Guide to the Imogene Slivsek papers
1941-1946
Collection number: HMC-1513.
Creator: Slivsek, Imogene.
Title: Imogene Slivsek papers.
Dates: 1941-1946.
Volume of collection: 0.5 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Materials in this collection are in English.
Collection summary: Photographs and papers of a woman who worked as a typist with the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II.
Biographical note:
Imogene Slivsek was born in Herminie Pennsylvania in 1922. During World War II, she worked as a typist with the Army Corps of Engineers. From 1943 to 1944, she was in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and Whitehorse, Yukon during construction of the Alaska Highway. She also spent time working at Fort Richardson in 1944 and 1945. After the war, Slivsek returned to Pennsylvania, where she married Roy Bainbridge. She died in 2005.
Collection description:
The collection primarily consists of five albums of photographs taken during Imogene Slivsek’s time working as a typist with the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. The albums include photographs of locations in Alaska, as well as places along the route of the Alaska Highway in British Columbia and Yukon, Canada. In addition to the albums, there is a folder containing loose photographs. The collection also includes a folder containing documents, including a letter, typewritten copies of poetry, menus, and humorous drawings and text. Finally, there is a Pullman Company tea towel with number of signatures and messages written on it.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged by type of material, and the photograph albums are retained in their original order.
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Copyright to materials created by Imogene Slivsek has been transferred to Archives and Special Collections. Copyright to materials not created by Imogene Slivsek may be subject to copyright not held by the Archives.
Preferred citation: Imogene Slivsek papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Works used in preparation of inventory:
“Imogene Bainbridge Obituary,” Legacy, published June 4, 2005. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/triblive-tribune-review/name/imogene-bainbridge-obituary?id=42193496
Separated materials: Selected publications were removed from the collection and transferred to the Consortium Library’s Rare Books collection.
Acquisition note: The collection was donated to Archives and Special Collections by Buzz and Darlene Bainbridge, Imogene Slivsek’s son and daughter-in-law, in 2026.
Processing information: This collection was described by Gwen Higgins in 2026.
Container list:
| Folder | Description | Date |
| 1 | Photograph album labeled “Construction, scenes & terrain along Alaska Highway.” Photographs of building log roads over muskeg during construction of the Alaska Highway. | undated |
| 2 | Photograph album. Page 1: “Construction of Alaska Highway.” Page 2: “Scenes along Alaska Highway.” Photographs of Alaska Highway construction and locations, primarily in British Columbia. Locations include Dawson Creek , the Peace River, Fort Nelson , the Liard River, and Fairbanks (Alaska). | undated |
| 3 | Photograph album: scenes from Alaska and locations along the Canadian portion of the Alaska Highway. The album includes photographs taken during a trip from Anchorage to Fairbanks and an expedition to recover bodies and wreckage from a plane crash in the Alaska Range, near Denali. Other locations depicted include Fort Richardson, Summit Lake (Alberta), Skagway, Haines, Carcross (Yukon), Elmendorf Field, and Bennett (British Columbia). | 1944 |
| 4 | Photograph album: “Dawson Creek, B.C.” The album contains photographs of scenery, as well as Imogene Slivsek and friends in various locations along the Alaska Highway, primarily in British Columbia. The album also includes photographs of friends’ weddings, Christmas and New Year’s parties, and the official opening of the Peace River Bridge. Locations pictured include Fort Nelson (British Columbia), Pouce Coupe (British Columbia), Fort St. John (British Columbia), Dawson Creek (British Columbia), and Edmonton (Alberta). | 1943-1944 |
| 5 | Photograph album: “Whitehorse Yukon.” The album contains photographs of scenery, as well as Imogene Slivsek and friends, primarily near Whitehorse, Yukon and Anchorage, Alaska. The album includes a steak fry at Miles Canyon near Whitehorse, a trip to Fairbanks, a trip to Kluane Lake, a weekend tip to Hudson’s Hope (British Columbia), a trip to Fort Nelson (British Columbia), the Doe River (British Columbia) rodeo, Eklutna Vocational School, scenes from the Kashim Club at Ft. Richardson, skiing at the Ft. Richardson ski bowl, and an Army Day exhibition. Other locations depicted in the album include Haines, Skagway, Dawson Creek (British Columbia), Edmonton (Alberta), Jasper National Park (British Columbia), Lake Bennett (British Columbia), and Carcross (Yukon) Also included are several pages of photographs of friends and family in locations elsewhere in the United States, as well as Korea. | 1944-1946 |
| 6 | Loose photographs | undated, 1944-1945 |
| 7 | Documents: Letter passed between Slivsek and a friend; menu from Shangri-la Chop Suey in Dawson Creek; menu from a banquet, reception, and dance honoring Lt. Col. L.W. Kehe; copy of “The Alaska Highway: A Saga of the North” signed by friends; typewritten poems; humorous birthday announcement for T/3 Irving Cohen; “A Parable of the North”; “Statement by Mortimer Snerd Candidate for Chairman of the Barracks Committee of U.S.E.D.”; a description of Whitehorse, Yukon; a copy of the Northwest News newsletter; “King of the Yukon” cartoon drawing. | undated, 1941-1944 |
| 8 | Inscribed tea towel |