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Crystal and Ray Williams photograph album

Guide to the Crystal and Ray Williams photograph album
1947

Collection number: HMC-0549.
Creator:
Williams, Crystal.
Williams, Ray.
Title: Crystal and Ray Williams photograph album.
Date: 1947.
Volume of collection: 0.01 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials are in English.
Collection summary: Photograph album of a Fairbanks couple involved in construction of 26-Mile airbase (Eielson Air Force Base).

Biographical note:
Ray and Crystal Williams lived in Fairbanks in 1947. They were involved in the construction of runways and other facilities at the 26-Mile airbase near Fairbanks, which was renamed Eielson Air Force Base in 1948.

Collection description:
The collection consists of photographs from an  dismantled photograph album kept by Ray and Crystal Williams. The collection includes the original album cover and 56 black and white prints. General subjects of the photographs include scenes along the Steese and Richardson Highways, and construction at 26-Mile airbase near Fairbanks. Steese Highway scenes pictured include those of Circle City; the Birch Creek Roadhouse (then abandoned), Birch Creek, Circle Hot Springs (hotel and pool), and Cleary Summit. Richardson Highway scenes include those of Big Delta, the Delta River, Black Rapids Glacier, the Salcha River, the view at the Richardson Roadhouse, and the Goodpaster River. The photographs of construction at 26-Mile airbase include those of machinery grading, rolling, and paving the new airstrip; barracks and other buildings under construction; interior views of a mess hall; and photos of various people who worked at the airbase.

Arrangement: Photographs are arranged in the order in which they were placed in the album.

Digitized copies: Selected photographs from this collection have been digitized and can be accessed on the Alaska’s Digital Archives. For information about obtaining copies please contact Archives and Special Collections.

Rights note: Archives and Special Collections does not own copyright to the collection.

Preferred citation: Crystal and Ray Williams photograph album, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.

Acquisition note: The collection was purchased by the Archives on eBay in 2001.

Processing information: The album was dismantled, photographs rearranged by size, and the collection described by Jeffrey Sinnott in 2001. The guide to the collection was converted to current standard by Gwen Sieja in 2015. The photographs were returned to the original order by Shelby Lawson in 2021.

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