Homer Alaska - Arts

Ninilchik author George Harbeson Jr. signs his memoir, "Homesteaders in the Headlights: One family's journey from a Depression-era New Jersey farm to a new life in Wasilla, Alaska," from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at the Pratt Museum. Published by Hardscratch Press in 2010, Harbeson's book was named Best Migration Memoir by the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA).

With an introduction by Katie Hurley, "Homesteaders in the Headlights" tells the Harbeson family's story of moving to Wasilla in the 1950s and homesteading in the Knik area. The eldest son, Harbeson Jr. also includes passages from his father, George Harbeson Sr.'s memoir about his life growing up during the Great Depression. "Homesteaders in the Headlights" fills a gap in the history of the Matanuska and Susitna valley area between the Matanuska colony era of the 1930s and the early years of statehood.