Vrooman, Betty
Primary Name: Vrooman, Betty
Filed as: Vrooman, Betty
Also known as: Betty Baggen Vrooman
Occupation / Association: Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Igloo; homemaker
Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Annette Island, Alaska; Sitka, Alaska; Fairbanks, Alaska; Gustavus, Alaska; Yakutat, Alaska; Anchorage, Alaska; Stillwater, Oklahoma
Keywords: Betty Vrooman, Betty Baggen Vrooman, Baggen family Juneau, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Igloo women, POA Roll Number 413, Juneau Alaska families, Sitka Alaska residents, Annette Island CAA Station families, Alaska territorial families
Biography
Betty Vrooman was born in Juneau, Alaska, on May 7, 1923, the daughter of George Baggen and Olga Sandbery, both immigrants from Norway. The Baggen family was among the Norwegian families who settled in Southeast Alaska during the territorial period.
On April 19, 1943, she married James R. Vrooman in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The couple later returned to Alaska and lived for a period at the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) station on Annette Island, where they resided for two years. Their daughters, Lynda and Jamie, were both born during this period.
Over the years, the family lived in several Alaska communities, reflecting the mobility common among families connected with federal aviation and territorial services. In addition to Annette Island, Betty lived in Sitka for seven years, Fairbanks for two years, Gustavus for two years, Yakutat for two years, and Anchorage for two years.
Betty was initiated into the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Igloo, on January 28, 1955, receiving Roll Number 413. Her membership application recorded that she was five feet two inches tall and weighed 118 pounds, with a medium complexion, blue-green eyes, and light brown hair. At the time of her application, she was noted to be in good health.
Her application was endorsed by Joan M. Baggen and May Wright and confirmed by members of the membership committee: Edna Anderson, Leona McKinnon, and Odelia Light.
Her relatives included George Baggen Jr. of Sitka, L. C. Baggen of Juneau, and Elsie Johnson of Granite, New Mexico.
Betty Vrooman died in Sitka, Alaska, on February 11, 1975.
Sources
Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Igloo Membership Application records.
Clark, Lorell Dee
Primary Name: Bevan, Lorell Dee
Filed as: bevan_lorell_dee
Also known as: Lorell Clark; Lorell Grant; Lorell Yancy
Occupation / Association: Charter Member, Juneau Igloo Auxiliary No. 6; Fox farmer; Hotel manager; Boeing riveter during World War II
Born: May 14, 1886, Douglas, Kansas
Died: April 17, 1970, Seattle, Washington
Parents: Thomas Bevan; Georgina Trontla Bevan
Spouse: Frank Edwin Clark (m. June 8, 1904, Portland, Oregon; d. January 17, 1926); David M. Grant (m. November 28, 1928; d. 1938); Jack Yancy (m. ca. 1940; annulled ca. 1941)
Children: William Z. Clark
Associated places: Douglas, Kansas; Yale, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Juneau, Alaska; Kake, Alaska; Southern Washington; Kelso, Washington; Seattle, Washington; Lebanon, Oregon; Arcata, California; Anchorage, Alaska
Keywords: Lorell Dee Bevan, Lorell Clark, Lorell Grant, Lorell Yancy, Juneau Igloo Auxiliary No. 6
Biography
Lorell Dee Bevan was a Charter Member of the Juneau Igloo Auxiliary No. 6.
She was born on May 14, 1886, in Douglas, Kansas, the daughter of Thomas Bevan and Georgina Trontla Bevan. Lorell spent her childhood on the family farm in Yale, Washington.
At the age of sixteen, she worked as a cook at a lumber mill. She married the mill manager Frank Edwin Clark on June 8, 1904, in Portland, Oregon. Their son, William Z. Clark, was born in Washington in 1906.
The family moved to Alaska in 1918 and operated a fox farm on an island southeast of Juneau. Frank Clark died on January 17, 1926, in Kake, Alaska.
Lorell and her son William moved to Juneau, where she met David M. Grant. The couple became engaged on November 17, 1927, in Juneau, and were married on November 28, 1928. They later moved back to a farm in southern Washington. David Grant died in 1938.
Lorell later moved to Kelso, Washington, where she managed a hotel. Around 1940, she married Jack Yancy, but the marriage was annulled about a year later.
During World War II, she moved to Seattle to live with her son and worked for Boeing as a riveter on B-25 bombers. In 1950, she moved to Lebanon, Oregon, to work as a housekeeper for her brother Jessie. They later moved to Arcata, California, where Jessie died.
She later moved to Anchorage, Alaska, to live with her son and his wife. After her son died, she moved back to Seattle.
Lorell died on April 17, 1970, in Seattle, Washington.
Sources
1900/1910 U.S. Federal Census, Mineral, Washington; 1920 U.S. Federal Census, Juneau; Biography from Will/its Family Tree, Ancestry.com; Alaska Daily Empire, December 1, 1928
Tags: Lorell Dee Bevan, Lorell Clark, Lorell Grant, Lorell Yancy, Juneau Igloo Auxiliary No. 6, Juneau Alaska pioneers
Pugh, Veneta Elizabeth
Primary Name: Pugh, Venetia Elizabeth
Filed as: Pugh, Venetia Elizabeth
Also known as: Venetia Elizabeth Hahn; Venetia E. Pugh
Occupation / Association: Clerk of the District Court; Charter member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6
Associated places: Ketchikan, Alaska; Skagway, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Anchorage, Alaska
Keywords: Venetia Elizabeth Pugh, Venetia Hahn, Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary charter member, SS Princess Sophia families, Alaska District Court clerks, Baranof Hotel tea house
Biography
Venetia Elizabeth Pugh was a charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6.
She was born August 13, 1904, in the U.S. Customs House in Ketchikan, Alaska, to John F. “Jack” Pugh and Venetia L. Pugh.
The family moved to Skagway in 1904 and to Juneau in 1909, when her father was appointed the Collector of Customs for the District of Alaska. Her father later perished aboard the S.S. Princess Sophia when the vessel ran aground and sank at Vanderbilt Reef near Juneau with the loss of all aboard.
After her father's death, Venetia and her mother moved into the Baranof Hotel in Juneau. Her mother operated a tea house there, and Venetia worked both at the tea house and at the Baranof Gift Shop.
She graduated from Juneau High School in 1922 and from the University of Washington in 1927. She then began a career with the District Court that lasted approximately thirty years.
On October 12, 1935, she married Karl Austin Hahn, and the couple moved to Skagway. Their son, Karl A. Hahn, was born in Skagway in July 1939.
In 1947, the Hahn family, along with Venetia’s mother, moved to Anchorage, where they lived on Government Hill in a Quonset hut until 1953.
Venetia retired from the Clerk of the Court Office in 1969. In 1987, she and her husband moved to the Anchorage Pioneers’ Home.
Venetia Elizabeth Pugh Hahn died at the Anchorage Pioneers’ Home on January 11, 1999.
Sources
1910 U.S. Federal Census, Juneau
1940 U.S. Federal Census, Skagway
Gastineau Channel Memories, Vol. 1, p. 425
Daily Alaska Empire, October 12, 1935
Juneau Empire, January 18, 1999
Anchorage Daily News, January 14, 1999