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: Tom Cook Papers

COLLECTION NUMBER: B2017.012

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Dates: 1972-2001

Extent: 3 boxes; 1.2 linear feet

Language and Scripts: The collection is in English.

Name of creator(s): Thomas Cook; Oil/Whalers Working Group, Marvin Mangus

Administrative/Biographical History:
The Oil/Whalers Working Group was established in 1986 to facilitate information sharing and
cooperation between the oil industry and North Slope whaling crews. Some published reports
indicate that the group disbanded in 1988.1 According to documents within the collection, an
amended agreement was signed in 1989 between oil companies engaged in offshore
exploration activities in the Beaufort Sea and whalers from Kaktovik and Nuiqsut, as well as
the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission. The agreement provided for “coordination of oil and
gas industry exploration with Inupiat subsistence whaling activities.” The intent was to limit
the movement of oil industry vessels in active whaling areas, and to minimize the disruption to
whale behavior in active exploration areas. To facilitate information sharing and
communications, radio call centers were set up in various locations. Whaling crews called in
with information on whale movements, ice coverage, weather, and hunts, and industry vessels
and aircraft called in with planned routes and activities.

1 See for example, Minerals Management Service, Alaska OCS Region. Chukchi Sea planning area, oil and gas
lease sale 193 and seismic surveying activities in the Chukchi Sea: final environmental impact statement.
[Anchorage, Alaska] : U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Alaska OCS Region, [2007]


Tom Cook was a geologist. He was born June 18, 1936, in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He graduated
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a Master’s of Business
Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He came to Alaska
in 1976 as the executive director of the Pipeline Commission and later became the director of
the Division of Minerals and Energy Management. In 1980, he joined Chevron as Alaska's
exploration representative. His main focus with Chevron was to foster a working relationship
between the North Slope villages and Chevron. In 1986, he began work with the first
Oil/Whalers Working Group. After retiring from Chevron, he continued working as a
consultant with the group. Tom Cook died in 2010.

Scope and Content Description:
The collection consists of records created or collected by Tom Cook during his work in Alaska,
first with DMEM and then with Chevron and the Oil/Whalers Working Group, including 120
color negatives, 163 color photographs, 11 black-and-white photographs, 17 slides, call logs,
correspondence, reports, and publications. For more information, see Detailed Description of
Collection.

Arrangement: Arranged by format and date. Photo materials from addendum added end of
previous numbering.


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:
Tom Cook Papers, Anchorage Museum, B2017.012

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Acquisition and Appraisal Information

Donated by Mary Lee Cook in June 2017. Addendum of 48 color negatives, 101 color prints, 11
black-and-white prints, 17 slides, and ephemera received November 2017.

Separated Materials
Published materials transferred to cataloging. Subject ephemera filed in Vertical Files.


SUBJECTS
Oil/Whalers Working Group
Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission
Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
Whaling—Beaufort Sea
Offshore oil industry – Environmental aspects – Beaufort Sea
Petroleum industry and trade—Alaska
Dance festivals – Alaska – Barrow
Inupiat – Alaska – North Slope – Social life and customs.
Barrow (Alaska)
Kaktovik (Alaska)
Nuiqsut (Alaska)
Deadhorse (Alaska)

Detailed Description of the Collection

B1/F1
Negatives
 1 —72 – Feb 2-4, 1991, Barrow, Crain et al. [72 color 35mm negatives of dinner event, Top of the World Hotel. With prints for all except .3, .25-27. Captions from prints] .1 – Ernie Esphenscheid (right) [Ernest Espenschied with unidentified man]
 2 — Eben Hopson, Bill Crain, Jacob Adams [Crain addressing diners, Hopson seated at left, Adams wearing blue polo shirt at right]
 3 — [similar to .2]
 4 — Eben Hopson, Bill Crain, Oliver Leavitt [Crain addressing diners, Hopson seated at left, Leavitt wearing light blue dress shirt at right]
 5 — Eben Hopson, Bill Crain [Hopson addressing diners, Crain seated at right]
 6 — Bill Crain, ?, Jacob Adams, ?, Oliver Leavitt
 7 — [similar to .6]
 8 — Jacob Adams (right)
 9 — Eben Hopson, Bill Crain
10 — [Alaska Native man and woman. At AFN 2017, identified as Alice Upicksoun and Joe Upicksoun]
 11 — [unidentified white man]
 12 — [Bill Crain seated in left background, Jacob Adams wearing blue polo shirt center background, Oliver Leavitt smoking cigarette in center]
 13 — Tom Kelly [with unidentified woman]
 14 — ?, Ernie Espenschied, Paul Walker
 15 — [Bill Crain at head of table of diners]
 16 — (red) Jim Wickwire, (blue) Paul Walker, Tom Kelly [Wickwire, Walker, and Espenschied in foreground with backs to camera, Kelly in center]
 17 — [Alaska Native man talking with woman]
 18 — (left) Andy Hardiman [two men in cold weather gear standing next to automobile, low sun on horizon]
 19 — ?, Oliver Leavitt, Bill Crain, Ernie Espenschied [four men wearing cold weather gear posed outdoors]
 20 — [similar to .19]
 21 — Tom Kelly, Oliver Leavitt [men in hotel lobby, Bill Crain kneeling at left, Andy Hardiman in background]
 22 — [man holding camera standing in hotel lobby]
 23 — [two men standing next to polar bear skin on wall of lobby]
 24 — Paul Walker (right), Oliver Leavitt (2 nd from right) [standing with two unidentified men in hotel lobby]
 25 — [secretary seated at desk, with computer at left, cassette tape player in back, other office equipment on tables]
 26 — [similar to .25]
 27 — [secretary seated at desk]
 28 — [Ernie Espenschied and Oliver Leavitt]
 29 — [dinner guests mingling]
 30 — [dinner guests mingling]
 31 — [Paul Walker at right]
 32 — [similar to .31]
 33 — [Eben Hopson and Bill Crain at head of table, Oliver Leavitt in center right]
 34 — [Tom Kelly?]
 35 — [similar to .33]
 36 — [similar to .33]
 37 — [Jim Wickwire addressing diners]
 38 — [Jim Wickwire addressing diners, Tom Kelly standing left, Paul Walker seated right]
 39 — [similar to. 38]
 40 — [Alaska Native man and woman at end of table in background]
 41 — [Oliver Leavitt addressing diners]
 42 — [similar to .41]
 43 — [seated diners including Bill Crain center, Jacobs Adams right]
 44 — [Oliver Leavitt addressing diners]
 45 — [Oliver Leavitt addressing diners]
 46 — [seated diners]
 47 — [Oliver Leavitt addressing diners]
 48 — [Oliver Leavitt addressing diners]
 49 — [white man addressing diners]
 50 — [similar to .49]
 51 — [Alaska Native man addressing diners]
 52 — [seated diners including Jacob Adams in center]
 53 — [Alaska Native man addressing diners]
 54 — [white man addressing diners]
 55 — [unidentified woman]
 56 — [Jim Wickwire]
 57 — [Eben Hopson addressing diners]
 58 — [seated diners including Eben Hopson in back]
 59 — [seated diners including Paul Walker and Jim Wickwire at left]
 60 — [Jacob Adams addressing diners]
 61 — [Jacob Adams addressing diners]
 62 — [Tom Kelly at left with unidentified woman]
 63 — [similar to .62]
 64 — [Eben Hopson and Bill Crain]
 65 — [Alaska Native man and woman]
 66 — [unidentified white man]
 67 — [Jacob Adams]
 68 — [Jacob Adams]
 69 — [seated diners including Bill Crain left and Jacob Adams second right]
 70 — [seated diners including Oliver Leavitt center]
 71 — [Alaska Native man and woman seated at end of table]
 72 — [Eben Hopson and Bill Crain at head of table] Print photographs B1/F2 [Prints of negatives .1-2, .4-24, .28-72] B1/F3
 73 —111 – Feb 2-4, 1991, Barrow, Crain et al. [39 color prints of Kivgiq, including dancers and audience members. No negatives] .73 – [men posed in hotel lobby] .74 – Oliver Leavitt [posed in hotel lobby] .75 – Andy Hardiman [posed in hotel lobby] .76 – [men looking at displays in hotel lobby] .77 – [man in hotel lobby] .78 – Andy Hardiman, Bill Crain [indoors] .79 – Bill Crain, Ernie Espenschied [in office area] .80 – [Bill Crain, Jeslie Kaleak, Sr. standing near podium in gymnasium] .81 – Bill Crain [with Jeslie Kaleak, Sr. standing at podium] .82 – [Bill Crain, Jeslie Kaleak, Sr. standing at podium] .83 – [Bill Crain, Jeslie Kaleak, Sr. standing at podium] .84 – [Bill Crain, Jeslie Kaleak, Sr. standing at podium] .85 – [Bill Crain, Jeslie Kaleak, Sr. standing at podium] .86 – Tom Cook, Adeline Hopson [sitting in gymnasium] .87 – Charlie and Adeline Hopson [sitting in gymnasium] .88-111 – [group shots of dancers and spectators at Kivgiq events] B1/F4 Addendum negatives
 112 —135 – [24 color negatives, no date. Tour group at Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay] .112-114 – [chef with CCI toque blanche standing next to table set for banquet]
 115 —119 – [three men wearing BP baseball caps posed in front of sign for “Prudhoe Bay General Store, Sag River Hardware, U.S. Post Office,” Deadhorse]
 120 —122 – [men riding bus on tour]
 123 —124 – [men standing next to tour bus]
 125 — [caribou on tundra]
 126 —135 – [people standing next to or near pipeline at Pump Station No. 1]
 136 —159 – Leffingwell, 6/3/91 [24 color negatives, Leffingwell Camp Site, Flaxman Island. Prints for .150, .153-155]
 136 —143 – [section of pipe partially buried on tundra, man posed next to barrel, gloves placed for size comparison]
 144 —145 – [scenics of island and sea ice, two men standing in foreground]
 146 —147 – [scenics of island and sea ice]
148 —149 – [man and woman sitting in chairs on beach, buildings and storage tanks in background, possibly large stack of pipe sections in left background, Prudhoe Bay?]
 150 — [people standing next to structure at Leffingwell Camp]
 151 —152 – [woman standing on tundra, helicopter in background]
 153 — [people standing next to structure at Leffingwell Camp]
 154 —155 – [interpretive sign for Leffingwell Camp State Historic Site]
 156 —159 – [scenics of island and sea ice] B1/F5 Addendum print photographs
 160 — [Humble Oil & Refining, Junior Achievement ceremony, 1972. Left to right: Tom Cook, I.E. Killian, G.A. Butler, John Baldaccini, Anne Lawson, C.E. Warns. Cf. clipping]
 161 — [men at podium, Ernie Espenschied at center, award ceremony, Kodiak Island Borough plaque to Chevron USA after publication of “A Manual for geophysical operations in fishing areas of Alaska” by the Oil/Fisheries Group of Alaska, circa 1983. Cf. slide of plaque, .223]
 162 — [men at podium, Tom Cook at right, award ceremony, Kodiak Island Borough plaque to Chevron USA]
 163 — [men at podium, award ceremony, Kodiak Island Borough plaque to Chevron USA]
 164 — [man receiving plaque, Ernie Espenschied at left, award ceremony, Kodiak Island Borough plaque to Chevron USA]
 165 — [group at podium, Tom Cook at center, award ceremony, Kodiak Island Borough plaque to Chevron USA]
 166 — [Ernie Espenschied outside borough building, award ceremony, Kodiak Island Borough plaque to Chevron USA]
 167 — [group outside borough building, award ceremony, Kodiak Island Borough plaque to Chevron USA]
 168 — [group outside borough building, Mary Lee Cook at left, Tom Cook at right, award ceremony, Kodiak Island Borough plaque to Chevron USA]
 169 — [group outside borough building, award ceremony, Kodiak Island Borough plaque to Chevron USA]
 170 — [group outside borough building, award ceremony, Kodiak Island Borough plaque to Chevron USA]
 171 — [Oliver Leavitt and other men standing next to automobiles on beach; print date 6/19/90]
 172 — [three men, two wearing Chevron Alaska baseball caps, standing next to automobiles on beach; print date 6/19/90]
 173 — Tour group at Kakakturuk River, oil bearing sandstone outcrop [Tom Cook talking with three people on tour; print date 8/4/90]
 174 — [Tom Cook holding rock pick posed next to sandstone outcropping, Kakakturuk River; print date 8/4/90]
 175 — [unidentified man holding rock pick posed next to sandstone outcropping; no date]
 176 — [Jacob Adams and three unidentified men sitting in hotel lobby; print date 8/7/90]
 177 — [Tom Cook helping passengers into Era Aviation helicopter; with note card dated Nov. 26, 1990]
 178 — [Tom Cook helping passengers into Era Aviation helicopter, Era hangar in background; with note card dated Nov. 26, 1990]
 179 — [Tom Cook and tour group near outcropping, Kakakturuk River? with note card dated Nov. 26, 1990]
 180 — [Tom Cook wearing BP hard hat and other passengers standing next to bus, building in background; with note card dated Nov. 26, 1990]
 181 — [Tom Cook and two unidentified people wearing BP hard hats touring facility, bus in background; with note card dated Nov. 26, 1990]
 182 — [Tom Cook holding rock pick standing next to outcropping, Kakakturuk River? with note card dated Nov. 26, 1990]
183 — 8/23, 24/91 [man and two boys next to soda vending machine in banquet hall or community center; print date 8/23/91]
 184 — 8/23, 24/91 [large group eating at table in hall, chef wearing CCI toque serving food, television on shelf in corner; print date 8/23/91]
 185 — 8/23, 24/91 [large group eating at table in hall; print date 8/23/91]
 186 — 8/23, 24/91 [large group eating at table in hall; print date 8/23/91]
187 — 8/23, 24/91 [unidentified man and woman eating at table in hall; print date 8/23/91]
188 — 8/23, 24/91 [group eating at table in hall; print date 8/23/91]
 189 — 8/23, 24/91 [large group eating at table in hall, chef wearing CCI toque in background right, commercial kitchen equipment against back wall; print date 8/23/91]
 190 — 8/23, 24/91 [group eating at table in hall, chef wearing CCI toque in background; print date 8/23/91]
191 — 8/23, 24/91 [group eating at table in hall; print date 8/23/91]
 192 — 8/23, 24/91 [Tom Cook posed with chef wearing CCI toque; print date 8/24/91]
 193 — 8/23, 24/91 [unidentified man posed with chef wearing CCI toque; print date 8/24/91]
 194 — 8/23, 24/91 [eight people posed next to Era helicopter; print date 8/24/91]
 195 — 8/23, 24/91 [eight people posed next to Era helicopter; print date 8/24/91]
196 — 8/23, 24/91 [eight people posed next to Era helicopter; print date 8/24/91]
 197 — 8/23, 24/91 [woman posed on tundra; print date 8/24/91]
 198 — 8/23, 24/91 [woman posed next to Era helicopter on tundra; print date 8/24/91]
 199 — 8/23, 24/91 [three people on tundra, man in foreground looking through binoculars and carrying camera; print date 8/24/91]
 200 — 8/23, 24/91 [people standing next to Era helicopter; print date 8/24/91]
 201 — [group posed next to sandstone outcropping, Kakakturuk River? print date 8/7/91]
 202 — [man wearing Era Aviation baseball cap on tundra; print date 8/7/91]
 203 — [Archie Brower standing on beach, tables laid with food and supplies at left, people with bicycle, snowmachine, and all-terrain vehicle in background; print date 6/6/97]
 204 — [Archie Brower sitting in truck]
205 — [Archie Brower and other people sitting outdoors]
 206 — [bulldozer pulling whale onto beach, Kaktovik; print date 9/5/01]
 207 — [bulldozer pulling whale onto beach, Kaktovik; print date 9/6/01]
 208 — [bulldozer pulling whale onto beach, Kaktovik; print date 9/3/01]
 209 — [bulldozer dumping water onto whale onto beach, Kaktovik; print date 9/6/01]
 210 — [people next to whale on beach, baleen visible, bulldozer in background, Kaktovik; print date 9/10/01]
 211 — [large group of people standing on and next to whale carcass on beach, Kaktovik; print date 9/3/01]
 212 — [large group of people standing on and next to whale carcass on beach, Kaktovik; print date 9/3/01]
 213 — [distant view of two people on whale carcass beginning to make cuts, people standing on beach nearby, bulldozer at right, Kaktovik; print date 9/3/01]
 214 — [two people on whale carcass beginning to make cuts, people standing on beach nearby, bulldozer at right, Kaktovik; print date 9/3/01]
 215 — [people standing next to partially butchered whale carcass on beach, two bulldozers in background, Kaktovik; print date 9/4/01]
 216 — [close-up of whale cutting tools on beach, Kaktovik; print date 9/4/01]
 217 — [meat laid out on plastic sheeting on beach, snowmachines parked in background, Kaktovik; print date 9/8/01]
 218 — [desiccated polar bear foot on beach]
219 — KIC [aerial of Chevron KIC #1 well, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]
 220 — KIC [aerial of pad, Chevron KIC #1 well, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]
 221 — [post marking well head in spring, KIC #1?]
 222 — [grave marker on tundra, reading “Ollo [?] died Nov. 16, 1922] B1/F6 Addendum slides
 223 — [plaque presented to Chevron USA by Kodiak Island Borough, circa 1983. Cf. .161 et seq.]
 224 — North Slope ice road, Alaska, 1981. Robert Lewellen [view down road, with oncoming vehicle; print date Apr 1981]
 225 — Chevron [Tom Cook wearing cold weather gear walking on tundra next to ice-cutting machinery; print date Mar 85]
 226 — Chevron [Ernie Espenschied and unidentified man wearing cold weather gear standing in front of well, KIC #1? print date Mar 85]
 227 — Chevron [drilling superintendent Bill Sauer wearing cold weather gear, possibly talking to Tom Cook, well in background; print date Mar 85. Cf. “The Arctic threshold,” by Bob Yeager, Chevron Focus, January-February 1986]
228 — KIC #1 exploration/production, Jan/Feb 1986 Focus [truck parked next to building in winter, with sign reading “Kaktovik [?]”]
 229 — Kaktovik 1990 [woman standing next to tent and driftwood at whaling camp]
 230 — Kaktovik 1990 [boy climbing driftwood at whaling camp, canvas windbreak in background]
 231 — Kaktovik 1990 [people walking along beach at whaling camp, driftwood and windbreak in background]
 232 — Chevron [Tom Cook wearing cold weather gear, possibly standing inside mess hall under construction]
 233 — Chevron [Ernie Espenschied, Tom Cook, and two unidentified men, possibly standing inside mess hall under construction]
 234 — [Tom Cook wearing Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation baseball cap standing on tundra, second man wearing Chevron baseball cap standing at right]
 235 — Chevron [KIC #1 at night]
 236 — Herman Aishanna [Cf. “The Arctic threshold,” by Bob Yeager, Chevron Focus, January- February 1986]
 237 — [close-up of rock oozing oil]
 238 — [close-up of rock pick lying on sandstone outcropping, Kakakturuk River?]
 239 — [KIC #1 well?] Logs B1/F7 Log, September 24, 1988 - September 19, 1989 B1/F8 Log, Kaktovik, September 2, 1996 – September 30, 1996 B1/F9 Log, Nuiqsut, September 3, 1996 - September 17, 1996 B2 B2/F1 Log, September 1, 1997 – September 20, 1997 B2/F2 Log, September 21, 1997 – September 28, 1997 B2/F3 Log, 1997 Whale Season Weekly Report [typescript] B2/F4 Log, Deadhorse, September 2, 1996 – September 30, 1996 B2/F5 Log, Deadhorse, September 2, 1997 – September 27, 1997 Publications, correspondence, and ephemera B2/F6 Notes, 1989-1998 B3 B3/F1 Correspondence, 1972-1997 B3/F2 Certificates and other ephemera, 1963-1998 B3/F3 News clippings, 1972-1996 B3/F4 Reports - Mangus, Marvin D. “The history of the exploration and development of the oil and gas reserves on the North Slope, Northern Alaska.” No date. 13 pages - “A preliminary review of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska Coastal Plain resource assessment: report and recommendation to the Congress of the United States and final legislative environmental impact statement.” Prepared by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with input from the National Biological Service in Alaska. August 29, 1995. 20 pages - “Response to ANWR report.” Prepared by Regional Director, Region 7, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. [1995] 2 pages - “Notice of proposed adoption of regulations.” Department of Natural Resources, State of Alaska. January 17, 1997. [47] pages. Deals with changes to Cook Inlet discovery royalty regulations, Plan of operations regulations, Royalty payment regulations, Royalty reduction regulations, and Lease and permit assignment regulations B3/F5 and F6 - Legislative history of Section 1002 of ANILCA, prepared by American Petroleum Institute. August 5, 1986. Unpaged. Removed from binder. B3/F7 - “Sale of Prudhoe Bay Unit royalty oil.” Guide updated: January 16, 2018