Alaska history: It was cold and rainy afternoon when an unknown man approached the Coast Guard cutter with a painstakingly scrawled note: “SAGGON---THe PHeaNIX IV is in need of Help—Badly—Laying BiTe AT higgins point. Go ToniTe. She is Fish ByeR.”
Alaska history: Through the rest of the war, the FBI would cite Moennikes and Stanton manhunt as an example of how far they would go to close a case. It even became material for a comic book.
Historian David Reamer has answered about 900 questions from ADN readers in the past year. Here are some of the best questions and answers.
Histories of Anchorage: The day Pearl Harbor was attacked, Sitka issued an immediate blackout order. Many coastal Alaska towns followed suit the next day. Fairbanks residents, if anything, were too zealous. Then there was Anchorage.
Alaska history: Likely no one would have faulted Anderson for waiting until spring to turn himself in. But in cold October weather, with little equipment and scarce food, he worked his way across the wilderness.
Histories of Anchorage: Some Alaskans get a little carried away by the creative power of street naming.
Alaska history: Time magazine wrote, “There is undoubtedly a good movie to be made about the Alaska pipeline . . . But ‘Pipe Dreams’ is not it. The old Yukon hands would have had a word for this pallid melodrama: mush.”
In 2014, a local domestic violence advocate wrote, “Time and time again, battered women I met with indicated that Muriel’s death was used by their partners as a means to maintain control. ‘Leave me and you’ll go down like Muriel did.’”
Bret “The Hitman” Hart took on “Mr. Perfect,” aka Curt Hennig in a technical masterclass from two of the most gifted wrestlers ever. Super fans hope a recording, likely from an audience member, might yet be unearthed.
Alaskans know a lot about Christmas and reindeer. We have our own North Pole and Santa Claus. Star the reindeer has an Anchorage address. But Alaska reindeer do not fly. Hence: 1958′s Operation Reindeer.
Histories of Anchorage: David Reamer has answered about 800 reader-submitted questions about Anchorage since beginning his column in the ADN. Here are some of the best.
Histories of Anchorage: It’s true, the first part of Annabelle’s story is remarkably similar to a plot from an episode of “The Simpsons.” In this case, Alaska did it first.
