By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
With Alaska Day just around the corner, Sitka Historical Society director Hal Spackman is getting ready for a busy week.
“It’s obviously a big week for the Historical Society – we appreciate the community celebrating Sitka’s history,” he said.
The society’s annual meeting will be held Tuesday, and the nonprofit organization is offering free admission to its museum at Harrigan Centennial Hall all next week. A fundraising cruise will be held on Sunday, and booths outside Centennial Hall will be open on Alaska Day, October 18.
Former mayor Matt Hunter, a teacher and history buff, will be the speaker at the annual meeting, 7 p.m. Tuesday at Centennial Hall. His talk will be “Gold Fever, Scandals and Family – The Story of Sitka’s Mining Industry in Silver Bay.”
Hunter said that while he was earning his master of arts in teaching degree from UAS, he took a history class from Sheldon Jackson College professor Ryan Madden, who required primary-source research. Hunter consulted historical writer Bob DeArmond.
“He suggested I read the microfiche/microfilm at Kettleson,” Hunter recalled.
Reading the first four years of the early Sitka newspaper The Alaskan provided Hunter with a trove of material about the mining industry in the late 1800s. He supplemented his original research with material from DeArmond’s articles and columns in the Sentinel.
“The talk I’m going to give will mostly focus on Silver Bay and Pande Basin,” he said, naming two areas that were heavily prospected for gold. “There’s a lot of interesting stories, interesting things that happened here.”
An early day Sitka mine scene from the Merrill Collection at Sitka National Historical Park. (Photo courtesy of Sitka National Historical Park)
Although Pande Basin, which appears on official charts as Glacier Lake, was never a big producer, sales of shares in the mining claim made money for a lot of residents at the time, Hunter said.
The Sitka Historical Society’s annual meeting will start at 6 p.m. Tuesday with a business meeting and appetizers, followed by tours of the museum and the new Reis Research Room technology. A grant from the Rasmuson Foundation for technology will allow public access to some 20,000 to 30,000 photographs, archives and items in the historical society collection. The society also will unveil its new logo during the evening.
Spackman said he’s looking forward to the historical society’s Allen Marine Brew Cruise 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Plans call for live music, craft brews, wine, food, and bagpipers. During the cruise, the two boats will tie up for a performance by the bagpipers. Tickets are $50 at Old Harbor Books.
Another fundraiser is planned for Oct. 18 – the Alaska Day Brew Fest 2:30-6:30 p.m. at the Centennial Hall parking lot. That event will include a barbecued brisket cook-off, and music by the Jen Reid Trio, Abraham Neuwelt, Emily McVicker, Smokestack Music (Queen Tribute band and Slacktide members) and others.
Food booths will be open in space adjacent to the Brew Fest for fundraisers by the Elks (fried corn dogs), and the Sitka High Baseball Team (brats). There will also be the Fresh Fish Company and a vendor offering Cuban and Puerto Rican cuisine. The girls basketball team will conduct children’s games as a fundraiser as well.
Spackman expressed thanks to Odom, K&L Distributors and Specialty Imports and Allen Marine for their sponsorship of the week’s activities.
