Guide to the Alaska Methodist University earthquake papers
1964
Collection number: HMC-0782-APU.
Creator: Alaska Methodist University.
Title: Alaska Methodist University earthquake papers.
Dates: 1964.
Volume of collection: 0.45 cubic feet and 313 MB.
Language of materials: Collection materials are in English.
Collection summary: Papers and photographs documenting the 1964 Alaska earthquake that were collected by Alaska Methodist University.
Historical note:
Following the Alaska earthquake of 1964 March 27, the librarian at Alaska Methodist University in Anchorage, Jill Carroll, issued requests for materials documenting the earthquake such as manuscripts, photographs, and clippings. The collection resulting from this effort was named the Earthquake Archives. It was arranged by Jill Carroll and housed in the Alaska Methodist University Library.
Collection description:
The collection consists of materials relating to the 1964 Alaska earthquake that were collected from various sources and individuals by the Alaska Methodist University Library. Items in the collection were originally housed in two oversized notebooks, binders, and a folder and were re-housed due to preservation concerns but kept in original order. The collection contains personal accounts, magazine articles, drafts of other articles, poems, newsletters, government reports, Alaskan and out-of-state newspaper clippings, pictorial publications, slides, and photographs. There is also a copy of the preliminary report on the earthquake by the Engineering Geology Evaluation Group; contents of a binder donated by Kodiak resident Yule M. Chaffin containing magazine articles, a photo-illustrated family Christmas letter, and 36 black and white photographs taken by Yule Chaffin, relating to earthquake and tidal wave damage at the city of Kodiak, Afognak Island, and Woody Island; and contents of a binder containing newspaper articles from Rochester, New York and Boston, Massachusetts.
Arrangement: The materials in this collection are arranged in the order in which they were originally kept in notebooks by the Alaska Methodist University Library, followed by additional materials collected by AMU, which were not in notebooks.
Digitized copies: Clippings have been removed from the collection and digitized for preservation purposes, however they are not available online. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Archives does not own copyright to this collection.
Preferred citation: Alaska Methodist University earthquake papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Acquisition note: The collection was transferred to Archives & Special Collections from Alaska Pacific University in 2005.
Processing information: This collection was originally processed and described by Jeffrey A. Sinnott in 2006. The guide to the collection was revised by Megan K. Friedel in 2010. Additional material was removed from the APU records and added to the collection by Gwen Higgins in 2024. At that time, clippings were removed and digitized for preservation purposes.
Container list:
| Box/Folder | Description | Dates |
| 1/1 | Notebook No. 1: Table of contents and title page | 1964 |
| 1/2 | Notebook No. 1: Personal accounts, p. 1-16. Accounts by John Hughton, Fred and Sarah Machetanz, Betty Wolverton, Roberta Winter Yoder, Dennis and Dorothy McCart, Robert O. Bowen, H. Heggen, Alice S. and Chester C. Frisbie, Donna and Joe Rychetnik, Edna Thomas, Laurel Bland, Harold Salisbury, Yule M. Chaffin, Helen A. Shemitz, Dan Gittings, and Elizabeth Carroll. | 1964 March 29-August 10 |
| 1/3 | Notebook No. 1: National magazine articles about the Alaska earthquake, p. 17-26. | 1964 April 10-July 3 |
| 1/4 | Notebook No. 1: Manuscripts and poetry, p. 27-34. Written by Robert O. Bowen, Cecil A. Horton, Marjorie Holmes, Ingeborg Wilson, George Fay, John H. Grainger, and William T. Zahradineck. | 1964 |
| 1/5 | Notebook No. 1: Newsletters and business letters, p. 35-44. Includes issues of The Alaska Nurse, Alaska Stock Growers Association Newsletter, Intercom (Federal Aviation Agency), NC Flag (Northern Commercial Co.), The Norseman (Alaska Methodist University), and The Northlander (Alaska Psychiatric Institute); Department of Education, State of Alaska reports on damages to village schools, loss of tax revenue, and an inspection trip to Glenallen; and letters from Yule M. Chaffin. | 1964 April 6-May |
| 1/6 | Notebook No. 1: Reports on economic aspects of the earthquake, p. 45-46. Includes a report by George W. Roberts at the University of Alaska, Juneau and newspaper clipping from Washington World. | 1964 April 14-27 |
| 1/7 | Notebook No. 1: Congressional newsletters, clippings, and other materials, p. 47-53. Includes reports from Ernest Gruening, Bob Bartlett, and Ralph J. Rivers; photographs of Kodiak taken by Yule M. Chaffin; clippings from various national newspapers; and other material. | 1964 April 1-July 2 |
| 1/8 | Notebook No. 2: Table of contents, title page, and press release about the earthquake archives. | 1964 |
| 1/9-11 (on server) | Notebook No. 2: Clippings from out-of-state newspapers. | 1964 March 28-May 23 |
| 1/12 | “Alaska’s Good Friday Earthquake, March 27, 1964: A Preliminary Geologic Evaluation,” by Arthur Grantz, George Plafker, and Reuben Kachandorian, U. S. Geological Survey, U. S. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey Circular 491. | 1964. |
| 1/13 | Pictorial publications documenting the earthquake. | 1964 |
| 1/14 | Preliminary Report, 27 March, 1964 Earthquake in Greater Anchorage Area, by the Engineering Geology Evaluation Group. | 1964 April |
| 1/15 | Articles collected and 36 photographs taken by Yule M. Chaffin of Kodiak. The photographs document damage from the earthquake in Kodiak. | 1964 |
| 1/16 (on server) | Newspaper articles on the Alaska earthquake (from binder). | 1964 |
| 1/17 | Slides with descriptions, description of slideshow film reel | 1964 |
| Film reel | Moving pictures: slideshow of earthquake photographs on 16 mm film reel | 1964 |
| 1/18 | Letters about earthquake | 1964 |
| 1/19-20 | Personal narratives | 1964 |
| 1/21 | Photographs of downtown Anchorage and Kodiak information bulletins | 1964 |
| 1/22 | Disaster relief materials | 1964 |