Guide to the Norm Stadem photographs
1958-1975
Collection number: HMC-1504.
Creator: Stadem, Per Ivar Norman.
Title: Norm Stadem photographs.
Dates: 1958-1975.
Volume of collection: 0.8 cubic feet and 12 MB.
Language of materials: Materials in the collection are in English.
Collection summary: Slides and an album of prints of an avid outdoorsman involved in skiing, mountaineering, and commercial fishing.
Biographical note:
Per Ivar Norman “Norm” Stadem was born in 1937 in a cabin on the Kvichak River in Western Alaska to Norwegian immigrants. He graduated from Palmer High School in 1956 and earned a bachelors in science from Oregon State College and a master’s in economics from the University of California Santa Barbara. In the early 1960s, Stadem served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Bradford in Pearl Harbor. He carried on the family tradition of commercial fishing, in addition to working as an economist and teaching economics and statistics part time. He was active in both skiing and mountaineering, summiting Mt. Bona and attemping Denali and Foraker. He served as president of the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group in the 1970s and was a member of the Denali Ski Patrol, where he met his wife, Catherine. Stadem passed away in Anchorage in 2024.
Collection description:
The collection consists of primarily of slides taken by Norm Stadem from 1958 to 1975. The first set of slides, dating from 1958 to 1966, was grouped into volumes by Stadem. These slides include scenes of family life, travel, commercial fishing, and photographs of ships and aircraft from Stadem’s time in the Navy. After 1966, the slides are organized chronologically and depict skiing; mountain rescue trainings and activities; and mountaineering trips to Mt. Bona, Denali (then Mt. McKinley), and Mt. Foraker; and a 1975 trip to the USSR for an Anchorage Community College language workshop. In addition to the slides, there is one folder of prints, originally housed in an album, depicting Denali Ski patrol events, construction near Mt. Alyeska, and skiing.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged by format, and slides are arranged mostly chronologically.
Alternative formats: The photograph album had extensive water damage and was digitized prior to dismantling and rehousing of photographs. Please contact Archives & Special Collections for more information.
Digitized copies: The digitized material from this collection is not available online. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Copyright to this collection was transferred to Archives & Special Collections.
Preferred citation: Norm Stadem photographs, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Works used in preparation of inventory:
Anchorage Daily News (Anchorage, AK) Obituary of Per Ivar Norman Stadem. January 5, 2024.
Related materials:
Archives & Special Collections holds the papers of Catherine Statem, Norm Stadem’s wife: Catherine Stadem Papers, HMC-0879 (https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0879).
For additional materials related to skiing and mountaineering in Alaska, see our skiing and mountaineering topic guide (https://libguides.consortiumlibrary.org/ASCskiing).
Acquisition note: The collection was donated to Archives & Special Collections in 2025 by Catherine Stadem, who signed a deed of gift.
Processing information: This collection was described by Gwen Higgins in 2025.
Container list:
| Box/Folder | Description | Date |
| 1/1 | Slides, volume 3: family scenes, travel | 1958-1965 |
| 1/2 | Slides, volume 4: commercial fishing, State of Washington Legislative building, San Francisco, downtown Anchorage, Pearl Harbor | 1958-1965 |
| 1/3 | Slides, volume 6: Bristol Bay, Whitehorse, Disneyland | 1958-1965 |
| 1/4 | Slides, volume 7: commercial fishing in Bristol Bay, surveying, Naval service | 1962-1965 |
| 1/5 | Slides, volume 9: family scenes, Palmer basketball game | 1965-1966 |
| 1/6 | Slides: “Skiing Alyeska, Dad in Arctic, me in Hawaii 1966, California 1968, psycho kittens” | 1966-1968 |
| 1/7 | Slides: women working in office, mountain rescue training, family scenes | 1967 December-1968 January |
| 1/8-9 | Slides: Denali ski patrol, mountaineering | 1968 February-April |
| 1/10-11 | Slides: Mt. Bona climbing expedition | 1968 June |
| 2/1-4 | Slides: Mt. McKinley (Denali) climbing expedition | 1969 June |
| 2/5 | Slides: skiing and mountaineering | 1971 April |
| 2/6 | Slides: mountaineering | 1972 February |
| 2/7 | Slides: vacation and mountaineering | 1973 |
| 2/8-13 | Slides: USSR trip for ACC workshop | 1975 |
| 2/14 | Photographic prints from album: Denali Ski Patrol, Mt. Alyeska. Original album scanned for preservation due to severe water damage. Please consult the Archives for access | undated, 1970 |