Guide to the Culhane family photographs
1935-1939
Collection number: HMC-0096.
Creator: Culhane, Thomas, 1903-1997.
Title: Culhane family photographs.
Dates: 1935-1939.
Volume of collection: 0.2 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials are in English.
Collection summary: Papers and photographs of an Anchorage family.
Biographical note:
Thomas Culhane (1903-1997) came to Alaska in the early 1930s. He and his wife, Rena, purchased Walt’s Transfer Company of Anchorage from Walter Teeland in 1935. The company’s name was changed to Arctic Fuel & Appliance Company in 1945. They sold it in 1968 and purchased Anchorage Refuse Company.
Collection description:
The bulk of the collection consists of copies of Culhane family photographs from 1935-1939. These include a photocopy of a Culhane family photograph album and selected copy prints and copy negatives of photographs documenting hunting, fishing, and camping in Alaska, Thomas Culhane’s home, agriculture in the Matanuska Valley, various activities in Anchorage, early hockey games in Anchorage, Walt’s Transfer Company, and Fur Rendezvous (Fur Rondy) events such as parades and dog sled races. The collection also contains photocopies of legal papers documenting the sale of Walt’s Transfer Company to Thomas Culhane.
Digitized copies: Some photographs from the collection have been digitized and are available online in the Alaska’s Digital Archives. For information about obtaining digital copies, contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: The Archives owns copyright to materials created by Tom Culhane in this collection.
Preferred citation: Culhane family photographs, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Acquisition note: This collection was loaned to the Archives for copying by Tom Culhane in 1985.
Processing information: This collection was processed circa 1985. Image descriptions were transcribed from captions in the albums with processor-added descriptions in brackets. The guide was revised by Megan K. Friedel in 2010 and published materials removed from the collection. The guide was further revised and the collection rehoused, with duplicate copies removed, by Arlene Schmuland in 2015.
Location of originals: The original papers, photographs, and photograph album are held by the Culhane family.
Collection list:
| Folder | Item | Description |
| 1 | Transfer deed | |
| 2 | Xerox copies of album pages | |
| 3 | Xerox copies of identified loose photographs | |
| 4 | Contact prints and copies of selected images from albums | |
| 4 | 1-1 | Threshing grain in Saskatchewan |
| 4 | 1-3 | Saskatchewan |
| 4 | 2-3 | Saskatchewan, Canada [baling hay] |
| 4 | 2-4 | Plowing, Saskatchewan |
| 4 | 2-5 | Plowing, Saskatchewan |
| 4 | 2-6 | [boy and dog] |
| 4 | 3-1 | Iroquis Falls Pulp Mill, this is wood pile |
| 4 | 3-2 | Survey party in Canada |
| 4 | 3-3 | Dog teams loaded on train at Iroquis Falls ready for survey trip |
| 4 | 5-2 | Rena |
| 4 | 6-1 | Alaska Dog Team |
| 4 | 6-2 | Herb, Bill, George, Just a flat tire on our way to Alaska |
| 4 | 12-3 | Herb and one of his king Salmon |
| 4 | 13-3 | Indians drying fish |
| 4 | 13-4 | Mile 356 A.R.R. [Alaska Railroad] |
| 4 | 14-3 | S. S. Alaska, the ship Herb, Bill, George, and Tom came to Alaska on |
| 4 | 15-2 | Rena |
| 4 | 16-1 | Justin girls playing ball |
| 4 | 16-2 | 4th July games Anchorage, George hitting |
| 4 | 16-3 | Bill pitching 4th July |
| 4 | 16-4 | Bill hitting 4th July |
| 4 | 17-1 | A.R.R. at Healy, Alaska |
| 4 | 17-2 | A.R.R. near Healy |
| 4 | 17-3 | Healy Coal Mines |
| 4 | 18-2 | Camping out Alaska |
| 4 | 18-4 | George taking bath, Alaska |
| 4 | 19-1 | Snow house Alaska built by Tom Culhane, George Justin, and Johyson 1932 |
| 4 | 19-2 | Bears having visit |
| 4 | 20-1 | Pile driver at Matanuska, 1934 |
| 4 | 20-2 | Bridge just finished 1934 |
| 4 | 20-3 | [?] hauling boiler 1934 [train] |
| 4 | 20-4 | Tom, Matt, and Pete – Matanuska Bridge |
| 4 | 21-1 | Hauling boiler out from Matanuska Bridge |
| 4 | 21-2 | Where I worked, 1935 |
| 4 | 21-3 | Tom on top [of bridge] |
| 4 | 21-4 | Goat on A.R.R. |
| 4 | 21-5 | [Unidentified bridge] |
| 4 | 23-2 | Tom’s mt. sheep Sept. 1934 |
| 4 | 23-3 | Herb, mt sheep Sept 1934 |
| 4 | 241 | Rena and Tom |
| 4 | 24-2 | George tuning in |
| 4 | 26-3 | George and Oscar – Fire Lake |
| 4 | 26-4 | Herb and Osky – Fire Lake |
| 4 | 27-1 | Sourdough 4th July, Anchorage, Alaska |
| 4 | 27-2 | Herb and king salmon 35 lbs. |
| 4 | 27-4 | Herb pet bears Anchorage [image does not match caption: two sheep on truck] |
| 4 | 29-2 | Tom hunting moose, Sept. 1937 |
| 4 | 29-4 | Moose – shot at Willow; Sept. 1937 |
| 4 | 29-6 | Leaving for Anchorage |
| 4 | 30-1 | Sheep at Palmer |
| 4 | 30-4 | Rena and Mary making lunch |
| 4 | 30-5 | John Belgard and son Jack |
| 4 | 31-1 | Columbia Glacier taken off steamship on way to Alaska |
| 4 | 32-1 | [unidentified hockey team] |
| 4 | 32-2 | Chief and Tom going hunting |
| 4 | 32-3 | Fire Lake and cabin |
| 4 | 33-1 | Bill, Herb, Tom, on board |
| 4 | 33-2 | Playing hockey, Detroit |
| 4 | 33-4 | George fishing |
| 4 | 34-1 | George and Herb |
| 4 | 34-3 | Tom feeding the pets |
| 4 | 35-1 | Rena and Ester near lucky Shot Mine |
| 4 | 35-2 | Tom, Rena, Jimmy |
| 4 | 35-3 | Road near Fish Hook Inn |
| 4 | 35-4 | [Fire Lake Roadhouse sign] |
| 4 | 36-2 | Tom and bears, 1932 |
| 4 | 37-1 | Fairbanks Dog Derby, 1935 |
| 4 | 37-2 | Parade at Fairbanks Ice Carnival, 1935 |
| 4 | 37-3 | Part of floats |
| 4 | 37-4 | At Fairbanks hockey game Fairbanks and Anchorage 1935 |
| 4 | 38-1 | Fairbanks Ice Carnival parade float |
| 4 | 38-2 | Fairbanks, 1935 |
| 4 | 38-3 | Crowning of Queen, 1935 |
| 4 | 38-4 | Fairbanks carnival, 1935 parade float |
| 4 | 39-1 | Boys and girls |
| 4 | 39-2 | Boys and girls |
| 4 | 39-3 | Kid dog race, Fairbanks 1935 |
| 4 | 39-4 | Anchorage’s first hockey team, 1935 |
| 4 | 40-1 | John and Tom |
| 4 | 40-2 | Tom and Jerry Allen hunting, 1935 |
| 4 | 40-3 | John, Rena, Tom |
| 4 | 40-4 | Throne, Fairbanks, 1935 |
| 4 | 42-4 | Rena and Jackie; Jan. 1939. |
| 4 | 42-5 | Tom and Jackie |
| 4 | 43-1 | Charles Hennigar sheep hunting Oct. 1938 |
| 4 | 43-3 | Tom hunting sheep |
| 4 | 44-1 | Near Lucky Shot Mine |
| 4 | 44-2 | Eklutna Lake Charles Hennigar |
| 4 | 44-4 | Eklutna Power Dam |
| 4 | 44-5 | Tom Culhane – Eklutna Lake |
| 4 | 45-1 | Home practice hockey |
| 4 | 45-2 | College vs Anchorage, Fairbanks – 1939 hockey |
| 4 | 45-3 | Practice hockey |
| 4 | 45-4 | Rink at Anchorage Pump Station 1937 |
| 4 | 45-5 | 1939 Anchorage hockey team |
| 4 | 45-6 | Ski jump 1939 |
| 4 | 46-1 | Anchorage Ice Throne |
| 4 | 46-2 | Place bets on dog teams, Fairbanks |
| 4 | 46-3 | Tom at Fairbanks |
| 4 | 46-4 | Parade at Fairbanks, 1939 |
| 4 | 46-5 | Parade float |
| 4 | 46-6 | Part of Parade float |
| 4 | 46-7 | Dog team at Fairbanks |
| 4 | 47-1 | Placer mining, 1939 |
| 4 | 47-2 | Independence Mine, 1939 [buildings] |
| 4 | 47-3 | Placer mining at Willow Creek, 1939 |
| 4 | 47-4 | Independence Mine, 1939 [mine entrance] |
| 4 | 48-1 | Federal Building started June 20, 1939 |
| 4 | 48-2 | Spenard Lake, Anchorage, 1939 |
| 4 | 48-3 | Anchorage Hospital finished June 1939 |
| 4 | 48-4 | Green Lake, Anchorage |
| 4 | 48-5 | Anchorage Main Street, 1939 |
| 4 | 48-6 | Matanuska Farm |
| 4 | 49-1 | Dave Fulton Oct 1939 [ sheep hunt] |
| 4 | 49-2 | Mountains near Eklunata [Eklutna] |
| 4 | 49-3 | Tom Culhane, Oct. 22, 1939 [sheep hunt] |
| 4 | 49-4 | Mountains, where we hunt sheep |
| 4 | 49-5 | Just hunting sheep |
| 4 | 49-6 | Eklunata Lake [Eklutna] |
| 4 | 50-2 | Sept. 1939 – Jack |
| 4 | 50-3 | [plane being moved on a truck] |
| 4 | 50-4 | June 1939 Jack |
| 4 | 52-1 | Tom mountain sheep |
| 4 | 52-3 | Charles Lynch Gas Station, Ontario, Canada |
| 4 | 54-3 | Cook Inlet |
| 4 | 54-4 | Knik River |
| 4 | 56-3 | Dave, Earl, Jess, Johnny, bear hunt Sept. 1939 |
| 4 | 59-2 | [plane being moved on a truck] |
| 4 | 59-3 | [Tom on mountain with gun] |
| 4 | 59-4 | [Three men with truck hauling boat] |
| 4 | 59-5 | [boat in front of garage] |
| 4 | 60-1 to 60-6 | [summer parade] |
| 4 | 61-1 | [firefighting Anchorage] |
| 4 | 61-2 | [construction work] |
| 4 | 61-3 | [flag carriers in parade] |
| 4 | 61-4 | [construction work ] |
| 4 | 62-2 | [three hunters with ducks] |
| 4 | 62-6 | [picnic] |
| 4 | 63-2 | 4th Ave Anchorage Alaska, Thomas Foto Shops |
| 4 | 63-3 | [boy with wagon] |
| 4 | 63-4 | City in the making, Matanuska Valley Project, Hewitts Photo Shop, Anchorage |
| 4 | 63-5 | Anchorage turns out to welcome Matanuska Valley Colonists, Hewitt’s Photo Shop |
| 4 | 65-1 to 66-3 | Death and Dismay, Confusion, Desperation, Liberation, Deliberation, Homeward bound, Remorse [sequence of Glass and Hewitt photographs showing people separating moose with locked antlers] |
| 5 | Contact prints of loose photographs from albums including hockey, Fur Rendezvous events, the Matanuska valley, and the trucking company | |
| 6 | Copy negatives of selected photographs from albums |