KETCHIKAN, ALASKA 1971
Late August 1971, my uncle, his wife, and two sons moved from Berlin, NH to Ketchikan, AK for a work project assignment of my uncles. This is their story along with his photos, narrated through the perspective of my uncle about Ketchikan, Alaska 1971…
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“Do one thing every day that scares you.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
1971, the year I was born! What happened in 1971? Major News Stories included that Intel released the first microprocessor, National Public Radio (NPR) broadcasted for the first time, Walt Disney World Resort opened in Florida, the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age in the US to 18.
Interesting facts on THE COST OF LIVING in 1971…click here.
Where were you in 1971? What stands out to you about that year?
Late August 1971, my uncle, his wife, and two sons moved from Berlin, NH to Ketchikan, AK for a work project assignment of my uncles. This is their story along with his photos, narrated through the perspective of my uncle…
“We stopped off in Michigan and picked up my Dad to travel with us. We were pulling an 18 foot RV camper. Our route took us west to WA, north to BC, Canada, where we boarded an Alaska Marine HWY System Ferry at Prince Rupert, BC. Five hours later we arrived at Ketchikan.”
“The day that we arrived was not a picture taking day. It was raining, the cloud ceiling was at 75 feet, which meant most of the town disappeared into the clouds. As the ferry rounded the north end of Pennette Island (a small island that is located in the channel between Ketchikan and Gravina Island), we finally got our first view of our new home-to-be. My youngest son pulled on my hand and asked, ‘why is Mom Crying?’ I looked at my wife and the tears were there. My answer was the first thing that came to mind. I told him, ‘because she is so happy that we are finally here.’ The truth was, she was wondering what in the world have we gotten ourselves into. But as we had done many times before with my project assignments, we adapted very quickly.”
“When we first moved into Ketchikan some of the streets and sidewalks were constructed of wooden planks. We had never seen wooden streets and sidewalks before. Unfortunately, they were all replaced with concrete by the time we moved to the lower 48 in 1976.”
“The mountain above town is called Deer Mountain. The top was usually snow covered year-round. One of the first things you learn about Deer Mountain is that the locals use it to forecast the weather. That is, if you can’t see it, it’s raining and if you can see it, it’s going to rain! A note of Interest: Average annual rainfall for Ketchikan is 13 feet per year.”
“Ketchikan Creek is below. There was no street, just a boardwalk built along one side of the creek above high tide, level with buildings on pilings. Like most Alaskan towns, Ketchikan Creek has a colorful past. In the early days, Creek Street was the Bordello district. The old saying was, ‘it’s the only creek in Alaska where both salmon and man went up to spawn.’ “
“The building you see at the creek crossing was currently a yard good shop. The second day in town, my wife stopped in there to inquire about an opening for a position. The owner said, “You’re hired! Here are the keys to the shop. I’m leaving for Seattle, WA in the morning, and I will be back in three weeks.” Alaskan ways did take some getting used to!”
“Below you will see a view looking south from my office window, across the boat basin. The first land that you see is the south end of Pennette Island. Further south are the mountains on the north end of Annette Island. Annette Island is the only Indian Reservation in Alaska where we later lived while I was working there.”
My uncle has so many tales from his transient career where project assignments required his working and living in many different US locations. I appreciate his sharing his exploits, journeying through many interesting parts of our nation that many of us have never experienced! I hope you too enjoy his tales.
Leave me a reply or comment if you have experiences in any of these areas of our country or are interested in more tales from my uncle! I hope you enjoyed a walk down the lanes of Ketchikan, Alaska in 1971. It is a true taste of Americana! ENJOY!
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Inspirationally Yours,
Barbara
BIO: https://www.inspirationaltraveladventures.com/about-us/
About Me
A 1993 graduate of Michigan State University, Barbara earned a BS in Social Science Pre-Law. She is a Business Manager/HR Director. Her passion is travel, discovering new places, experiences, cuisine, cultures while enjoying temperate climates. Barbara is a newly transitioning empty-nester who became a travel blogger. She’s a great photographer, talented writer, and has a great family to highlight in her high school/college athlete football sons.
WEBSITE: www.inspirationaltraveladventures.com
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Barbara Robinson
TRAVEL BLOG🛩 * ADVENTURE🛶 * INSPIRATION🌞 Thanks for exploring our travel blog! We hope to assist you in your next adventure through learning from ours! We are transitioning empty-nesters perpetually seeking our next luxury snorkeling adventure! Daily God’s awe inspiring inspiration surrounds us with all of His natural beauty in every direction if we but slow down to observe. Take a moment each day to ENJOY!
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29 Comments
Melanie Kis
What a wonderful adventure and story on how your family came about the third-largest city in Alaska. I love the old pictures that you were able to share with us. I hope to make it to Alaska one day. Definitely on my bucket list.
Crystal
Looks like a really nice town to visit. I haven’t been there but it is going on my list of places to visit
Emily
What a great story! I love the pics from that year as well
Sheri Taylor
Fascinating read. I have heard of how lovely Alaska is, thank you for bringing it to life.
Eva Keller
These old photos are great! It would be cool to recreate these now and see how things have changed!
Roselyn Franke
Great story and love the pictures!
Beth
I love the old photos of the town and the story of how you were hired to work in a shop so fast! One of these days I’d like to take one of the cruises to Alaska that sails up the fjords.
Sabrina DeWalt
Alaska is on my bucket list.
Heather
My grandmother always wanted to visit Alaska. I’m not even sure why, though I wish I knew specifically. I hope maybe I’ll get there on her behalf one day. Great stories.
Alexis Farmer
Would love to go to Alaska at some point, looks so pretty!
Sarah Camp
This is so awesome! Love the old pics! I hope to one day to get to Alaska.
Jennifer L Markell
Wowee….1971 is my year! I love these pictures…what a gorgeous place!
Judean
I love reading about traveling in the past. It is so different from today! Thanks for sharing. Hopefully I will get to Alaska in due time!
Myrka
There’s places that have never sparked my interest in going (especially Alaska because of the weather lol). But, I’m honestly INSPIRED now because of this story and the pictures. I love reading and hearing people’s adventures and so glad I came across this!
Carrie Beaton
It’s so cool to see towns and cities from 40-50 years ago and then compare to what they look like today!
Cindy Mailhot
We went to there many years ago and loved it. It was raining but not pouring so we still managed to enjoy it. I love your pics. They brought back memories for me.
Annette
Great story!!! I live in Wasilla, Alaska and have not travelled to Ketichkan; however, this is certainly a place I intend to visit after our COVID situation gets taken care of. There are quite a few cases down there. Thanks for sharing this historical perspective.
Tara
Looks like a really great spot to visit! Ketchikan has been on our list for years!
Melissa | It's a Joyous Journey
Love the pictures! Hope to make it to Alaska myself someday!
Marianne
Alaska is very high on the bucket list! Looks like an amzing place for photography!
Cindy
Love the story and photos. I’d love to visit Alaska.
kmf
I absolutely loved this story going back in time from your uncle’s perspective. I’ve never been to Alaska but would love to visit one day.
lisa manderino
What an amazing location! I would love to visit!
heather J Jandrue
Ketchikan is a beautiful area. We enjoyed our time there in 2017. As for 1971, I was yet to be born. 🙂
Jordin
Alaska looks like such a fun adventure! Have you ever been yourself?
Chantelle
Ketchikan is such a great town! I enjoyed reading your story.
Larissa
Ah! These pictures gave me nostalgia 🥲. I wasn’t born in 1971 but I definitely caught that time. Thank you for sharing your uncle’s story. Very touchable:)
Taci tntwanders
What a cool story! Neat to hear stories like this
Charity
Oh this is such a cool and interesting read. I loved learning more about Alaska! Thanks so much for sharing!