Day Trippin' at the Willow Creek Mining District
http://www.ktuu.com/gotoak/daytrippin/ktuu-day-trip-willow-mining-20110622,0,1130374.story
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Summer Solstice
Today is the longest day of the year, 20 hours of sunlight! (photo of yesterday's sunset) Anchorage is at about the same latitude as St. Petersburg, Russia. Through the course of the day the sun does not rise and set, as seen in the lower 48. Instead it travels in almost a circular or an elliptical pattern across the sky, just dipping below the horizon around midnight. At night, it is not dark enough to see stars.
Monday, June 20, 2011
The Independence Mine: a Brief History
The 1898 Yukon Gold Rush attracted thousands of prospectors to Alaska. While south-central Alaska has been overshadowed in popular memory by places such as Dawson City, Nome, and Fairbanks, the Kenai Peninsula and the Mat-Su Valley too witnessed a stampede of newcomers with gold fever. The early stages of gold mining began with placer mining (aka panning for gold in streams and rivers). Over time, people began to follow the streams and rivers inland to their sources in the mountains. Thus enters Robert Lee Hatcher, who in 1906 found a quartz vein—quartz loaded with gold—in the Talketna Mountains.
Hard rock mining, mining in mountains, where the gold is bound to other minerals requires more investment (machinery, equipment, and extremely high transportation costs) than placer mining. After Hatcher’s find, various other prospectors entered the Willow Creek region. Necessity ensured that over time, individual claims became companies and corporations. Gold mining received a shot in the arm during the Great Depression when the federal government raised the price of gold from $20.67 per ounce to $35 per ounce. In 1936, a Seattle-based company—the Alaska Pacific Consolidated Mining Company—bought a few smaller companies and started the Independence Mine.
The mine flourished from 1937 to 1941, as more buildings went up, more employees were hired, and the amount of gold extracted increased. The structures that are presently at the Independence Mine, those standing and those not, trace back to this period; when mining became a 365-day per year, 24 hour per-day process. (Employees received two days off per year: the 4th of July and Christmas.) Ultimately, the Second World War spelled the end for the Independence Mine. Gold production was not essential for the war effort, and the mine closed. Post-war attempts to revive the mine proved unsuccessful, and by 1951 mining efforts came to an end. Aside from a ski lodge that briefly operated from two of the old Independence Mine Buildings, the once self-sufficient and isolated mining town became a ghost town. In 1980 the site became a state park, and a non-profit began the immense task of restoring parts of the facility.
Hard rock mining, mining in mountains, where the gold is bound to other minerals requires more investment (machinery, equipment, and extremely high transportation costs) than placer mining. After Hatcher’s find, various other prospectors entered the Willow Creek region. Necessity ensured that over time, individual claims became companies and corporations. Gold mining received a shot in the arm during the Great Depression when the federal government raised the price of gold from $20.67 per ounce to $35 per ounce. In 1936, a Seattle-based company—the Alaska Pacific Consolidated Mining Company—bought a few smaller companies and started the Independence Mine.
The mine flourished from 1937 to 1941, as more buildings went up, more employees were hired, and the amount of gold extracted increased. The structures that are presently at the Independence Mine, those standing and those not, trace back to this period; when mining became a 365-day per year, 24 hour per-day process. (Employees received two days off per year: the 4th of July and Christmas.) Ultimately, the Second World War spelled the end for the Independence Mine. Gold production was not essential for the war effort, and the mine closed. Post-war attempts to revive the mine proved unsuccessful, and by 1951 mining efforts came to an end. Aside from a ski lodge that briefly operated from two of the old Independence Mine Buildings, the once self-sufficient and isolated mining town became a ghost town. In 1980 the site became a state park, and a non-profit began the immense task of restoring parts of the facility.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Hockey Moms and the Tea Party
Wasilla, one of the nearest towns, is the home of former VP candidate and part-time governor Sarah Palin. As a previous mayor and someone with an 8th grade writing level, she is very popular here. But seriously, this area is a tea party stronghold. I have never seen so many “Impeach Obama” signs, whether in people’s front yards or people holding them at street corners (photo enclosed). I would like to take pictures of this (or better pictures), but since my only means of transportation is a van with state markings on it, I’m afraid of the response I will get. Can you image someone in a state vehicle taking photos of anti-Obama signs/protesters? They are already anti-government, they might think I would report them to some fictional conspiratorial government group.
Related to this, during our training, the state park staff told us to be careful how we act in public, especially when driving the state vehicles or wearing state park outfits. It’s not unheard of for volunteers at state historic sites to take the brunt of tea party anger.
Eklutna
Finally seeing a place that has something to do with my dissertation—St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in the Dena’ina village of Eklutna. You can see the fusion of Native American and Russian Orthodox Christian traditions in the cemetery. The spirit houses (the small structures over the graves) are from the Dena’ina tradition, with the colors and designs to indicate clan membership. The actual practice of burials (instead of cremation) and the crosses show the Christian influence. The wooden chapel is from the 1870s, built during a time when many Native Americans embraced Russian Orthodoxy as a way to maintain their own traditions. Russian missionaries were more inclusive of the aspects of Native religions that paralleled their own faith (the idea of an afterlife, for instance) and tended to ignore the religious beliefs that they disagreed with. In the face of American settlers/prospectors and uncompromising protestant missionaries, groups like the Dena’ina became Orthodox Christians.
I’m planning to go to one of the major Russian settlements, but can only afford one trip. Kodiak or Sitka?
Monday, June 13, 2011
Grizzly Man
Last night around 8pm Tanveer and I began what turned out to be a five and a half hour, 13 mile hike. The trail we took, the Gold Mint Trail, follows the Little Susitna River to its source. It begins within the forest and gradually rises in elevation above the tree line, ending at a glacier (which we did not make it to). The plan had been to stay out for three hours or so, but we kept going. Tanveer, who is ten years younger than me and bikes 40 miles a day, kept a very brisk pace. Around six or seven miles in, I had to plead with him to turn back...I was already exhausted, we brought little water and no food, and we still had to hike that distance out.
Throughout the hike, as we passed through the thickets and brush, we constantly shouted "hey bear!" We didn't want to run into or surprise a mama bear and her cubs. This reminded me of the documentary Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog's portrait of grizzly lover Timothy Tredwell. He lived with the bears in Alaska, guess what happened to him? Luckily we didn't run into any bears.
Throughout the hike, as we passed through the thickets and brush, we constantly shouted "hey bear!" We didn't want to run into or surprise a mama bear and her cubs. This reminded me of the documentary Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog's portrait of grizzly lover Timothy Tredwell. He lived with the bears in Alaska, guess what happened to him? Luckily we didn't run into any bears.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Civilization vs. Isolation: Comparing Experiences in Alaska
I keep comparing this experience in Alaska with my time here in 2004. That's not really a fair thing to do since the state is so large, and I'm a completely different area, with a different climate and landscape, but I can't help myself. In 2004 I was near Fairbanks, in the interior of the state. There it was hot (80s), low elevation, a lot of forests, animals, and mosquitoes. Here, I'm in the mountains, in the tundra above the tree line. Maybe once the flowers start to bloom and things turn green, I will change my mind, but I prefer the forests and lower elevations. It has been very cold, cloudy, and desolate up in the mountains.
Also in 2004, it was such an adventure--complete isolation in the forests, no running water or electricity; 45 minutes from anything; moose, bears, lynx, beavers. The crew up there was also very wild, which added to the drama. Here, though its isolated in the mountains, we are only 15 miles from Alaska's fastest growing region: the Mat-Su Valley (home to the towns Palmer and Wasilla). With the convenience of stores, internet, etc. it doesn't feel that different from the rest of the US. As for wildlife, I've only seen marmots, ground squirrels, and one moose. Also, the volunteers who I'm living with are a lot more laid back and responsible--less exciting, though I guess that's a good thing.
All in all, I have to embrace this unique experience (and the constant cold), instead of comparing it to my previous time in Alaska. Just because this is the part of the state with people in it, doesn't mean its not Alaska.
Also in 2004, it was such an adventure--complete isolation in the forests, no running water or electricity; 45 minutes from anything; moose, bears, lynx, beavers. The crew up there was also very wild, which added to the drama. Here, though its isolated in the mountains, we are only 15 miles from Alaska's fastest growing region: the Mat-Su Valley (home to the towns Palmer and Wasilla). With the convenience of stores, internet, etc. it doesn't feel that different from the rest of the US. As for wildlife, I've only seen marmots, ground squirrels, and one moose. Also, the volunteers who I'm living with are a lot more laid back and responsible--less exciting, though I guess that's a good thing.
All in all, I have to embrace this unique experience (and the constant cold), instead of comparing it to my previous time in Alaska. Just because this is the part of the state with people in it, doesn't mean its not Alaska.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)