And we’re not talking about
1) grasses, trees and rough water
2) money
We’re talking IRISH….
Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
First Saturday in March is Susan Butcher Day
March 4, 2013 by ·
Current Standing of 2013 Racers
directly from Official Iditarod Site
Yep, a real-true Alaska day.
Susan Butcher.
A few years back the Alaska Legislature designated the first Saturday in March as Susan Butcher Day to honor the amazing woman who did so much for the 1,100 mile race.
And why the first Saturday in March…come on…just about everyone knows that that’s the start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (The ceremonial start on Fourth Ave. in Anchorage).
Iditarod Links:
Maggie’s Favorite Page on the Official Site — Zuma’s Paw Prints
This part of the Iditarod site is so much fun and cute. It’s a regular diary about what goes on behind the scenes and along the trail from the perspective of the dogs!
I’ve learned so much over the years that you don’t see in the usual spots. Plus, I’m such a sucker for dogs.
Zuma, the dog who writes Zuma Paw Prints.
Academy of Achievement (where the Susan Butcher photo came from)
Includes video interview of Susan Butcher.
Alaska’s First Fish and Game Commissioner
February 9, 2013 by ·
Clarence L. Anderson was
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only Territorial F&G Commissioner and
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first Alaska State F&G Commissioner
Governor Bill Egan presents Alaska Territorial and Alaska’s first Fish and Game Commissioner Clarence Anderson with Alaska History book upon his retirement. From Alaska Digital Archives.
Many Alaskans know that control of the state’s fish resources was a big factor in wanting statehood. But, did you know that there was only one director for the territorial department of fisheries. And he continued on to become the state’s first director of Fish and Game.
Clarence L. Anderson. Andy—as he was sometimes called—was credited by many as the visionary who set up Alaska’s fisheries management system so that local managers make decisions on local fisheries. It allowed managers to open and close seasons and issue emergency regulations on a site by site basis.
Anderson was born in Seattle in 1895. He studied fisheries and became a biologist. He taught at the University of Washington School of Fisheries, and later worked for the Washington State Department of Fisheries in the 30s and 40s.
Anderson became Alaska’s territorial fish guy in 1949 and continued on thru statehood. In 1959 he became the first Director of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and was tasked with rebuilding the state’s fisheries. And rebuild he did…
At the time of statehood in 1959 Alaska produced 324 million pounds of seafood valued at $29 million at the time. In today’s dollars that’s about $204 million.
That compares to 2007 when Alaska’s fish harvest totaled 5.3 billion pounds—which represented more than half of the country’s total fish harvest that year.
………………..
The information about Anderson’s early years comes from the book Who’s Who in Alaska Politics, which is a reference book available at Alaskan libraries.
The more recent info comes from a new book about the history of fishing in Alaska.
Sustaining Alaska’s Fisheries: 50 Years of Statehood chronicals the state’s fisheries from territorial days through the present. It includes lots of great old pictures, and stories about the people who developed Alaska’s fisheries. Sustaining Alaska’s Fisheries is available from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
It’s also posted on line…so just google Sustaining Alaska’s Fisheries
Honolulu after Pearl Harbor A report published for the first time 71 years later
December 8, 2012 by ·
From Washington Post.
Via Washington Post: (Courtesy of Elizabeth P. McIntosh) – Elizabeth P. McIntosh interviews a U.S. sailor in Honolulu. She wrote an account of the days after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, which her editors decided not to publish. It appears here the first time.
Governor Orders Flags Lowered for Pearl Harbor Day
December 6, 2012 by ·
From Governor Sean Parnell’s Press Release…
December 6, 2012, Juneau, Alaska – Governor Sean Parnell has ordered state flags to be lowered to half-staff on Friday in remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day, and to honor Americans who fought in World War II.
“The attack on Pearl Harbor continues to serve as an important reminder that America must remain vigilant in the face of persistent threats to the United States and the American way of life,” Governor Parnell said. “I urge Alaskans to remember those who fought and died on December 7, 1941, the date that President Franklin Roosevelt declared would forever ‘live in infamy,’ and acknowledge the tremendous debt of gratitude all Americans owe to them and to all U.S. veterans including those serving bravely now.”
On December 7, all U.S. flags at federal, state and public facilities nationwide will be flown at half-staff, in commemoration of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Flags will be returned to full-staff Saturday, December 8.
