Guide to the Helen Gillette papers
undated, 1979
Collection number: HMC-1465.
Creator: Gillette, Helen.
Title: Helen Gillette papers.
Dates: undated, 1979.
Volume of collection: 0.01 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials are entirely in English.
Collection summary: Letters collected by an Anchorage Times reporter on or about potential sources.
Biographical note:
Helen Gillette was born in Kansas in 1921. She moved to Alaska in 1949 where she met and married Don Gillette. Don was a mechanic and pilot for Reeve Aleutian Airways. Don and Helen homesteaded 160 acres of land in Anchorage at the corner of what is now Birch and Huffman. Helen began reporting for the Anchorage Daily News shortly after arriving in Alaska, but she worked for decades as a reporter for the Anchorage Times. She specialized in human interest stories. Helen died in 2014 in Hawaii.
Collection description:
This collection contains six handwritten pages of notes on Reeve Aleutian Airways stationary, a letter of introduction for Helen Gillette by Gene Craig dated July 27, 1979, and a typed letter to Senator Ted Stevens by Verne Robinson dated May 11, 1979, about the impact of land withdrawals on the Aleutians. The handwritten notes appear to be written by Gene Craig and were likely written to give Gillette leads on whom to speak with in the Aleutian Islands for potential articles. The envelope that originally contained the collection reads, “Jean Craig Note Cold Bay Unalaska.”
Arrangement: This collection is in the original order in which it arrived in the Archives.
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: The Archives holds copyright to this collection.
Preferred citation: Helen Gillette papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Works used in preparation of inventory:
“Helen Gillette Obituary.” Anchorage Daily News, August 17, 2014. Accessed via Legacy.com, July 9, 2024.
Related materials: For more collections relating to journalism in Alaska, please see our topic guide “Journalism and broadcasting archival collections.”
Custodial history: This collection was originally presented to the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections and Archives at the University of Alaska Fairbanks by Lance Gillette, Helen’s son in 2024.
Acquisition note: This collection was transferred from the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections and Archives at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to the UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives and Special Collections in 2024. Lance Gillette signed a deed of gift at that time.
Processing information: This collection was described by Becky Butler Gallegos in 2024.