Alaska VIP Club

著者: Michael R Dougherty
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  • Interesting facts about Alaska

    www.alaskavipclub.com
    Michael R Dougherty
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  • A Fascinating Look at How they Named Anchorage, Alaska Streets
    2024/10/20
    Pictured above is the Muldoon homestead, built in the winter of 1940 - 1941To get to his Homestead, He needed a RoadMuldoon Road in Anchorage, is named after Arnold L Muldoon who actually built the road from the Glenn Highway to his homestead.His original road was a “corduroy road”, which was made by clearing a path and then tree trunks were laid across the ground.Arnold’s path quickly became known as “Muldoon’s Road”.BONUSThe story of Arnold L Muldoon is a fascinating look at Anchorage history, including two men who tried to run him off his homestead.To learn more, take a look at this story from I Love Muldoon and enjoy.Whitney RoadBud and Daisy Whitney first came to the mouth of Ship Creek in 1911, years ahead of the railroad.Then in 1914 they moved up the creek and built a new homestead approximately where the Boniface gate to Joint Base Elmendorf - Richardson is located today.Whitney Road is named after them. It’s located near Ship Creek and Government Hill.BONUSYou can learn more about Bud and Daisy Whitney.Take a look at Anchorage Pioneers Bud and Daisy Whitney and discover early Anchorage.Yes, You can Share This EditionYour friends and family will be so happy when you share the Alaska VIP Club with them, that they will give you a lifetime supply of your favorite ice cream… well, it could happen… Just click the link below to share.Thanks for reading and listening to the Alaska VIP Club. This post is public, so feel free to share it.Klevin StreetThis Anchorage street, located in the Russian Jack Park neighborhood, was named after a homesteader named Nels Kleven.Notice that the spelling of the street name, Klevin, varies slightly from the spelling of Nels Kleven’s last name.Spenard RoadSpenard Road, 1958, photo courtesy of Linda MillerThe sign above reads, “Entering SPENARD “The Land of the Free for All”.Now, Spenard, Spenard Road and Spenard Lake are all named after one of the most colorful characters from the very early days of Anchorage while it was still a tent city.Joseph A. Spenard decided he could supply the town site with lumber. So he went into a forest preserve and decided to cut down those trees and transport them back to tent city where he could sell them.Like Arnold Muldoon, Joe needed to build a corduroy road from Tent City to where he was cutting trees. Spenard convinced a couple of the early civic clubs to help him. When the road was complete, it became known as Spenard Road.BONUSJoe Spenard was a colorful character.Take a look at Did Daring Joe Drive His Car into a Pool Hall? and enjoy.Lane StreetHotel owner Harry LaneOur research didn’t discover much about the hotel owner, Harry Lane or the Crescent Hotel, except that the hotel was located on 4th Avenue.However, Mr. Lane was later honored with an Anchorage street named after him.And by the way, if you know anything about Anchorage pioneer Harry Lane, we would love to hear from you.BONUSVisit Anchorage Memories.comA treasure chest of memories of Anchorage, AlaskaTake a look at Anchorage Memories.com and enjoy.Russian JackThe newspaper ad above was to promote Jacob Marunenko, “Russian Jack” for the Fur Rendezvous Mardi Gras King.The ad ran in the February 14, 1948, Anchorage Daily Times. Russian Jack lost by a landslide, but was declared the “Prince” of the event.Between Joe Spenard and Russian Jack, it would be difficult to tell which was more of a “colorful character”.In the early days, the residents of tent city gave each other nicknames. And since Jacob Marunenko, who also went by “Jack”, was Russian, he became known as “Russian Jack”.One of Russian Jack’s endeavors, involved selling moon shine, known locally as “squirrel juice”. But since the Alaska Railroad prohibited the sale or consumption of alcohol at tent city, folks like Russian Jack built stills and came up with interesting ways to sell their brew.Russian Jack went way out of town, became a squatter and built a cabin in the woods where he also hid his still. The area had a natural spring and was later named Russian Jack Springs.BONUSHis story is a fascinating, and his name lives on in Anchorage neighborhoods and parks.Take a look at this story of Russian Jack and enjoy.Hoyt StreetHoyt Motor company, on 5th and E streetsHarry Hoyt owned one of the first car dealerships in Anchorage.Harry and his wife were also devoted outdoors adventurers.Hoyt Street is named after Harry Hoyt.BONUSTake a look at the following story from a member of the Alaska VIP Club.Gene tell us this story:“My first real job was at Hoyt Motors. It was in 1949, and I was 15-16 years old. I greased cars, fixed tires including large truck tires with split ring rims. One of my main jobs was washing new Dodge and Plymouth cars. I learned to drive in those new cars. I wasn't about to tell the boss that I didn't know how to drive. I Will never forget when, at a stop, the guy in front started to back up, and I couldn't get that fluid drive Dodge...
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    6 分
  • A Powerful Explosion Created Alaska's Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes
    2024/10/13
    In the photo above is an explorer’s 1916 camp in the Valley of Ten Thousand SmokesFor five days in 1912, the Alaska Peninsula experienced violent earthquakes.Then the Mount Katmai volcano erupted in southern Alaska, 265 miles southwest of Anchorage.The explosion of the eruption was so strong that it destroyed the top of Mount Katmai and a new crater was formed.In addition, an entirely new volcano was formed that was later named Novarupta.An Eyewitness AccountThere were four villages in the Katmai area. Savonoski, Kaguyak, Katmai and Kukak.The following is from an interview with one of the villagers:“Sometime in afternoon - it was just like this, bright sunshine, hot, no wind, that’s when the volcano started. Started snowing like that fine pumice coming down. Make lot of noise.Kaflia Bay started to get white. Flat calm, no wind. Pretty soon dark came. Pretty soon pitch black. The Katmai mountain blew up with lots of fire.**No one in the villages lost their lives in either the eruption or the aftermath.You can Share this Incredible Alaska StoryAlaska is a massive land, filled with interesting stories. Your family and friends will find this edition of the Alaska VIP Club, fascinating.And you can easily share this with them. Just click on the following link.Thanks for reading and listening to the Alaska VIP Club. This post is public, so feel free to share it.What the Blast CausedThe massive blast sent over 7 cubic miles of volcanic debris into both the atmosphere and the stratosphere in just 60 hours.To give you a reference, the island of Kodiak, Alaska was covered by a foot of ash.Fumes from the blast produced acid rain as far as 370 miles away.How the Area Got Its NameIn 1916, Robert F. Griggs came to the area for the National Geographic Society.Because of what he saw, Griggs stated the following:“The whole valley as far as the eye could reach was full of hundreds, no thousands – literally, tens of thousands – of smokes curling up from the floor.”What Griggs said, later became the name of “The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes”.In the photo above, on your right, Robert F. Griggs is frying bacon over an open fissure.What Griggs SawJets of steam and gas spewed from vents in the earth. In places, the steam was as hot as 1,200 degrees F. In the valley’s 56 square miles, 40 square miles were covered in up to 700 feet of volcanic ash.All plant and animal life had been destroyed.NASA Astronauts Trained ThereMany years later, in 1965 and 1966, The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes was used as a training ground for NASA astronauts.It was thought that the area resembled the Lunar landscape.BONUSTake a look at these pictures of The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and discover.Alaska Volcano FactsThere are more than 130 volcanoes and volcanic fields in Alaska.Around 90 of these might erupt again.About 50 have been active since 1760. Those include Mount Spurr, Redoubt, Illiamna and Mount Saint Augustine. All are near Anchorage.In the photo above is Mount SpurrMike of Anchorage was six years old when Spurr erupted.“Our family was living in a log home on Fairbanks street near downtownAnchorage, Alaska in 1953. When I woke up one summer morning I noticed that something was wrong.”BONUSYou can read Mike’s memories of the volcanic eruption.Take a look at “Midnight at High Noon” and remember.From our North Stars (that’s you)We received these comments about our look back at The Coke Show, Anchorage’s favorite teen call-in radio show, hosted by Ron Moore.The show was broadcast from a small radio booth on the roof of the Bun Drive-In.Karen had this memory:“The Coke Show was a great part of my high school years! I graduated in ‘68, and still smile when I drive past The Bun!”And Jeanne had this to say:“Such fun memories…I was too young but remember listening as my sister had it playing. Of course, I wanted to do everything my big sister would do, so I could feel cool.”Michael added this:“I was the drummer in A Burgundy Rose, and a few other bands including Tyme, Albatross, Heavenly Blue, Proof, The Entire Turkish Army, and Special Delivery,Susan Rhodes, as I remember this it was Great Times.”Connect with UsThe story of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is a fascinating and incredible part of Alaska history.Do you have a comment? You can reply to this email. Or you can Contact Us to say, “I’ve been to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.”Until Next TimeMike and MaryAlaska VIP Club Get full access to Alaska VIP Club at www.alaskavipclub.com/subscribe
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    4 分
  • A Fascinating Treasure Chest of Coke Show Radio Memories
    2024/10/06
    On Christmas Eve, 1959, a small booth sitting on the roof of the Bun Drive-In, a burger place in Anchorage, Alaska, became home to a new program on KENI radio, called The Coke Show.And it became a huge hit.Long before cell phones, Anchorage teens who were listening to the Coke Show, picked up their rotary dial phones and called in their dedications and song requests to DJ Ron Moore. And Ron would often speak with the teens live on Anchorage radio before playing the songs they requested.In the photo above, Ron Moore signs autographs for happy Anchorage Teens.Now listen toRon Moore and the Coke Show**(Ron is asking callers to guess how much Paul of the Heartbeats band weighed when he was born)Click on the following link:The Chicken Coop or the Royal RoostA group of Anchorage teens pose for the picture above in front of the small booth that was the home of the Coke Show. The booth was the radio studio where Ron Moore brought his young, dedicated radio audience together each night for music and fun.Yes, You Can Share This EditionYour friends and family will love you for sharing this fun edition of the Alaska VIP Club with them. And when you do, they will call in a dedication on the radio just for you… well, it could happen.Thanks for reading and listening to the Alaska VIP Club. This post is public, so feel free to share it.A Word from Ron MooreThe following is from an interview with Ron Moore on Coke Show Memories that you’ll find on Anchorage Memories.com. Ron said the following.“I have often felt that the Coke Show was successful largely because of all the various ingredients it had going on at one time or the other.Sometimes it felt like there were too many things happening at once. Being live from the roof of a Drive In restaurant, having dozens of cars in the parking lot honking their horns and being identified by names like GTO Joe, T-Bird Tommy, and many more.”BONUSRon just mentioned GTO Joe.Anchorage Memories caught up with GTO Joe and you’ll really enjoy our interview.Take a look at “Cruisin’ with GTO Joe” and remember when.Now here’s more from Ron.”Having a live mike way out over the intersection so I could pick up the sound of dual exhausts and tires peeling out. Having local bands as guests in the "Chicken Coop" answering phones. And putting popular bands on either side of the Bun Drive-In roof on weekends and my spot ended up on the top of the chicken coop, playing all oldies on Sunday afternoon. So I felt it would be fun to give the kids at home a chance to be heard on the air by making requests and dedications. That resulted in many of them having on air nicknames. Later when one of the few audience surveys was released, it gave yours truly the highest rating of my 37 year career. 72% of the people listening to radio were tuning in to The Coke Show" and more than 40% were above 18 which really shocked some folks back at the radio station that thought the only listeners were Teeny Boppers.But it turned out a lot of parents and others were tuning in to find out what their kids or siblings were doing by listening to them on the air and discovering there was a new boyfriend or girlfriend. So it really paid off and advertisers like Coca-Cola, Sears, and Alaska Sales and Service were happy.”Anchorage Teens Loved itFor Anchorage teens, the Coke Show was the place to be.Besides listening to the show from home and calling in song requests and dedications, some listened to the show while driving around town.Others would show up in the parking lot in front of the Bun, where they could enjoy a burger and a coke while listening to the show on their car radio.And Ron had fun with the Bun Drive-In parking lot crowd.Naming them “Honker-Bonkers”, Ron would look out over the parking lot and ask “how are you doing down there?” and everyone would honk their horns in response.The KENI radio engineers even put a microphone over Northern Lights Blvd, so they could hear cars as they gunned their engines and squealed their tires during the show.And you may remember that after Sam the Sham and the Pharaoh’s hit Wooly Bully, Ron would often call Northern Lights boulevard, “Wooly Bullyvard”.Ron Moore Remembers“I had two turntables, a Bogen sound mixer, a reel to reel for playing the Coke jingles, two phone lines, with one for the broadcast signal.The first show from the Bun took place on a cold Christmas Eve and everything was frozen from the big window looking out over the parking lot to the turntables. I had to take the portable heater and warm the turntables and they still sounded less than 45rpm.But there were cars in the parking lot and eventually they built a new Bun across the street with parking for many more cars and a new broadcast booth, again on the roof.There was a microphone strung out all the way to the intersection so I could bring up the sound of the hot rods as they peeled out. Even when the music was playing. On at least one occasion the police were monitoring ...
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    13 分

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Interesting facts about Alaska

www.alaskavipclub.com
Michael R Dougherty

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