OCT 18, 24 .. A BLAST FROM THE PAST.. ALASKA DAY..
A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon;
The kid that handles the music-box was hitting a jag-time tune.. Robert W. Service
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For the past hour or hour and a half, I just “went back in time” six years, to October the 18th, 2018..
I had arrived in Seoul, South Korea, and Patti published the below Post for us here on dotnet.
I was en route to Irkutsk, Russian Siberia, and an “adventure of a lifetime”, that included 9 months in Russian Siberia, along with time spent in South Korea, Hong Kong, and Mongolia. Patti joined me in February 2019 and after five months, returned home to Alaska in July of 2019.
That trip would last all the way up to December the 10th 2019 when I landed in Seattle, Washington, from Seoul, South Korea.
I had just arrived from over a year in Asia. I got sick in Seoul. I was VERY SICK. I was so sick that I went to the Virginia Mason Hospital Emergency Room in Seattle where I was told “We can find nothing wrong with you sir!” No one in United States was acutely aware of Covid-19!
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Yes. Some of you, maybe only a few of you, don’t like our “Days”. At this point, our “Days” keep fresh new information coming forth for you to look over.
Don’t forget that NATIONAL TODAY / NATIONAL DAY CALENDAR.. Are the sources of most, but not 100%, of the information on our various “Days”.
Now how could Patti (who has lived here since 1963) and me, who first came up here in (was it 1980) and became a permanent resident in December 27th of 1997, not feature the below “Holiday”?
The largest state by area to join the U.S. and its last frontier to boot; is it any wonder Alaska has a special day?
The land where the sun shines for 24 hours in the summer. The land with the Aurora Borealis. Forests, lakes, glaciers, national parks, hiking trails, islands — Alaska has a little something for everyone. This perfect untouched slice of land is a holiday lover’s paradise.
National Alaska Day, is held on October 18 each year to celebrate this amazing state.
While the origins and founder of National Alaska Day remain elusive at the moment, we know plenty about how Alaska came to be a part of the U.S.
We believe that it was originally populated by indigenous people who (Tribes like Inuit, Yupik, Tlingit, and others) crossed the Bering Strait from Russia. They hunted and lived on whale fat, beaver, and fish. Then later the Russians came and settled in Alaska but left after only after 68 years of ruling.
The history of U.S. rule in Alaska began with the setting up of a transcontinental telegraph line in Sitka, Alaska. The U.S. wanted to expand their territory, and the Russians wanted to leave — the decimated sea otter population meant this land was no longer profitable, and Russia was short on money after the Crimean War, making Alaska hard to defend.
William Seward, the state’s secretary at that time, was the main hand behind the purchase. Alaska was purchased at $7.2 million. His championing of this cause was so prominent, the vast majority of Americans who thought this purchase was a mistake took to calling Alaska “Seward’s Folly.”
Then, in the 18th century, two prospectors found gold at the Klondike region, and thus began the gold rush era in Alaska. Numbers indicate upwards of 10,000 fortune seekers that were headed for goldfields at Klondike, and the beaches at Nome in western Alaska, another place where gold was found.
The newfound popularity of this region was cemented by its strategic position during the Second World War. When the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands, parts of which are U.S. territory and parts belonging to the Russian federal subject of Kamchatka Krai, the American army had already been stationed there, ready to protect their border. After the Civil War, this Aleutian campaign — called the ‘One Thousand Mile War’ — was the first such battle fought on American soil.
Alaska remained a territory until the 19th century when it became a U.S. state on January the 3rd, 1959.
The 19th century also brought dog sledding to the forefront of American consciousness. A deadly outbreak of diphtheria in Nome threatened the lives of every single person living there. Additionally, the place was so isolated, that assisting them was very hard. This situation was worsened by an approaching blizzard, which ruled out air assistance. The only way to deliver an antitoxin was via sled dogs.
Enter Leonhard Seppala. His fellow Norwegian Jafet Lindeberg — who struck rich in Nome — asked Leonhard Seppala to come work with him in his Pioneer Mining Company. Records indicate Seppala regretted this decision on account of the work being difficult. That is, until the day he became a sled dog driver, mushing supplies. A team of 20 was assembled, including that of Leonhard Seppala, who was a venerated musher by then. While the lead dog, Balto, became famous, many argue it was actually Seppala and his lead dog, Togo, who were the true saviors that day.
Alaska Tid-Bits..
The name ‘Alaska’ comes from the Aleut word ‘Alyeska,’ which means ‘great land’.
Alaska is home to the highest mountain peak in the U.S. Mount Denali tops out at 20,310 feet.
13-year-old Native American Benny Benson designed the flag of Alaska in 1926.
Alaska has only one person per square mile, making it the state with the lowest population density in the world.
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is held every year from Anchorage to Nome, to honor Leonhard Seppala’s mission to save the community of Nome.
Over and Out..
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Cap and Patti