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THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE FOUNDING AND DEVELOPMENT OF FAIRBANKS, ALASKA 1903-1923 A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By Phyllis Demuth Movius, B.A. Fairbanks, Alaska December 1996 © Phyllis Demuth Movius Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1382445 Copyright 1996 by Movius, Phyllis Demuth All rights reserved. UMI Microform 1382445 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE FOUNDING AND DEVELOPMENT OF FAIRBANKS, ALASKA 1903-1923 by Phyllis Demuth Movius / RECOMMENDED: S d.V/l. C, U i ^ J t r ^ Advisory Committee Chair " \ Depart: ead APPROVED: Dean, College of Liberal Arts '• / <^ h ^ /t5 e a n of the Graduate School d'n~jb Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract Women of varying backgrounds participated in the founding and development of Fairbanks. This thesis will present portraits of four women who are representative of these variances, arrived in Fairbanks prior to the opening of the Alaska Railroad and the arrival of big mining, and who left written records of their lives. Separated from her husband when she came to Alaska from Dawson, Ellen Gibson struggled to gain elusive financial security. Jessie Bloom immigrated from Ireland as a new bride intent on establishing a home based on European Jewish tradition. Margaret Keenan thrived in an environment that allowed professional advancement. Mary Lee Davis accompanied her husband to Fairbanks and enjoyed social advantage and a successful writing career. Women's experiences in early Fairbanks parallel those of women on the American western frontier in the 1800s. However, river transportation into the Interior and technological advances nationwide gave the twentieth-century Alaska pioneers an advantage. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents List of Abbreviations V List of Appendices vi Preface and Acknowledgments vii 1. A Light In The Wilderness 1 2. Sarah Ellen Gibson 25 3. Jessie Spiro Bloom 48 4. Sarah Margaret Keenan Harrais 80 5. Mary Lee Davis 112 6. Conclusion 148 Appendices 155 Works Cited 159 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. List of Abbreviations AJAC American Jewish Archives Collection CFHR City of Fairbanks Historical Records CRC Clara Rust Collection FEWML Frances E. Willard Memorial Library MKHC Margaret Keenan Harrais Collection RJBP Robert and Jessie Bloom Papers SEGC Sarah Ellen Gibson Collection Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. List of Appendices A Analysis by region of foreign born Pioneer Women of Alaska 155 B Analysis by country of foreign bom Pioneer Women of Alaska 156 C Analysis by region of American bom Pioneer Women of Alaska 157 D Analysis by state of American bom Pioneer Women of Alaska 158 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Preface and Acknowledgments Inspired by my own recreational wilderness experiences living in a cabin on the Goodpaster River in the Big Delta Region of Alaska's Interior, my research about how women lived in the early days of Fairbanks was initiated by simple curiosity. My winter experiences at a cabin heated by a wood stove and without indoor plumbing, running water, or refrigeration caused me to wonder how women a hundred years ago lived their everyday lives under similar circumstances. My first lesson learned was to take advantage of the short number of daylight hours in which to accomplish the chores of pumping water from the well and hauling it to the cabin by snow machine and replenishing the wood box from piles of logs cut, split, and stacked during the summer. The second lesson I understood was to finish the work quickly in order to take advantage of the remaining light for skiing or some other outdoor activity that furnished exercise and fresh air. Once this routine was established, I set out to learn ways to let the wood stove work for me in the kitchen. At first I only attempted to heat up already cooked food, but with instructions from my gentleman neighbor a quarter mile upriver, I actually learned how to cook, and simmering pots of chili and stew became favorite meals. During my first few winters at this wilderness retreat, reading and hand sewing were frequent indoor activities, Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. VU1 but the yellowish light emitted from propane or kerosene lamps made close work difficult. My engineer husband installed solar collection panels that keep twelve volt deep-cycle batteries charged, and all of the apparatus designed for use by modem recreational vehicles became available for our use. My desire, however, to cling to the traditional past did not allow the import of too many of these devices. I still do some cooking on the wood stove that also heats flat irons used to press quilt blocks under construction, but I appreciate the ability to plug in my lap-top computer. Illumination from electric halogen lamps provides better task lighting, but my need to keep in touch with the ways women worked in the past causes me to cling to my treadle sewing machine brought from North Carolina. Like the early Alaska pioneers, however, I have greatly benefited from twentieth-century technology. Introduction to the ever-growing body of literature about women on America's western frontier deepened my interest in Alaska's pioneer women, and I began to apply the questions asked about our sisters in the west to women on the Last Frontier. What preconceptions did women have about Alaska's wilderness and its Native population? Were these ideas changed by life on the frontier? What social, economic, cultural and intellectual preparation did women have for the new experience in the north? Were adaptations made to their previously held ideals of woman’s place in the home and society? Did women assume new roles as a result of their pioneering experience, and did these changes affect individual and national perceptions of woman's place? In what ways did women's impressions of and adaptations to life on an isolated frontier differ from men? This study will explore women who settled in Fairbanks, the new town on the Chena River in the heart of Alaska's Interior, between 1903 and 1923 prior to the opening of the Alaska Railroad and the advent of big mining, in an attempt to answer some of Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. these questions. It will provide insight into their motivation, resourcefulness and accomplishments. The quality of women's daily lives is represented by biographical portraits of four women. Their stories were woven from the women's own recollections preserved in letters, memoirs, personal papers, club records and, to a limited degree, their oral histories and published writings. The women represented here came from a variety of backgrounds, education and experiences, but they all left personal documentation of their lives. As such, they and their families who preserved the records have shaped a view of history. Information about the lives of many other women who participated in the early development of Fairbanks is not as accessible—their memoirs may be inbedded in less definable oral histories or other individuals' stories and recollections. Their part in the broad examination of women's roles in history awaits discovery and analysis. There are many individuals to whom I am indebted for their assistance with this project. I am grateful to all of the archive, library and historical society staff who responded to my requests. However, some stand out for their willingness to go beyond what is expected. Meta Bloom Buttnick's many letters provided otherwise illusive information that added depth to the chapters about her mother Jessie Bloom and their family friend, Mary Lee Davis.