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: Nelson Family Photograph Album

COLLECTION NUMBER: B2017.009

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Dates: 1949-1950

Extent: 1 box; 0.2 linear feet

Language and Scripts: The collection is in English.

Name of creator(s): Everett Nelson, Helen Nelson, Howard C. Robinson

Administrative/Biographical History:
Jon P. Nelson came to Anchorage in 1949 with his family, including his father Everett, his
mother Helen, and his younger brother Kent. The group traveled from Madison, Wisconsin, up
the Alaska Highway, and settled in Spenard. Everett Nelson worked as a mechanic on Fort
Richardson. The boys attended school at the newly completed North Star Elementary School.
In 1950, the family left Alaska and returned to Madison.

Scope and Content Description:
The collection consists of one album measuring 9 ½” x 6 ¾”, containing 89 black-and-white
photographs and postcards, and one loose black-and-white postcard. The images document
the trips up and down the Alcan in 1949 and 1950, as well as scenes of Spenard, Anchorage,
and southcentral Alaska. For more information, see Detailed Description of Collection.

Arrangement: Not applicable


CONDITIONS GOVERNING ACCESS AND USE


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

Physical Access: Original items in fair 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:
Nelson Family Photograph Album, Anchorage Museum, B2017.009


ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Acquisition and Appraisal Information
Donated by Jon P. Nelson in June 2017.

Processing Note
Damaged album disbound. Back cover missing at time of donation.

Notes
Several images have captions on the versos which are unreadable due to the print having been
glued to the album page.


SUBJECTS
Anchorage (Alaska)
Spenard (Anchorage, Alaska)
Alaska Highway


Detailed Description of the Collection
 1 — Garden Homes, 1949 [on verso:] The day we left. The neighbors are out to bid us goodbye [people standing next to Chevrolet Carryall Suburban pulling mobile home]
 2 — On way to Alaska [couple and four children standing next to Chevrolet and mobile home]
 3 — Minn. [Jon and Kent posed with Paul Bunyan statue next to building advertising cabins and showers]
 4 — Madison [Helen sitting in passenger seat of Chevrolet]
 5 — Edmonton, 1949 [Jon and Kent playing with dog in trailer park]
 6 — On Alaska Hwy. [on verso:] Old Canadian Army bomber that had made many missions over Germany. Red Deer, Canada [Jon, Kent, and possibly Everett posed with Lancaster KB-885 airplane]
 7 — Dawson Creek [Jon, Kent, and possibly Everett posed with milepost]
 8 — On Alaska Hwy. [Helen in passenger seat of Chevrolet pulling trailer parked in grass, photographer’s shadow in foreground]
 9 — [scenic]
 10 — [on verso:] Trutch Mountain & one of the six steep grades we got stuck on. You can see where they relocated the highway to a better location [view down Alaska Highway, mile 178]
 11 — Stuck on hill [on verso:] We are stuck. Trutch Mountain [Jon and Kent standing next to Chevrolet and trailer]
 12 — Mile 1 Dawson Creek [on verso:] Milepost on the Alcan Highway in Dawson [Jon, Kent, and Helen posed with milepost]
 13 — Yukon River, Whitehorse [paddle steamer at dock, railroad track in foreground]
 14 — 1 st stop in Alaska [on verso:] 1 st stop overnight in Alaska. Log Cabin Inn. A clear mountain stream from which we dipped our water is on the left [two automobiles parked outside log cabin]
 15 — Alaska Hwy. [scenic of Summit Lake. Cf. .19]
 16 — Alaska Hwy. [Jon and Kent standing next to bridge on curve in road]
 17 — Near Palmer, Alaska [two men standing next to bear cub hanging onto tree trunk. Cf. .21]
 18 — Ice on Lake Kluane in June 1950 [scenic]
 19 — [on verso:] Summit Lake, highest point on the highway, elevation 4250. A 14 mile climb to get to the top. A beautiful spot [scenic. Cf. .15]
 20 — [Everett, Jon, and Kent posed next to road sign ‘Entering Alaska, Leaving Yukon Territory’]
 21 — Teddy bear (A real one) [on verso:] Bear cub seen near Palmer, Alaska, 30 miles from Anchorage [Everett, Jon, and unidentified man standing next to bear cub in tree. Cf. .17]
 22 — [Everett, Jon, and Kent posed next to interpretive sign for Contact Creek]
 23 — 2 trout, 2 casts, Toad River Crossing (grayling) [Everett standing next to Chevrolet holding up two fish, Alaska Highway mile 422]
 24 — Near trailer park at Anchorage [view down gravel road between trees]
 25 — Near trailer park [house and trees with hoar frost in winter]
 26 — Post office near trailer park [view across gravel road to buildings, Spenard Properties sign outside Quonset hut]
 27 — Anchorage [view down road in winter, people, automobile, and house in distance, photographer’s shadow in foreground]
 28 — Construction job [Everett kneeling next to wood-sided structure, Jon, Kent and unidentified boy at right]
 29 — [Jon on bicycle on porch of small structure next to trailer]
 30 — 1 st snow [trailer in trees in winter]
 31 — [Kent posed next to tree covered in snow in winter]
 32 — [Jon sitting on sled next to structure attached to trailer, bicycle at right]
 33 — Near home in trailer park after 55 inches of snow in 1 week [structures buried in snow]
 34 — Neighbors in Alaska [woman squatting in snow holding infant, trailer park in background]
 35 — [possibly Helen and Kent posed in winter with woman and infant seen in .34, trailer park in background]
 36 — Laundry room in trailer park [building in pine trees in winter]
 37 — Trailer park [frozen clotheslines in winter]
 38 — [scenic with trees in winter]
 39 — Anchorage in winter [view down snow-covered road with hoar-frosted trees]
 40 — Dog races Anchorage [musher wearing fur parka and pants with dog team and handler at start of Fur Rendezvous World Championship Sled Dog Races on Fourth Avenue in front of Reed’s and 515 Club]
 41 — [musher wearing fur parka and pants with dog team and handler at start of Fur Rendezvous World Championship Sled Dog Races on Fourth Avenue in front of Ship Creek Market and Dr. L.W. Hines Optometrist]
 42 — Matanuska Valley [scenic with river and mountains]
 43 — Matanuska Valley [Helen, Jon, and Kent posed on top of ice chunks]
 44 — Chisholm house, Anchorage [house at 926 Third Avenue in winter. Cf. .47]
 45 — [musher wearing bib #4 with dog team next to spectators, Fur Rendezvous World Championship Sled Dog Races]
 46 — [dog team in harness with sled next to spectators, Fur Rendezvous World Championship Sled Dog Races. Cf. .53]
 47 — [Chisholm house at 926 Third Avenue in winter. Cf. .44]
 48 — In nature 80 miles from [...] [two adults and three children with automobile in front of Little Susitna Lodge]
 49 — [...] Anchorage with Chisholms [two adults, three children, and dog with automobile near Little Susitna Lodge]
 50 — Cook Inlet [Jon and Kent with dog next to marshy area, probably mouth of Chester Creek]
 51 — Moose [view into valley in winter]
 52 — Chisholms [house at 926 Third Avenue seen through trees in winter]
 53 — [dogs in harness next to spectators, Fur Rendezvous World Championship Sled Dog Races. Cf. .46]
 54 — Cabin at Palmer [Helen, Everett, Jon, and Kent in front of log cabin in winter]
 55 — Near trailer park [two adults and five children stopped on road in winter with two sleds and bicycle]
 56 — Ski run near Anchorage below in valley [Helen and unidentified woman, Arctic Valley]
 57 — Fishing thru 3 ft. of ice [Everett, Jon, Kent and unidentified man on frozen lake next to small ice fishing hut]
 58 — Fisherman? [Everett and Jon ice fishing, sled with supplies at right]
 59 — [winter scenic, possibly Arctic Valley area]
 60 — [winter scenic, possibly Arctic Valley area]
 61 — Street scene, Anchorage, Alaska [commercial photograph. View looking west on Fourth Avenue, with automobiles and businesses including Walt’s Transfer, Engebreth Hardware, Piggly Wiggly]
 62 — Neighbors [two men and boy seated indoors]
 63 — Ski run [winter scenic looking west from Arctic Valley]
 64 — Gunner [possibly Kent on machine gun being used in parade, soldier and spectators at right, Fur Rendezvous]
 65 — [Keystone Kop, Fur Rendezvous]
 66 — Parade Anchorage [Navy color guard on parade on Fourth Avenue in front of Cheechako Tavern and Bevers & Pfeil Building]
 67 — [military color guard on parade on Fourth Avenue in front of Cheechako Tavern and Alaska Airlines]
 68 — [spectators standing on airstrip, identified by donor as air show at Elmendorf Air Force base]
 69 — Trailer sold, 1950 [Dodge wrecker tow truck parked next to trailer]
 70 — Leaving Alaska [Helen, Jon, and Kent standing next to Dodge]
 71 — North Star School, 1949-50 [exterior of North Star Elementary School, children playing outside, mountains in background]
 72 — R-310. World record brown bear killed by Bob Reeve, owner-operator Reeve Aleutian Airways. c. Robinson [postcard. Robert Reeve posed indoors with bear skin and rifle. Manuscript note: Bob Reeve from Waunakee Wis.]
 73 — [view down Alaska Highway to smoke from wildfire. Cf. .81]
 74 — [double exposure. Memorial next to small structure]
 75 — [automobiles parked outside of lodge, Alaska Highway]
 76 — [Jon and Kent posed shirtless with dog next to road sign for Lum-Abner Café, Alaska Highway mile 233]
 77 — [view down narrow creek canyon along Alaska Highway, short bridge in distance]
 78 — Bridal Veil Falls [Everett, Jon, and Kent looking at waterfall]
 79 — Athabaska Indian burial house [spirit house, probably Champagne Landing, mile 974]
 80 — Yukon Territory rest stop [truck parked next to small building]
 81 — Forest fire on hwy, 1950 [view down Alaska Highway to smoke from wildfire. Cf. .73]
 82 — Brainerd, Minn. [couple holding young boy standing next to automobile]
 83 — [scenic of Matanuska Glacier]
 84 — [scenic along Alaska Highway]
 85 — Cabin stop on return trip [Kent standing on porch of cabin]
 86 — Matanuska Valley, Alaska [commercial photograph. Hay field in foreground, homestead in distance]
 87 — Street scene, Anchorage, Alaska [commercial photograph. View looking east on Fourth Avenue, with automobiles and smoke coming out of federal building in middle ground at left]
 88 — Alaska R.R. near Anchorage [commercial photograph. Locomotive on wooden trestle bridge, possibly Loop District]
 89 — Providence Hospital, Anchorage, Alaska [commercial photograph. Exterior] Loose photograph
 90 — [Photographic postcard] R-601. Streamlined train, Alaska Railroad. c. Robinson [locomotive 1050 hauling passenger cars along Cook Inlet] Guide written: June 13, 2017