Clark Fair

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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.

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 those trials and tribulations, however, led Benjamin… Continue reading

 

This screenshot from David Paulides’s “Missing 411” YouTube podcast shows the host beginning his talk about the disappearance of Ben Swesey and William Weaver.

Ben Swesey: More to the story — Part 1

More than a hundred years after Ben Swesey and Bill Weaver steered an outboard-powered dory out of Resurrection Bay and were never seen again, an… Continue reading

 

Photo by Clark Fair This 2025 image of the former grounds of the agricultural experiment station in Kenai contains no buildings left over from the Kenai Station days. The oldest building now, completed in the late 1930s, is the tallest structure in this photograph.

The experiment: Kenai becomes an agricultural test site — Part 8

Over the past 50 years or more, the City of Kenai has attempted on several occasions to capitalize on its long history, particularly on the… Continue reading

 

Photo courtesy of the Arness Family Collection L. Keith McCullagh, pictured here aboard a ship in about 1915, was a U.S. Forest Service ranger charged with establishing a ranger station in Kenai, a task that led him to the agricultural experiment station there and into conflict with “Frenchy” Vian and his friends.

The experiment: Kenai becomes an agricultural test site — Part 7

AUTHOR’S NOTE: After the agricultural experiment station in Kenai closed May 1, 1908, Alaska station supervisor C.C. Georgeson had to decide the fate of the… Continue reading

Photo courtesy of the Arness Family Collection L. Keith McCullagh, pictured here aboard a ship in about 1915, was a U.S. Forest Service ranger charged with establishing a ranger station in Kenai, a task that led him to the agricultural experiment station there and into conflict with “Frenchy” Vian and his friends.
The cover of The Clenched Fist, the memoir by Alice M. Brooks and Willietta E. Kuppler concerning their 1911-14 teaching tenure in Kenai

The experiment: Kenai becomes an agricultural test site — Part 6

AUTHOR’S NOTE: By 1907, the end of the line had nearly arrived for Kenai’s agricultural experiment station, which had begun operation just north of the… Continue reading

The cover of The Clenched Fist, the memoir by Alice M. Brooks and Willietta E. Kuppler concerning their 1911-14 teaching tenure in Kenai
Prof. C.C. Georgeson, circa 1910s, inspects an apple tree on one of his Alaska agricultural experiment stations. (Image from the Rasmuson Library historical archives at the University of Alaska Fairbanks)

The experiment: Kenai becomes an agricultural test site — Part 5

AUTHOR’S NOTE: A presidential executive order in January 1899 had set aside 320 acres of land near Russian Orthodox Church property in the village of… Continue reading

Prof. C.C. Georgeson, circa 1910s, inspects an apple tree on one of his Alaska agricultural experiment stations. (Image from the Rasmuson Library historical archives at the University of Alaska Fairbanks)
In his 1903 report to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Prof. Charles Christian Georgeson included this photograph of efforts to break recently cleared ground at Kenai’s agricultural experiment station. The man behind the bull was either station superintendent Hans P. Nielsen or his assistant Pontus H. Ross.

The experiment: Kenai becomes an agricultural test site — Part 4

AUTHOR’S NOTE: A presidential executive order in January 1899 had set aside 320 acres of land near Russian Orthodox Church property in the village of… Continue reading

In his 1903 report to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Prof. Charles Christian Georgeson included this photograph of efforts to break recently cleared ground at Kenai’s agricultural experiment station. The man behind the bull was either station superintendent Hans P. Nielsen or his assistant Pontus H. Ross.
Photo from the Alaska State Library historical collection In Kenai, circa 1903, this trio was photographed on a well-used trail. Pictured are George S. Mearns, future Kenai postmaster; Kate R. Gompertz, Kenai resident; Hans P. Nielsen, superintendent of Kenai’s agricultural experiment station.

The experiment: Kenai becomes an agricultural test site — Part 3

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Presidential Executive Order #148, in January 1899, had set aside 320 acres of land near Russian Orthodox Church property in the village of… Continue reading

Photo from the Alaska State Library historical collection In Kenai, circa 1903, this trio was photographed on a well-used trail. Pictured are George S. Mearns, future Kenai postmaster; Kate R. Gompertz, Kenai resident; Hans P. Nielsen, superintendent of Kenai’s agricultural experiment station.
This 1903 photograph of mostly Kenai residents shows (back, far left) Hans Peter Nielsen, first superintendent of Kenai’s agricultural experiment station. Nielsen began work at the station in 1899 and resigned at the end of the 1903 season. (Photo from the Alaska State Library historical collection)

The experiment: Kenai becomes an agricultural test site — Part 2

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Presidential Executive Order #148, in January 1899, had set aside 320 acres of land near Russian Orthodox Church property in the village of… Continue reading

This 1903 photograph of mostly Kenai residents shows (back, far left) Hans Peter Nielsen, first superintendent of Kenai’s agricultural experiment station. Nielsen began work at the station in 1899 and resigned at the end of the 1903 season. (Photo from the Alaska State Library historical collection)
This E.W. Merrill photograph shows Charles Christian Georgeson, special agent in charge of all agricultural experiment stations in Alaska, starting in 1898. (Photo from Alaska History Magazine, July-August 2020)

The Experiment: Kenai becomes an agricultural test site — Part 1

Individuals deciding to explore Kenai’s historic district might start their journey by turning off the Kenai Spur Highway onto Main Street by the Kenai Visitors… Continue reading

This E.W. Merrill photograph shows Charles Christian Georgeson, special agent in charge of all agricultural experiment stations in Alaska, starting in 1898. (Photo from Alaska History Magazine, July-August 2020)
John W. Eddy was already a renowned outdoor adventurer and writer when he penned this book in 1930, 15 years after the mystery of King David Thurman’s disappearance had been solved. Eddy’s version of the story, which often featured wild speculation and deviated widely from the facts, became, for many years, the accepted recounting of events.

King Thurman: An abbreviated life — Part 6

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The fate of King David Thurman, a Cooper Landing-area resident, had finally been learned in February and March 1915. Reports of his death… Continue reading

John W. Eddy was already a renowned outdoor adventurer and writer when he penned this book in 1930, 15 years after the mystery of King David Thurman’s disappearance had been solved. Eddy’s version of the story, which often featured wild speculation and deviated widely from the facts, became, for many years, the accepted recounting of events.
Public photo from ancestry.com James Forrest Kalles (shown here with his daughters, Margaret and Emma) became the guardian of King David Thurman’s estate in early 1915 after Thurman went missing in 1914 and was presumed dead.

King Thurman: An abbreviated life — Part 5

AUTHOR’S NOTE: King David Thurman left his Cooper Landing-area home in late July 1914 for another season of mining. He failed to return, and friends… Continue reading

Public photo from ancestry.com James Forrest Kalles (shown here with his daughters, Margaret and Emma) became the guardian of King David Thurman’s estate in early 1915 after Thurman went missing in 1914 and was presumed dead.
Emmett Krefting, age 6-7, at the Wible mining camping in 1907-07, about the time he first met King David Thurman. (Photo from the cover of Krefting’s memoir, Alaska’s Sourdough Kid)

King Thurman: An abbreviated life — Part 4

AUTHOR’S NOTE: In 1913, King David Thurman, a Cooper Landing-area resident who often seemed one step ahead of authorities, was finally convicted of violating game… Continue reading

Emmett Krefting, age 6-7, at the Wible mining camping in 1907-07, about the time he first met King David Thurman. (Photo from the cover of Krefting’s memoir, Alaska’s Sourdough Kid)
This is part of the intake data entered when, in 1913, King David Thurman began his 50-day sentence in the Seward Jail for violating Alaska’s game laws. A 1911 attempt to nail Thurman for such a violation had failed.

King Thurman: An abbreviated life — Part 3

AUTHOR’S NOTE: King David Thurman, a miner and trapper who lived and worked in the Cooper Landing area during the early 1900s, was known for… Continue reading

This is part of the intake data entered when, in 1913, King David Thurman began his 50-day sentence in the Seward Jail for violating Alaska’s game laws. A 1911 attempt to nail Thurman for such a violation had failed.
Photo from the L.H. Peterson Collection, Lot 8749, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Simon Wible’s mining camp on Canyon Creek, August 1911, four years after the summer in which Emmett Krefting met King David Thurman here.

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 movements was described by Emmett T. Krefting,… Continue reading

Photo from the L.H. Peterson Collection, Lot 8749, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Simon Wible’s mining camp on Canyon Creek, August 1911, four years after the summer in which Emmett Krefting met King David Thurman here.
Simon “Sam” Wible came to Alaska to mine for gold in the 1890s. Soon, he had a large hydraulic-mining camp on Canyon Creek. King David Thurman, at some point prior to 1907, was one of Wible’s employees. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Mining Hall of Fame Foundation)

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 of Cooper Landing-area resident King David Thurman,… Continue reading

Simon “Sam” Wible came to Alaska to mine for gold in the 1890s. Soon, he had a large hydraulic-mining camp on Canyon Creek. King David Thurman, at some point prior to 1907, was one of Wible’s employees. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Mining Hall of Fame Foundation)
This photographic portrait depicts Eustace Ziegler, the then-nationally famous oil painter who agreed to provide the artwork for George Kosmos’ publication, “Alaska Sourdough Stories.”

Stories from the Kosmos

I had already purchased the book online — and was waiting for it to arrive in my mailbox — when I discovered an article about… Continue reading

This photographic portrait depicts Eustace Ziegler, the then-nationally famous oil painter who agreed to provide the artwork for George Kosmos’ publication, “Alaska Sourdough Stories.”
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.

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 Peninsula, starting with incorporation in 1964, followed… Continue reading

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

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

Time and money are always tricky ingredients in government projects.

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

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

The entire borough operating budget for the first six months was about $13,000.

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)