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After homesteading on Happy Creek in 1946, Rex Hanks built a sawmill below the falls near the Cook Inlet beach. (Rex Hanks photo courtesy of Katie Matthews)

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A Kind and Sensitive Man: The Rex Hanks Story — Part 2

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Happy Valley resident Rex Hanks began his own private cemetery in the winter of 1951. By…

Photo from “San Chat,” May 1956 issue In 1956, when this photo of nurse Irmgard Hanks, wife of Rex, was taken for the 10th anniversary of the Seward Sanitorium, the Hanks were still living in Seward but were preparing to move to a new home in Happy Valley. Irmgard was the Night Supervisor and Relief Supervisor for the facility, which fought against the ravages of tuberculosis.

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A Kind and Sensitive Man: The Rex Hanks Story — Part 1

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This first chapter of the Rex Hanks story includes many other individuals and numerous actions and…

This card, along with a passenger manifest, marked the journey of John Grönroos and his eldest son from their old home in Finland to their new home in the United States. They arrived on the S.S. Westernland in the Port of Philadelphia on March 5, 1903, with a final destination of the Kenai Peninsula. The other three members of the family arrived the following year, via New York City. Card courtesy of ancestry.com.

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Fresh Start: The Grönroos Family Story — Part 2

By Clark Fair

Otto T. Frasch photo, copyright by David C. Chapman, “O.T. Frasch, Seattle” webpage The Canadian steamship Princess Victoria collided with an American vessel, the S.S. Admiral Sampson, which sank quickly in Puget Sound in August 1914.

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Fresh Start: The Grönroos Family Story — Part 1

It had been a good vacation, the first time in a decade that Sophia Grönroos had been outside…

This trio of images appeared in the January 1942 edition of Alaska Life magazine, in an article entitled “The Mayor of Seward Builds a Dream House for $2,000!” To the left and right are interior views of the Benson home. The center photograph shows W.R. Benson and his dog near the front gate of his yard.

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Hometown Booster: The W.R. Benson Story — Part 3

AUTHOR’S NOTE: W.R. Benson, in his mid-50s when he and wife Mable moved from Seward to Homer in…

Each issue of the Homer Homesteader featured a unique illustration by writer/publisher/editor W.R. Benson. This image appeared in April 1948.

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Hometown Booster: The W.R. Benson Story — Part 2

AUTHOR’S NOTE: W.R. Benson was a mover and a shaker throughout his life, but particularly so in Alaska.…

Edna Ellen Benson was W.R. Benson’s older sister. They also had a younger sister, Ruth. (public photo from ancestry.com)

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Hometown Booster: The W.R. Benson Story — Part 1

On Nov. 23, 1941—just two weeks before the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor—it was bitterly cold in Seward.…

In the early 2020s, the extended Keeler clan continues on the southern Kenai Peninsula, with (far right) Vikki, the daughter of Ina (Keeler) and Spek Jones, her son Brad and his infant son Hugh. At left is Spek Jones and his mother Nelda Jones. Photo courtesy of the Keeler Family Collection.

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Keeler Clan Of The Kenai — Part 8

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Three siblings (Floyd, Lawrence and Verona) from the Keeler family of Oregon came to the Kenai…

Ray Sandstrom photo courtesy of the KPC historical photo archive Floyd “Pappy” Keeler, standing in 1951 in front of his cabin on the homestead of his son Jack, is holding a girl who is likely Barbara Sandstrom, while her sister Rhoda, standing by a truck, looks on.

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Keeler Clan of the Kenai — Part 7

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Floyd Nelson Keeler, eldest son in a family containing 12 children, was arguably the least well-understood…

Bob Keeler and his daughter Sandra relax at October 1956 festival in rural Oregon. Photo from The World (Coos Bay, Oregon).

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Keeler Clan of the Kenai — Part 6

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The first of the three Keeler siblings to travel from Oregon to the Kenai Peninsula for…

Cheechako News photo courtesy of the KPC historical photo archive Don Wilson feeds a “pet” moose from the door of his first Soldotna grocery store, circa 1950s.

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Keeler Clan of the Kenai — Part 5

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Verona (Keeler) Wilson and her husband Don moved from rural Oregon to Soldotna in 1951, about…

Photo courtesy of the Pratt Museum Members of the Keeler family and some Anchor Point church members get a ride on Jimmy Elliot’s “mud sled” on the way to services at the Elliot home, circa 1956. Lorna Keeler is sitting on the far-left side of the sled. April Keeler is the middle girl of the trio sitting in back, and Larry Keeler is standing behind those girls.

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Keeler Clan of the Kenai — Part 4

Lawrence and Lorna Keeler and their family moved from Oregon to Alaska in June 1948 and began building…

Photo courtesy of the Keeler Family Collection Brothers James (left) and Lawrence Keeler with their Kissel car, circa 1910s. Both brothers enlisted in the U.S. Army to fight in World War I. James was killed in battle.

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Keeler Clan of the Kenai — Part 3

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Lawrence and Lorna Keeler and their family left Oregon in June 1948, and began driving to…