#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...