On September 13th, 1955, 55 delegates were elected to attend a special Alaska constitutional convention at UAF’s Student Union Building (later named Constitution Hall) The number of delegates elected, 55, was chosen to mirror the 55 delegates that went to Philadelphia to create the original Constitution between May 25 and September 17, 1787. Frank Peratrovich, a Southeastern […]
On September 12th, 1922 (some sources cite the 13th), the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines was dedicated in Fairbanks. It is the farthest north institute of higher learning, the first college to be created in Alaska, and the last grant college to be established in the United States. The college was established five […]
On September 11th, 1958, at the age of eighty-four, “The Bard of the Yukon,” Robert W. Service, famed poet and writer, died in Lancieux, Côtes-d’Armor, France. Service was renowned as the poetic teller of tales, “The Shooting of Dan McGrew,” and the “Cremation of Sam McGee,” and many others. Many mistakenly believed that Service was […]
On September 0th, 1915, The Cordova Daily Times broke the news that William Van Valin, a noted explorer, lecturer, and teacher, had discovered a “Lake of Oil” a mile inland from Smith Bay, approximately halfway between Wainwright and Utqiagvik (Point Barrow) Van Valin described and photographed streams of crude two feet thick flowing from the […]