Volume 38, No. 1 Quarterly of the Alaska Historical Society Sping 2010 Alaska Historical Society 2010 Conference Call for Papers Energizing Alaska ndividuals interested in Alaska history are invited to submit Alaska Historical Society 2010 Conference proposals for papers, panels, and poster sessions for the Student and Emerging Professional Travel Awards Alaska Historical Society annual meeting and conference. I The society’s 2010 annual meeting, held in association with The Alaska Historical Society offers two travel awards for a post- Museums Alaska and the Tanana-Yukon Historical Society, will be secondary student and an emerging professional to attend its annual September 15-18 at Fairbanks. The theme isEnergizing Alaska. meeting. This year the meeting will be in Fairbanks, September 15-18, 2010. Each award will consist of reimbursement for documented As a frontier state that is rich in natural resources and experiences some travel expenses up to $750 and a conference registration package. of the most extreme environmental and climatic conditions in the world, Eligibility: An applicant must be a 2010 member of the Alaska Alaska has always had a unique relationship with energy. Some connections Historical Society at the time of applying. Student applicants must are obvious: Prudhoe Bay, the pipeline, the proposed Rampart Dam, be graduate students or upper-division undergraduates in spring or the Amchitka underground nuclear blasts, and the development of fall 2010 with a course of study related to Alaska history. Emerging infrastructure to bring heat and power to communities off the road professional applicants must be employed in Alaska historical or network. Several key elements in the long history of Alaska’s indigenous cultural work and have been so employed for less than five years. peoples—subterranean housing, subsistence hunting and fishing, and the Applicants are to make a presentation at the meeting. Information keeping of dog teams for examples—have depended on achieving that about the meeting and the call for papers are at http://www. fragile balance between energy consumption and conservation. We also alaskahistoricalsociety.org/ refer to industries that “fuel” the Alaska economy, as well as people who have been the “sparkplugs” behind significant events. There are volcanoes, Application process: Each applicant must submit 1) a letter with earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, and other natural releases of energy, a statement of eligibility and an explanation of how attending the of course, that have shaped the Alaskan landscape. The meeting is an meeting will enhance academic or professional development, 2) title opportunity for historians, interested individuals, and researchers in other and abstract of presentation, and 3) a résumé. Applications will be fields to examine the role of energy in its numerous and diverse forms, in judged on the applicant’s achievement in Alaska history relative to Alaska’s past, present and future. current status and the likely benefit of the meeting for the applicant. The application deadline is June 1, 2010. Electronic submission Proposals for papers, panels, and posters should be sent no later than May is preferred. 15, 2010 to Ross Coen, Conference Planning Committee, ross.coen@alaska. edu; address: P.O. Box 100299, Anchorage, AK 99510. Proposals should Send application to [email protected] or mail two copies to: include name of presenter(s), contact information, title, and an abstract of no Doug Capra, Chair, AHS Awards Committee more than 200 words. Presenters will have access to audio-visual equipment P.O. Box 100299 and will be given 20 minutes for their papers. Posters will be displayed Anchorage, Alaska 99510-0299 throughout the meeting. Presenters are to register for the conference. Message from the President Katie Ringsmuth Pacific Connections: Linking Alaska and Hawaii Histories Verso: “Aloha, Hawaii–Congratulations are extended to the newly-elected Senator Oren Long and Rep. Daniel Inouye by (from l. to r.): Sen. Ernest Gruening (Alaska); Senator Long, himself; former Deleg. John Burns (Hawaii); Rep. Inouye, himself; Sen. Lyndon Johnson (Tex.); Sen. Mike Mansfield (Mont.); Rep. Carl Albert (Okla.); and the venerable Sen. Theodore Francis Green (R.I.).” August 1959. UAF-1976-21-55158 ike so many Alaskans this winter, my family and I escaped and Hawaii shared a common national experience. Both territories were the cold and ice of Anchorage and flew to Hawaii for a week. greatly affected as American outposts facing Asia during the Second World We left on a dreary, seven-degree February morning, and after War; and later as parts of a strategic defense system against Russia during La quick six hour flight, arrived at Maui, where it was eighty degrees warmer, the Cold War years. The vital roles that Alaska and Hawaii played during with blue skies, warm breezy trade winds, and color everywhere. We saw those pivotal moments in history eventually earned the 49th and 50th states ancient volcanoes, sandy beaches, and so many whales they looked like admission into the Union. This provided opportunities for a new generation salmon leaping from Bristol Bay! From December to March, humpback of leaders to emerge onto the national scene, including Daniel Inouye, a whales give birth and nurture their young in the waters surrounding the Democrat from Hawaii and Ted Stevens, a Republican from Alaska. Both island of Maui. Soon the humpbacks will swim northward to spend their became powerful U.S. Senators and good friends. summers in the nutrient-rich waters of coastal Alaska. Humpbacks, however, are not the only things that link Alaska to Hawaii. Similar geologic forces Today, the stories of Alaska and Hawaii remain entwined. Tourists from that are driving the Pacific plate beneath the North American plate shaped around the world are awed by their wild and exotic splendor and in turn help the spectacular volcanic landscapes of Alaska and Hawaii. They both were drive both states’ economies. Both continue to maintain culturally strong and inhabited by people who expertly navigated and subsisted from the sea. politically engaged indigenous peoples, while immigrants from all corners of the Pacific call Alaska and Hawaii home. But for me, I suppose I like our Exploration during the eighteenth century linked Alaska and Hawaii, too. cetaceans’ link to Hawaii best. As spring approaches and summer nears, it’s While on his way to Alaska in search of the Northwest Passage, Captain nice to know that the humpbacks will be coming home to Alaska soon. James Cook stumbled upon Hawaii, and on return from Alaska, the great They’ll bring their babies here to eat and grow strong and like us, will dream of world explorer was killed on the Big Island over a stolen rowboat. In the the warm clear waters and beauty of Hawaii. nineteenth century, whether it was Stanford Dole growing pineapple or Del Monte canning salmon, Alaska and Hawaii shared a similar story of big business and absentee capitalism. People from around the world were hired to work in the emerging industries, which changed the racial makeup of both places dramatically. Economic success led to political inclusion. Hawaii became a U.S. Territory in 1900 and Alaska twelve years later. In Completing the Union: Alaska, Hawai’i and the Battle for Statehood, historian John Whitehead points out that during the mid-twentieth century, Alaska 2 Alaska History News Notes from around the state The ever-livelyResurrection Bay Historical Society tells us a most jolly Christmas was held in Seward in 1911, according to the Gateway of that date, concluding with the rather off-putting news that the staff was enjoying homemade candy and excellent cigars. Some things have improved with time. The same paper noted in 1915 that an effort to move the territorial capital from Juneau to Seward, the natural choice, failed. Snapshots at Statehood is a new book with many illustrations, 288 pages, and a good index. Published by the Kenai Peninsula Historical Association, it is for sale at the Seward Museum for $15.00 or can be ordered from them by sending a check for $20.00 (to cover the postage) to Post Office Box 55, Seward, Alaska, 99664. 2010 is a very big year for the Palmer Historical Society. Along with their usual busy summer plans, they will celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Matanuska Colony. They always have good ideas, so expect an The Russian Orthodox Church in Winter in Alaska has a lot of charm until around early outstanding Colony Days this year. You can become a Kenai, Alaska. A domesticated moose stands in foreground right. March when it gets tiresome. There’s just so much skiing, member for a measly $10.00 per year and get some of the UAF-1973-203-21 skating, and enjoying the cozy indoors by the fire a person yummy recipes they often include in their newsletters. can take. TheKenai Historical Society has come up Just send a check to Post Office Box 1935, Palmer, Alaska, with some nifty ideas to prevent you burning your skis in 99645-1935 or see some photographs and history at www. the fire for something different. First, a local speaker whose palmerhistoricalsociety.org. parents came up as newlyweds and not only stayed but took lots of photographs, followed by noting approvingly the Kasilof Regional Historical Association has All Alaskans know the problem of making needed repairs moved a 127-year-old winter watchman’s cabin to the to buildings during inclement weather, but the newsletter museum grounds and is looking for help with repairs. And of the Cape Decision Lighthouse Society details that’s not all; they’re going to have an exhibit of the local some impressive problems last fall. The equinoctial storms Orthodox church’s icons and artifacts while the church’s were blowing, so the usual anchorage was full of logs and foundations are replaced this summer.