Alaska 1949 – 1969: My Journey

By Thomas Norton

About the Author and Book

Thomas Norton, born in 1942, was a resident of Anchorage from 1949 until 1969 and attended Anchorage schools and then studied biology and theology in Alaska, Oregon, California, and Bern, Switzerland. During and after his thirty-year pastorate in Switzerland, he spent about three years over a period of fifteen years in South Korea working in the mission and churches in many parts of this stimulating country. He attended a five-week crash course at the Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, trying to learn their language.
Norton wrote a book entitled South Korea: My Adventures and Sermons and made a DVD in English and German entitled Mission in South Korea on the Salvation Ship and Mission in Südkorea mit dem Schiff Salvation. The DVD depicts the country, mission, and Asian medicine.
During Tom’s ministry in Switzerland, he enjoyed playing curling and was a member of the Swiss American Society in Bern for more than thirty years, six of those years as president, thus having many embassy and other interesting contacts.
Not only has he had many engagements in Switzerland and South Korea, but also, as an Alaskan, he has had involvements and adventures throughout Alaska that were often rare and not experienced by the general public. He considers himself fortunate to have been able to profit from these encounters and feels it valuable to be able to pass on his knowledge to other Alaskans and non-Alaskans. He believes all readers will not only gain from his experiences but also enjoy the interesting and flavorful episodes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664144194

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 by Thomas Norton.1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 11/27/2020

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Contents

Alaska Flag

Preface

Up the Alcan

Our First Anchorage Year

Our First Anchorage Christmas

Spenard

Driver’s License

Fishing Trip

Moose Hunt

Hidden Lake Excursion

Little Susitna Float Down

Crooked Lake Expedition

Wildcat Oil Drilling

Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon

The Day We Lost JFK

The Great Alaska Earthquake

The Great Alaskan Earthquake!

Radio Man

Japanese Fishermen in Alaska

Moose

Stranded at Crooked Lake: No Other Choice

Sheep Hunt

A Bear Incident

The Malamute Saloon

The Great Fairbanks Flood

A Formidable Year

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

About the Author and Book

To all Alaskan Sourdoughs.

Alaska Flag

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 flow’rs nearby;

The gold of the early sourdough’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 the last frontier.

— Marie Drake

Image%201.jpg

Alaska’s flag (Big Dipper and North Star)

Designed by Benny Benson

Preface

Alaska’s Beauty

Alaska, "The Land of the Midnight

Sun—The Last Frontier."

Alaska has something that draws people in awe,

this vast, wild country.

The scrawny, half-dead black spruce trees

make its swamps.

The jagged titanic rocks jutting from the ground

make its mountains.

The massive gray, blue-green–streaked ice fields

make its glaciers.

I call it The Land of Ugly Beauty.

Up the Alcan

Introduction to Alaska’s Beauty

Alaska—The Land of the Midnight Sun, The Last Frontier—has something that draws people in awe, this vast, wild country. The scrawny, half-dead black spruce trees make its swamps, the jagged titanic rocks jutting from the ground make its mountains, and the massive gray, blue-green–streaked ice fields make its glaciers. I call it The Land of Ugly Beauty. Not only was I able to visit this expanse of wonderment, but also, I drove up the Alaska Highway in 1949 with my parents, Glenn and Phyllis, and my siblings, Pat and Chuck. Here, we made our home.

The Alaska Highway — Early History

Building the Alcan was a military undertaking to help protect the United States from the Japanese during World War II. Alaska was strategic to the United States since Japan could easily reach the Continental United States via Alaska. It was necessary to have supplies and military equipment transported from the Mainland United States to Alaska. Many believed the road was so crooked because of the impossible terrain, but this was only partially true. The main reason for the curves was so it would not be easy for enemy planes to bomb or strafe the road during the war. After the war was over and things had calmed down, the Alcan opened officially to all civilian vehicles in 1948–49. The government allowed some public vehicles to travel the Alcan in 1946. However, there were heavy restrictions because of the lack of lodging, gas stations, and vehicle repair stations. In addition, the thawing and freezing permafrost made endless road repair essential. In 1946, only 651 vehicles traveled the Alcan and, in 1962, about 20,000.

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Early construction of the Alcan by U.S. Army engineers

The Alcan Highway, as it was unofficially called in those days, received many puns because of oilcans along the road. In those days, cars used much engine oil. Often workers called it the All Can Highway or the Oil Can Highway; more accurately, it was named the (Al)aska (Can)ada Highway or the Alcan Highway. Often, before and during the construction, workers and officials referred to it as the Alaska International Highway. Today it is the Alaska Highway. The estimated cost of the road was between $25,000,000 and $30,000,000. The actual cost was more than $135,000,000. The financial agreement between the United States and Canada was that the United States would build the road and that Canada would keep it up. It was 1,600 miles long at its completion and extended from Dawson Creek to Fairbanks. Since the straightening of this former trail, it is now about 1,500 miles long.

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Official American-Canadian dedication ceremony

of the Alaska Highway at Mile 157, Soldier’s

Summit, Yukon Territory, Canada, November

20, 1942, overlooking Kluane Lake

Its construction began officially on April 11, 1942, however some work began as early as March 8. On October 28, 1942, this project was finished, and on November 20, its dedication took place at Soldier’s Summit in the Yukon Territory. It was one of the pioneer roads of the world, comparable only to the Burma Road, finished in 1938. The Burma Road linked China to Burma, also constructed to provide a means for hauling supplies so the Japanese would not destroy their shipping route.

Along the flanks of the course I wind

Are many a valuable mineral find.

Strategic ores and oils are seen,

So vital to our war machine.

Those trucks and guns and tanks and men

Can follow through my deepest glen

Across the top of the world and so

Straight to the Heart of Tokyo.

And after all the grief and strife,

When men return to peaceful life,

Along the ribbon of my way

Will come those pioneers who may

Make for themselves a farm, a home.

Or rich ore as the hills they roam.

Or build beside some mountain lake

A place where tired souls may take

Their leisure in the Land of God.

(Author unknown)

Why Alaska?

Our venturing to Alaska started when Dad, at the tender age of sixteen, went to Alaska and worked in a fish cannery. His uncle E. Guy Wilson, who worked in the Seattle salmon business, got him employment in Koggiung, Alaska. Dad worked at the Point Roberts Packing Co. on Kvichak Bay, established in 1895. After Dad’s summer work, he realized he liked Alaska extremely well; he always wanted to go back.

After college, while he was coaching at the Oregon Toledo High School, he met his future wife, who was a new teacher of commercial arts. They met the evening the school superintendent had invited them to dinner. Alone in the living room, Dad was resting his eyes, as he called it! Actually, he was half-sleeping on the couch. Though his shoes were off the sofa, Phyllis, as she walked into the room, could not help but notice him. Oh my, she mused. What if I should marry this unkempt man wearing those dirty white bucks? Oh yes, she did marry him!

Glenn had coached all athletics in Oregon high schools for a number of years but always wanted to go into business, so when the opportunity arose, he took the chance, left his teaching and coaching position in the schools, and became vice president of one of the salmon canneries in Seattle. That was his dream, and it fulfilled his visions since he enjoyed the many aspects of business actions. In addition, he enjoyed working with people, which also included entertaining prospective customers at dinner engagements etc.; however, he had little respect for alcohol and cigarettes.

In 1947–48, the destructive Longshore Strike came to the docks of Seattle, and working conditions became very problematic. At this point, he gradually realized this job was not for him. Thus, because of the strike and the stress of the sometimes inappropriate over enthusiasm of some clientele at parties, it was appropriate for him to make a change. The strike was the main reason for his decision since it was causing financial stress on the family. The question was where would he take his family, and what would he do professionally? During this time of indecision, he acquired a temporary job working at a youth playground from the fall of 1948 until the summer of ’49. It was in a rough district close to where we lived in Seattle. Dad was still enthusiastic about the teaching profession; nevertheless, business was still his greatest desire.

While Glenn was working at the playground, he and Phyllis had many discussions about their future. One evening Glenn asked Phyllis what she thought about them applying for teaching positions in Alaska. This seemed a good idea, so after several job offers, they decided to take the proposal the Anchorage School District had granted both of them. In addition, Anchorage was the largest town in Alaska, at that time about 11,000 people. Moreover, it would probably be more advantageous for their three children than living in Klawock, a small Indian village, where they also received a job offer. Since this would be an uncertain adventure for them, they decided to try it for one year.

I had just finished the first grade at John Muir Elementary School. After my school friends asked to where my family was moving, they were astonished, shocked, and in awe when I said, We want to live in Alaska. I had no idea what it meant to go to Alaska, but I’m sure their parents told them it was a faraway, icy, desolate land that was not even part of the forty-eight United States. My parents made no big deal about moving to Alaska and driving the Alcan. At least, I was not aware of any hesitation; I thought it was just part of life.

Back in those days, when traveling to the primitive territory of Alaska, doctor and hospital facilities were problematic. Everyone understood that all precautions must be taken before traveling into this wild wilderness. The recommendation was that all children have their tonsils extracted before the trip. Several weeks before our venture to this unsettled country, the three of us followed this suggestion. Now we were ready for our big unknown journey.

The Alcan Venture

We