alaska history

A building used for fox farming, a unique industry in Kasilof between 1920 and 1940, on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kasilof Historical Museum open one last weekend before end of season

In Kasilof, everything revolves around the river. A visit to the Kasilof Historical Museum shows that it’s been that way for thousands of years. From… Continue reading

 

“Writing desk corner – south-east / Father asleep on couch” circa 1898-1900. This room was probably on the second floor of the two-story Brackett’s Trading Post, otherwise known as the “Mansion House,” located on the northwest corner of 3rd Avenue and Main Street in Skagway. (Courtesy Photo | National Park Service, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Brackett Family Collection, BRSGY049, KLGO BI-45-5246)

Historic collection shows history of Southeast Alaska during Gold Rush

I have mentioned before how history sometimes seems to fall into our respective laps completely out of the blue. This was certainly the case a… Continue reading

 

2017 Kenai Peninsula History Conference releases book with presentations, stories, pictures and more

2017 Kenai Peninsula History Conference releases book with presentations, stories, pictures and more

Last spring, local historians organized a history conference to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the U.S. purchase of Alaska from Russia. Conference speakers and panelists… Continue reading

 

Dr. Alan Boraas, professor of anthropology at Kenai Peninsula College, leads a tour of Kalifornsky Villagein May 2015. The Native settlement was abandoned in the 1920s but is still home to a rich cultural history. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Neyman/Redoubt Reporter)

100 years ago, Spanish flu devastated Alaska Native villages

At the dawn of the 20th century, 15 people lived in the village of Point Possession on the northern tip of the Kenai Peninsula, according… Continue reading

Dr. Alan Boraas, professor of anthropology at Kenai Peninsula College, leads a tour of Kalifornsky Villagein May 2015. The Native settlement was abandoned in the 1920s but is still home to a rich cultural history. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Neyman/Redoubt Reporter)
Dr. Alan Boraas, professor of anthropology at Kenai Peninsula College, leads a tour of Kalifornsky Villagein May 2015. The Native settlement was abandoned in the 1920s but is still home to a rich cultural history. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Neyman/Redoubt Reporter)

100 years ago, Spanish flu devastated Alaska Native villages

At the dawn of the 20th century, 15 people lived in the village of Point Possession on the northern tip of the Kenai Peninsula, according… Continue reading

Dr. Alan Boraas, professor of anthropology at Kenai Peninsula College, leads a tour of Kalifornsky Villagein May 2015. The Native settlement was abandoned in the 1920s but is still home to a rich cultural history. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Neyman/Redoubt Reporter)
This photo from David Leuthe’s book “The 50-Year Summer” shows David and Lynne Leuthe onboard their drift gillnet fishing boat, the F/V Lynne Marie, in Cook Inlet, Alaska. David Leuthe, who died in 2015, documented his decades of fishing in Cook Inlet in the book, which Lynne Leuthe worked to compile after his death with editor Jackie Pels and published in January 2018. (Photo courtesy Hardscratch Press)

Book documents former fisherman’s decades on Cook Inlet

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to show that Jackie Pels will speak at the Kenai Historical Society's meeting at 1 p.m. Every place… Continue reading

This photo from David Leuthe’s book “The 50-Year Summer” shows David and Lynne Leuthe onboard their drift gillnet fishing boat, the F/V Lynne Marie, in Cook Inlet, Alaska. David Leuthe, who died in 2015, documented his decades of fishing in Cook Inlet in the book, which Lynne Leuthe worked to compile after his death with editor Jackie Pels and published in January 2018. (Photo courtesy Hardscratch Press)

Visiting author looks at Alaska-Russian relations

Central Kenai Peninsula residents may not be able to see Russia from their homes, but on Thursday they’ll have a chance to see and hear… Continue reading

Oil workers celebrate 60 years of Swanson River

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the name of Bobbi O'Neill, originally referred to by her maiden name of Burns. Three generations… Continue reading

Linguist James Kari, who worked with Dena’ina speaker Peter Kalifornsky on preserving the vanishing Dena’ina language in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s, speaks at a Kenai Peninsula History Conference panel on Saturday, April 22, 2017 at Kenai Peninsula College near Soldotna, Alaska. Kari presented his work at both last week’s history conference and the one that preceded it in 1974. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Peninsula Historical Conference sheds light on Russian, Native history

Like the history it examined, the weekend’s history conference at Kenai Peninsula College was many things to many people. For Michael Skinner, who gives summer… Continue reading

Linguist James Kari, who worked with Dena’ina speaker Peter Kalifornsky on preserving the vanishing Dena’ina language in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s, speaks at a Kenai Peninsula History Conference panel on Saturday, April 22, 2017 at Kenai Peninsula College near Soldotna, Alaska. Kari presented his work at both last week’s history conference and the one that preceded it in 1974. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)