The Big Rock
Dear Editor: Today I am feeling happy and nostalgic. ’Tis such a privilege to live in Sitka, despite the rain, the fear of Covid, the continuing chaos in the deteriorating national and global political arena, and waves of personal uncertainties magnified by the curse of constantly changing and insulting technologies which now stratify and separate us deeply, economically, socially, politically – and by generation.
So, what the heck is there to be happy about?
Here I propose we start small. Manageable. Fun. Sitka’s Big Rock. A shared hunk of history.
How many Sitkans have played on that Big Rock, the one on the west side of Lincoln Street, across the street from the corner of Jeff Davis? What memories do we have? Today I delight in seeing and hearing new generations of kids playing on that great mound of glaciated rock, making and imaging new layers of living history.
We Vintage Folk may remember when the tides used to encircle the whole rock, and splash up the west side with a roar, lap at the base of the Bronze Plaque, and scare and delight us with the brief isolation, stuck on an island, temporarily, until mysterious ocean forces pulled the water away and we could dash to safety. Ah, the squish of wet boots if you were too late to escape your island between waves.
There used to be a large iron spike with a round knob on top of the Big Rock, stuck deep into a crevice. That spike with the round knob was my ship’s steering wheel for many adventures…
You can see that iron post in an old picture on a wall in our Harrigan Centennial Hall.
A lot of our shared Sitka history and prehistory is reflected on our Big Rock. Be sure to note the concentric circle petroglyph near the top of the rock just to the upper right corner of the plaque about Sheldon Jackson, the Presbyterian preacher, with drive – and a mission. His history is not just part of Sitka educational history, but also Western and Alaska history.
Also note in good light the large stone eyes just to the right of the concentric circles.
Another piece of shared Sitka history, a bold statement that people of our shared species were there, on that rock, a very long time ago.
Finally, while you are in the vicinity, check out the large square hunk of important rock to the north toward town: The Blarney Stone. Those stories, written and unwritten, need to be explored, too.
We Sitkans have so many, many features of great interest. So little is written and published.
So little is known. So little is agreed upon. But that is OK. Crises like this current disaster can release a lot of creative energy. It’s OK to think new thoughts, new questions. And it is OK to be wrong and take risks.
So, my friends, dash between the waves lapping at an imaginary Big Rock.
Our Sitka Big Rock is a monument to our large, shared human histories. Geologic and glacier, prehistoric and written histories, living and continuing histories. Have fun exploring Sitka in new ways. It is fun!
Nancy Yaw Davis, Sitka
