"Thompson with oar, Larson rowing, Norwood taking it easy. A memorable trip, in a small boat, following the ice breakup on the Yukon River. Lake LaBarge was still frozen we pulled the boat on a crude sled over the ice. We were commanded by the...
Caption: Just back of the village, on the side of Cape Mountain there are hundreds of pre-historic pits made of hewn granite stones. These pits are six feet long four wide and four deep. The stone facing the sea...
(3:50 min.) (07 of 12) Appropriate balance between outside experts and long time Alaskans good balance; 11 attorneys; Judicial Article -- aware of attorneys; Alaskans wanted to prevent lawyers from being a judge; had to be a long time Alaskan; ...
(5:29 min.) (11 of 12) Prisoners Few prisoners taken--Strip search at a distance--sent prisoner back to rear--had problems because G.I.'s wanted to kill him
(5:38 min.) (04 of 27) Early work history
Left Cordova to go to school at Alaska School of Mines and Agriculture (UAF). Took civil engineering courses. By the time he had graduated, the railroads had shut down and there were only jobs in...
(6:50 min.) (10 of 27) Right-of-way issues
Standards of alignment, grade & bridges. Some were location dependent. Engineers' suggestions and approval process, no requirement for acquiring right-of-way. People always wanted roads to their...
(3:20 min) (15 of 17) Change and familiarity
Man ran out onto ice and was waving arms Red thought something was wrong so landed and man just wanted to say hello. On a trip to Huslia with a fur buyer.
(4:26 min) (05 of 19) Illinois Central Railroad Met a man working for the Illinois Central Railroad. Next job was painting for the Illinois Central Railroad. While he was there he put in for the steel gang building and repairing railroad...
(5:24 min.) (05 of 24) 05 Move West Moved west at about age 19 or 20. Started with the Alaska Steamship Co. as a summer hire -- back then the company wanted you to start at the bottom and work your way up. Started as utility man doing...
(3:33 min.) (13 of 24) 13 Hiring and the unions
Unions started up in earnest in 1935 or 1936. Sometimes you had to work around the union to get who you wanted for your crew. The stewards' crew didn't have much time when they were in port,...
The George King Collection describes in photographs and manuscript material early aviation in Alaska. There are two series in this collection. The first series consists of five photograph albums and two folders of loose photographs. The second...
(3:24 min.) (24 of 24) 24 Barge runs Barges were difficult to bring into port, had to judge waves and tides just right. On one trip to Unalakleet, men, women and children off-loaded supplies. In the 1940's the people of Unalakleet wanted...
01 Began flying (2:43 min.) (01 of 09) On her way to school she was able to see airplanes taking off from the local airport. She thought that was what she wanted to do with her life. She saved up the $125.00 but the flight school closed...
04 First jobs in Alaska (5:04 min.) (04 of 09) Lockheed Vega took her to Fairbanks. Bush flying was what she wanted, but she couldn't get hired in Fairbanks. Herb Hagler at Fairbanks Air Service wouldn't give her a job as a pilot, but he told...
(4:49 min.) (02 of 09) 2. Important issues. Les was interested in statehood and getting a fair share for Alaska; he was less interested in specific issues. Proponents of statehood wanted to get out from control of the Department of the...
(03 of 09) 3. Coal; constitutional convention Coal was needed in Fairbanks and was shipped to Korea. Les believed that he was in the middle in terms of political knowledge. He believed there was some political maneuverings to make Bill...
(4:27 min.) (07 of 09) 7. Most wanted statehood A majority in Fairbanks and Anchorage wanted statehood. Southeast was the only part of the state with reservations. One delegate resigned just prior to ratification because he objected to a...
(4:46 min.) (11 of 28) 11. Back to the U.S.
Military wanted them to stay and offered George a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. He wanted to get back home for at least a visit, so he flew back with a cargo of latex rubber. Engine problems...
(4:18 min.) (14 of 28) 14. Pacific Alaska Airways
Joe Barrows set up this airline; he wanted Pan Am to take it over for him. He wanted to fly clipper flying boats. His wife stayed in Alaska and was the first woman (Mary Barrows) to get...
(3:43 min.) (15 of 28) 15. Getting air time
George and a man named Grant Ruth trained as flight mechanics. George did some flying of the DC3's. He wanted to fly other aircraft but there were few civilian planes available for sale or...