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Clark Fair

The “Y” junction in Soldotna was a little less obvious in its early days. Here, Alaska Road Commission engineer Louie Hendricks poses next to a directional sign indicating which way to turn for either Kenai or Moose Pass. (Photo courtesy Al Hershberger)

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Life-changing moments in the Hawley Sterling story — Part 2

AUTHOR’S NOTE: On Oct. 4, 1918, a young mother named Margaret Sterling left her Nenana home to ride…

Hawley Winchell Sterling, in his Class of 1912 senior portrait at the University of Denver. He was about 23 years at this time and had already spent a summer or two in Alaska, honing his skills in surveying and engineering.

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Life-changing moments in the Hawley Sterling story — Part 1

Single moments alter lives. A man leaves for work five minutes late and fails to avoid a serious…

Photos courtesy of Don Culver An early morning mist forms over the waters of Longmere Lake, from the homestead of Don Culver, first homesteader on the lake, in 1947.

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‘What’s in a name?’: Reviving a forgotten past — Part 7

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the seventh and final chapter in a multi-part series about Kenai Peninsula places and…

Photo from the Mona Painter Collection James “Little Jim” Dunmire and James “Big Jim” O’Brien are the namesakes of Jim’s Landing on the middle Kenai River.

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‘What’s in a name?’: Reviving a forgotten past — Part 6

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the sixth in a multi-part series about Kenai Peninsula places and landmarks that once…

The middle portion of this section of the 1910 map created by Dr. David H. Sleem shows Lost Lake and Lost Creek. Today, these features are known as Crescent Lake and Crescent Creek. The lake in this map also curves in the wrong direction.

Features

‘What’s in a name?’: Reviving a forgotten past — Part 5

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the fifth in a multi-part series about Kenai Peninsula places and landmarks that once…

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Community

‘What’s in a name?’: Reviving a forgotten past — Part 4

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth in a multi-part series about Kenai Peninsula places and landmarks that once…

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Features

‘What’s in a Name?’: Reviving a forgotten past — Part 3

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the third in a multi-part series about Kenai Peninsula places and landmarks that once…

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Community

‘What’s in a name?’: Reviving a forgotten past — Part 2

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Place names can be ephemeral and can fade for myriad reasons. Sometimes offensive names are replaced…

Tern Lake, formerly Mud Lake, sits alongside the junction of the Seward and Sterling highways. (Photo by Clark Fair)

Community

‘What’s in a name?’: Reviving a forgotten past — Part 1

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a series of articles concerning places and landmarks on the Kenai…

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Community

Ben Swesey: More to the story — Part 5

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Seasoned Seward outdoorsmen Ben Swesey and William Weaver left home on Oct. 15, 1917 in Swesey’s…

John P. Holman poses with his first Dall sheep ram, shot in 1917 while being guided by Ben Swesey in the Kenai Mountains. (Photo from Holman’s 1933 hunting memoir)

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Ben Swesey: More to the story — Part 4

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Seven years after his friend William Weaver nearly drowned in Kenai Lake while returning from guiding…

This image is the only confirmed photograph of guide Ben Swesey discovered by the author. The photo, from John P. Holman’s 1933 hunting memoir, “Sheep and Bear Trails,” shows Swesey working to remove the cape from a Dall sheep ram shot by Holman in 1917.

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Ben Swesey: More to the story — Part 3

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Danger was inherent in the job. Although his fellow hunting guide, William Weaver, had narrowly escaped…

This excerpt from a U.S. Geological Survey map shows the approximate location of Snug Harbor on lower Kenai Lake. It was in this area that William Weaver nearly drowned in 1910.

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Ben Swesey: More to the story — Part 2

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Michigan’s hard-luck Swesey clan sprang into existence because of the misfortunes of the Basom clan. All…