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Photo from Marshall Scull’s 1914 memoir, Hunting in the Arctic and Alaska Ferdinand “Fritz” Posth, left, poses with two Dall sheep heads and fellow guide/packer William “Wild Bill” Dewitt at a cabin on upper Killey River in the early 1910s. When King David Thurman was arrested for a game violation in 1911, Posth testified against him, but some jurors discounted his testimony and declined to convict Thurman.

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King Thurman: An abbreviated life — Part 2

AUTHOR’S NOTE: King David Thurman came to Alaska seeking gold. One of the earliest specific records of his…

The cover of Alaska’s Sourdough Kid, a memoir concerning the early life of Emmett T. Krefting, authored by Krefting and his son, Michael D. Krefting. Emmett met and befriended King David Thurman during the first decade of the 20th century.

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King Thurman: An abbreviated life — Part 1

A probate court met in Seward on Jan. 28, 1915, to determine the fate of the personal property…

The George Navarre Borough Building, seen here in December 2011, stands on Binkley Street, but the initial decision to seat borough government in Soldotna — much less what shape that government would take — were not forgone conclusions.

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No Simple Matter: Finding the borough a home — Part 6

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Creating a borough government was no easy feat for the citizens and officials of the Kenai…

In this old Cheechako News photo, officials consider an early display map of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, 1969.

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No Simple Matter: Finding the borough a home — Part 5

Time and money are always tricky ingredients in government projects.

Dolly Farnsworth was another driving force in the early days of the borough. She housed the borough’s first administrative efforts in her own bookkeeping building — initially for free — and assisted borough clerk Frances Brymer with early efforts in taxes, assessing and accounting. (Clark Fair photo)

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No Simple Matter: Finding the borough a home — Part 4

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Kenai Peninsula citizens had voted to create a second-class governing entity called the Kenai Peninsula Borough,…

Loren, editor and publisher of the Cheechako News, sold a lot of ad space during the back-and-forth publicity campaigns by communities striving to become the administrative seat for the Kenai Peninsula Borough. When the campaigns were over, he offered unifying words for the future. (Photo courtesy of the KPC historical archive)

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No Simple Matter: Finding the borough a home — Part 3

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Kenai Peninsula citizens voted in 1963 to create a second-class governing entity called the Kenai Peninsula…

Harold Pomeroy was the director of Alaska’s Territorial Civil Defense before becoming the first executive of the Kenai Peninsula Borough in 1964. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Digital Archives)

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No Simple Matter: Finding the borough a home — Part 2

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Locating the physical site for the administration efforts of the Kenai Peninsula Borough on Binkley Street…

This 1955 aerial shows a portion of Joe and Mickey Faa’s homestead, including the Quonset hut that was on the property before it was acquired by Howard and Maxine Lee in 1948. The fields and other cleared land now house much of Soldotna’s growing medical establishment. (Photo courtesy of Al Hershberger)

Community

No Simple Matter: Finding the borough a home — Part 1

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This series of articles, in a somewhat different form, first appeared in the Redoubt Reporter in…

The cover of Alaska Sourdough Stories.

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Stories from the Kosmos

I had already purchased the book online — and was waiting for it to arrive in my mailbox…

A skilled woodworker and craftsman, Steve Melchior poses in Seward with his pleasure boat, the Prospector, which he completed in August 1931. (Photo courtesy of the Melchior Family Collection)

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Steve Melchior: Treasured peninsula pioneer with a sketchy past — Part 7

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Stephan “Steve” Melchior parleyed a partially fabricated past into a respected life as a miner and…

The front page of the Detroit News on Oct. 14, 1928, featured photos of Steve Melchior and his pet moose Elsie. Melchior had traveled with Elsie from Seward to Detroit by steamship and railroad.

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Steve Melchior: Treasured peninsula pioneer with a sketchy past — Part 6

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Stephan “Steve” Melchior had parleyed a partially fabricated past into a respected life as a miner…

In September 1946, the Alaska Sportsman Magazine published “Moose Ranch,” an article by Mamie “Niska” Elwell. The story describes Steve Melchior’s moose-ranching operation from the 1920s and features two photographs of Melchior.

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Steve Melchior: Treasured peninsula pioneer with a sketchy past — Part 5

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Stephan “Steve” Melchior parleyed a partially fabricated past into a respected life as a miner and…

Posing in front of Steve Melchior’s cabin on the Killey River in 1912 are (left) packer/cook Ferdinand “Fritz” Posth and hunting guide William “Wild Bill” Dewitt, with two trophy Dall sheep heads. (Photo from E. Marshall Scull’s 1914 hunting memoir, “Hunting in the Arctic and Alaska”)

Community

Steve Melchior: Treasured peninsula pioneer with a sketchy past — Part 4

AUTHOR’S NOTE: An adulthood constructed on a web of lies eventually led Stephan “Steve” Melchior to leave his…