Stragier, Frank
Stragier, Frank
Born: March 23, 1914
Died: March 30, 1965
Military Service: Private, United States Army, World War II
Biography
Frank Stragier was born on March 23, 1914.
During the Second World War, he served in the United States Army with the rank of Private. Thousands of men from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest served in the armed forces during the war, contributing to the Allied effort both in the Pacific and in other theaters.
Stragier died on March 30, 1965. He was buried in a cemetery recorded in historical memorial records.
Sources
Find A Grave memorial records
Juneau Memorial Library
The Juneau Memorial Library, aka the Veterans Memorial Building, located at 114 W. Fourth Street, has a commanding presence, sitting on a hillside at the corner of Fourth and Main streets, across from the Alaska State Capitol and overlooking downtown Juneau.
The building stands on a prominent location in the community, next to Alaska's state capitol, on a hill overlooking downtown Juneau with a residential area behind it.
The Juneau Memorial Library, completed in 1951, was the first major community project initiated by Juneau residents. The Juneau Rotary Club undertook construction of a library building for the town's residents as a memorial to the men and women of the area who fought in World Wars I and II.
A local architectural firm designed the stately reinforced concrete building incorporating Neo-Classical Revival architectural elements.
The building housed the community's library until the mid-1980s. It is now the city's museum, continuing to be a public facility serving the community. The period of significance starts in 1951 when the library opened and ends in 1959 to encompass the statehood event.
Following the discovery of gold on Gold Creek in Silver Bow Basin in 1880, the town of Juneau was established. It became a center for large scale hard-rock mining. The city incorporated in 1900 and became Alaska's capital in 1906. It was Alaska's largest community from 1920 to 1950.
In 1897, the Juneau Public Library Association, comprised mainly of local ministers, organized and provided a library collection that was housed in the federal courthouse. In 1898, the building burned and the library with it. A library was not reestablished.
In 1906, a party of American Library Association visitors met with Juneau's mayor and left a collection of books. The mayor told the group he would try to get the City Council to pass an ordinance to establish a free library. Apparently, the Carnegie Library Foundation Association made an offer of a building to the city after the visit.
Juneau did not have a public library again, however, until 1914 when the Juneau Draper Club, a civic group, founded one. The club bought books, rented a small building, and hired a librarian. They opened a reading room in August 1914 and a circulation department in December 1914.
A Juneau Library Association organized in April 1915, and at the end of the year reported 141 monthly subscribers and 55 yearly subscribers to the association. In a letter to the librarian at the Seattle Public Library, dated May 18, 1915, the Association's president wrote that "Our library is small, consisting of about fifteen hundred books, and at present the position pays $75 per month. It is a free circulating library with a reading room. We prefer a lady, one not too young, and a Protestant, If you know of any person or persons who would like this position, will you please have them apply as soon as possible?"
On the first anniversary the library cited impressive statistics. They had 1,180 borrowers, 350 of whom were children. During December 1915 there had been 700 people visiting the reading room. The Draper Club paid $150 to operate the library, and in 1915, the president, Ben D. Stewart, said the group could not continue to support it. Stewart, however, also was the city's mayor. He persuaded the City Council to pledge $1,800 a year for library support.
The City of Juneau took over the library on August 16, 1918, and housed it in two rooms on the top floor of Juneau City Hall. The Juneau librarian wrote an article, "Libraries in Alaska," that appeared in the American Library Association's journal in 1918. The librarian mentioned that Juneau "has not been able to accept the generous offer of a $20,000 building" made the year before by the Carnegie Library Foundation. By the end of World War II the two rooms were badly overcrowded.
The Juneau City Hall was razed in 1950 for construction of the Alaska Office Building, and the library moved temporarily to the Teen Age Club on South Seward Street.
Rev. Herbert Hillerman, Juneau Rotary Club president, announced at the August 28, 1945, meeting shortly after World War II ended that building a library as a memorial and tribute to area veterans of the World Wars would be the Club's top priority.
The next year, under the leadership of B. Frank Heintzleman, Ben D. Stewart, and James C. Ryan, the Rotary Club purchased the Olds family property at the corner of West Fourth and Main streets and hired architects Ross and Malcolm to design a building to be the community library.
The federal Public Works Administration advanced funds to pay for architectural services. The architects completed the drawings in 1946 and the Juneau Memorial Library Board of the Rotary Club sold the land that year for $2,500.00 to the city.
In 1949 a new Alaska Public Works program allowed the architects to increase the size of the building and add the basement to the plans. The Rotary Club then called upon members of the community for donations to construct the building. "Want to buy a ticket?" was heard throughout town. Service clubs, fraternal organizations, church groups and members of the community sold tickets to bazaars, hosted home cooked food sales, dinners, card parties, dances, white elephant sales, minstrel shows and even peddled chances to win an automobile. The Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood performed tribal dances and the Filipino Community held a special dance and costume exhibition.
Residents raised $82,000 and the federal Public Works Administration provided another $71,000 for construction. Ann Coleman, longtime and beloved community librarian, broke ground for the building on September 10, 1950.
At the dedication ceremony November 11, 1951, Heintzleman said, "this project represents I think the finest example in this territory of community spirit and enterprise working for a cultural project to benefit 'old and young, rich and poor'".
The construction of the library was the first major community effort to "obtain a facility of major size by the direct method of public contributions," making it an example of community planning and development in Juneau. Heintzleman insisted the library serve some twenty smaller communities in the Juneau area as well.
Many local residents view the building as a landmark in the community and have fond memories of it. In 1951, Mike Blackwell was eleven and remembers being paid twenty-five cents an hour to work for Miss Lomen, the librarian, after school each day for two hours and on Saturday afternoons.
The first floor housed fiction and non-fiction and had a high shelf with books children were not allowed to check out. Blackwell remembers that one could examine the loan record in the books, and he often looked at who had checked out a particular book. He also recalls that the new building was spacious and "for a long time there was a lot more room than books."
The library was designed to house 18,000 volumes. The children's section in the basement was called the Ann Coleman Room.
Today, the building is home to the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. According to former librarians Donna Pierce and Barbara Berg, because of the strong emotional attachment to the building the City Museum was the only suitable tenant.
At the May 16, 1989, assembly meeting, local Veterans of Foreign Wars and Donna Olds Barton suggested the building be rededicated as the Veterans Memorial Building. The rededication ceremony was held July 1, 1989, as part of the opening of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum in the building. The building is now dedicated to "all the men and women of the Juneau Area who served in our country's Foreign Wars."
On the library property is the Alaska Statehood Site, significant as the official site of the statehood ceremony and first raising of the 49 star flag on July 4, 1959.
Non-voting territorial delegate James Wickersham introduced the first bill for Alaska statehood in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1916. Low population, geographical separation from the other states, and how Alaskans would pay the expenses of statehood delayed statehood for more than forty years.
Finally, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the proclamation admitting Alaska as the 49tb state of the union on January 3, 1959. By executive order the new 49 star national flag did not become the official ensign until July 4th of the year.
An estimated three thousand people stood at attention as the first 49-star flag was raised in front of the Juneau Memorial Library by a military honor guard on July 4, 1959.
Author, lecturer, world traveler and New Yorker, Lowell Thomas was master of ceremonies. At 3:00 p.m. Governor Bill Egan spoke to the crowd while the flag was being raised. One of the territorial governors, Waino E. Hendrickson, was present. The site, marked with a commemorative plaque between the flagpoles, was dedicated at the ceremony.
Two large weather balloons carrying flags of Alaska and the nation were released in the hopes they would carry the news of Alaska statehood to the rest of the world. A parade went past the front of the library after the ceremony.
The July 6, 1959, edition of the Juneau newspaper reported "Special guests from across the nation observed the 49th star flag raising ceremonies from stands at one wing of the State Office Building. The State signs were carried by members of a delegation of Westinghouse appliance dealers who flew to Juneau for the ceremonies." The flagpoles at the site fly a 49 star flag and an Alaska flag and the plaque can be read by people passing on the sidewalk.
Only two other sites in Alaska associated with Alaska statehood have been documented and designated historic places. Constitution Hall on the University of Alaska campus at Fairbanks was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 3, 2005, for its association with the 1955-1956 Constitutional Convention.
The American Flag Raising Site at Sitka, designated a National Historic Landmark on October 15, 1966, is another site of an official statehood ceremony, but it is better known as the site of the ceremonial transfer of Alaska from Russian to U.S. administration in 1867.
Two totem poles, Harnessing the Atom by Amos Wallace installed in 1970 and Four Story-Pole by John Wallace installed in 1994, are on the property and counted as non-contributing objects to its placement on the National Register of Historic Places.
Brown, Frank A.
Primary Name: Brown, Frank A.
Filed as: brown_frank_a
Also known as: Frank A. Brown
Occupation / Association: Barber; Miner; Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6; Civil War veteran
Born: December 1855, Vermont
Died: September 1, 1921, Soldiers Home, Orting, Washington
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Vermont; Juneau, Alaska; Tenakee, Alaska; Orting, Washington; Chicken Ridge, Alaska
Keywords: Frank A Brown, Brown Frank A, Juneau barbers, Boston Group Mine
Biography
Frank A. Brown was a charter member of the Juneau Men’s Igloo of the Pioneers of Alaska.
Brown was born in December 1855 in Vermont. During the Civil War, he served as a drummer boy at 15 and was later recognized as a veteran.
He came to Alaska in August 1893. By trade, he was a barber, and for much of his time in Alaska, he owned and operated his own barbershop.
Brown was also involved in mining and was one of the original locators of the Boston Group Mine just beyond Chicken Ridge. He maintained an interest in these claims for several years.
During his years in Alaska, he lived in several communities, including Juneau and Tenakee, and he was last recorded living in Juneau in 1920.
Frank A. Brown died September 1, 1921, at the Soldiers Home in Orting, Washington.
Sources
1900 U.S. Federal Population Census; Daily Alaska Empire, September 6, 1921.
Tags: Frank A Brown, Brown Frank A, Juneau pioneers, Civil War veterans, Juneau barbers
Carver, J. Nelson
Primary Name: Carver, John Nelson "Doc"
Filed as: carver_john_nelson_doc
Also known as: John Nelson Carver; Doc Carver; John "Doc" Carver
Occupation / Association: Charter Member, Juneau Men’s Igloo; prospector; teamster; Civil War veteran
Born: 1848, near Janesville, Wisconsin
Died: February 3, 1936, Juneau, Alaska
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Janesville, Wisconsin; Juneau, Alaska
Keywords: John Nelson Doc Carver, John Carver Civil War veteran Juneau, Doc Carver Juneau pioneer
Biography
John Nelson “Doc” Carver was a charter member of the Juneau Men’s Igloo.
Carver was born near Janesville, Wisconsin, in 1848. At the age of sixteen, he enlisted as a private in Company L of the Third Regiment of Wisconsin Cavalry during the Civil War. He served on the battlefront and mustered out of service on October 23, 1865.
Carver came to Juneau around the turn of the twentieth century and spent several years prospecting. For a time, he was employed in the printing shop of George Simpkins and also worked as a teamster for Juneau transfer companies.
As Juneau’s only Civil War veteran, “Doc” was always given a place of honor in the Memorial Day processions. The nickname “Doc” had been given to him many years earlier after Dr. Carver, the famous buffalo hunter.
He died in Juneau on February 3, 1936, at the age of eighty-eight.
Sources
Daily Alaska Empire, February 3, 1936
Tags: John Nelson Carver, Doc Carver, Carver John Nelson, Juneau Men’s Igloo, Civil War veterans in Alaska
Davis, Trevor P. Montgomery
Primary Name: Davis, Trevor P. Montgomery
Filed as: davis_trevor_p_montgomery
Also known as: Trevor P. Davis, Trevor Davis
Occupation / Association: Photographer; Boat Operator; Business Owner; Charter Member, Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6
Born: 1892, Alameda, California
Died: 1990, Juneau, Alaska
Parents:
Spouse: Carol Beery Davis
Children: Sylvia Davis, Shirley Davis, Constance Davis, Patte Davis
Associated places: Juneau Alaska, Alameda California, Seattle Washington, San Francisco California
Keywords: Trevor P Montgomery Davis, Trevor Davis photographer, Snap Shoppe Juneau, Juneau photographers, Here and There in Southeast Alaska
Biography
Trevor P. Montgomery Davis was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6, where he served a term as Secretary.
Davis was born in 1892 in Alameda, California, where his mother, Frances, went for the birth. Within three months, the family returned to Juneau. At the age of twelve, he began working on the Davis properties.
In 1910, he purchased a sailboat and converted it to a gas boat in partnership with his brother Cedric. In 1914, the brothers traded the small boat for the Cordelia D and began operating a charter business for hunting and cruising. Trevor earned an operator's and pilot’s license for a 100-ton vessel and, in 1917, completed the requirements for an engineer’s license at the Duthrie Shipyards in Seattle, Washington.
He later joined the United States Navy and was stationed at Bremerton, Washington; San Diego, California; and the Great Lakes Naval Station in Chicago, Illinois.
Photography became a major interest for Davis beginning in 1912 when he acquired his first camera. He developed a technique for oil-tinting enlarged photographs and sold his work at the Nugget Shop and other gift stores in Juneau in June. Established photographers Winter & Pond and Case & Draper encouraged him and provided photographs and advice.
In 1921, Davis exhibited his photographs in San Francisco, and in 1926, he published a booklet of his early images titled Here and There in Southeast Alaska.
Trevor was one of seven members of the committee that selected the Alaska state flag and voted for the design that was ultimately adopted in 1927.
He was also a charter member of the American Legion and the Juneau Yacht Club. As a member of the Juneau Chamber of Commerce for forty-eight years, he promoted numerous civic projects, including the development of Juneau’s first small boat harbor and breakwater. Davis also wrote articles about his experiences in Southeast Alaska for newspapers and magazines.
In the spring of 1921, he met Carol Beery, who had come to Juneau and was searching for the wild violets displayed in shop windows. Davis offered to show her where they grew. The trip involved traveling aboard the Cordelia D and reaching Sheep Creek Basin via the Thane tramway. The excursion began a romance, and the two were married in 1922. They raised four daughters: Sylvia, Shirley, Connie, and Patte.
In 1934, Davis opened a photographic business on Seward Street where he developed, printed, and tinted photographs. He became an Eastman Kodak dealer, and the Snap Shoppe operated successfully for twenty-five years. One of his well-known photographs, Juneau’s Harbor Lights, required a one-hour exposure on a clear night in 1942. When a passing fishing boat disturbed the reflection, he was forced to repeat the entire exposure to achieve the desired image.
His work emphasized contrasts and composition, particularly winter light and shadow. As photography evolved, he expanded from black-and-white images to color photography and accumulated an extensive collection of slides and films. Many friends and community members attended his public presentations. While working for Prince William Sound Canneries, he filmed salmon runs and bears on color motion picture film.
After retiring from the photography business, Davis developed the Pinewood Park subdivision. He and his wife later piloted their boat, the Sylvita, to the Seattle World’s Fair, where they joined family and friends.
In his later years, he traveled widely, including a trip across the eastern United States with a Tlingit dance group during the U.S. Bicentennial, journeys across Alaska during the state’s Centennial celebration, visits to relatives on the West Coast, and travel in the South Pacific.
Davis later authored a pictorial history of the city titled Looking Back on Juneau – The First Hundred Years.
Trevor Davis died at the Pioneers’ Home in Juneau in 1990 at the age of ninety-seven and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and daughters, Sylvia, Shirley, and Constance.
Sources
Gastineau Channel Memories 1880-1959, p.119
Tags: Trevor P Montgomery Davis, Trevor Davis, Davis Trevor, Juneau photographers, Snap Shoppe Juneau, Juneau Men's Igloo No 6, Alaska flag committee, Juneau Yacht Club, American Legion Juneau
Davis, Cedric P. Montgomery
Primary Name: Davis, Cedric P. Montgomery
Filed as: davis_cedric_p_montgomery
Also known as: Cedric P. Montgomery Davis
Occupation / Association: Charter Member, Juneau Men’s Igloo; mariner; miner; U.S. Navy Quartermaster
Born: 1894, Juneau, Alaska
Died: 1977, Juneau, Alaska
Parents:
Spouse: Never married
Children:
Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Crestof Island, Alaska; Taku River, Alaska; Nome, Alaska; Seattle, Washington; Mexico
Keywords: Cedric P Montgomery Davis, Cedric Davis Juneau, Davis family Juneau, Pinewood Park subdivision, Juneau Men’s Igloo charter member
Biography
Cedric P. Montgomery Davis was a charter member of the Juneau Men’s Igloo.
Davis was born in Juneau in 1894. His experience with boats, engines, and navigation, in partnership with his brother Trevor, led him to enlist in the U.S. Navy during World War I. He served as a Quartermaster aboard a sub-chaser, was later reassigned to the battleship Oregon, and subsequently transferred to a freighter operating in the Atlantic, which allowed him to visit his mother’s sister in England.
In the early 1920s, Cedric operated a boat for the Hearst-Chichagof Mining Company and owned a mine on Crestof Island. He enjoyed prospecting there and along the Taku River.
At the onset of World War II, Cedric worked for the U.S. Army in Nome, operating the diesel electrical plant. When not working aboard boats, he stayed at the old Davis family home on Sixth Street with his sister Cordelia and her family.
After his sister and her husband moved to Seattle, Cedric made one of the smaller Sixth Street Davis houses his home. In the 1950s, he joined his brother, Trevor, in developing the Pinewood Park subdivision on land owned by the Davis family. He also helped construct cabins for Carol and her daughters on land obtained by Carol under the U.S. Small Tract Act.
When the vessel Cordelia D was traded for the trim Sylvita, Cedric traveled with Carol and Trevor aboard the new boat to the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962.
In later years, he enjoyed spending winters in Mexico and visiting Seattle.
Friends remembered Cedric as a kind and generous man who liked to see everyone happy, especially children, to whom he frequently gave money for ice cream. He never married.
Cedric died at Bartlett Memorial Hospital in 1977 at the age of 83 and was buried next to his parents at Evergreen Cemetery in Juneau.
Sources
Gastineau Channel Memories 1880–1959, p. 119
Tags: Cedric P Montgomery Davis, Cedric Davis, Davis family Juneau, Juneau Men’s Igloo, Pinewood Park subdivision
Distin, William Langmead
Primary Name: Distin, William Langmead
Filed as: distin_william_langmead
Also known as: General William Langmead Distin, William L. Distin
Occupation / Association: First Surveyor-General of Alaska; Civil War veteran; Illinois National Guard officer; Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6
Born: February 9, 1843, Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: November 20, 1914, Chicago, Illinois
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Cincinnati, Ohio; Illinois; Sitka, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Chicago, Illinois
Keywords: William Langmead Distin, William L Distin, General Distin Alaska Surveyor General, Distin Avenue Juneau
Biography
General William Langmead Distin was a charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6, and served as the first Surveyor-General of Alaska.
Distin was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 9, 1843. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army and participated in many of the war’s major engagements.
Following the war, he served in the Illinois National Guard and acted as aide-de-camp to Governors Hamilton, Oglesby, and Fifer of Illinois. He also served a term as Grand Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic.
On August 7, 1897, President William McKinley appointed Distin the first Surveyor-General of Alaska, a position he held until October 18, 1913.
In the fall of 1906, he transferred the records, papers, and furnishings of the Governor’s Office from Sitka to Juneau, an action that effectively established Juneau as the territorial capital.
Distin Avenue, a short residential street branching off Indian Street in central Juneau, was named in his honor. The street had originally been named Farnum Street for Oliver T. Farnum.
William Langmead Distin died in Chicago on November 20, 1914.
Sources
Naghel, Charles Edward
Naghel, Charles
Association: Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6
Role: Charter Member; President
Year: President, 1915
Biography
Charles Naghel was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6 of the Pioneers of Alaska and served as its president in 1915.
Naghel was born in Roseville, California, on February 15, 1880. His father, Edward Nagel, was an actor, singer, dancer, and musician who traveled through the mining camps of California performing. After his mother died when he was in the fifth grade, his father removed him from school, and the family traveled widely through California until his father remarried.
At the age of fifteen Naghel went to work in the steel rolling mills. When the Spanish–American War broke out in 1898, he joined the California Infantry at the age of eighteen. Although the war was short, he enrolled in a correspondence school in Pennsylvania while serving.
After the war, he joined the United States Marines. In 1900, a contingent of Marines was sent to Sitka to quell an uprising between two Native tribes. Naghel lived in the Marine Barracks in Sitka, which later became the first Alaska Pioneers’ Home. During this period, he continued working toward his high school diploma through the Calvert Correspondence School.
He met his future wife, Annetta Theresa Johnson, in Sitka in 1904 while she was employed as a musician aboard the S.S. Spokane.
Naghel later resigned from the Marines and moved to Juneau, where he worked for the Alaska Steam Laundry, driving the horse wagon that picked up and delivered laundry throughout the community. During the 1905 tourist season, he proposed to Annetta. The couple married in Juneau on August 6, 1906.
In 1907, the couple moved to Skagway, where Naghel worked for the United States Customs Service. They returned to Juneau in 1908 when their first child, Pat, was born. After a brief period living in Sitka, the family again settled in Juneau, where Naghel worked for Ross-Higgins Grocery and later for Charlie Goldstein’s store.
He eventually secured employment with the United States Land Office, serving as a clerk for the U.S. Surveyor General’s Office. In that position, he was responsible for approving and paying federal debts within the Territory of Alaska. He held the position for many years and retired in 1942.
Following retirement, Naghel spent much of his time at the family’s summer home in the Mendenhall Valley. He also continued bookkeeping work for Hazel Jaeger McKinnon’s Alaska Laundry.
Charles Naghel died in Juneau on September 28, 1945.
Sources
- Gastineau Channel Memories, 1880–1967, Vol. 2, pp. 265–266, story by Grace Naghel
- Alaska Marriage License Records
- Pioneers of Alaska Men’s Igloo No. 6 Biographical Sketch
Peterson, John G.
Primary Name: Peterson, John G.
Filed as: Peterson, John G.
Also known as: John G. Peterson
Occupation / Association: Miner; tinsmith; hardware merchant; charter member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo
Associated places: Hamburg, Germany; New York, New York; Chicago, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; Juneau, Alaska; Tee Harbor, Alaska; Peterson Lake, Alaska
Keywords: John G Peterson, Juneau Men’s Igloo charter member, Peterson Lake Juneau, Cheechako Creek mining claims, Prairie Basin Alaska, Juneau prospectors, Tee Harbor mining history
Biography
John G. Peterson was an early Juneau businessman, miner, and charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo.
He was born near Hamburg, Germany, on October 7, 1861. Peterson was educated in German schools and trained as a tinsmith. In 1881, he immigrated to the United States, where he worked at his trade in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis. He later enlisted in the United States Army and served for five years, much of that time in Indian Territory.
Peterson arrived in Juneau, Alaska, in April 1888 and purchased a small shop. For the next thirteen years, he operated a tin, stove, and hardware store while devoting his spare time to prospecting. In 1893, Peterson returned to Hamburg and married Marie Jensen. The couple later returned to Juneau.
In April 1899, Peterson staked a placer claim on the creek that later bore his name. He originally called it Cheechako Creek, naming one tributary Goose Creek and the surrounding valley Prairie Basin. Later mining records referred to the lake in the basin as Reservoir Lake, but by 1905, it had become known as Peterson Lake.
Peterson eventually sold his hardware store to devote his full attention to mining. His principal lode claim was located about half a mile east of the lake and was first reached by trail from Tee Harbor. He later built a home at Pearl Harbor and constructed a wagon road from there to the mine, where he installed a three-stamp mill.
He operated the mine until shortly before his death on August 20, 1916. Afterward, the mine continued to operate for several years under the management of his wife, Marie Peterson, and their daughters, Irma Peterson and Margaret Peterson.
The present Peterson Lake Trail follows the route of Peterson’s old wagon road, leaving Glacier Highway at Mile 24. Peterson Lake lies on the mainland approximately sixteen miles northwest of Juneau and about one mile from tidewater at Tee Harbor.
Sources
RootsWeb Juneau historical records
Ripinsky, Solomon
Ripinski, Solomon
Association: Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men's Igloo
Role: Charter Member
Biography
Colonel Solomon Ripinski was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo of the Pioneers of Alaska.
Ripinski was born on April 15 in Rypin, Poland. He received a European education and attended several military schools where he studied drafting and developed considerable skill in sketching, drawing, and painting.
He graduated with the rank of second lieutenant of cavalry. Because he was too young to enter service immediately, he traveled through many of Europe's principal cities before immigrating to the United States.
After arriving in America, he traveled through the eastern and southern states before settling in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he engaged in merchandising. He later moved to Sacramento, California, where he opened an art studio and produced several oil paintings.
In 1878, he relocated to Salem, Oregon, where he became active in the Oregon State Militia and quickly rose to the rank of colonel. That same year he received first prize from the Oregon State Fair Association and the Mechanics Fair in Portland for an emblematic Masonic chart.
During the administration of Governor W. W. Thayer, he was appointed aide-de-camp on the governor’s staff with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Ripinski was also active in fraternal organizations, serving as a High Free Mason, a Sir Past Chancellor Commander of the Knights of Pythias, and later as a member of the Arctic Brotherhood.
Ripinski came to Alaska in 1884 with the noted Arctic explorer Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka. Under Attorney General Haskett, he was appointed a clerk and, in 1885, was commissioned to establish a United States Government school in western Alaska. After being transferred from Unalaska to Chilkat, he served as principal of the government school there for one term.
He later founded and owned the townsite of Haines Mission. From 1887 to 1890, he was associated with the Pyramid Harbor salmon cannery, and in 1890, he opened a general merchandise store in Chilkat, Alaska.
In recognition of his work in the region, one of the nearby mountains was named for him. Mount Ripinsky, overlooking the Haines area, rises to an elevation of approximately 3,680 feet.
Sources
- Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers 1850–1950, Volume 1, pp. 270–272, Ed Ferrell