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, Photo Archivist

TITLE: Arlene Mitchell Collection

COLLECTION NUMBER: B2001.027

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Dates: circa 1929-1931

Extent: 36 items

Language and Scripts: The collection is in English.

Name of creator(s): Winter & Pond, Ordway, Schallerer, C. H. Hope, Valdez Drug Co.

Administrative/Biographical History:
The USCG cutter Shoshone was commissioned January 10, 1931. It logged 4,911 hours of
Bering Sea duty during its career, in 1933-1936, 1938, and 1940. During the 1940 season (May-
August), it reported first at Valdez. On the Seward to Unalaska cruise, it stopped at “three
villages, where Public Health Service doctors, attached to the Patrol, afforded medical and
dental aid to the natives.”
1 After Unalaska, it headed to Bristol Bay and then stopped at Cape
Sarichef and Scotch Cap. In May and June, it transported a patient from Perryville to Unalaska;
delivered mail to the Pribilofs, Nome, and “a number of villages”; ferried King Islanders from
Cape Prince of Wales back to their island; and transferred a patient from Savoonga and
another from King Cove to Unalaska. In July, it again visited the Pribilofs, cruised Bristol Bay,
stopped at Attu, adjudicated a murder case in King Cove, arrested three Chignik youths and

1 “The Accomplishments of Ten Coast Guard [250-foot Lake-Class] Cutters Transferred to the United Kingdom,”
prepared by Research and Statistics Section--Operations Division, USCG, 1941--the pre-World War II official
histories of USCGCs Cayuga, Champlain, Chelan, Itasca, Mendota, Pontchartrain, Saranac, Sebago, Shoshone &
Tahoe. Web. Accessed January 13, 2014.

remanded them to Unga, and performed a marriage in Chignik. The ship was transferred to
the United Kingdom in 1941 and rechristened the H.M.S. Landguard.

Scope and Content Description:
The collection includes 36 photographs and postcards, primarily of coastal towns visited by
U.S. Coast Guard cutter Shoshone in 1931. Many of the postcards were commercially
produced; the amateur photographer of the snapshots is unknown.

Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by 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:
Arlene Mitchell Collection, Anchorage Museum, B2001.027

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Acquisition and Appraisal Information
Donated by Arlene Mitchell. Accessioned and processed by Museum staff in 2001.

SUBJECTS
Eielson, Carl Benjamin, 1897-1929
Borland, Earl, d. 1929
Shoshone (Ship)
Unalga (Ship)
United States. Coast Guard
American Pacific Whaling Co.
Alaska-Juneau Mine (Alaska)
Whaling stations—Alaska—Akutan
Akutan (Alaska)

Atka (Alaska)
Juneau (Alaska)
Ketchikan (Alaska)
Kodiak (Alaska)
Nome (Alaska)
Saint Paul Island (Alaska)
Seward (Alaska)
Sitka (Alaska)
Unalaska (Alaska)
Valdez (Alaska)

Detailed Description of the Collection
 1 — American Pacific Whaling Co., 1931 [bird’s eye view of whaling station at Akutan]
 2 — Atka, Alaska [on verso:] 1930 [view of village buildings from water]
 3 — 35. Juneau, Alaska, A.J. Mill. W.P. Co. [postcard. View of A-J Mine and Juneau waterfront from water]
 4 — Franklin Street, Juneau, Alaska. W.P. Co. [postcard. Street view with automobiles, signs for businesses including Reliable Transfer, Alaskan Hotel and Café, Post Office Station No. 1]
 5 — Residence District, Juneau, Alaska. 35035, Ordway, c. ’31 [postcard. Bird’s eye view of buildings]
 6 — Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Co., c. ’29, Ordway, 201 [postcard. View of A-J Mine from water]
 7 — U.S. Coast Guard cutter Unalga at Ketchikan, Alaska [on verso:] 1931 [i.e. early 1930? Cutter at Ketchikan docks, near Northland Transportation Company warehouse and Ketchikan Cold Storage. USCGC Unalga reported to Seattle on July 26, 1930, and then to Maryland for repairs, returning to commission on the East Coast in 1932.]
8 — 1931 [sign on building reading “Kodiak, the home of the world’s largest bear, for hunting expeditions for Kodiak grizzly, brown bear and caribou on Alaska Peninsula, polar bear and walrus in Siberian Arctic [see] Kodiak Guides Association”]
 9 — Kodiak, 1930 [view of docks from water, Standard Oil Company terminal in foreground, W.J. Erskine warehouse at left. Original image blurry]
10 — 1931 [view of Kodiak docks from water, Russian Orthodox church at right, Church of the Resurrection?]
 11 — Alaskan bald eagle. Alaska Shop [postcard. Bird flapping wings, perched on stump]
 12 — 1930 [Navy personnel in uniform standing outside North Pole Bakery, baker standing in doorway, Shriners symbol on shop window, Fire Department at Nome Café in background]
13 — Seward, Alaska, U.S.T. Henderson, destroyers, President Harding, party aboard Aug. 1923. Schallerer’s Alaska Shop [postcard. Bird’s eye view of Seward docks and military ships in Resurrection Bay]
 14 — Fur seals, St. Paul Island, Alaska [on verso:] 1930 [seal rookery]
 15 — Totems, National Park, Sitka, Alaska [totem along path in National Historical Park]
 16 — 1930 [seals on beach in foreground, buildings in distance, Saint Paul Island]
 17 — St. Paul, 1931 [postcard. Similar to .16]
 18 — St. Paul, Alaska, 1931 [postcard. Bird’s eye view of buildings]
 19 — St. Paul, Alaska. C.H. Hope [on verso:] 5/14/31, Hello Folks [postcard, addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Mulligan, Oakland, California. Herd of seals in water, village of St. Paul in background]
20 — Interior Russian Catholic Church, Unalaska, Als. [on verso:] 1931 [altar and icons, Holy Ascension Orthodox Church]
21 — Harbor entrance [postcard. Four Russian cannons along waterfront, bay in background]
22 — 4th of July, 1932 [postcard. Group of women and children seated on tundra, two holding American flags, buildings in background, Unalaska. At AFN 2015, woman at far right tentatively identified as Amelia Bereskin Petersen]
 23 — [postcard. Bird’s eye view of Unalaska, looking northeast towards bay, river in foreground, church at left]
24 — Scene of Unalaska from surrounding hills, 1931 [postcard. Bird’s eye view of Unalaska, looking northwest towards mountains across Broad Bay]
25 — Bishop of Alaska, Russian Catholic Church, Unalaska, Alaska [on verso:] 1931 [portrait of Orthodox bishop standing outside, possibly Amphilochius (Vakulsky) or Antoninus (Pokrovsky)]
26 — Valdez, Alaska [on verso:] 1931 [view from rooftop of Valdez docks, American flag flying in foreground]
 27 — The fiord of Valdez, 1931 [scenic]
28 — Valdez Drug Co. [postcard. Winter view of Valdez docks as seen from water]
 29 — Valdez Drug Co. [postcard. Winter view of residential area, Valdez]
 30 — Valdez [on verso:] 1931 [Bird’s eye view of Valdez docks as seen from water in winter]
31 — Bodies of Eilson and Borland, lost in the Arctic [sleds carrying bodies of pilot Carl Ben Eielson and mechanic Earl Borland, covered with American flags and surrounded by searchers, Siberia, 1930]
32 — “Maggie,” “rock of ages” [portrait of Aleut woman on boardwalk]
 33 — Arnold E. Kangas, 1930s, Alaska, U.S. Coast Guard ship Shoshone [two bearded sailors standing on ship deck, Kangas on left]
34 — [Alaska Native man wearing parka with fur trim, mukluks, eyeglasses, and driving cap standing in street in front of wooden buildings; at AFN 2014, location suggested as St. Michael, with coal storage house in background at right. AT AFN, man identified as Ataayaghhaq (Dr. Jimmie Otiyohok)]
 35 — [Caucasian man wearing hip boots and brimmed hat standing on beach holding fishing rod and fish]
36 — [large group of men, women, and children, possibly on ship deck or on dock waiting for ship; at AFN 2013, location suggested as Unalaska. AT AFN 2015, people identified as Pribilof Islands residents, with possibly John Golodoff second left rear wearing driving cap, and Sergei Tutakoff third left rear wearing driving cap] Guide updated: November 5, 2015