Attu Island, Alaska, the site of the only North American land battle in World War II, is hard to get to. But in June a hardy corps of history buffs will sail out on the MV Pukuk for a tour of the long-abandoned battleground, where an estimated 3,000 American and Japanese soldiers died in May 1943. The trip includes stops at Dutch Harbor, which was bombed in 1942, and Kiska, site of a major Japanese base where many of the relics remain in place.
The trip, arranged by Valor Tours of Sausalito, California, has actually been sold out for some time. But earlier this week we learned that there is an effort underway to set up a second trip, tentatively scheduled for July 12-27. The plan remains at sea at the moment, to use an old cliche, because at least 10 passengers are needed to make it go. The cost is $6,850 per person, which is a lot for anyone except an avid birder (speaking of which, Attu is also a world-class birding destination). But I suspect there are at least that many people who would like to make the pilgrimage if they knew about it. Now you do.
Interested parties can email Vicky Reynolds-Middagh at valortours@yahoo.com or call 1-800-842-4504.
Anchorage Centennial book released
"From the Shores of Ship Creek," commissioned by the Anchorage Centennial Celebration to supply a popular history of the city's first 100 years, was formally released during a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday, April 15.
Mayor Dan Sullivan said the purpose of creating the book was to produce something that would "live on" after the centennial year has come and gone, "something culturally, socially and educationally relevant to the community." He called it a "significant book for Anchorage" and noted that he and former Mayor Mark Begich are featured toward the end of the book with stories about their experiences growing up in the booming city.
Publisher Flip Todd of Todd Communications said the book was made possible through the efforts of "dozens of people" and author Charles Wohlforth thanked "the characters who contributed their life stories" to the volume.
Wohlforth, who has written several books, called this one "a huge challenge. How do you capture what's unique about Anchorage in one book?"
Wohlforth, who was brought to Anchorage by his parents when he was 3 years old, said, "Even though I've lived here all my life, I learned all kinds of crazy stuff that I didn't expect -- and I put it in the book." He mentioned the "sewer wars" between the old City of Anchorage and Greater Anchorage Area Borough, the lake that once occupied what is now the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and C Street, and the wrangling between the U.S. Forest Service and the railroad.
Most of the land south of the Matanuska River was part of Chugach National Forest, he noted, chuckling as he recounted the story. The Forest Service didn't want to give up any land. Its director also did not like the prostitutes doing business in the tent city. The railroad builders, hoping to create a real city at the railroad's headquarters, banished the businesswomen to Chester Creek, technically part of the National Forest. When the foresters discovered it, it was too late in the year to remove them and, rather than be embarrassed by a red light district in the middle of federal land, they ceded the entire region that is now the Anchorage bowl.
The book, which is filled with historical and contemporary photographs, is available at most local book dealers and many gift shops as well as online at anchoragecentennial.org. It comes in both hardbound and softbound editions, $30 and $20 respectively.
Pub crawl through time
Another Anchorage Centennial event sure to interest some of our readers is the Historic Pub Tour of Anchorage led by Doug Vandegraft, author of "A Guide to the Notorious Bars of Alaska." The two-hour stroll, perhaps interrupted by occasional libations, will roam around downtown while Vandegraft relates historical facts and scandalous tidbits. Tickets cost $30, which includes a copy of the book. Proceeds go to support Anchorage Downtown Partnership Ltd. Assemble between 5:30 and 6 p.m. April 24 at 333 W. Fourth Ave., where many of our most notorious bars collapsed in the 1964 Earthquake, across the street from the Panhandle Bar, which Vandegraft says is the oldest licensed establishment in Alaska.
Cemetery tours planned
One more piece of news for the time-traveling tourist: There will be three tours of the Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery this summer, all featuring actors in the personas of Alaskans whose address is now at the graveyard.
The traditional John Bagoy solstice tour will take place punctually on June 21 and feature notable deceased, including the town's first mayor, Leopold David, Harry and Katsuyo Kimura, Isaac and Lena Kosloski, Sydney Laurence, Anthony Dimond, Elmer Rasmuson and Wally Hickel.
On July 12 the actors will recapitulate favorite stories from previous years, with a few newcomers thrown in. It will follow the familiar self-guided walking tour featuring the actors in costume at the grave sites. The same program, "Fifteen Stories for 2015," will be presented Aug. 9, but this time with the actors presenting their stories on a stage set up on the cemetery grounds.
Whale Fat Follies to return
Not quite history, but almost, the popular perennial satire-and-music extravaganza known as "The Whale Fat Follies" will resume this summer in what Follies founder and major-domo Mr. Whitekeys says is the show's shortest run ever, June 10-Aug. 19. It will take place at 6:45 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays at the Tap Root Public House, 3300 Spenard Road, site of the famed Fly-by Nightclub where the comic and snarky send-up of Alaska and Alaskans got its start back in the Pleistocene era. With a couple of extra elections out of the way by opening night, we're sure that Whitekeys and crew will have much new fodder. Advance tickets, much advised, are available at centertix.net.
Jazz with a view
Sax master Rick Zelinsky, who regularly plays at the Tap Root, will present a program at O'Malley's on the Green starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 17. He'll be joined by Bob Andrews on bass, Cameron Cartland on drums and the ever-amazing trumpet man Pat Owens. "We'll be playing a lot of Gerry Mulligan/Chet Baker arrangements," Zelinsky says. In addition to food and beverage service, the club on the golf course has a smashing view, he reminds us.
Yale prevails in debate championship
Congratulations to the debate teams that faced off in the final rounds of the 2015 U.S. Universities Debating Championships hosted by UAA's Seawolf debate program. Harvard, Brown, Morehouse and Yale tackled the motion: "This house would, as the U.S. government, grant amnesty to all undocumented immigrants living in the United States on the sole condition they have not been convicted of a violent criminal offense" before a crowd of some 700 spectators at Wendy Williamson Auditorium on April 13. When all the points were counted, Yale came out on top. You can see the action at www.usudc2015.com.
More top-drawer argumentation is coming up when the UAA Seawolves take on Oxford on April 30 in the Discovery Theatre. Tickets are available at centertix.net and proceeds will benefit the UAA debate program.