VILLAGE SKETCH
Galena History Dates
Back to Gold Rush Days
The village of Galena, located on*
the banks of the Yukon River, has |
an interesting background. Galena
has a population of 198 of whom
187 are natives and 11 are non-na
tives.
The history of Galena dates back j
to Old Louden. In the 1890s and
early 1900s. gold-seekers found their
way into the Old Louden area.
Among these people were J. W.
Evans and A1 Nollner. relatives of
present-day prominent Galena res
idents in the Native village.
Nollner, who came into the Forty
Mile area in the gold-rush days
drifted around the country, and in
1904. he started a store in the Old
Louden village.
A school was built at Old Louden,
something more than 50 years ago.
Unfortunately, a measles epidemic
spread to Old Louden and as a re
sult, many people passed away.
Population was depleted to a con
siderable extent and this resulted
to moving the school from Old
Louden to Koyukuk.
Other changes came to Old Lou
den with the increase of ship travel
up the Yukon. Old Louden was
located on a slough, which did not
accomodate the barges carrying
freight into the country. For that
reason, it was found to be more
advantageous to move the village
to a new location on the banks of
the Yukon. There, the channel was
sufficient to accomodate the barges.
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rh is village was named Louden.
Surveyed
The Signal Corps surveyed the
area about 1907. and established
telegraph stations which opened up
communication through a large
area. These stations served the area
from about 1907 to 1923, when com
munication became available by
radio.
School was again established at
Louden. Mrs. Tom Devane was the
first teacher. School was held in
a freight building, which Mr. Leo
Captain bought from the Signal
Corps.
Sometime previous to 1920. Sam
Kincaid, a prospector, discovered
a galena mine some 20 miles distant
from the present village of Galena.
Up to this time, the present site of
Galena had only a fish camp known
as Henry's Point.
Kincaid developed the mine to
some extent and employed village
men from Louden to work for him.
This mine was entirely a pick and
shovel operation. The ore was trans
ported by dogteams and horses to
Henry's Point and shipped out by
barges to St. Michael.
In order to be nearer their work,
the Louden people began moving
their village to Henry's Point in
1920, renaming the village Galena.
School Abandoned
Because of this, Louden school j
was abandoned and a building at
Galena was rented for school pur
poses. Mrs. J. W. Evans, formerly
Nora Dawson, was the last teacher
at Louden. Mr. Ernest Peck was the
first teacher at Galena in 1923.
In 1928. through the joint efforts
of the Galena people and the Alaska
Native Health Service, a commun
ity building was built for school
purposes. The community furnished
the logs and the Alaska Native
Health Service furnished the doors. ,
windows, etc. Mrs. Margaret Mei
ghan was the first teacher.
Airport Built
This building was used rent free
for two years. Following the two
year period, the building was leased
j as a school and teacherage for $150
per year, until the present school
I plant was built in 1960, With the
j completion of the present building,
' the community building was torn
down in 1961.
In 1940. work was begun on the
Galena Airport. Today, Galena is a
! rather large center of airport op
1 eration. A well maintained, 6.500
ft. asphalt-top runway with over
runs on each end makes an all
weather operation airport. Jet fight
ers are stationed there and are ac
I tive in policing the airways.
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Historic Unalakleet Trading Post Burns
By HOWARD ROCK «
Times Editor
"That store has been here ever
since I was a little girl," said an
old Eskimo woman with feeling,
as she watched Unalakleet Trading
Post, a general store, being en
gulfed in flames.
The fire started at 9:30, the morn
ing of October 12, last year. Most
of the 600 odd population of Una
lakleet assembled to try to help,
including an 80-pound old Eskimo
woman, Marion Gonangnan, who
dragged out a bulky hundred pound
display island.
When told the following day that
she had lugged it out of the burn
ing building, she said, "Did I do
that, really? No wonder I can hard
ly move around today.”
The fire had started when a rent
er in a rear apartment cleaned a
stove and dropped some hot clink
ers. When the flames started it took
only 3 hours to completely raze the
30 by 150 ft. building. The original
log structure was built back in
1890 and since that time additions
had been made.
“The people were magnificent,
said James O'Sullivan, owner of the
building. No one was injured in
the blaze but out of the $75,000
stock in the store $18,000 worth of
merchandise was salvaged through
daring efforts of the Unalakleet
Eskimos.
"They threw out all kinds of
merchandise, rubber boots, milk,
work pants, beans, flour, sugar, to
bacco. rolled oats, and many others,
through windows and doors,” O'Sul
livan said.
Drums of fuel oil were saved but
| tons of coal piled around the back
IINALAKLEET TRADING POST AT THE HEIGHT OF THE RAG
ING FIRE—On the morning of October 12, last year, the general
store was burned to the ground within three hours. The small
building next to the fire to the right broke Info flames from the
heat and was knocked dowh and pushed away by a man with a
bull-dozer.
of the building caught fire and
burned for three days. Some of the
coal 'was salvaged. “On much Of it
I told the people to help themselves
for their own use,” O'Sullivan said.
In the excitement O’Sullivan for
got his wallet in the upstairs apart
ment. It contained several $100 bills
that were burned up.
O’Sullivan is the son of the late
Jim Sullivan, a Canadian and who
had dropped the “O" from the fam
ily name. The elder Sullivan ex
plored in the Arctic with the late
Viljalmur Stephanson.
Jim Sullivan was the man
credited with discovering the blond
Eskimos above the Hudson’s Bay
country in the Canadian Arctic
He, along with the late Arndt Cas
tell, who has a son now living at
Nome with the same name, operat
ed the Stephanson base camp
around the mouth of MacKenzie
River during the famous explorer’s
operations in that region.
Letter to Editor
1 Kotzebue, Alaska
| January 14, 1963
Dear Editor:
j It is most gratifying to 1 earn that
'Tundra Times has bestowed the
North Star Award to David Johnson
of Alaska Communication System,
Kotzebue, Alaska.
It is a recognition that David, as
well as his wife, Mabel, fully de
serve.
Knowing full well the conditions
that existed between villages and
the difficulties in communication.
I can only praise David and Mabel
Johnson for their unselfish and
time consuming work in assuring i
the outlying villages that import
ant and often vital messages will
go through.
It is indeed comforting to know
that our communications are being i
looked after by people devoted to
their work, and will spare no effort
to see our messages get through to
our people.
Sincerely yours,
Tony Joule
‘Meaning of Freedom’ Theme
Of Native Summer Program
I “The Meaning of Freedom'\ has*
I been proposed as the theme of this
year’s University of Alaska-Bureau
of Indian Affairs summer program
for native students.
And this year’s program is slated
to enroll 25 to 30 rural native high
school graduates who are planning
to continue their education.
The proposed program is designed
to ease students adjustment from
high school to college life or to life
as would be experienced in other
post high school educational pro
grams.
The program was recently planned
in a conference of University and
BIA educators in Fairbanks, but of
course is subject to approval from
higher authority.
The first summer program at
the University in the summer of
1961 enrolled elementary school
graduates with high mentality. Last
year’s program enrolled students in
Goose Provides Smelly Repellant;
Trapper Says It Works Fine
According to James F. Hood. ex-<
hunter and trapper, par excellence,
now a sedate cierk at the Nordale
Hotel in Fairbanks, there is a fool
proof mosquito repellent that
science of chemistry has no part
in developing.
This repellent is the product of
master chemists, nature and some
geese and ducks.
Hood, when he hunted some 20
years ago around the Salcha River
country had time to notice the ways
of nature at close range. One day,
while being tortured unmercifully
by clouds of mosquitoes he noticed
some geese at a lake that were go
ing about their business as if
nothing was amiss, even though
there were millions of mosquitoes
buzzing around them. Mosquitoes
stayed strictly away from the fowl
and Hood wondered why.
, As he watched them he noticed
double their head back to their
rears and under and rubbed their
heads and then carefully did a
brushing action all over the rest
of their bodies.
Hood, being research minded, one
day caught a goose and started to
investigate what he suspected. He
found that there was a sac just
above the opening of the disposal
system of the goose. When he
squeezed it, it exuded a liquid
substance that smelled something
awful.
Being brave and practical, and
since there were still millions of
mosquitoes buzzing around, he
braced himself and applied the stuff
on his face and neck.
“The stuff smelled to high heaven
but it sure kept the mosquitoes
I mat every so often tbs geese would away from me,” said Hood,
various grade levels of high leader
ship potential.
This year the summer program
will coincide with the regular sum
mer school sessions of the Univer
sity.
English will be stressed in the
curriculum as well as the humani
ties—art, drama, and music appre
ciation. The concept of the “Univer
sity" and the purpose of higher edu
cation Will be emphasized as well
as the “scientific method" with re
gard to its importance to modern
life.
The students will be encouraged
to become familiar with the Uni
versity and use its facilities, and to
participate in social activities.
Information about the program
will be sent to field offices of the
BIA by Eebruary 1. Respective high
schools and students will receive
applications shortly thereafter.
Completed applications are to be
returned to field offices by March
15. Students selected to participate
in the program will receive notice
by April 15.
It is planned that one coordinator,
one clerk, two teachers, and live
dormitory personnel, including one
adviser, be employed for the pro
gram.
Students in the program will take
trips to points of interest.
Some consideration is also being
given to establishing summer pro
grams in a few native villages. -But
this planning is still in the prelim
inary stage.