Clark Fair

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Herman Stelter, seen here in front of his home in the Kenai River canyon, was another of the Kings County Mining Company members to stay in Alaska. (U.S. Forest Service photo, circa 1910s)

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska Adventure — Part 9

Brooklynite Mary L. Penney seemed to know that she was not ready to settle into middle age and sedately grow old.

 

At some point after William B. Hurd was buried in Kenai in 1899, his family asked that his body be exhumed and sent back to New York, where it was reburied. This image, from findagrave.com, shows the marker on his final resting place.

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska adventure — Part 8

Despite Mary’s dreams and the newspaper’s low-brow assessment of her experience, the culmination of her journey was decidedly anti-climactic.

 

This excerpt from a 1916 U.S. Department of Agriculture map shows Kachemak Bay and vicinity less than 20 years after the arrival of the Kings County Mining Company.

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska adventure — Part 7

The Kings County Mining Company had hiked through the mountain benchlands at the advent of winter, hoping to reach the gold-mining areas of Hope and Sunrise.

 

U.S. Army Captain Edwin F. Glenn led an 1898 military exploration of Cook Inlet. Glenn and his crew, who were departing the inlet at about the same time that the Kings County Mining Company was arriving, left behind a journal of the expedition. That journal, archived in the Alaska Digital Archives, included daily notations about the weather.

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska adventure — Part 6

They cruised around a bit and then returned to Homer on Oct. 10 after “a most tranquil and pleasant passage.”

U.S. Army Captain Edwin F. Glenn led an 1898 military exploration of Cook Inlet. Glenn and his crew, who were departing the inlet at about the same time that the Kings County Mining Company was arriving, left behind a journal of the expedition. That journal, archived in the Alaska Digital Archives, included daily notations about the weather.
Dr. Thomas F. Sweeney was a dentist seeking adventure and riches. He also had some mistaken ideas about the difficulties that life in remote Alaska entailed. (Public photo from ancestry.com)

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska Adventure — Part 5

The three-masted ship called the Agate was a reliable 30-year ocean veteran when it entered Cook Inlet in mid-October 1898.

Dr. Thomas F. Sweeney was a dentist seeking adventure and riches. He also had some mistaken ideas about the difficulties that life in remote Alaska entailed. (Public photo from ancestry.com)
This Library of Congress photo shows the U.S.S. Maine, which exploded and sank in the harbor at Havanna, Cuba, about the same time the Kings County Mining Company’s ship, the Agate left Brooklyn for Alaska. The Maine incident prompted the start of the Spanish-American War and complicated the mining company’s attempt to sail around Cape Horn.

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska adventure — Part 4

The Penney clan experienced a few weeks fraught with the possibility that Mary might never be returning home.

This Library of Congress photo shows the U.S.S. Maine, which exploded and sank in the harbor at Havanna, Cuba, about the same time the Kings County Mining Company’s ship, the Agate left Brooklyn for Alaska. The Maine incident prompted the start of the Spanish-American War and complicated the mining company’s attempt to sail around Cape Horn.
The bark (or barque) called the Agate, which carried members of the Kings County Mining Company from Brooklyn, New York, to Cook Inlet, was probably similar to this three-masted barque featured on Wikipedia.

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska adventure — Part 3

The Brooklyn investors in the mining venture ran into trouble from the beginning.

The bark (or barque) called the Agate, which carried members of the Kings County Mining Company from Brooklyn, New York, to Cook Inlet, was probably similar to this three-masted barque featured on Wikipedia.
Mary L. Penney, one of only two women known to have joined the Kings County Mining Company’s 1898 expedition to the gold fields of Alaska. (Photo courtesy of the Penney Family Collection)

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska adventure — Part 2

When Mary was 14, she found herself in the company of a “young matron” who was about to give birth.

Mary L. Penney, one of only two women known to have joined the Kings County Mining Company’s 1898 expedition to the gold fields of Alaska. (Photo courtesy of the Penney Family Collection)
Drew O’Brien explores the ruins of the Kings County Mining Company’s cabin near Skilak Lake, circa 1999, about a century after it was constructed alongside a then-unnamed stream. (Photo by Clark Fair)

Mary Penney and her 1898 Alaska adventure — Part 1

I have been chasing the facts of this adventure for 35 years.

Drew O’Brien explores the ruins of the Kings County Mining Company’s cabin near Skilak Lake, circa 1999, about a century after it was constructed alongside a then-unnamed stream. (Photo by Clark Fair)
Cecil Miller took leave from Akron (Ohio) Police Department to join the U.S. Navy Seabees during World War II. When he returned to the force after his military service, he was featured in an October 1945 article in the Akron Beacon Journal.

The Man Called ‘Greasy’ — Part 2

Two distinct versions of Cecil “Greasy” Miller received the most publicity during his brief tenure on the southern Kenai Peninsula.

Cecil Miller took leave from Akron (Ohio) Police Department to join the U.S. Navy Seabees during World War II. When he returned to the force after his military service, he was featured in an October 1945 article in the Akron Beacon Journal.
Photo courtesy of the Pratt Museum During her brief time on the southern Kenai Peninsula, Dorothy Miller, wife of Cecil “Greasy” Miller, was a part of the Anchor Point Homemakers Club. Here, Dorothy (far left, standing) joins fellow area homemakers for a 1950 group shot. Sitting on the sled, in the red blouse, is Dorothy’s daughter, Evelyn, known as “Evie.”

The Man Called ‘Greasy’ — Part 1

There are several theories concerning the origin of Cecil Miller’s nickname “Greasy.”

Photo courtesy of the Pratt Museum During her brief time on the southern Kenai Peninsula, Dorothy Miller, wife of Cecil “Greasy” Miller, was a part of the Anchor Point Homemakers Club. Here, Dorothy (far left, standing) joins fellow area homemakers for a 1950 group shot. Sitting on the sled, in the red blouse, is Dorothy’s daughter, Evelyn, known as “Evie.”
Poopdeck Platt fishes with friends in this undated photograph. (Photo courtesy of Ken Moore)

Poopdeck: Nearly a century of adventure — Part 7

By the late 1970s, Poopdeck was already investing in stocks and bonds.

Poopdeck Platt fishes with friends in this undated photograph. (Photo courtesy of Ken Moore)
Clarence Hiram “Poopdeck” Platt sits atop a recent moose kill. (Photo from In Those Days: Alaska Pioneers of the Lower Kenai Peninsula, Vol. II)

Poopdeck: Nearly a century of adventure — Part 6

Poopdeck Platt was nearly 80 when he decided to retire from commercial fishing.

Clarence Hiram “Poopdeck” Platt sits atop a recent moose kill. (Photo from In Those Days: Alaska Pioneers of the Lower Kenai Peninsula, Vol. II)
After Red Cleaver, in 1959, helped Poopdeck Platt add 30 inches to the stern of his fishing vessel, the Bernice M, Platt took his boat out onto the waters of Kachemak Bay. (Photo courtesy of Ken Moore)

Poopdeck: Nearly a century of adventure — Part 5

Clarence Hiram “Poopdeck” Platt had already experienced two bad years in a row, when misfortune struck again in 1967.

After Red Cleaver, in 1959, helped Poopdeck Platt add 30 inches to the stern of his fishing vessel, the Bernice M, Platt took his boat out onto the waters of Kachemak Bay. (Photo courtesy of Ken Moore)
As his wife Bernice looks on, 43-year-old Clarence Hiram “Poopdeck” Platt poses atop a road sign welcoming him to Alaska. This 1947 photograph from the Huebsch Family Collection memorializes Platt’s first trip to Alaska, which became his home for the next 53 years.

Poopdeck: Nearly a century of adventure — Part 4

In 1947, their correspondence led to wedding bells, and the magazine subscription led them to make a new home in the Territory of Alaska.

As his wife Bernice looks on, 43-year-old Clarence Hiram “Poopdeck” Platt poses atop a road sign welcoming him to Alaska. This 1947 photograph from the Huebsch Family Collection memorializes Platt’s first trip to Alaska, which became his home for the next 53 years.
Poopdeck Platt, in western Montana circa 1946, packs out a deer after a successful day of hunting. (Photo courtesy of the Huebsch Family Collection)

Poopdeck: Nearly a century of adventure — Part 3

“For a while,” said Poopdeck, “we were eating guinea pigs.”

Poopdeck Platt, in western Montana circa 1946, packs out a deer after a successful day of hunting. (Photo courtesy of the Huebsch Family Collection)
In the 1990s, Poopdeck Platt enjoys some sunshine in front of The Saltry, in Halibut Cove. (Photo courtesy of Ken Moore)

Poopdeck: Nearly a century of adventure — Part 2

The story of Poopdeck Platt, who lived in Homer for nearly half a century, began in the American Northwest.

In the 1990s, Poopdeck Platt enjoys some sunshine in front of The Saltry, in Halibut Cove. (Photo courtesy of Ken Moore)
Poopdeck Street, in Homer, became a reality in 1996, honoring Clarence Hiram “Poopdeck” Platt. (Clark Fair photo)

Poopdeck: Nearly a century of adventure — Part 1

Clarence Hiram Platt — who preferred to have people call him Poopdeck — may have been slowing down, but he rarely stopped moving.

Poopdeck Street, in Homer, became a reality in 1996, honoring Clarence Hiram “Poopdeck” Platt. (Clark Fair photo)
The Palm Springs Limelight-News used this photo in 1946 to announce the start of the Alaska Photographic Expedition, guided by Keith McCullagh (left) for his expedition partner and photographer, Harry Reed.

Mostly separate lives: The union and disunion of Nellie and Keith — Part 5

After a bankruptcy, a divorce and an 18-year absence from Alaska, Louis Keith McCullagh headed north on vacation.

The Palm Springs Limelight-News used this photo in 1946 to announce the start of the Alaska Photographic Expedition, guided by Keith McCullagh (left) for his expedition partner and photographer, Harry Reed.
This 1931 photograph from the Wrangell Sentinel shows the Wrangell public school where Jean Hofstad (the former Nellie McCullagh) taught during the 1940s.

Mostly separate lives: The union and disunion of Nellie and Keith — Part 4

The two members of what the Cordova Daily Times had once called a “popular young couple” began carving out separate lives.

This 1931 photograph from the Wrangell Sentinel shows the Wrangell public school where Jean Hofstad (the former Nellie McCullagh) taught during the 1940s.