Legendary Locals Of Chugiak Eagle River

Homesteading in Alaska was not an obvious lifestyle choice for most people in post-World War II America. In an age of gleeful consumerism, early settlers of Chugiak-Eagle River made a decision to live simply. Yet a simple life and an easy one were two different things. Many raised their own crops and a few, such as the Pippels, the Tatros, the Glenn Briggses, and the Vanovers, created larger-scale farming ventures. Other entrepreneurs, such as Paul Swanson, thrived in the frontier environment, taking on multiple enterprises to fill gaps in the area's services. Out of this can-do atmosphere sprang a number of artists, musicians, and performers. The Chugiak Belles dance group revved up audiences at the annual Spring Carnival, and the Chugiak Players staged a variety of dramas and comedies. Eagle River homesteaders Arthur and Eleanor Braendel helped found the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra and performed with them for 60 years. Radio host and homesteader Ruth Briggs sang and traveled with the original Anchorage Concert Chorus. As the area matured and schools grew, athletes began to thrive, creating their own legacy. More legendary locals are being minted every day.

America’s fascination with Alaska began at the turn of the last century, when Jack London and John Muir captivated readers with their fiction and nonfiction stories—and continues today with such popular books as Into the Wild and the explosion of Alaska reality TV shows. In such a giant and forbidding place, people lose their way. They hurt themselves. Their equipment fails. They clash with wildlife. And in Alaska, one stroke of bad luck—one small mistake—can mean catastrophe. This book recounts twenty true misadventures, all but one told from the survivor’s point of view. Its chapters describe getting lost in the wilderness, bear attacks, dead-stick landings, snowmobile mishaps , overturned canoes, and even escape from a steaming volcano. Told as cautionary tales, these chapters are not only a nail-biting good read on their own, but an illustration of the many perils of living, working, and recreating in the Last Frontier.

America's fascination with Alaska began at the turn of the last century, when Jack London and John Muir captivated readers with their fiction and nonfiction stories--and continues today with such popular books as Into the Wild and the explosion of Alaska reality TV shows. In such a giant and forbidding place, people lose their way. They hurt themselves. Their equipment fails. They clash with wildlife. And in Alaska, one stroke of bad luck--one small mistake--can mean catastrophe. This book recounts twenty true misadventures, all but one told from the survivor's point of view. Its chapters describe getting lost in the wilderness, bear attacks, dead-stick landings, snowmobile mishaps , overturned canoes, and even escape from a steaming volcano. Told as cautionary tales, these chapters are not only a nail-biting good read on their own, but an illustration of the many perils of living, working, and recreating in the Last Frontier.

Eagle River's written history begins in 1898, when the valley was explored by W.C. Mendenhall of the US Geological Survey. Since that first journey, a vibrant community has grown just 10 miles from Anchorage, still retaining its small town characteristics. The early years include the Iditarod Trail, the building of the Alaska Railroad, and a fox farm around Fire Lake. World War II brought many families to the area, and some of these families started homesteads in Eagle River. By the 1960s, Eagle River had a shopping center, post office, and schools--earning it a place on the map. The 1970s and 1980s saw an explosion in growth as Pippel's Field was built up with businesses and housing, the Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce was organized, and the Bear Paw Festival was started.

First book-length critical examination on the writing of John Haines, one of America's leading poets and essayists. Haines matured as a poet while homesteading in the Alaskan wilderness. Included are new and previously published work by 28 writers, including Wendell Berry and Donald Hall. Complete bibliography and comprehensive interview included.

Throughout history, many people have escaped to nature either permanently or temporarily to rest and recharge. Richard L. Proenneke, a modern-day Henry David Thoreau, is no exception. Proenneke built a cabin in Twin Lakes, Alaska in 1968 and began thirty years of personal growth, which he spent growing more connected to the wilderness in which he lived. This guide through Proenneke’s memories follows the journey that began with One Man’s Wilderness, which contains some of Proenneke’s journals. It continues the story and reflections of this mountain man and his time in Alaska. The editor, John Branson, was a longtime friend of Proenneke’s and a park historian. He takes care that Proenneke’s journals from 1974-1980 are kept exactly as the author wrote them. Branson’s footnotes give a background and a new understanding to the reader without detracting from Proenneke’s style. Anyone with an interest in conservation and genuine wilderness narratives will surely enjoy and treasure this book.

Jean Aspen, daughter of arctic explorer and author Constance Helmericks, began life in the wilderness. Throughout six decades, the natural world has remained central to her. What began as a series of letters to her son, Lucas, when she and her husband Tom set out to search for a different future, evolved over the seasons into a many snapshots of her remarkable life. All those seemingly random threads have woven the tapestry of her journey and the journey of the river flowing by the remote cabin. In Trusting the River, she closes the circle of her mother's books and her own early work, Arctic Daughter.

"To live in a pristine land, unchanged by man; to roam a wilderness through which few other humans pass; to choose an idyllic site, cut trees and build a log cabin; to be a self-sufficient craftsman, making what is needed from materials available; to be not at odds with thye world, but content with one's own thougts and company. Thousands have had such dreams but Richard Proenneke lived them. He found a place, built a cabin and stayed to become part of the country. [This] is a simple account of the day-to-day explorations and activities he carried out alone and the constant chain of nature's events that kept him company"--Publisher's description.