Guide to the Fred and Sara Machetanz oral history interviews
1988-1994
Collection number: HMC-0440.
Creator: Machetanz, Fred, 1908-2002.
Machetanz, Sara.
Massay, Glenn.
Title: Fred and Sara Machetanz oral history interviews.
Dates: 1988-1994.
Volume of collection: 0.25 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials are in English.
Collection summary: Oral history interviews with an Alaskan illustrator and author.
Biographical note:
Fred Machetanz was born in Kenton, Ohio, on February 20, 1908. He received both a bachelor and masters degree from Ohio State University and first came to Alaska in 1935 when his uncle, Charles Traeger, owner of a trading post in Unalakleet, offered him a free six-week trip. He stayed for two years and afterwards went to New York, N.Y. with the idea of illustrating books about Alaska, where he was told by publishers that he should write his own. The results were Machetanz’s books, Panuck: Eskimo Sled Dog and On Arctic Ice, both of which were well-received. During World War II, Machetanz served in the U.S. Navy in the Aleutians. He returned to Alaska in 1946 and married Sara Dunn, a writer from Tennessee, in 1947. Together Fred and Sara Machetanz produced at least eight books, featuring her writing and his illustrations. They also made at least two films and traveled on the lecture circuit. Fred’s honors include an honorary doctorate from the University of Alaska (1973), Alaskan of the Year (1977), and Artist of the Year (American Artist magazine, 1981). The couple’s son, Traeger, was born in 1959.
Collection description:
The collection consists of oral history interviews with Fred and Sara Machetanz that were conducted and recorded by Glenn Massay and Gloria Okeson in Palmer, Alaska in 1988. The interviews were originally recorded on 11 audiocassettes; this collection contains copies of Tapes 2, 5, 6, and 8A-10, as well as copies of Tapes 2-11 on compact disc. Transcriptions of all 11 tapes are also in the collection, as is a transcript of a commencement address given by Sara Machetanz at Matanuska-Susitna Community College in 1994. Tape 1 is not extant in this collection.
Arrangement: Transcripts are arranged in numerical order by tape number.
Alternative formats: Sound recordings in this collection are on both audiocassette and compact disc. Typescript transcripts have been made of all interviews.
Use restrictions: Materials in this collection are for on-site reference use only. Requests for reproduction and publication of materials in this collection must be made to the Alvin S. Okeson Library, Matanuska-Susitna College.
Rights note: University of Alaska holds copyright to the materials in this collection.
Preferred citation: Fred and Sara Machetanz oral history interviews, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Related materials: Original copies of Tapes 2-11 in this collection are located at the Alvin S. Okeson Library, Matanuska-Susitna College. The Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks also holds circulating copies of those tapes. Tape 1 appears to be missing from all collections.
Acquisition note: The collection was presented to Archives and Special Collections by Matanuska-Susitna College in 1995. Compact discs copies of the audiocassettes were provided to the Archives by University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2008.
Processing information: This collection was described by Michele Wellck in 1995. Tape 1 is missing from the collection.