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: Mary Alice Cook, Volunteer

TITLE: Eklutna Vocational School Northern Light Collection

COLLECTION NUMBER: B2001.023

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Dates: 1939-1941

Extent: 18 items, .2 linear feet

Language and Scripts: The collection is in English.

Name of creator(s): Virginia (Smith) Sherwood; Nathan L. Smith

Administrative/Biographical History:
Virginia (Smith) Sherwood was born in Gambell, Alaska. Her father, Nathan L. Smith, was a
schoolteacher in Alaska in the 1930s and early 1940s. The Smith family lived in Eklutna,
Alaska from fall 1939-June 1941, where Nathan Smith was the radio and shop teacher at the
Eklutna Vocational School. Mr. Smith was an amateur photographer, and he photographed
people and their activities in the communities where he lived. Mr. Smith took most of the
photographs included in this collection.

The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Education built the Eklutna Vocational School in 1924
to house and educate children orphaned by the 1918 influenza epidemic in Alaska. A fish camp
was also built and maintained by the school to provide training in subsistence fishing and to
help provide food for the children. Courses at the school were mainly vocational training
classes. By 1930, 110 students were enrolled at the school. In 1946, the school’s buildings were
condemned and the school was permanently closed.

Scope and Content Description:
The collection consists of a January 1941 school newspaper, 16 photographs of the school, and
2 compact discs of scanned images. The newspaper includes articles written by students and

faculty, hand-drawn illustrations, activities calendar, sports news, book reviews, poetry, health
news, jokes, stories, and a gossip column.

Arrangement:
Arranged by format.

CONDITIONS GOVERNING ACCESS AND USE

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

Physical Access: Original items in good condition.

Technical Access: DVD drive required to access digital files on media discs.

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:
Eklutna Vocational School Northern Light Collection, Anchorage Museum, B2001.023

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Acquisition and Appraisal Information:
Newsletter and photographs were donated in 2001 by Virginia Sherwood. The compact discs
containing scanned photographs were donated by Sherwood in 2002.

Processing Notes: Photographs on compact disc #2 (F3) will be printed at a later date.

RELATED MATERIALS

SUBJECTS
Smith, Nathan L., fl. 1939-1941
Eklutna Vocational School--Photographs
Vocational education--Alaska--Eklutna--Photographs
Vocational education--Alaska--Eklutna--Sources
Alaska Natives--Alaska--Eklutna--Photographs
Alaska Natives--Education--Alaska--Eklutna--Photographs
Alaska Natives--Education--Alaska--Eklutna--Sources
Vocational school students--Alaska--Eklutna--Photographs
Alaska Native students--Alaska--Eklutna--Photographs
Teachers--Alaska--Eklutna--Photographs
Eklutna (Alaska)--Photographs


Detailed Description of the Collection:

Series 1: Periodicals
B1/F1

	1 —	Eklutna Vocational School newsletter, The Northern Light, Vol. X, No. 4, January, 1941. Consists of 12 pages, including cover, stapled together. Published by the Junior English class. Series 2: Photographs B1/F2
	2 —	Group photograph. [Students posed under sign that reads “EKLUTNA;” at Eklutna train station?]
	3 —	Aerial photograph. Printed at bottom of top side: (01-2487-1F)(5-26-41-3’OOP)(12-3500) EKLUTNA ALASKA. Handwritten on verso: Official photograph Flight F, First Photo Sqdn, Elmendorf Field, Alaska.
	4 —	Photograph. Eklutna 1939-41; [Group of students playing Blanket Toss on school grounds.]
	5 —	Photograph. Eklutna 1939-41; [Female student holding a camera while two other female students and a male student look on. Sticky note on photo reads “Bill Bernstein?”]
	6 —	Group photograph. Eklutna 1939-41. [Four female students.]
	7 —	Photograph. Eklutna 1939-41. [Three male students with radio apparatus.]
	8 —	Photograph. Eklutna 1939-41. [Two male students in machine shop.]
	9 —	Photograph. Eklutna 1939-41. [Male student wearing headphones, with radio apparatus.]
	10 —	Photograph. N.L Smith, (radio/shop inst) J.D. Chandler, principal Eklutna 1939-41. [Smith and Chandler stand with two male students beside a wooden boat.]
	11 —	Photograph. Eklutna 1939-41. [School buildings with EKLUTNA sign in foreground.] Handwritten on verso: “Gym” and “Boys Dorm Knik Hall,” along with hand-drawn pictures of buildings.
	12 —	Group photograph. [Two male students and one female student wearing fur parkas.]
	13 —	Photograph. [Four standing students and one seated student examining a large map.]
	14 —	Photograph. [Wooden building, perhaps a barn, with large letters on roof that read “MATANUSKA VALLEY FAIR.”]
	15 —	Photograph. [Anchorage Post Office, Fourth Avenue, downtown Anchorage; people on sidewalk and cars on street in foreground.]
	16 —	Photograph of painting. Handwritten on verso: “artist unknown (WUH 816101).” [Painting of Alaska Natives’ whale hunt. Includes scenes of butchering whales and beaching a boat on shore ice.]
	17 —	Photograph of painting. Handwritten on verso: “artist unknown (WUH816101).” [Group of Alaska Natives playing Blanket Toss, while man looks on from left.] Series 3: Multimedia B1/F3 - Compact disc. Scanned images of photos of Eklutna Vocational School, 1940. Includes photos of Eklutna RR Station, Eklutna School, Aerial View, Blanket Toss, Student Cinematographers, Girl Students, Radio Class, Engine Class, Radioman, Boatbuilders. From the collection of N.L. Smith. [See above for numbers and detailed descriptions of photographs numbered 2-11.] - Compact disc. Scanned images of Eklutna Vocational School, 1939.
	18 —	Photograph. [Downtown street scene.]
	15 —	Photograph. See description above.
	19 —	Photograph. [Two Alaska Native girls wearing fur parkas.]
	20 —	Photograph. [Alaska Native girl wearing fur parka.]
	21 —	Photograph. [Head shot of Alaska Native girl.]
	22 —	Photograph. [Alaska Native girl wearing fur parka and hood.]
	23 —	Photograph. [Alaska Native girl wearing fur parka and hood.]
	24 —	Photograph. [Two Alaska Native girls wearing fur parkas.]
	25 —	Photograph. [Alaska Native girl wearing gut parka and hood.]
	12 —	Photograph. See description above.
	26 —	Photograph. [Alaska Native girl wearing gut parka and hood.]
	27 —	Photograph. [Three pairs of fur boots.] Guide written October 2011