers of long-time Anchorage residents.
Biographical note:
Marie Elizabeth George was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1917. She graduated from Latrobe High School in 1935 and earned a degree in nursing from the Latrobe Hospital School of Nursing in 1941. After coming to Alaska, she worked as a head nurse for the Alaska Native Service from 1955 to 1959. While living in Nenana in the 1960s, she worked as the secretary to the school board and was appointed as a deputy court magistrate. In Anchorage, she worked for the Alaska Court System until her retirement in 1980. She was also active in volunteer organizations, including the Providence Hospital Auxiliary, Alaska Judicial Observers, and the Embroiderer’s Guild of America. Marie George died in Anchorage in 2004.
Ralph Clinton George was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, in 1916. He graduated from Greensburg High School in 1934 and earned a degree in electrical engineering from Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh in 1940. He married Marie E. “Betty” Carson in Winchester, Virginia, in 1941. During World War II, he served in the U. S. Army Signal Corps. In 1954, he moved to Anchorage, Alaska, to develop a radar maintenance shop for General Electric Co. on Elmendorf Air Force Base. In 1960, he moved to Nenana to supervise the installation of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) radar and scanner at Clear Air Force Base, and was a maintenance analyst for RCA. From 1969 until his retirement in 1980, he worked for the Federal Aviation Administration in Anchorage. Ralph George died in Anchorage in 1997.
Collection description:
The collection consists of the personal and professional papers of Marie and Ralph George of Anchorage. The collection includes correspondence, employment records, organizational records, photographs and videotapes. Subjects of the records include flight documentation, the Clear BMEWS site, family, friends, their home, vacations, and hobbies.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged in the following series:
Series 1: Personal papers
Series 2: Photographs
Series 3: Videotapes
Series 4: Marie George personal and professional papers
Series 5: Ralph George personal and professional papers
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Copyright to materials created by the Georges is held by Archives and Special Collections.
Preferred citation: Marie and Ralph George papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Separated materials: Two books were removed from the Ralph George papers and placed in Rare Books.
Acquisition note: The collection was presented to the archives by Mel Kalkowski, representative of the estate of Marie George, in 2005.
Processing information: This collection was arranged and described by Jeffrey Sinnott in 2006. The guide was rewritten to meet current standard by Arlene Schmuland in 2015. At that time, some of the series were combined and the collection was rehoused.
Container list:
Series 1: Personal papers; 1941-2004. 0.1 cubic feet.
| Box/Folder | Description | Dates |
| 1/1 | Marriage certificate | 1941 |
| 1/2 | Letters and cards received | 1973-2004 |
| 1/3 | House property legal papers | 1970-1978 |
| 1/4 | Lake Chelatna flights log | 1956-1969 |
| 1/5 | Address list | undated |
Series 2: Photographs; 1953-2002. 0.5 cubic feet.
Dates of photographs may be estimated. The photographs are divided by type (prints/negatives and 35 mm slides) and grouped by topic or event within.
| Box/Folder | Description | Dates |
| 1/6 | Marie and Ralph George and families prints and negatives | undated, 1973-1989 |
| 1/7 | Clear BMEWS Site II engineering report, interior views prints | 1960 |
| 1/8 | Fishing at Lake Chelatna prints | circa 1965-1969 |
| 1/9 | Airplanes and Lake Chelatna prints | circa 1965-1969 |
| 1/10 | House and yard prints | circa 1965-1969 |
| 1/11 | Trailer at Nenana and unidentified images prints | circa 1960-1969 |
| 1/12 | House and property prints used as exhibits in lawsuit | 1970-1971 |
| 1/13 | House and yard prints | 1978, 1982 |
| 1/14 | Radio towers, High Mountain, Kuiu Island prints | 1979 |
| 1/15 | Ralph George’s FAA retirement party and work-related prints | undated, 1980 |
| 1/16 | Camping and Portage Glacier prints | undated, 1982-1983 |
| 1/17 | Hawaii prints and negatives | undated, 1981-1997 |
| 1/18 | Lawrence Crowson wedding prints | 1992 |
| 1/19 | Marie George needlework prints and negatives | 1998 |
| 1/20 | Ralph George work prints | undated, 1959, 1964 |
| 1/21 | Embroidery group and dolls prints and negatives | undated |
| 1/22 | George home interior prints | undated |
| 1/23 | Friends and family prints | undated, 1956-1996 |
| 1/24 | Undescribed black and white prints | undated, 1963 |
| 1/25 | George home and undescribed prints | undated, 1968, 1972, 2002 |
| 1/26 | Alaska slides including Matanuska Glacier, General Electric shop, Sheep Mountain Lodge, Palmer airstrip, McKinley Park Hotel, Portage Glacier, Anchorage, Kasilof airstrip, Lake Clark Pass, Seldovia, and aircraft. | 1954-1956 |
| 1/27 | Alaska Highway and trip outside slides | 1954 |
| 1/28 | Western vacation slides including downtown Anchorage, California: Carmel and Yosemite National Park, and Colorado: Pike’s Peak, Royal Gorge, and the Garden of the Gods. | 1953 |
| 1/29 | Southern US vacation slides including New Orleans (Louisiana), Bellingame Gardens, Mobile (Alabama) | 1956 |
| 1/30 | Various slides including vacations, aircraft, airstrips, and radar stations | 1953-1956 |
Series 3: Videotapes; 1986-1987. 02 cubic feet.
| Box/Item | Description | Date |
| 1/31 | Home inventory | circa 1986 |
| 1/31 | Turnagain Arm | 1986 Autumn |
| 1/31 | Turnagain Arm trip, home, and portraits | 1986 Autumn |
| 1/32 | Hawaiian vacation | 1987 February |
Series 4: Marie George personal and professional papers, 1938-2004. 0.4 cubic feet.
| Box/Folder | Description | Dates |
| 1/33 | Education and reunions documents | 1938-1986 |
| 1/34 | Reunion documents | 1990-2000 |
| 1/35 | Resume | 1959 |
| 1/36 | Employment and retirement documents | 1950-1988 |
| 1/37 | Newspaper clippings | undated, 1971, 1976 |
| 1/38 | Birth certificates | 1917, 1979 |
| 1/39 | Family history papers | 1916-1973 |
| 1/40 | Judicial observer certificates | 2001-2003 |
| 1/41 | Marriage commissioner emeritus plaque | 1980 |
| 2/1-8 | Providence Hospital Auxiliary records including bylaws, policies, meeting minutes and agenda, correspondence, membership rosters, treasurer records, scholarship documents, volunteer certificates, and newsletters | 1988-2004 |
| 2/9 | Arctic Needleworkers Chapter, Embroiderers’ Guild of America, Inc., and the Smocking Arts Guild of America documents | 1982-1998 |
| 2/10 | Pilot flight log and student pilot certificate | 1959 |
Series 5: Ralph George personal and professional papers; 1916-2000. 0.85 cubic feet.
| Box/Folder | Description | Dates |
| 2/11 | Military service records | 1942-1947 |
| 2/12 | Education and reunion documents | 1940-2000 |
| 2/13 | Resumes | undated, 1959-1970 |
| 2/14 | Job applications | undated, 1946-1974 |
| 2/15 | Employment and retirement records | 1951-1984 |
| 2/16 | Termination of service from RCA Alascom | 1970-197 |
| 2/17 | Prrofessional correspondence | undated, 1955, 1966 |
| 2/18 | Personal correspondence | 1973-1975 |
| 2/19 | Newspaper clipping | undated |
| 2/20 | Obituary | 1997 |
| 2/21 | Birth and death certificates and Social Security card | 1916-1997 |
| 2/22 | Pilot flight logs | 1955-1969 |
| 2/23-24 | Collected work records including resume, employment records, reports, logs, and letters | undated, 1962-1970 |
| 2/25-33 | BMEWS Site II engineering reports | 1962-1968, 1979 |
| 3 | Mounted Federal Aviation Administration retirement certificate | 1980 |