When Tony and Alys arrived at tract 7 some 8 miles west of their tent city, they went about locating a site for the home soon to be built. Of the five basic plans to choose from, Alys had selected one with total frame structure, “no logs with cracks between them allowed”.
It would have an upstairs with two bed rooms. The first floor showed a mud room entry, with door into the eat-in kitchen. Next was a door entry to a dining room large enough to hold a table for six and some other furniture.
There was an entry to the main bedroom from the dining room. An arched wall led to the living room with windows on two sides, and another entry door from outside to provide an exit in case of fire near the kitchen.
Another door opened to the 4Th bedroom which had an exit door back into the kitchen area so one could go around the home in a circle! This had many safety concerns in mind, with the extra bedroom to be used as a nursery, an isolating sick room, as a guest room, and a sewing room. The children would be able to play inside in bad weather and be near the “control center”, the kitchen, which had enough space for a table to sit everyone for daily meals. There was a large closet between the staircase for an “in door” toilet with entry from the living room.
Tony began clearing some small trees and brush to locate the home out of the wind while facing the barn area and the best view of Pioneer Peak and the sweeping river valley below. Dreams. Reality. Big difference.
They returned to the tent city and prepared to move out to their assigned camp on Tract #3 of the Metz property on a field that he had cleared. The tents were about 12 in number, so they became friends with several families. There was a group garden and other efforts to share the labor. It soon became obvious that not everyone was on the "planners" wave length!
Tony and Harold Boice were already off earning wages in construction and fishing. Alys and Lona were learning anew how to be "fish and labor" widows. All responsibility for chores and child care fell upon them for many summers to come. Other families were of mixed feelings with some men gone from the work crews. Friction was palpable.
Alys began looking for a "home" for the winter. She was well known in the Colony "office" in Tent City by now as she went there often to get the results she thought was fair. The young secretary, Miss Virginia Berg, who was pretty enough to be selected that year as the first Miss Alaska in a contest held in Fairbanks, was very helpful and kind to Alys. She still lived with her parents on the homestead near Four Corners where Trunk Road intersected the Wasilla Road about half way between the towns. Mr. Berg was the salesman for Minnesota Woolens Co. He had met with Alys before. When she approached him about using a storage cabin for the winter, he made her a deal: "Rent in trade for domestic services for as long as they chose to live there." Done! She would move her family there if her home was not going to be completed before the cold weather set in.
It was not long before snow, "termination dust", was moving down the mountains in the distance after each rain storm. The freezing level was lowering with each passing day.
Tony had returned with his "fish money", used to pay for a Sears Catalog order placed in July, to the site work at hand, and they participated in all manner of group projects and social events. Dancing was a favorite, with community parties held in Wasilla, Finger Lake, and Four Corners. The homesteaders and the colonists were mixing nicely. There was going to be "Peace in the Valley" after all!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Post #8 A Day of Chance... Never Unforgotten!
Tony arose earlier than usual on May 23, 1935. He, like all the Colonists, were looking forward to being assigned a piece of the Valley to call "home". Forty acres in most tracts, though some were eighty to allow for unfarmable areas such as steep hillsides and swamps.
For the previous ten days he had been roaming the Valley looking for the area where he felt most comfortable. Nothing too near the rivers Knik, or Matanuska or Alys would leave on the next train. Many families had already left, knowing what was to be done, was not for them. Most stayed in the Seattle area where jobs were available.
He had fallen in love with a section towards the west near Wasilla, a village of a few old log cabins and some clapboard homes, a general store "Herning's", Cadwalder's Wasilla Road House, a Post Office with Territorial Magistrate, Alaska Railroad station, and the Territorial Deptartment of Educations had built a school grades 1-12 just after the school at Fairview was closed. The new building was a source of great pride for the community.
There were more bars then Churches! You could learn much of the local news while being warmed both inside and out at a bar. The most often heard order for service was "Whiskey and Water". Water meant a shot glass full,placed next to the shot glass of whiskey, which was always filled carefully to above the marker line, to show the "bar keep" wanted your business and new how to serve a value! Skimping was not done in any measure in any endeavour. To be labeled as a "Cheapskate" was difficult to overcome.
Tony had visited several "Original Homesteaders", encouraged by the building of the railroad in 1915, with a gift of Coppenhagen Snuff, and a pint of Four Roses. They were pleased that this young man would care about them and want to listen to their stories.
He took it all in. Direction of prevailing winds? Temperatures at the various seasons? What crops are you growing? How do you get cash money? How deep is the soil? How did you clear your fields? What equipment do you have? What size rifle do you own? How deep is your well? Does the water have an order or taste? What can you do with swamp land? What fish are in local lakes? On and on he would ask.
I can recall visiting with Mr Irwin, the first Colony Manager,in my teen years and being proud of his opinion of my father. Don Irwin had been in Alaska and the Valley a few years as a scientist with the "Experimental Farm" to learn what worked best to make a farm work. He told me that he was impressed with dad's knowledge of how to survive. When he asked Tony where he gained so much information, Tony replied: "I went to the School of Hardknocks and used the books called Coppenhagen & Seagrams!" And to his credit, so he had.
Mr. Jacob Metz sold his 320 acres to the Alaska Rural Rehabilition Corporation. This half section bordering the Seward Meridian was divided into four eighty-acre tracts numbered one through four. At $5 per acre, he had a nest egg of about $1500 and apparently the right to live out his days at his cabin site in a hollow just beyond and below tract #3 where Camp Four was located. He resided there until his death.
Mr. Conway owned the 320 acres adjoining the Metz spread just to the East. He did not sell to the ARRC. Nor did Mr. John Johnson who owned 160 acres just south of Conway and across the "road" which was a walking trail made more useable by horse and wagon. The distance to Palmer was 8 miles to the East, and to Wasilla 4 miles to the West from Tract 4 which Tony preferred. It was on the road to be known soon as the Wasilla-Palmer Highway. He had already made verbal committments to Conway and Johnson to help with planting and harvesting their crops in trade for a share of the crops. Tony was the best at "Horse Trading" even without the horse!
Cottonwood Lake, Cottonwood Creek with connections to Wasilla Lake to the west, and over a small isthmus to Finger Lake would be easy pickens for his fishing plan. Cash crop to go with the ice harvesting business he had in mind,and Mink food if he fur farmed.
Henry and Ona Olmstead lived on 80 acres just beyond Conway to the East. They became good friends of our family and we always called them "Grandpa & Grandma" as their children were grown, living in Anchorage and had two granddaughters just a year or so older than Tiny and Gerry. They were in the berry business and always had strawberry, raspberry, currant, and hi-bush cranberry preserves or served fresh in season with cream on freshly baked bread items. The family from "The City" would bring them all manner of magazines and loads of comic books which they kept in their out door privy. A good reading spot for us visitors who would be allowed to bring home any and all that we wanted to read again and again!
Just to the North of this eighty-acre berry patch, was the the home and business of James and Nellie St Clair. They ran "St Clair's Roadhouse" right on the shores of Finger Lake which was a land-locked body of water abundant with Dolley Varden trout. A few Rainbows could be caught, but Cottonwood and Wasilla lakes had the big Rainbows. I was named after James St Clair who was very kind to the Vickaryous family offering trade of farm produce for cash and in-kind food, drink, and entertainment.
"OK, BOYS!" was the call to pay attention from the bosses as the drawing was to begin. That verbage of "You Boys" is found readily in the speaches of the day from President Franklin D. Roosevelt down to the lowest level supervisors. The ARRC managers gave their usual "pep talks" on how important everyone was and how they must "cooperate" and trade only as a combined unit to the "outside" world. Such talk was not welcome from the "Original Homesteaders" already producing farmstuffs for sale in Anchorage, and to the villages along the railroad route to Fairbanks. Some animosity was born between the two groups, but as time went on and the influence of the "Social Experimenters" faded of necessity they became real friends and neighbors with inter-marriages cementing the deal.
Of the several rules of the drawing one of the most important was that a Colonist could trade tracts with others for any reason at all for up to 15 days. Most trades were made so that friends who were neighbors in the states could be close-by neighbors in Alaska.
Tony had a number giving him a draw about in the middle of the line. Two tracts that he would want were still not drawn. He drew tract #7 which was south of the "Wasilla Road" near the "Y" where Hyer Road split off to the South to join the "Matanuska Road" that ran from Fairview near Wasilla to Matanuska Station and then on to the Colony Tent city soon to become Palmer. This put the Tony and Alys just next to the Olmsteads, across from Conway and just East of Johnson. Not his first choice, tract #4 which had frontage on Cottonwood Lake, but close enough.
They went out that day to take a closer look as Alys had not gone with Tony to "survey" the areas. Tiny & Gerry stayed in the tent city with Mrs. Boice whose husband Harold had drawn tract #1. Alys and Lona were already friends in those first ten days, and now they were going to be neighbors and learn to survive without husbands at home all the time as Harold had also taken employment with Bliss Construction in Anchorage. Bliss had also been hired by the ARRC to bring construction crews out to the Valley as they were much behind schedule to get all families "under roof" before snow! Harold was an excellent carpenter and crew leader. Of course any contractor worth his salt would hire him on the spot. Rules of the "Colony" were being ignored by some colonists and the people hired to help build it!
The Colonists began to show a spirit of independence from the start. Soon would come the demands, commands, law suits, and settlements and outright "tickets South on the next train. The "experimenters" in Washington wanted to make this social planning work in the worst way! "Is that so?"
For the previous ten days he had been roaming the Valley looking for the area where he felt most comfortable. Nothing too near the rivers Knik, or Matanuska or Alys would leave on the next train. Many families had already left, knowing what was to be done, was not for them. Most stayed in the Seattle area where jobs were available.
He had fallen in love with a section towards the west near Wasilla, a village of a few old log cabins and some clapboard homes, a general store "Herning's", Cadwalder's Wasilla Road House, a Post Office with Territorial Magistrate, Alaska Railroad station, and the Territorial Deptartment of Educations had built a school grades 1-12 just after the school at Fairview was closed. The new building was a source of great pride for the community.
There were more bars then Churches! You could learn much of the local news while being warmed both inside and out at a bar. The most often heard order for service was "Whiskey and Water". Water meant a shot glass full,placed next to the shot glass of whiskey, which was always filled carefully to above the marker line, to show the "bar keep" wanted your business and new how to serve a value! Skimping was not done in any measure in any endeavour. To be labeled as a "Cheapskate" was difficult to overcome.
Tony had visited several "Original Homesteaders", encouraged by the building of the railroad in 1915, with a gift of Coppenhagen Snuff, and a pint of Four Roses. They were pleased that this young man would care about them and want to listen to their stories.
He took it all in. Direction of prevailing winds? Temperatures at the various seasons? What crops are you growing? How do you get cash money? How deep is the soil? How did you clear your fields? What equipment do you have? What size rifle do you own? How deep is your well? Does the water have an order or taste? What can you do with swamp land? What fish are in local lakes? On and on he would ask.
I can recall visiting with Mr Irwin, the first Colony Manager,in my teen years and being proud of his opinion of my father. Don Irwin had been in Alaska and the Valley a few years as a scientist with the "Experimental Farm" to learn what worked best to make a farm work. He told me that he was impressed with dad's knowledge of how to survive. When he asked Tony where he gained so much information, Tony replied: "I went to the School of Hardknocks and used the books called Coppenhagen & Seagrams!" And to his credit, so he had.
Mr. Jacob Metz sold his 320 acres to the Alaska Rural Rehabilition Corporation. This half section bordering the Seward Meridian was divided into four eighty-acre tracts numbered one through four. At $5 per acre, he had a nest egg of about $1500 and apparently the right to live out his days at his cabin site in a hollow just beyond and below tract #3 where Camp Four was located. He resided there until his death.
Mr. Conway owned the 320 acres adjoining the Metz spread just to the East. He did not sell to the ARRC. Nor did Mr. John Johnson who owned 160 acres just south of Conway and across the "road" which was a walking trail made more useable by horse and wagon. The distance to Palmer was 8 miles to the East, and to Wasilla 4 miles to the West from Tract 4 which Tony preferred. It was on the road to be known soon as the Wasilla-Palmer Highway. He had already made verbal committments to Conway and Johnson to help with planting and harvesting their crops in trade for a share of the crops. Tony was the best at "Horse Trading" even without the horse!
Cottonwood Lake, Cottonwood Creek with connections to Wasilla Lake to the west, and over a small isthmus to Finger Lake would be easy pickens for his fishing plan. Cash crop to go with the ice harvesting business he had in mind,and Mink food if he fur farmed.
Henry and Ona Olmstead lived on 80 acres just beyond Conway to the East. They became good friends of our family and we always called them "Grandpa & Grandma" as their children were grown, living in Anchorage and had two granddaughters just a year or so older than Tiny and Gerry. They were in the berry business and always had strawberry, raspberry, currant, and hi-bush cranberry preserves or served fresh in season with cream on freshly baked bread items. The family from "The City" would bring them all manner of magazines and loads of comic books which they kept in their out door privy. A good reading spot for us visitors who would be allowed to bring home any and all that we wanted to read again and again!
Just to the North of this eighty-acre berry patch, was the the home and business of James and Nellie St Clair. They ran "St Clair's Roadhouse" right on the shores of Finger Lake which was a land-locked body of water abundant with Dolley Varden trout. A few Rainbows could be caught, but Cottonwood and Wasilla lakes had the big Rainbows. I was named after James St Clair who was very kind to the Vickaryous family offering trade of farm produce for cash and in-kind food, drink, and entertainment.
"OK, BOYS!" was the call to pay attention from the bosses as the drawing was to begin. That verbage of "You Boys" is found readily in the speaches of the day from President Franklin D. Roosevelt down to the lowest level supervisors. The ARRC managers gave their usual "pep talks" on how important everyone was and how they must "cooperate" and trade only as a combined unit to the "outside" world. Such talk was not welcome from the "Original Homesteaders" already producing farmstuffs for sale in Anchorage, and to the villages along the railroad route to Fairbanks. Some animosity was born between the two groups, but as time went on and the influence of the "Social Experimenters" faded of necessity they became real friends and neighbors with inter-marriages cementing the deal.
Of the several rules of the drawing one of the most important was that a Colonist could trade tracts with others for any reason at all for up to 15 days. Most trades were made so that friends who were neighbors in the states could be close-by neighbors in Alaska.
Tony had a number giving him a draw about in the middle of the line. Two tracts that he would want were still not drawn. He drew tract #7 which was south of the "Wasilla Road" near the "Y" where Hyer Road split off to the South to join the "Matanuska Road" that ran from Fairview near Wasilla to Matanuska Station and then on to the Colony Tent city soon to become Palmer. This put the Tony and Alys just next to the Olmsteads, across from Conway and just East of Johnson. Not his first choice, tract #4 which had frontage on Cottonwood Lake, but close enough.
They went out that day to take a closer look as Alys had not gone with Tony to "survey" the areas. Tiny & Gerry stayed in the tent city with Mrs. Boice whose husband Harold had drawn tract #1. Alys and Lona were already friends in those first ten days, and now they were going to be neighbors and learn to survive without husbands at home all the time as Harold had also taken employment with Bliss Construction in Anchorage. Bliss had also been hired by the ARRC to bring construction crews out to the Valley as they were much behind schedule to get all families "under roof" before snow! Harold was an excellent carpenter and crew leader. Of course any contractor worth his salt would hire him on the spot. Rules of the "Colony" were being ignored by some colonists and the people hired to help build it!
The Colonists began to show a spirit of independence from the start. Soon would come the demands, commands, law suits, and settlements and outright "tickets South on the next train. The "experimenters" in Washington wanted to make this social planning work in the worst way! "Is that so?"
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Post #7 Matanuska first day...Not Unforgotten
Post #7 Matanuska first day....Not Unforgotten
As they came off the train, Tony and Alys embraced briefly to reassure themselves that all would be ok. Their belongings were already being loaded onto trucks to be taken to the tent city. After Mr. Don Irwin, the manager of the Colony, gave them some words of welcome and some brief ideas about safety they were escorted to their assigned tents. Some families had to share a tent. Some with large families had to fit themselves into one.
Alys set about organizing the family tent as she stepped into it and took careful measure of its possibilities. Stove, cots, bedding, table, bench, oil lamp, shelf, and a selection of kitchenware were stacked inside. Suitable. Clean, with small spaces in the wood floor that she was used to dealing with. A blanket used as a divider would give the girls privacy and a quiet area to call their own. Two cots pushed together for she and her husband would suffice. She would trade one cot to a neighbor, Lona Boice, for more bedding as the girls could share and this gave more space in the "living" area.
Tony set up a wood plank walkway to keep the mud away from the tent door. The frost had just gone out of the ground, and the mud was awful. It stuck to their feet like wet cement, only to dry soon and flake off into dust. Managers were aghast that their piles of lumber were "disappearing" as survival and make do instincts kicked in among the colonists who made good use of any items they could "appropriate".
Their evening meal was served in the train dinning cars by the cooks from the CCC crews. Oranges from California were served as desert. Alys divided one amongst them, and kept three for the girls to have in the days to come.
After some visiting and walking, the family settled in for their first night in the Matanuska Valley. Tiny and Gerry slept soundly after getting a "bird" bath in a basin of warm water heated in the side tank of the wood burning kitchen stove. While the sun had not quite set, the new Alaskan couple covered up and snuggled closely to keep warm and to continue the strong bond that was growing between them. They were going to be ok!
NORTH TO ALASKA..........AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!
"North! to Alaska, Go North the Rush is On!" is one of favorite songs. The night we met in San Diego, California 46 years ago, this song came on the "jukebox" as we were already on the dance floor. We learned much later that Cathie's best girl friend selected that for us after learning that Jim hailed from the 49Th State.
Cathie and I left son Jim and Jen's home in Sanford, Florida on May 13, 2010 a Thursday. We had arrived there the evening prior from Naples, Florida in our tow able 04 Saturn wagon packed with supplies and items that would be needed by Joe and Gabe when they flew to Anchorage in June. The Infinity RV was ready for pick up at La Mesa RV the next morning, having been taken in by Jimmy a few days before for some repairs and servicing. Thank you Jim and Jen for your gift and hospitality. We enjoyed being with Evan and his beautiful sister Irelyn who is beginning to teeth and "talks" much in her own language.
The road to Alaska has unfolded before us now for eight days. We are using our IPOD to determine our route as we go. Thanks to son #2 Brian and Janice for their gifts! We are in touch with the world and feel safe and comfortable using the latest in technology which will have improved and changed even before we arrive in Palmer, Alaska for the 75Th Anniversary Colony Days celebration.
Cathie chose a route out of Florida and to the West to avoid going into storms and twisters in Kentucky, Georgia, and Tennessee. A bit of rain did greet us in Mississippi, and then a deluge got us while we slept in the parking lot of the IP Resort in Biloxi. The ride and brief stop in Pensacola brought up many fond memories of Jim's Naval Aviator flight training in the early 60's and Cathie chimed in with her own war stories as a Navy RN. Good memories all with many friends still in our lives. We have come to believe in: Our FAITH, Our FAMILY, and Our FRIENDS.
Infinity has taken us North following Old Man River from Vicksburg, MS where we crossed over to head sort of NW towards Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. There was much rain and wind into Arkansas and Missouri but we had a nice dry stay in Branson MO where we toured in our Saturn and took in the show "The Twelve Irish Tenors". They were excellent, each taking turns at solo work. Three of them were of Opera class and thrilled the audience with classical selections. Our favorite was Keven, a very handsome young man who had broken is left arm above the wrist. My guess? Bending arms at the bar! His rendition of Sinatra's "I'll Do It My Way!" got people to their feet. Welcome to America, young man.
North from Branson took us soon into low river bottom farmlands and small towns to service the farmers. Thousands upon thousands of acres in cotton, corn, beans, beets, grains, and many vegetable crops as well. As we passed into Iowa, the crop corn was King. More flat acreage as far as one could see. South Dakota brought even larger spreads with ranch sized farms using huge tractors with giant double wheels and implements at least an acre wide. Now that is farming! North Dakota got even better. The roads improved greatly, and we entered the famous "Red River Valley" (It flows north to Canada.)
This area was once covered by ice. As the ice receded (Global Warming) a large lake was formed which covered much of the Dakotas, Minnesota, and up into Manitoba. The Lake of the Woods north of Warroad, Mn was part of this large lake, greater than the area of our "Great Lakes". The excess water flowed south to the Mississippi river, but as the lake receded with the ice, the water began to flow North. The soil is deep and rich. Many wet spots are in the fields which are farmed around until they dry up later in the spring, and then they are worked and planted to catch up to the previous planting.
We broke into several versus of "From this Valley they say you are leaving...Do not hasten to bid me adieu. But remember the Red River Valley... and the one that still loves you so true!" Thank God for teachers that taught us many folk songs as we learned the history of America. We sang others such as "Ruben, Ruben, I've been thinking..." and "Old man River", and the "Alaska Flag Song"! After we tired of our own voices, in went the CD of the "Irish Tenors" and we enjoyed Kevin's beautiful singing once more.
We would vote for the Governor of North Dakota as the roads there were the best. Iowa was the worst. It does not take long to know who can manage a budget and who can not.
The border crossing came upon us soon enough. The agents working there are a fine credit to
their wonderful Nation of Canada. They made us feel welcome, put us as ease, and sent us on our way without much interruption or delay.
The IPOD said go ziggy zag to the NW towards Regina, SK so we did. More farms! As far as you can see. "Oh Canada!" had begun. We turned off the Trans Canada Highway at a town named Austin to look for a quiet area to park. The road led to an agricultural history display on about 20 acres. It was closed for the day, but we able to view most of the items. Much of the items Tony and Alys had used on their farm in Alaska. Tony's old stationary threshing machine is a dime a dozen in Manitoba. One almost on every corner.
As we continued up the narrow farm road it became obvious that turning around had become a problem. There had been a sign noting a "campground" ahead so when Jim saw a white flag waving he thought it was a child waving us up to the camp area. As we got closer, there were two white flags flashing wildly up and down. Now you see it, now you don't.
Deer! A doe and her young fawn were racing along a fence near the road edge. We slowed so they could slow down too and we could see the beauty of these animals only trying to get into a thicket up ahead. As the Infinity and its deer team came over the crest of a small hill, a tractor pulling a manure spreader was approaching. The doe decided to turn away from the forest and bounded in large leaps across an open field to her right. The fawn turned the wrong way! She remained still at a good distance flashing her long white tail up and down. When the youngster realized he was trapped between the now stopped manure and the Infinity, it looked about, saw the white flag and was by the doe's side in an instant! What a treat that was. "Oh Canada!"
Cathie saved the day about turning around by suggesting we turn left at the next gravel farm road which are numbered, and follow it back out to the route we were on. How clever!
It worked, but on the side road we came upon a farmer and son filling a water tank on his pickup truck at the bottom of a dip in the road where a stream passed into a culvert. We waited for them to finish as the road was to narrow to pass, and he came over to inquire why we were "off the beaten trail" with such a big rig? He told us the road would soon turn back to our paved road, and that he was getting water for his family garden. The town charges $20 ca ($.95 ca to US $1) and his well does not produce enough water to use on the garden. Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. That is why man invented beer! Always drinkable!
We slept in a park rest area near a stream that had flooded recently as the tell tale signs were all about. Infinity was safe in a high spot. Gabriel loved the squirrels, and we saw a large gray-brown Heron in the stream on our morning walk. Never knew that Herons migrated, this one surely did. Doubt they could survive a Manitoba winter. Today is Saturday and it is time to move on towards our destination, Alaska!
Cathie and I left son Jim and Jen's home in Sanford, Florida on May 13, 2010 a Thursday. We had arrived there the evening prior from Naples, Florida in our tow able 04 Saturn wagon packed with supplies and items that would be needed by Joe and Gabe when they flew to Anchorage in June. The Infinity RV was ready for pick up at La Mesa RV the next morning, having been taken in by Jimmy a few days before for some repairs and servicing. Thank you Jim and Jen for your gift and hospitality. We enjoyed being with Evan and his beautiful sister Irelyn who is beginning to teeth and "talks" much in her own language.
The road to Alaska has unfolded before us now for eight days. We are using our IPOD to determine our route as we go. Thanks to son #2 Brian and Janice for their gifts! We are in touch with the world and feel safe and comfortable using the latest in technology which will have improved and changed even before we arrive in Palmer, Alaska for the 75Th Anniversary Colony Days celebration.
Cathie chose a route out of Florida and to the West to avoid going into storms and twisters in Kentucky, Georgia, and Tennessee. A bit of rain did greet us in Mississippi, and then a deluge got us while we slept in the parking lot of the IP Resort in Biloxi. The ride and brief stop in Pensacola brought up many fond memories of Jim's Naval Aviator flight training in the early 60's and Cathie chimed in with her own war stories as a Navy RN. Good memories all with many friends still in our lives. We have come to believe in: Our FAITH, Our FAMILY, and Our FRIENDS.
Infinity has taken us North following Old Man River from Vicksburg, MS where we crossed over to head sort of NW towards Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. There was much rain and wind into Arkansas and Missouri but we had a nice dry stay in Branson MO where we toured in our Saturn and took in the show "The Twelve Irish Tenors". They were excellent, each taking turns at solo work. Three of them were of Opera class and thrilled the audience with classical selections. Our favorite was Keven, a very handsome young man who had broken is left arm above the wrist. My guess? Bending arms at the bar! His rendition of Sinatra's "I'll Do It My Way!" got people to their feet. Welcome to America, young man.
North from Branson took us soon into low river bottom farmlands and small towns to service the farmers. Thousands upon thousands of acres in cotton, corn, beans, beets, grains, and many vegetable crops as well. As we passed into Iowa, the crop corn was King. More flat acreage as far as one could see. South Dakota brought even larger spreads with ranch sized farms using huge tractors with giant double wheels and implements at least an acre wide. Now that is farming! North Dakota got even better. The roads improved greatly, and we entered the famous "Red River Valley" (It flows north to Canada.)
This area was once covered by ice. As the ice receded (Global Warming) a large lake was formed which covered much of the Dakotas, Minnesota, and up into Manitoba. The Lake of the Woods north of Warroad, Mn was part of this large lake, greater than the area of our "Great Lakes". The excess water flowed south to the Mississippi river, but as the lake receded with the ice, the water began to flow North. The soil is deep and rich. Many wet spots are in the fields which are farmed around until they dry up later in the spring, and then they are worked and planted to catch up to the previous planting.
We broke into several versus of "From this Valley they say you are leaving...Do not hasten to bid me adieu. But remember the Red River Valley... and the one that still loves you so true!" Thank God for teachers that taught us many folk songs as we learned the history of America. We sang others such as "Ruben, Ruben, I've been thinking..." and "Old man River", and the "Alaska Flag Song"! After we tired of our own voices, in went the CD of the "Irish Tenors" and we enjoyed Kevin's beautiful singing once more.
We would vote for the Governor of North Dakota as the roads there were the best. Iowa was the worst. It does not take long to know who can manage a budget and who can not.
The border crossing came upon us soon enough. The agents working there are a fine credit to
their wonderful Nation of Canada. They made us feel welcome, put us as ease, and sent us on our way without much interruption or delay.
The IPOD said go ziggy zag to the NW towards Regina, SK so we did. More farms! As far as you can see. "Oh Canada!" had begun. We turned off the Trans Canada Highway at a town named Austin to look for a quiet area to park. The road led to an agricultural history display on about 20 acres. It was closed for the day, but we able to view most of the items. Much of the items Tony and Alys had used on their farm in Alaska. Tony's old stationary threshing machine is a dime a dozen in Manitoba. One almost on every corner.
As we continued up the narrow farm road it became obvious that turning around had become a problem. There had been a sign noting a "campground" ahead so when Jim saw a white flag waving he thought it was a child waving us up to the camp area. As we got closer, there were two white flags flashing wildly up and down. Now you see it, now you don't.
Deer! A doe and her young fawn were racing along a fence near the road edge. We slowed so they could slow down too and we could see the beauty of these animals only trying to get into a thicket up ahead. As the Infinity and its deer team came over the crest of a small hill, a tractor pulling a manure spreader was approaching. The doe decided to turn away from the forest and bounded in large leaps across an open field to her right. The fawn turned the wrong way! She remained still at a good distance flashing her long white tail up and down. When the youngster realized he was trapped between the now stopped manure and the Infinity, it looked about, saw the white flag and was by the doe's side in an instant! What a treat that was. "Oh Canada!"
Cathie saved the day about turning around by suggesting we turn left at the next gravel farm road which are numbered, and follow it back out to the route we were on. How clever!
It worked, but on the side road we came upon a farmer and son filling a water tank on his pickup truck at the bottom of a dip in the road where a stream passed into a culvert. We waited for them to finish as the road was to narrow to pass, and he came over to inquire why we were "off the beaten trail" with such a big rig? He told us the road would soon turn back to our paved road, and that he was getting water for his family garden. The town charges $20 ca ($.95 ca to US $1) and his well does not produce enough water to use on the garden. Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. That is why man invented beer! Always drinkable!
We slept in a park rest area near a stream that had flooded recently as the tell tale signs were all about. Infinity was safe in a high spot. Gabriel loved the squirrels, and we saw a large gray-brown Heron in the stream on our morning walk. Never knew that Herons migrated, this one surely did. Doubt they could survive a Manitoba winter. Today is Saturday and it is time to move on towards our destination, Alaska!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
First Version North to Alaska 2010
Cathie and I left Naples, Florida on May 13 for Sanford staying with son James and Jen. The Infinity RV was ready at the service center for pick up in the next morning. After a lazy morning loading up the "extras" we set off in early afternoon driving to the Ocala National Forest to our favorite road out of Florida, I-75. We were singing along to "On the Road Again!". For some reason we are very happy to drive off to nowhere in particular and figure it out when we get there.
We will be "Camping by the Roadside" most of the way, so spent first night next to some trucker friends near Tallahassee, our capital city. We could tell the economy was perking there, government spending influence for sure. Talked with a lady by the gas pumps who seemed very proud of her city and liked her job as a case mgr for Social Security as the state contracts workers to the Feds. Clever.
Saturday was a great day of travel taking in the pretty farmland of the Florida Panhandle. Pensacola brought many memories as we talked about Jim's Navy flight training there in 1961-1963. Cathie chimed in with some of her war stories as a Navy RN! We stayed in the IP Casino & Spa lot with many other RV's and some trucks and boats. We made a small donation in the casino for our dinner and walked to the Infinity in the light rain falling. Then boom! The rain came down in sheets as we hunkered down for the night. Lightning all around.
Sunday was a neat drive north to Vicksburg Mississippi where we found a beautiful spot right next to Old Man River, still flowing. We enjoyed a few hours in a casino there and paid for a day or two of fuel and a small meal. The security guy called us out to move the Infinity, but we convinced them that we were high rollers and had paid dearly for that spot with the great view!
He gave up when we asked to speak with his supervisor.
Monday we drove up to Fayetteville, Arkansas and found a Wal Mart Super Center with cheap petro. Just as we got settled in, here comes the Wal Mart truckers to sleep for awhile too. Most of them travel with dogs, who enjoyed trading sniffs with our Maltese, Gabriel. One old boy said he noticed us on the road and thanked us for signaling him over after he passed us safely. "Not many folks are kind to us truckers anymore." Nice complement. Our drive that day was fantastic, going through thousands and thousands of acres of farms with rice crops, soybeans, cotton, corn all growing well already. Oh, America, the Beautiful! We are so blessed. We need to encourage our young people to learn our history and keep our Country strong, free, and safe.
Tuesday the 18th we drove to Branson, Missouri listening to election day predictions on the radio. It is interesting how the bias of the reporters changes as you go from one area to another. Much of the day we were in Arkansas, so we heard how great Blanche Lincoln was and could see she had strong support in some areas by the signs in the yards. The primary system is good. It really gives voters a chance to sort things out. Little Rock is a big city now, with the obvious problems of a big city. Roads are rough. Not very clean. Tough looking areas.
But very friendly people.
Branson, MO is nice for family fun. We went to the "Twelve Irish Tenors" show which was wonderful. Found a Mexican meal later way out in the countryside. Imagine that! Had a nice stay at the Oak Grove RV park to restore the Infinity to proper order with some tanks full, and others empty. We used our Saturn "dinghy" to go about the town. Fun driving on mountain roads with the small car. Not the RV.
We will be "Camping by the Roadside" most of the way, so spent first night next to some trucker friends near Tallahassee, our capital city. We could tell the economy was perking there, government spending influence for sure. Talked with a lady by the gas pumps who seemed very proud of her city and liked her job as a case mgr for Social Security as the state contracts workers to the Feds. Clever.
Saturday was a great day of travel taking in the pretty farmland of the Florida Panhandle. Pensacola brought many memories as we talked about Jim's Navy flight training there in 1961-1963. Cathie chimed in with some of her war stories as a Navy RN! We stayed in the IP Casino & Spa lot with many other RV's and some trucks and boats. We made a small donation in the casino for our dinner and walked to the Infinity in the light rain falling. Then boom! The rain came down in sheets as we hunkered down for the night. Lightning all around.
Sunday was a neat drive north to Vicksburg Mississippi where we found a beautiful spot right next to Old Man River, still flowing. We enjoyed a few hours in a casino there and paid for a day or two of fuel and a small meal. The security guy called us out to move the Infinity, but we convinced them that we were high rollers and had paid dearly for that spot with the great view!
He gave up when we asked to speak with his supervisor.
Monday we drove up to Fayetteville, Arkansas and found a Wal Mart Super Center with cheap petro. Just as we got settled in, here comes the Wal Mart truckers to sleep for awhile too. Most of them travel with dogs, who enjoyed trading sniffs with our Maltese, Gabriel. One old boy said he noticed us on the road and thanked us for signaling him over after he passed us safely. "Not many folks are kind to us truckers anymore." Nice complement. Our drive that day was fantastic, going through thousands and thousands of acres of farms with rice crops, soybeans, cotton, corn all growing well already. Oh, America, the Beautiful! We are so blessed. We need to encourage our young people to learn our history and keep our Country strong, free, and safe.
Tuesday the 18th we drove to Branson, Missouri listening to election day predictions on the radio. It is interesting how the bias of the reporters changes as you go from one area to another. Much of the day we were in Arkansas, so we heard how great Blanche Lincoln was and could see she had strong support in some areas by the signs in the yards. The primary system is good. It really gives voters a chance to sort things out. Little Rock is a big city now, with the obvious problems of a big city. Roads are rough. Not very clean. Tough looking areas.
But very friendly people.
Branson, MO is nice for family fun. We went to the "Twelve Irish Tenors" show which was wonderful. Found a Mexican meal later way out in the countryside. Imagine that! Had a nice stay at the Oak Grove RV park to restore the Infinity to proper order with some tanks full, and others empty. We used our Saturn "dinghy" to go about the town. Fun driving on mountain roads with the small car. Not the RV.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
#6 Taking Notice...Now Unforgotten
On May 10, 1935, the Vickaryous family was watching their new Valley pass slowly by as the the train slowed to a crawl. Now and then they could see small patches of cleared land. These were flat, well drained, and already with a tinge of green showing from springs' first burst of growth. Yellow Dandelions appeared like back home!
A few small cabins could be seen here and there with sod roofs that had grass and trees growing on top. Large sheets of birch tree bark were under the sod providing a dry living area inside. The Homesteaders encouraged by the Alaska Rail Road in early 1900 had adapted well. Other buildings were in the shape of "lean to" sheds with gated open fronts with storage above where the animals took shelter from the winter winds. The shed roofs were covered with cut and flattened "Blazo" cans after the contents had been used to provide light, start fires, and do some cooking. The sheds were all facing away from the winds and could be seen from a window in the cabins. A careful watch on the barn area was required to guard against predators such as wolves, wolverine, bears, and birds of prey.
"The Matanuska Wind" blows mostly in the winter coming from the glacier to the northeast, and usually begins a day or two after a peaceful snowfall. Tony learned this from his new Anchorage friends when he asked them about the weather in the area and up into the Valley.
The trees are laden with snow. Before you can feel any breeze the snow begins to fall off the trees like a fine dust. As the wind increases in velocity the trees dump huge loads of snow which swirls into the air to be carried hither and yon to build up deep snow drifts around objects. You must build with your doors away from the wind. It reduces the danger of having an opening blown open, less cold comes in as you open the door, and the drifting snow can block you inside. The door must open to the inside so you can escape in case of danger. You can shovel your way out to get water and firewood once the wind stops. The shovel must hang inside the entry next to your favorite rifle.
Tony knew that he had much to learn, well, and quickly. Freezing temperatures followed by snow came early in October back in Northern Minnesota. Maybe by mid September here? Only our months to get his family housed warmly for the winter? What foodstuffs could they store and how much? How do you get dry firewood? Clean water? His three ladies could not trek outside to relieve themselves with that Matanuska wind blowing from behind! Some sort of indoor "privy" will be a must for them.
He had a plan. He already had employment which would be breaking the Colony Rules. "You must establish a subsistence farm!" "Is that so?", he thought. He would get some hooch going and visit the homesteaders to ask them questions. Clear land? Crops? Need fertilizer? Could he fish the lakes under the ice? (He had brought gill nets made for clear water so fish could not see the mesh and turn around.) Is there a market for blocks of ice? Preserve and store food? How to get flour, sugar, salt, pepper, coffee, tea, canned milk, Blazo...? The list was long. While others were perhaps thinking of a land of "Milk and Honey" and "free" handouts at the Government Commissary, to be paid back soon enough with interest, he was counting on his enterprising spirit to "make-do" for his family.
The train to the "Matanuska Tent City" came to a screeching halt. They had arrived! With one quick look out the window they knew a bridge to be crossed had arrived. Would these independent people submit to the orders of planners who were experimenting with "Social Planning"? How many others were quietly observing as they traveled thinking to themselves on how best to provide for their family? Would many others soon be saying: "Is that so?"
A few small cabins could be seen here and there with sod roofs that had grass and trees growing on top. Large sheets of birch tree bark were under the sod providing a dry living area inside. The Homesteaders encouraged by the Alaska Rail Road in early 1900 had adapted well. Other buildings were in the shape of "lean to" sheds with gated open fronts with storage above where the animals took shelter from the winter winds. The shed roofs were covered with cut and flattened "Blazo" cans after the contents had been used to provide light, start fires, and do some cooking. The sheds were all facing away from the winds and could be seen from a window in the cabins. A careful watch on the barn area was required to guard against predators such as wolves, wolverine, bears, and birds of prey.
"The Matanuska Wind" blows mostly in the winter coming from the glacier to the northeast, and usually begins a day or two after a peaceful snowfall. Tony learned this from his new Anchorage friends when he asked them about the weather in the area and up into the Valley.
The trees are laden with snow. Before you can feel any breeze the snow begins to fall off the trees like a fine dust. As the wind increases in velocity the trees dump huge loads of snow which swirls into the air to be carried hither and yon to build up deep snow drifts around objects. You must build with your doors away from the wind. It reduces the danger of having an opening blown open, less cold comes in as you open the door, and the drifting snow can block you inside. The door must open to the inside so you can escape in case of danger. You can shovel your way out to get water and firewood once the wind stops. The shovel must hang inside the entry next to your favorite rifle.
Tony knew that he had much to learn, well, and quickly. Freezing temperatures followed by snow came early in October back in Northern Minnesota. Maybe by mid September here? Only our months to get his family housed warmly for the winter? What foodstuffs could they store and how much? How do you get dry firewood? Clean water? His three ladies could not trek outside to relieve themselves with that Matanuska wind blowing from behind! Some sort of indoor "privy" will be a must for them.
He had a plan. He already had employment which would be breaking the Colony Rules. "You must establish a subsistence farm!" "Is that so?", he thought. He would get some hooch going and visit the homesteaders to ask them questions. Clear land? Crops? Need fertilizer? Could he fish the lakes under the ice? (He had brought gill nets made for clear water so fish could not see the mesh and turn around.) Is there a market for blocks of ice? Preserve and store food? How to get flour, sugar, salt, pepper, coffee, tea, canned milk, Blazo...? The list was long. While others were perhaps thinking of a land of "Milk and Honey" and "free" handouts at the Government Commissary, to be paid back soon enough with interest, he was counting on his enterprising spirit to "make-do" for his family.
The train to the "Matanuska Tent City" came to a screeching halt. They had arrived! With one quick look out the window they knew a bridge to be crossed had arrived. Would these independent people submit to the orders of planners who were experimenting with "Social Planning"? How many others were quietly observing as they traveled thinking to themselves on how best to provide for their family? Would many others soon be saying: "Is that so?"
Monday, May 17, 2010
#5 Welcome to Anchorage...Yet Unforgotten!
The Boar Tide had been spectacular as the train of Minnesota Colonists neared half way down Turnagain Arm. Just as Tony had predicted. As the awesome power of Mother Nature was demonstrated as a prelude of what to expect, everyone took in the beauty of snow covered mountains, rivers and streams gushing into the tidal waters, Mountain Goats and Sheep as white dots high up on the rocks, the occasional black bear with cubs, the moose with as many calves as three, fox, and all sorts of small game in plain view. The hunters in the group took keen notice. Most knew the Second Amendment of their Constitution, and had brought their favorite rifles with them. Tony had several.
Now thoughts of what would be in Anchorage, founded when the Alaska Railroad was built from Seward to Fairbanks. It ran more than 800 miles across the wilderness, connecting a deep water port with temperate weather, and not much winter ice, with the Interior of Alaska. A sure buffer, rich in resources, delaying any invaders of the USA from Europe or Asia.
Leaders, both commercial and political, from the Territory of Alaska, states on the West Coast, and the Federal Government were pushing for economic development in the Far North in the tradition of "Manifest Destiny" & "Go west young man!" And come they did. The influx of the Gold Rushes, the homesteaders, merchants, camp followers, teachers, preachers, newsmen, lumber mill operators, commercial fishing interests, fur traders, and the usual scallywag among many others. The rules were those of survival, and sharing knowledge to help each other. Not much in law enforcement. Not many laws. No permitting required. You want it, you build it.
Done.
As the train pulled to a stop at the station in Anchorage, Tony and Alys could see the town was up a hill on a ridge overlooking Cook Inlet with a view of Mt Susitna, known as the sleeping lady, as its outline suggested. Later they would be able to see Mt McKinley when they visited the city mostly for business and trade. But it had to be a clear day. It was raining now.
The community of Anchorage was well organized and treated all to a large dinner of locally harvested foods from their gardens and stored all winter. Wild game was the source of meat and many families got there first taste of deer, bear, moose, goat, sheep, canned salmon, smoked salmon, brine cured salmon, Rainbow, Dolly Var den, Steel head and Sea trout. Halibut, King Crab, Shrimp, and even some local beef!
Both groups were taking careful measure of each other. Would these "Cheechakos" (newcomers) last, and can they help our city grow? Will these "Sourdoughs" (old timers) "play fair" and trade with us? Competition is good, and with handshakes and bear hugs all around the Vickaryous family boarded the train to Palmer.
Tony had already made friends with Koslosky, Emard, Atwood, Col Olson, and promised he would be in touch with them soon. Fourth Avenue, the main street of Anchorage, was already peppered with bars. Years later, Bob Hope would joke that "this Avenue is the longest bar in the World" while visiting Troops at the two Bases yet to be built.
Tony had made himself welcome in a few by accepting a drink as patrons would call out: "Set 'em Joe, for my new Cheechako friend Tony!" "He is up here to cut a fat hog in the ass!" Alys had taken the girls for a walk down Fourth to window shop knowing that in the short time available he would make lasting friendships and not get more than a warm glow on. She would learn soon enough that he had been hired by Mr. Emard to start fishing for salmon!
She had entered a few stores and was welcomed warmly. She dressed very stylishly.Her girls were neat and clean. She was sure that her family was welcome here. She had enjoyed learning what Tony would have to do to become a Sourdough. The word describes a pancake batter with a yeast base. If you use it up and yeast is hard to come by you are out of Sourdough pancakes. So, you keep a small crock of the batter near the stove to be warm so the yeast grows for the next batch. Leave some starter. When your friend needs some, share. Real Sourdough has a heritage as old as man passed down like their genes! To become an Alaskan Sourdough, a Cheechako has to shoot a bear, piss across the Yukon river, and sleep with a Native "Squaw" woman. Good luck getting all that done in quick time!
As the train snaked its way into the Matanuska Valley along the foothills of the Chugach mountain range they could see Pioneer Peak, the Three Sisters, The Butte, the Eklutna Flats,
and the streams and rivers. Lots of them. Then they crossed the Knik river. It was raging with that silty looking roiling water. "Oh! Dear Jesus, Mary, and Joseph" came from under Alys' breath. Then in a short distance they crossed over The Matanuska river as they both join the head of Cook Inlet very near to each other. This namesake for their new home was even larger than the Knik, and more silty looking, and very swift with whole trees, stem to stern floating with the flow. "Oh! Dear Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" again.
Where will our farm be? Next to these behemoths? Not in between them. Not on my Life!
Tony calmed her fears by promising he would only choose a safe place for their new home.
"Matanuska Junction just passed by. Matanuska Colony Tent City next!" The town of Palmer had not yet been named for its first business man. The Conductor's booming announcement brought everyone to a window to peer out. Anticipation was at its peak, weeks of fame and acclaim was about to end. Soon it would be sink or swim. Hustle or go hungry. Many surprises were in store. A Colony? It was sinking in. "Is that so?"
Now thoughts of what would be in Anchorage, founded when the Alaska Railroad was built from Seward to Fairbanks. It ran more than 800 miles across the wilderness, connecting a deep water port with temperate weather, and not much winter ice, with the Interior of Alaska. A sure buffer, rich in resources, delaying any invaders of the USA from Europe or Asia.
Leaders, both commercial and political, from the Territory of Alaska, states on the West Coast, and the Federal Government were pushing for economic development in the Far North in the tradition of "Manifest Destiny" & "Go west young man!" And come they did. The influx of the Gold Rushes, the homesteaders, merchants, camp followers, teachers, preachers, newsmen, lumber mill operators, commercial fishing interests, fur traders, and the usual scallywag among many others. The rules were those of survival, and sharing knowledge to help each other. Not much in law enforcement. Not many laws. No permitting required. You want it, you build it.
Done.
As the train pulled to a stop at the station in Anchorage, Tony and Alys could see the town was up a hill on a ridge overlooking Cook Inlet with a view of Mt Susitna, known as the sleeping lady, as its outline suggested. Later they would be able to see Mt McKinley when they visited the city mostly for business and trade. But it had to be a clear day. It was raining now.
The community of Anchorage was well organized and treated all to a large dinner of locally harvested foods from their gardens and stored all winter. Wild game was the source of meat and many families got there first taste of deer, bear, moose, goat, sheep, canned salmon, smoked salmon, brine cured salmon, Rainbow, Dolly Var den, Steel head and Sea trout. Halibut, King Crab, Shrimp, and even some local beef!
Both groups were taking careful measure of each other. Would these "Cheechakos" (newcomers) last, and can they help our city grow? Will these "Sourdoughs" (old timers) "play fair" and trade with us? Competition is good, and with handshakes and bear hugs all around the Vickaryous family boarded the train to Palmer.
Tony had already made friends with Koslosky, Emard, Atwood, Col Olson, and promised he would be in touch with them soon. Fourth Avenue, the main street of Anchorage, was already peppered with bars. Years later, Bob Hope would joke that "this Avenue is the longest bar in the World" while visiting Troops at the two Bases yet to be built.
Tony had made himself welcome in a few by accepting a drink as patrons would call out: "Set 'em Joe, for my new Cheechako friend Tony!" "He is up here to cut a fat hog in the ass!" Alys had taken the girls for a walk down Fourth to window shop knowing that in the short time available he would make lasting friendships and not get more than a warm glow on. She would learn soon enough that he had been hired by Mr. Emard to start fishing for salmon!
She had entered a few stores and was welcomed warmly. She dressed very stylishly.Her girls were neat and clean. She was sure that her family was welcome here. She had enjoyed learning what Tony would have to do to become a Sourdough. The word describes a pancake batter with a yeast base. If you use it up and yeast is hard to come by you are out of Sourdough pancakes. So, you keep a small crock of the batter near the stove to be warm so the yeast grows for the next batch. Leave some starter. When your friend needs some, share. Real Sourdough has a heritage as old as man passed down like their genes! To become an Alaskan Sourdough, a Cheechako has to shoot a bear, piss across the Yukon river, and sleep with a Native "Squaw" woman. Good luck getting all that done in quick time!
As the train snaked its way into the Matanuska Valley along the foothills of the Chugach mountain range they could see Pioneer Peak, the Three Sisters, The Butte, the Eklutna Flats,
and the streams and rivers. Lots of them. Then they crossed the Knik river. It was raging with that silty looking roiling water. "Oh! Dear Jesus, Mary, and Joseph" came from under Alys' breath. Then in a short distance they crossed over The Matanuska river as they both join the head of Cook Inlet very near to each other. This namesake for their new home was even larger than the Knik, and more silty looking, and very swift with whole trees, stem to stern floating with the flow. "Oh! Dear Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" again.
Where will our farm be? Next to these behemoths? Not in between them. Not on my Life!
Tony calmed her fears by promising he would only choose a safe place for their new home.
"Matanuska Junction just passed by. Matanuska Colony Tent City next!" The town of Palmer had not yet been named for its first business man. The Conductor's booming announcement brought everyone to a window to peer out. Anticipation was at its peak, weeks of fame and acclaim was about to end. Soon it would be sink or swim. Hustle or go hungry. Many surprises were in store. A Colony? It was sinking in. "Is that so?"
Saturday, May 15, 2010
#4 Out of Seward....More Unforgotten
The rain was coming down in sheets. The SS St Mihiel was rocking and bucking even as it was moored at the Seward City dock. After a good breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and coffee, Tony and Alys spiffed up their area, gathered up Tiny and Gerry in their best looking outfits and hurried on deck for the big day. The day on disembarkation!
It was May 10, 1935. The train to take them from Seward to Palmer, with a stop in Anchorage for lunch, was huffing and puffing and ready to roll. Steam hissed as the relief valves allowed the hot gas to escape near the driving pistons to prevent a boiler explosion.
The families waved goodbye to the townspeople many of whom were Alaskan Natives of various cultures. Seward was the location of a school run by the Interior Department for Alaskan Native children who were sent from their villages to central locations to be trained in the ways of the white man. They were excellent students with much artistic talent.
Benny Benson won a contest to design the Alaskan Flag at age 13 in 1926. His knowledge of the outdoors on cold winter nights led him to depict the Big Dipper with the North Star lined up above the two outer stars forming the lip of the utensil. The field of Blue from the sky, and gold for Alaska's great natural resources and fields of flowers. He wrote: " “The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaska flower. The North Star is for the future of the state of Alaska, the most northerly in the Union. The dipper is for the Great Bear — symbolizing strength.”
"EIGHT STARS OF GOLD ON A FIELD OF BLUE..."
The Vickaryous family thrilled at the climb from sea level up to a higher plain to travel over Moose Pass. The tracks curved in a circle climbing ever higher with each revolution. It took several of these twists to get over the mountains and as you looked out, down, and back you could see the caboose just across from the engine. Looking down would take your breath away if you could imagine a derailment on the way up.
It was not long before the steam engine could relax and coast towards the end of Turnagain Arm, named so by Captain Cook for another failure to find that Northwest Passage that would make him rich and famous. His name is known everywhere in Alaska along with many other explorers who came before him and after to make Alaska available to some erstwhile "farmers" from Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Turnagain was typical Alaska. Beautifully rough, barren, and isolated. It came into full view as they passed over the bridges of the several streams flowing into the tidal waters which were gone! The whole inlet was a sea of gray silty mud with some areas of trapped water or streams flowing to Cook Inlet the main outlet to the Pacific Ocean. Oh God, Alys thought , is this like the Matanuska River that will be near our farm?
She could remember the flooding of the rivers in Minnesota and how Warroad was engulfed when she was a child. Her family was not injured, but many others were, their property ruined. The grave yard had to be moved to another site by the town to avoid health issues. Her father Edmond and a friend had a delivery business with teams of horses and wagons. They were hired for the job, digging up caskets, moving them to the new site, and reburying them. Her father told stories of how many of the bodies were turned face down when they would open some to see what "Old Joe" looked like. They had been buried alive in haste during flu epidemics! Though she harbored fears of the raging rivers, she knew Tony understood and respected its awesome power and did not fear his working on the water. "He is a fisherman, not a farmer," she mused to herself.
"Girls and Alys!" Tony cautioned. "Look for a Boar Tide. The wind is blowing against the outgoing tide, and soon after low tide, all that water you can see miles down the Arm is going to come rushing back along here." He described how a wall of water laden with muddy silt, small rocks, dead tree limbs, and other debris will be chased by the sea gulls as this turns up easy pickens for them. Fish ready to eat all served up in a cloud of mist, froth, and foam! If you are so dumb as to be out there, you are a goner! Learn this:" Low Tide! Slack Tide! High Tide! You must know the difference!" "Always, six hours in, six hours out."
Alys listened, wondering how could this man know all this stuff? He never lived where such a thing could occur. Just another one of his stories gathered from his many treasured sea-salt friends, most of whom drank more than they fished. "Damn it! I wish he would not enjoy that drink so much." She felt a chill of jealousy, as any women would, who recognized a challenge from other women paying too much of the wrong kind of attention to her man. She could handle other women taking after her handsome man . But the Devil in a Seagram's Seven bottle? How many bottles can one woman destroy?
She was ready to fight for her man, with a new start in training him up, the way most wives do. Found Mr Right? Wonderful! Now shape him into the man you imagined him to be! "Is that so?"... Good Luck Alys!
TURNAGAIN TIDE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tFQB5naImI&feature=related
It was May 10, 1935. The train to take them from Seward to Palmer, with a stop in Anchorage for lunch, was huffing and puffing and ready to roll. Steam hissed as the relief valves allowed the hot gas to escape near the driving pistons to prevent a boiler explosion.
The families waved goodbye to the townspeople many of whom were Alaskan Natives of various cultures. Seward was the location of a school run by the Interior Department for Alaskan Native children who were sent from their villages to central locations to be trained in the ways of the white man. They were excellent students with much artistic talent.
Benny Benson won a contest to design the Alaskan Flag at age 13 in 1926. His knowledge of the outdoors on cold winter nights led him to depict the Big Dipper with the North Star lined up above the two outer stars forming the lip of the utensil. The field of Blue from the sky, and gold for Alaska's great natural resources and fields of flowers. He wrote: " “The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaska flower. The North Star is for the future of the state of Alaska, the most northerly in the Union. The dipper is for the Great Bear — symbolizing strength.”
"EIGHT STARS OF GOLD ON A FIELD OF BLUE..."
The Vickaryous family thrilled at the climb from sea level up to a higher plain to travel over Moose Pass. The tracks curved in a circle climbing ever higher with each revolution. It took several of these twists to get over the mountains and as you looked out, down, and back you could see the caboose just across from the engine. Looking down would take your breath away if you could imagine a derailment on the way up.
It was not long before the steam engine could relax and coast towards the end of Turnagain Arm, named so by Captain Cook for another failure to find that Northwest Passage that would make him rich and famous. His name is known everywhere in Alaska along with many other explorers who came before him and after to make Alaska available to some erstwhile "farmers" from Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Turnagain was typical Alaska. Beautifully rough, barren, and isolated. It came into full view as they passed over the bridges of the several streams flowing into the tidal waters which were gone! The whole inlet was a sea of gray silty mud with some areas of trapped water or streams flowing to Cook Inlet the main outlet to the Pacific Ocean. Oh God, Alys thought , is this like the Matanuska River that will be near our farm?
She could remember the flooding of the rivers in Minnesota and how Warroad was engulfed when she was a child. Her family was not injured, but many others were, their property ruined. The grave yard had to be moved to another site by the town to avoid health issues. Her father Edmond and a friend had a delivery business with teams of horses and wagons. They were hired for the job, digging up caskets, moving them to the new site, and reburying them. Her father told stories of how many of the bodies were turned face down when they would open some to see what "Old Joe" looked like. They had been buried alive in haste during flu epidemics! Though she harbored fears of the raging rivers, she knew Tony understood and respected its awesome power and did not fear his working on the water. "He is a fisherman, not a farmer," she mused to herself.
"Girls and Alys!" Tony cautioned. "Look for a Boar Tide. The wind is blowing against the outgoing tide, and soon after low tide, all that water you can see miles down the Arm is going to come rushing back along here." He described how a wall of water laden with muddy silt, small rocks, dead tree limbs, and other debris will be chased by the sea gulls as this turns up easy pickens for them. Fish ready to eat all served up in a cloud of mist, froth, and foam! If you are so dumb as to be out there, you are a goner! Learn this:" Low Tide! Slack Tide! High Tide! You must know the difference!" "Always, six hours in, six hours out."
Alys listened, wondering how could this man know all this stuff? He never lived where such a thing could occur. Just another one of his stories gathered from his many treasured sea-salt friends, most of whom drank more than they fished. "Damn it! I wish he would not enjoy that drink so much." She felt a chill of jealousy, as any women would, who recognized a challenge from other women paying too much of the wrong kind of attention to her man. She could handle other women taking after her handsome man . But the Devil in a Seagram's Seven bottle? How many bottles can one woman destroy?
She was ready to fight for her man, with a new start in training him up, the way most wives do. Found Mr Right? Wonderful! Now shape him into the man you imagined him to be! "Is that so?"... Good Luck Alys!
TURNAGAIN TIDE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tFQB5naImI&feature=related
Friday, May 7, 2010
#3 Resting in Seward...still Unforgotten
It was 75 years ago today that Tony, Alys and two little girls remained on the SS St Mihiel at the dock in Seward Alaska. The ship had arrived on the May 6 having left San Francisco, California on May 1, 1935! The "project" leaders knew the first homes in Palmer, being a tent city put together by Civilian Conservation Corps men who had left San Francisco on April 23rd aboard the SS North Star with a stop in Ketchikan and Juneau to take on milled lumber, were not ready yet. There was an outbreak of German Measles on the St Mihiel, so medical folks in Seward wanted a period of isolation before letting anyone off. CCC workers that were on the ship were let off and sent to Palmer by train right away, so perhaps only the children were at risk.
The City of Seward, named after the Secretary of State who arranged to purchase Alaska from the Russians for about $7,200,000 shortly after the Civil War ended, had welcomed the "colonists" with open arms from their pier as the local band played patriotic songs, and the Alaskan Flag Song was sung for them to hear for the first time:
Eight stars of gold on a field of blue --
Alaska's flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flower's nearby;
The gold of the early sour dough's dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear"-- the "Dipper" -- and, shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
Over land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska's flag -- to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier. --Marie Drake
The new Alaskan family enjoyed the ship, especially now that it was smooth sailing at the dock. The trip up the Pacific Coast and via the Inland Passage was very rough. Alys and the girls stayed in their bunks quite ill as Tony took care of them in between his turn at various poker games that had broken out long before the measles did. He was an excellent poker player with loads of experience in Detroit, on The Great Lakes freighters, in the Minnesota lumber camps, and with the harvest crews that followed the grain crops as they ripened across the Midwest. He and Ed had been to Idaho to help their older brother Michael with his harvests and would work up into Canada following the threshers there. Poker was his game, and he had that poker face.
Alys enjoyed walking the deck with the girls, who were not covered with little red dots, and taking in the beautiful scene all about them. Blue-green sea water of Resurrection Bay. Birds of many kinds flying about. Harbor Seals. Fish were visible in the water. Some rain, but not too cold. Low clouds would move by fast, then revealing breathtaking views of mountains so large, and blue, and snow covered and coming right down into the water. The town looked quaint, much like she had seen at "home".
"Home!" She said to no one in particular. She did miss her sister Lillian who had taken care of her after Tonia died. There had been some complications, but she had healed quickly physically as women are wont to do, and she would always remember her lost little girl. She had said her good byes to her mother at graveside when they had the service for Tonia. When her mother died a couple of years before, she and Tony were newlyweds in their little shack on Oak Island on The Lake of the Woods. She awoke one night with a sudden fright.
She felt a presence near her side of the bed! As she sat up the presence moved across the room and stood in the corner. It was an image of her mother Licktal Sourdiff with her hands in a prayerful position in front of her large bosoms! "Tony!" she screamed. He awoke with a start, jumping for his loaded rifle next to the bed. "Have you seen a snake again women?" After awhile they fell asleep discussing what had just happened. The next morning when Uncle Wilford arrived on his boat the Bert Steele he brought the news that their mother had passed in the night.
Her father and brothers and wives wished her well as they loaded a truck, provided by the county relief office, to be taken to the train station in Baudette and then on to St Paul to be joined by 66 other Minnesota families and sent off royally by that city. The train to San Francisco left on April 26, 1935 from the St Paul station just after a group picture was taken of folks waiting to board. The Vickaryous family is in the center front of the picture. New clothes were the order of the day. The source of the funds needed are surmised to be from Alys' thrifty way of saving for that special day supplemented by relief funds loaned as part of their transport costs.
The train was comfortable enough, though crowded. The girls played with new-found friends as mothers did laundry at scheduled stops each day. The men did their usual talking about the future, hunting, fishing, farming questions, and got much needed exercise walking about near the stations. The newspapers were full of stories of the "Colony in Alaska" and "The Last Frontier" and all sorts of wild stories to be lived up to. Interviews were given, and a different story was told each time someone was interviewed. The "Colonists" name stuck, and the family rather liked it and all the fame that was heaped upon them. The girls got toys and games as gifts from various groups wanting to help the new "Pioneers" on their way. It was all part of "The New Deal" of course, and the Nation was looking for some happy news.
The train headed due South towards Omaha then West towards Nevada, and then over Donner's Pass and through the Sacramento Valley to the Port City of San Francisco arriving April 29, 1935. Much of the trip was at night, most were asleep, and when they did wake only a glimpse of the mountains were visible in their shadowy form sometimes lit up by the moon. They did much talking about how they got here, on this train, going to some really strange place, with unknown challenges and opportunities. Whose idea was this? No one had any clue. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had won them over, and they trusted his judgment.
Tony and Alys quietly prayed together the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, The Act of Contrition, and The Apostle's Creed. Tony could say the first three prayers, and only in the Polish Language. When he did pray, it was music to her ears. She was a very devout Catholic. Tony thanked his wife for coming with him as he knew his family's future was ahead no matter who had the big idea, or the players behind it, or their intentions for them. He knew he was a survivor and a damn good one too. He would always respond with: "Is that so?" whenever he was told he could NOT do something, or HOW to do it, or HOW NOT to do it, or even to DO it!
He had heard on the radio that the State Emergency Relief Agency was looking for people to go to Alaska so he went to the local office April 22 and was told the list was filled, and besides, he was not listed on the County relief rolls. "Is that so?"
He knew the Secretary of State, Mike Holmes from Roseau. If he was somehow selected later, he reasoned, he would need to sell his highly prized commercial fishing license to a family member. The licensing director told him his brother would have to wait in line as there were many waiting for a license to come open. "Is that so?"
Tony called his friend Mike who saw Governor Floyd B. Olson that afternoon and all was taken care of. "Is that so?" When he returned to the welfare office later that day he was told that "an opening had just been made available"! "IS THAT SO?" "And oh, by the way, your license has been transferred as you asked." "IS THAT SO?"
The young adventurous family had then just two days to be ready for the trip to their new unknown home in the wilds of Alaska. A tent? Any cleared land? Could Tony really farm? Wouldn't he rather fish commercially? What about his side business? Will the "Feds" let his Rube Goldberg-looking still go along as "household goods"? Will he be arrested if they find it? Shouldn't we bring a wood burning kitchen stove instead of a still? What do we have to trade with the Indians? There is going to be problems with the Colony Contract which Alys had read over very carefully. They would cross such a bridge when they came to it!
Little did they know that bridge was coming very soon...
The City of Seward, named after the Secretary of State who arranged to purchase Alaska from the Russians for about $7,200,000 shortly after the Civil War ended, had welcomed the "colonists" with open arms from their pier as the local band played patriotic songs, and the Alaskan Flag Song was sung for them to hear for the first time:
Eight stars of gold on a field of blue --
Alaska's flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flower's nearby;
The gold of the early sour dough's dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear"-- the "Dipper" -- and, shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
Over land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska's flag -- to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier. --Marie Drake
The new Alaskan family enjoyed the ship, especially now that it was smooth sailing at the dock. The trip up the Pacific Coast and via the Inland Passage was very rough. Alys and the girls stayed in their bunks quite ill as Tony took care of them in between his turn at various poker games that had broken out long before the measles did. He was an excellent poker player with loads of experience in Detroit, on The Great Lakes freighters, in the Minnesota lumber camps, and with the harvest crews that followed the grain crops as they ripened across the Midwest. He and Ed had been to Idaho to help their older brother Michael with his harvests and would work up into Canada following the threshers there. Poker was his game, and he had that poker face.
Alys enjoyed walking the deck with the girls, who were not covered with little red dots, and taking in the beautiful scene all about them. Blue-green sea water of Resurrection Bay. Birds of many kinds flying about. Harbor Seals. Fish were visible in the water. Some rain, but not too cold. Low clouds would move by fast, then revealing breathtaking views of mountains so large, and blue, and snow covered and coming right down into the water. The town looked quaint, much like she had seen at "home".
"Home!" She said to no one in particular. She did miss her sister Lillian who had taken care of her after Tonia died. There had been some complications, but she had healed quickly physically as women are wont to do, and she would always remember her lost little girl. She had said her good byes to her mother at graveside when they had the service for Tonia. When her mother died a couple of years before, she and Tony were newlyweds in their little shack on Oak Island on The Lake of the Woods. She awoke one night with a sudden fright.
She felt a presence near her side of the bed! As she sat up the presence moved across the room and stood in the corner. It was an image of her mother Licktal Sourdiff with her hands in a prayerful position in front of her large bosoms! "Tony!" she screamed. He awoke with a start, jumping for his loaded rifle next to the bed. "Have you seen a snake again women?" After awhile they fell asleep discussing what had just happened. The next morning when Uncle Wilford arrived on his boat the Bert Steele he brought the news that their mother had passed in the night.
Her father and brothers and wives wished her well as they loaded a truck, provided by the county relief office, to be taken to the train station in Baudette and then on to St Paul to be joined by 66 other Minnesota families and sent off royally by that city. The train to San Francisco left on April 26, 1935 from the St Paul station just after a group picture was taken of folks waiting to board. The Vickaryous family is in the center front of the picture. New clothes were the order of the day. The source of the funds needed are surmised to be from Alys' thrifty way of saving for that special day supplemented by relief funds loaned as part of their transport costs.
The train was comfortable enough, though crowded. The girls played with new-found friends as mothers did laundry at scheduled stops each day. The men did their usual talking about the future, hunting, fishing, farming questions, and got much needed exercise walking about near the stations. The newspapers were full of stories of the "Colony in Alaska" and "The Last Frontier" and all sorts of wild stories to be lived up to. Interviews were given, and a different story was told each time someone was interviewed. The "Colonists" name stuck, and the family rather liked it and all the fame that was heaped upon them. The girls got toys and games as gifts from various groups wanting to help the new "Pioneers" on their way. It was all part of "The New Deal" of course, and the Nation was looking for some happy news.
The train headed due South towards Omaha then West towards Nevada, and then over Donner's Pass and through the Sacramento Valley to the Port City of San Francisco arriving April 29, 1935. Much of the trip was at night, most were asleep, and when they did wake only a glimpse of the mountains were visible in their shadowy form sometimes lit up by the moon. They did much talking about how they got here, on this train, going to some really strange place, with unknown challenges and opportunities. Whose idea was this? No one had any clue. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had won them over, and they trusted his judgment.
Tony and Alys quietly prayed together the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, The Act of Contrition, and The Apostle's Creed. Tony could say the first three prayers, and only in the Polish Language. When he did pray, it was music to her ears. She was a very devout Catholic. Tony thanked his wife for coming with him as he knew his family's future was ahead no matter who had the big idea, or the players behind it, or their intentions for them. He knew he was a survivor and a damn good one too. He would always respond with: "Is that so?" whenever he was told he could NOT do something, or HOW to do it, or HOW NOT to do it, or even to DO it!
He had heard on the radio that the State Emergency Relief Agency was looking for people to go to Alaska so he went to the local office April 22 and was told the list was filled, and besides, he was not listed on the County relief rolls. "Is that so?"
He knew the Secretary of State, Mike Holmes from Roseau. If he was somehow selected later, he reasoned, he would need to sell his highly prized commercial fishing license to a family member. The licensing director told him his brother would have to wait in line as there were many waiting for a license to come open. "Is that so?"
Tony called his friend Mike who saw Governor Floyd B. Olson that afternoon and all was taken care of. "Is that so?" When he returned to the welfare office later that day he was told that "an opening had just been made available"! "IS THAT SO?" "And oh, by the way, your license has been transferred as you asked." "IS THAT SO?"
The young adventurous family had then just two days to be ready for the trip to their new unknown home in the wilds of Alaska. A tent? Any cleared land? Could Tony really farm? Wouldn't he rather fish commercially? What about his side business? Will the "Feds" let his Rube Goldberg-looking still go along as "household goods"? Will he be arrested if they find it? Shouldn't we bring a wood burning kitchen stove instead of a still? What do we have to trade with the Indians? There is going to be problems with the Colony Contract which Alys had read over very carefully. They would cross such a bridge when they came to it!
Little did they know that bridge was coming very soon...
Monday, May 3, 2010
#2 IN THE BEGINNING... UNFORGOTTEN
Anthony Slyvester Wikaryasz was born an identical twin in Alpena, Michigan, just moments before his brother Edmond, in the early 1900's. His parents had come to America through Ellis Island in the late 1800's. Labor was needed in Alpena and farm land was available for homesteading or purchase. An area of Poland where wars back and forth took place was the two family's lot, so they got out when it became a portion of Germany. John and Mary (Hoppe) Wikaryous had fifteen children, Tony being about in the middle with another set of fraternal twins a few pregnancies before him. They attended a rural one room school in Bolton, near the family farm on "Wikaryasz" road. Most roads in that area have Polish-sounding (unpronounceable) names as a tight sense of community and helping each other was a method of survival.
Though the boys did not finish the fifth grade and had very limited reading and writing skills, they were experts at the ways of life in making something out of nothing, bargaining skills, food preservation, first aide, cooking, baking, butchery, mechanics, carpentry, animal care, and all manner of survival skills in a very cold climate. Fishing was their forte as they ended up together in Warroad, Minnesota commercial fishing to sell to Booth Fisheries who supplied large cities like Detroit and Chicago with fresh fish kept on ice. This after they worked in a Ford plant for awhile until they got jobs on a Great Lakes freighter and learned of the Lake of The Woods next to Canada where they could also practice and hone their "Bootlegging" skills, sell White Lightning to the Indians, for fish of course, and also send the better grade stuff to the "boys" in Detroit. No arrests are of record except one for Tony for killing a moose out of season! This did not curtail these type of activities.
Alys Hope (Saurdiff) Vickaryous was born in Warroad Minnesota in November 1910 to Edmond and Licktal Saurdiff whose families had come to Warroad to homestead out of Canada having ancestors who came from an area near the French, Swiz border. Way back when the name was Sourdive and morphed over the years to mother's maiden name spelling.
She was born near the middle of the pack of a family of 14! Pictures show that she was very attractive, both her and her best friend Izzabelle , who married Tony's twin brother Ed, had the "Jackie" look and haircut long before the first lady made it famous. Must have been the French influence! Alys went off to Nursing school in Canada after high school, and tells the story of how she was home for a break before finals to become a licensed RN when she decided to marry Tony VICKARYOUS in 1931 (he had changed his name by then), no record of a legal change has surfaced, and used the money she had saved to go take the test to get married. Her nursing skills were practiced widely, but she never became a Licensed RN.
Her first born child came in May 1932 and was named Rose Marie, but most people just call her "Tiny". In November 1933 sister Geraldine Mary "Gerry" came along. Alys had many brief sayings to explain life, such as "The first baby can come at anytime, all the rest take nine months each!"
Tony and Alys lived on Oak Island way out on Lake of the Woods next to the Canadian border with services coming mostly out of Warroad by boats run by Alys' brother Lawrence who kept special watch on his sister bringing mail,supplies and carrying the fish crop on ice back to the Booth Fisheries plant. The name of his boat was the "Bert Steele" which was still in use by Uncle Lawrence in 1959 when I had my first visit to Oak Island where uncle Ed had remained all those years still fishing and putting up ice in the winter for a living.
My father would often leave mom alone on the island as he went about fishing with his brother and other deck hands. They trapped for furs, tended their stills, traded with the native peoples who were by then mostly friendly and provided additional furs, fish and other products to be sold by the brothers. One Indian family's name was Busche with a bit of French trapper in their blood. "The Busche Boys" as they were known could be tough when in town together and any drinking was going on which was most of the time. They came to the Island often when the men were gone, but never gave Alys any trouble. She was unafraid, polite, treated them as equals, served coffee, tea, home made bread, cinnamon rolls, and would trade home cooked goods for items they would offer. They also knew Erling Floe, a peaceful Norweigan was Alys' best friend, who had thrown three of them ten feet into the air onto a dance hall roof when they tried to take him by surprise one Saturday night. They knew that any harm coming to Alys would be dealt with soon and severely. She noticed with a warm spot in her heart, that no other Indian groups came to Oak Island while she was there and believed the Busche Boys were her own police force!
When Tony returned one day in early April 1935 he announced: "We are allowed one ton of personal belongings with us and we leave the end of April for Alaska. We are going to be farmers in the Matanuska Valley near Anchorage! Make a list, I will estimate the weight, then we will take out the least important items to meet the rule. One still must be on the list. Two fish nets. Two guns. Knives. Ice cutting tools. Wood saws. Axes. One skillet. One stew pot."
Alys said: "Horse shit and Damn! You waltz in here as Mr Wanderlust and tell me without asking that you signed up for such a deal? You have been drinking for sure. We just lost Tonia in February in the hands of our midwife dead with the cord wrapped around her neck three times. And you know how hard that was to accept. I should never have helped you load full boxes of fish on ice during that time! Now you want me to leave a hut on an island visited by Indians who are hostile with some still wearing paint, with no water except to melt the ice, holes in the floor where snakes can come through, an outdoor one hole privy, chop your own wood, carry it in and hope you have enough to last until a storm blows over? "
"God Damit, Tony! How could that Matanuska place be any better? Sounds like an Indian name to me. Are they as friendly as the Busches? They must live in huts in the ground. Log cabins with holes between the logs stuffed with horseshit and straw? Who wants to smell that all the time?' My father made a hurried retreat to his dock and ice house area.
She knew his heart was set on this adventure. She respected his survival skills. She loved the son of a bitch. Maybe leaving Tonia at rest on her grandmother Licktal's grave was best to get over the heartache she felt for violating all she had learned in nursing school about prenatal care. She started the list. Tony could not write. Item #1: One still, including copper tubing.
"How do you spell or say Mat an u ska?" "TO HELL AND BE DAMNED!"
Though the boys did not finish the fifth grade and had very limited reading and writing skills, they were experts at the ways of life in making something out of nothing, bargaining skills, food preservation, first aide, cooking, baking, butchery, mechanics, carpentry, animal care, and all manner of survival skills in a very cold climate. Fishing was their forte as they ended up together in Warroad, Minnesota commercial fishing to sell to Booth Fisheries who supplied large cities like Detroit and Chicago with fresh fish kept on ice. This after they worked in a Ford plant for awhile until they got jobs on a Great Lakes freighter and learned of the Lake of The Woods next to Canada where they could also practice and hone their "Bootlegging" skills, sell White Lightning to the Indians, for fish of course, and also send the better grade stuff to the "boys" in Detroit. No arrests are of record except one for Tony for killing a moose out of season! This did not curtail these type of activities.
Alys Hope (Saurdiff) Vickaryous was born in Warroad Minnesota in November 1910 to Edmond and Licktal Saurdiff whose families had come to Warroad to homestead out of Canada having ancestors who came from an area near the French, Swiz border. Way back when the name was Sourdive and morphed over the years to mother's maiden name spelling.
She was born near the middle of the pack of a family of 14! Pictures show that she was very attractive, both her and her best friend Izzabelle , who married Tony's twin brother Ed, had the "Jackie" look and haircut long before the first lady made it famous. Must have been the French influence! Alys went off to Nursing school in Canada after high school, and tells the story of how she was home for a break before finals to become a licensed RN when she decided to marry Tony VICKARYOUS in 1931 (he had changed his name by then), no record of a legal change has surfaced, and used the money she had saved to go take the test to get married. Her nursing skills were practiced widely, but she never became a Licensed RN.
Her first born child came in May 1932 and was named Rose Marie, but most people just call her "Tiny". In November 1933 sister Geraldine Mary "Gerry" came along. Alys had many brief sayings to explain life, such as "The first baby can come at anytime, all the rest take nine months each!"
Tony and Alys lived on Oak Island way out on Lake of the Woods next to the Canadian border with services coming mostly out of Warroad by boats run by Alys' brother Lawrence who kept special watch on his sister bringing mail,supplies and carrying the fish crop on ice back to the Booth Fisheries plant. The name of his boat was the "Bert Steele" which was still in use by Uncle Lawrence in 1959 when I had my first visit to Oak Island where uncle Ed had remained all those years still fishing and putting up ice in the winter for a living.
My father would often leave mom alone on the island as he went about fishing with his brother and other deck hands. They trapped for furs, tended their stills, traded with the native peoples who were by then mostly friendly and provided additional furs, fish and other products to be sold by the brothers. One Indian family's name was Busche with a bit of French trapper in their blood. "The Busche Boys" as they were known could be tough when in town together and any drinking was going on which was most of the time. They came to the Island often when the men were gone, but never gave Alys any trouble. She was unafraid, polite, treated them as equals, served coffee, tea, home made bread, cinnamon rolls, and would trade home cooked goods for items they would offer. They also knew Erling Floe, a peaceful Norweigan was Alys' best friend, who had thrown three of them ten feet into the air onto a dance hall roof when they tried to take him by surprise one Saturday night. They knew that any harm coming to Alys would be dealt with soon and severely. She noticed with a warm spot in her heart, that no other Indian groups came to Oak Island while she was there and believed the Busche Boys were her own police force!
When Tony returned one day in early April 1935 he announced: "We are allowed one ton of personal belongings with us and we leave the end of April for Alaska. We are going to be farmers in the Matanuska Valley near Anchorage! Make a list, I will estimate the weight, then we will take out the least important items to meet the rule. One still must be on the list. Two fish nets. Two guns. Knives. Ice cutting tools. Wood saws. Axes. One skillet. One stew pot."
Alys said: "Horse shit and Damn! You waltz in here as Mr Wanderlust and tell me without asking that you signed up for such a deal? You have been drinking for sure. We just lost Tonia in February in the hands of our midwife dead with the cord wrapped around her neck three times. And you know how hard that was to accept. I should never have helped you load full boxes of fish on ice during that time! Now you want me to leave a hut on an island visited by Indians who are hostile with some still wearing paint, with no water except to melt the ice, holes in the floor where snakes can come through, an outdoor one hole privy, chop your own wood, carry it in and hope you have enough to last until a storm blows over? "
"God Damit, Tony! How could that Matanuska place be any better? Sounds like an Indian name to me. Are they as friendly as the Busches? They must live in huts in the ground. Log cabins with holes between the logs stuffed with horseshit and straw? Who wants to smell that all the time?' My father made a hurried retreat to his dock and ice house area.
She knew his heart was set on this adventure. She respected his survival skills. She loved the son of a bitch. Maybe leaving Tonia at rest on her grandmother Licktal's grave was best to get over the heartache she felt for violating all she had learned in nursing school about prenatal care. She started the list. Tony could not write. Item #1: One still, including copper tubing.
"How do you spell or say Mat an u ska?" "TO HELL AND BE DAMNED!"
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
