#1 The Unforgotten Man

Hello out there!

Seventy five years ago Jim's parents, Tony & Alys Vickaryous left their modest surroundings on The Lake of the Woods by Warroad, Mn for the Alaskan wilderness. It was about this time of year in early spring when the leaders in our nation's capital wanted to try their hand at "colonization" and under the cover of "taking folks off the relief rolls", do a little experimenting with pure socialization of the human spirit.

Who had this idea? Were they influenced by their "fact finding" trip to the Soviet Union and meetings with Mr Stalin himself? Why were they thinking this would work in the United States of America? Was the "time" then right? Were people so whipped from the Great Depression that they would willingly grasp at ideas their parents and grandparents had fled from? How could a type of communal life be proposed in "America, the Land of the Free"? Was it by Act of Congress, or at the whim of a government planner? Funds were approved and land set aside within weeks! Why the hurry? Who drafted the contract the "Colonists", as they were called, would be required to sign?

When citizens are stressed, history has shown that they will agree to "try things" offered that in better times they would avoid. There were some 200 such "Colonies" set up in the United States during the Depression! Could this ever happen again? Would it be wise? Would you move to such a community? Who will be your community organizer? Will he be elected or selected? By whom? Would you want the job? Would you follow all the rules? Or would you look for opportunities to better provide for your family? Tony & Alys dealt in real life with all these questions!

They made the trip, along with some 202 other families, by truck, train, boat, and train to Palmer, Alaska arriving in May 1935 with Jim's two older sisters in tow. Four years later, after a frightful ride of some eight miles in an old REO truck on a wagon road filled with "corduroy" logs to prevent sinking into the swampy spots, Jim was delivered by Dr Albrecht! Alys told the story of how the bumping in the truck only added to her delivery pains which brought out what she always called her "French" with the exclamation: "You Polish Bastard"! "Slow this son-of-bitch down, or I'm jumping out and walking to Palmer"!

Now after 34 years in Naples, Florida we are "going home" to enjoy Wasilla, Palmer and other areas of Alaska as tourists. We have traveled between Wasilla and Naples several times but have not been up there since 1983. So can we "go home again"? What changes there must be. Can we still find Chief Wasilla's grave site in the woods, or is there a home built on top of it? We will see. Are the Wasilla High School Warriors as proud as they were in 1957?
We hope so...
We have some answers to the questions above. Hope you will enjoy our journey to relive Tony's dream as we travel "North to Alaska" one more time.