REFERENCE CODE: AkAMH

REPOSITORY NAME:
Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center
Bob and Evangeline Atwood Alaska Resource Center
625 C Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: 907-929-9235
Fax: 907-929-9233
Email: resourcecenter@anchoragemuseum.org

Guide prepared by: Sara Piasecki, Archivist

TITLE: Louis and Gilbert Adamec Photographs

COLLECTION NUMBER: B1993.012

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Dates: 1934-1938

Extent: 0.2 linear feet, 1 box

Language and Scripts: The collection is in English.

Name of creator(s): Louis Adamec, Gilbert Adamec, Pioneer Drug, Otto S.

Administrative/Biographical History:
The collection donor wrote the following history:
“Gilbert Adamec (1911-1991) and Lew Adamec (1914-1979). Both born in Chicago, IL, and
their brother, George. Gil & Lew hitched freights from Chi to Seattle in 1934. From there they
took ship to Ketchikan and enrolled in the equivalent of the CCC run by the U.S. Forest Service.
After about a year, Gil went to Nome and Lew to Poorman and Ruby. Gil stayed in Nome till he
returned to the lower 48 in 1939. Lew came back to Chicago in 1938, then went to the
Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo., and got a degree in mining engineering. He brot his
younger brother, George, back to Alaska. Then Lew had an illustrious career as a mining
engineer in Chili, Mexico, and Bolivia. He was Director of Mines in Bolivia when he died of
cancer in 1979. Gilbert died in Sarasota, FL, on 10/26/91. George is a decorated WWII war
hero. He was severely wounded on the beachhead in the landings in Salerno, Italy.”

Scope and Content Description:
The collection contains 116 black-and-white photographs and real photo postcards taken or
collected by the Adamecs in Alaska during the years 1934-1938, including scenes of Ketchikan,
Nome, Ruby, Poorman, the Yukon River, Mirow Air Service, and other subjects. Of particular

interest are 17 of the mail team run between Moose Pass and Kenai. For more information,
see Detailed Description of Collection.

Arrangement: Arranged by subject and location


CONDITIONS GOVERNING ACCESS AND USE

Restrictions on Access: The collection is open for research use.

Physical Access: Original items in good condition.

Technical Access: No special equipment is needed to access the materials.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use:
The Anchorage Museum is the owner of the materials and makes available reproductions for
research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the
Anchorage Museum before any reproduction use. The Anchorage Museum does not
necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission
for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation:
Louis and Gilbert Adamec Photographs, Anchorage Museum, B1993.012

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Acquisition and Appraisal Information
Donated by Charles M. Stern in 1993.

Processing Note
Removed from scrapbook pages in 1993; captions from pages penciled onto photo versos.
Sixteen images discarded for poor quality.


SUBJECTS
Adamec, Gilbert, 1911-1991
Adamec, Louis, 1914-1979
Frontier and pioneer life—Alaska
Hunting—Alaska
Mines and mining—Alaska
Steamboats
Dogsled mail—Alaska
Ruby (Alaska)
Nome (Alaska)

Yukon River (Yukon and Alaska)
Unalaska Island (Alaska)
Sand Point (Alaska)
Aleutian Islands (Alaska)
Kenai Peninsula (Alaska)
Portlock (Alaska)
Ketchikan (Alaska)
Wrangell (Alaska)
Prince Rupert (B.C.)

Detailed Description of the Collection

F1
 1 — Lou Adamec [man smoking pipe, reading book, and reclining on cot in cabin]
 2 — Lew Adamec, -60° [man standing outside log cabin]
 3 — Lew Adamec [man on skis in wooded area]
 4 — Photo of myself, taken in -30° weather [Lew Adamec standing on taiga in winter]
 5 — [five men posed outdoors in winter]
 6 — Lew Adamec [man pulling loaded sled across frozen lake or river]
 7 — [man wearing skis and holding rifle carrying moose antlers attached to packboard]
 8 — [man holding rifle posed in clearing in winter]
 9 — [man standing in low brush in winter, moose antlers on sled or packboard at his feet]
 10 — Lew Adamec, Ruby, 1936 [distant view of bear on tundra]
 11 — Lew Adamec, Ruby, 1936 [man holding rifle posed with bear carcass on sled]
 12 — Lew Adamec, Ruby, 1936 [bear on tundra]
 13 — Lew Adamec, Ruby, 1936 [horse pulling sled with bear carcass over stony ground]
 14 — Lew Adamec, Ruby, 1936 [man holding rifle kneeling next to bear carcass in grass]
 15 — Lew Adamec, Ruby, 1936 [similar to .14]
 16 — Gilbert Adamec, Nome, 1935-6 [man wearing fur parka standing with dog on frozen sea]
 17 — Gilbert Adamec, Nome, 1935-6 [man wearing fur parka and mukluks standing next to house in summer]
 18 — Gilbert Adamec, Nome, 1935 [man crouched next to umiak on beach]
 19 — Myself on the ice [man wearing fur parka standing on frozen sea]
 20 — Gilbert Adamec, Nome [man wearing fur parka posed next to pressure ridge]
 21 — Gilbert Adamec at Nome [man wearing fur parka standing next to house in winter]
 22 — To my old pal, Charlie Stern, from Gilbert, Nome, Feb. 1936. Aesop Fable of the Wolf, the Reindeer, the Wolverine, the Big Seal, and the man. My parka is reindeer fur; the collar, wolf fur; the bottom fringe, wolverine; the mucklucks (although not clearly visible here) are of reindeer, their soles being of seal hide [man posed on frozen sea]
23 — Nome [man stopped with dog team and sled]
 24 — Nome? [similar to .23]
 25 — Nome [view from sled basket of dog team and musher in front]
 26 — Nome? [man stopped with large dog team pulling freight sled on taiga]
 27 — Myself with dog team on tundra country [man wearing fur parka stopped with sled and dog team]
28 — Nome, Alaska [two men and dog team in large rowboat]
 29 — Nome [spectators, mostly Alaska Native women and children, lined up outside of hardware store to watch dog sled racing]
 30 — Nome [several dog teams in snow next to building, reindeer carcasses in foreground, Fort Davis]
 31 — Dog teams at Fort Davis from where they are freighting reindeer meat to Nome. Notice the reindeer hides & hoofs piled in foreground. Wind has caused the snowdrift before this house pictured here [same as .30]
 32 — Nome [three men with large dog team in front of buildings, Fort Davis]
 33 — Dog team arriving at Nome [musher with dog team pulling two sleds, buildings in distance. 2 copies]
34 — Nome, 1935 [Alaska Native man holding lead on reindeer, men in background near large pile of lumber]
 35 — Nome [reindeer herd, building in background] F2
 36 — Nome [Alaska Native boy wearing fur-trimmed parka posed outdoors]
 37 — Nome [exterior of house with sod roof]
38 — Nome [Alaska Native woman wearing mukluks and cloth parka cover over fur parka standing on railroad tracks, pier in background. At AFN 2016, location identified as Kougarok Railroad tracks next to footbridge, with Belmont Point in background, woman tentatively identified as a Rock from Brevig or Teller]
 39 — Seal hunter returns to Nome, from off the ice [man wearing snowshoes, backpack, and rifle using rope to pull seal carcass across snow. 2 copies]
 40 — Nome [Alaska Native woman standing on ice, snow walls protecting her on three sides, possibly ice fishing]
 41 — Nome [three Alaska Native children and dog standing outdoors, houses and sleds in background]
 42 — Nome [Alaska Native woman wearing fancy fur parka posed outdoors. Original image blurry]
 43 — Nome, 1935-6 [two Alaska Native women ice fishing, one wearing fancy fur parka, buildings along shoreline in distance]
 44 — Nome [Alaska Native woman sitting on sled, ice fishing, fish on ice at left, second sled at right]
 45 — Eskimo woman fishing for tom-cod, Nome in background [same as .44]
 46 — Tom-codders holiday, good luck at the fishing hole [Alaska Native woman ice fishing, fish on ice at left, buildings along shoreline in distance. 2 copies]
 47 — Nome [similar to .46]
 48 — Nome [white man using neck yoke to carry two buckets of water, standing on road]
 49 — Nome [man standing in front of building with sign for “Rex Beach”]
 50 — Nome, 1935-6 [distant view of reindeer hides drying on clotheslines, large building at right, barabara at left, dog in foreground]
 51 — Nome [gold miner with rocker box on beach]
 52 — Front St. Nome under construction, 1934. Photo by Pioneer Drug [in manuscript:] Public Library of Nome, Cavey’s Bakery, the restaurant where I work [on verso:] This is the main street of town. The business district is nearly 2 blocks long. Here stand the business houses, etc. On the right of this picture behind the houses is Bering Sea beach (not shown in this picture). The residencial [sic] part of town is beyond the left side [postcard. Street view] .53.1 – King Islanders unloading on arrival in Nome. Pioneer Drug Co. [on verso:] The walrus skin boats, called umiaks, shown here travel sometime in groups of 3 or 4 boats lashed together, & a modern outboard-motor is used for motive power in the sea [postcard. People near umiak on beach] .53.2 – Nome? [men standing next to Pacific Alaska Airways Pilgrim 100B airplane on skis on frozen sea, sled and barrels at left; airplane possibly the Anna, NC737N]
 54 — Mt. Koholitna, Ruby, delta of Melozikaket [on verso:] Yukon River, delta of Melozikaket right, Mt. Koholitna extreme right, background, looking upstream [aerial. Melozitna River]
 55 — Yukon River, U.S. Gov. river steamer [on verso:] U.S. Government river steamer. It carries freight on Lower Yukon at almost nonexistent [rate?] [sternwheeler under way]
 56 — Ruby, looking downstream [on verso:] Ruby, Alaska. Note flag flying before the trading company (showing against the river). Looking downstream [distant view of town buildings]
 57 — Yukon R., Ruby [on verso:] Ruby, Alaska. Note numerous radio poles [bird’s eye view of town]
 58 — Poorman [distant view of town in winter]
59 — 1935, Gil on way to Poorman [man standing next to Mirow Air Service Stinson Reliant SR- 5 airplane tail number NC14191 in winter, cans on snow, men servicing engine]
 60 — [number never assigned]
61 — Nunivak Island Eskimo women. Pioneer Drug Co. [on verso:] These esquimoe women pictured here are exactly the same in features and dress as the Nome esquimoe. Nunivak Island is about 200 miles south of Nome. I’ll try later to get some pictures of these people here with my own camera. I have learned already a few esquimoe words. Their boots are of seal skin, hand made by themselves, & are called “mucklucks.” [postcard. Alaska Native women, some holding children, posed on deck of ship. At AFN 2015, identified as St. Lawrence Island women, woman second right identified as Ora Gologergen, whose looped braids indicate that she was pregnant at the time the photo was taken. AT AFN 2016, woman second from left tentatively identified as Kingeekuk]
 62 — Nakushin [on verso:] Makushin [view from ship to village, Unalaska Island]
 63 — American Pacific Whaling Co., Akutan [whaling complex, with small boat near barrels on dock, buildings in background]
 64 — Sand Point, Shumagin Is., only trees west of Kodiak [view from ship of docks and buildings, Pacific American Fisheries Company cannery]
 65 — Russian church, Unalaska [exterior of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church]
 66 — Unalaska [view from ship to town]
 67 — Dutch Harbor [ship at anchor]
 68 — Unimak, dory, reef [view from ship to island]
 69 — [number never assigned]
 70 — Yukon, New York [steamship Yukon at dock]
 71 — [man standing on deck of steamship]
 72 — The New York [lifeboat New York on deck of steamship]
 73 — [passengers on deck of steamship, icebergs in water]
 74 — Baranof [steamship at dock] F3
 75 — [man operating monitor at hydraulic mining operation]
 76 — Lou with deflector [man operating monitor at hydraulic mining operation]
 77 — [hydraulic mining operation]
 78 — Hershey Quartz Mine, entrance to mine [two men at adit, Hirshey Lucky Strike Mine]
 79 — [tracked vehicle pulling wagon across river]
 80 — Photo taken at Kenai, Russian graves with their “roofs” and Greek crosses. Some graves have miniature churches built on top of them [cemetery in winter]
 81 — Lew Adamec [man holding snowshoes posed with sled, second pair of snowshoes, dog in foreground and dog in distance]
 82 — [two men with dog team pulling freight sled on trail in winter]
83 — Moose Pass Kenine mail team, Jack Lein’s [dog team with freight sled in winter]
 84 — News Year Day ’35, 20° below, Lake Kenine, 30 miles long, 10 miles from Coopers L. [men and dog team with sled and boats, Kenai Lake]
 85 — Nushka [husky dog, log cabin in background]
 86 — Bean Creek where it meets the Kenai [bird’s eye view of men with dog team in winter]
87 — Lake Kenai [view from basket of dogs pulling sled on frozen lake]
 88 — The mail team [men with dog team on winter trail]
 89 — [several men with dogs in harness]
 90 — [man with large dog team pulling freight sled on winter trail]
 91 — [man with sled and dog team stopped on frozen river]
 92 — [view from basket of four dogs in harness]
 93 — Hitching up dog team, [center] Buster Ravelle [three men with large dog team]
 94 — 3,000 lb. (transmission housing for cat) after 2430 mile trek, Coopers Landing [bird’s eye view of men loading freight sled along Kenai River, large dog team in harness]
 95 — Kenia River [scenic, possibly creek flowing into Kenai River, logs in creek, pine trees in foreground]
 96 — Portlock near Seward, 100 miles [village, cannery, and docks as seen from water]
 97 — Lot on stern deck of “Ranger 7” [man on ship deck at dock]
 98 — Lou & Lot on Ketchikan wharf. The boat in background is the “Messenger” owned by 7 th Day Adventists which carries a doctor & med. supplies to trappers on out-of-the-way islands [two men on dock]
 99 — Me [?] stowed away to Alaska with. U.S. Forest Service, Ketchikan, 1934 [Lew Adamec and five other men wearing packboards and carrying axes]
 100 — Part of residence district, Ketchikan, Alaska. Otto S. [on verso:] Deer Mountain in the right background. The [illegible] Creek can be seen on [illegible] the middle of the town [postcard. Bird’s eye view of town]
 101 — Ketchikan (Deer Mt.) [distant view of waterfront]
 102 — Ketchikan, Alaska [five men, one dressed as cook, standing on houseboat or floating dock]
 103 — [Ketchikan waterfront, with lumber mill, ships and docks]
 104 — Bear Totem Store, Wrangell, Alaska [on verso:] This is not the railroad salvage store on West Madison Street, but a lineup of totems which can be seen on any street in Wrangell or Ketchikan – even on the busiest corners in town. [postcard. Mortuary totems outside storefront]
 105 — [two men posed with three totems in clearing, one a mortuary Grizzly Bear pole, Wrangell?]
 106 — Wind jammers in Sitka harbor [sailing ships at anchor]
 107 — Maid of Orleans after being taken off rocks at Prince Rupert [sailing ship at dock]
 108 — Photo of Prince Rupert proving that the sun does shine there at times [scenic sunset/sunrise]
 109 — Falls of Clyde, all steel hull, now a Standard Oil tanker-barge [four-masted square- rigger; sail-driven oil tanker at dock]
 110 — Prince Rupert 1934, Lew Adamec [man standing on boardwalk under arch reading “P.R.R. & Y. Club, admittance to members only”]
 111 — Canadian Rocky Mts. bet. Whitehorse & Skagway [on verso:] Canadian Rockies between Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and Skagway, Alaska [aerial, airplane wing in foreground]
 112 — Lake Aishihik, Yukon Terr., B.C. [on verso:] Lake Aishihik, Yukon Territory, Canada [aerial, airplane wing in foreground] Guide updated: October 25, 2016