Clark Fair

Charles “Windy” Wagner was an adept gardener who liked sharing his produce and telling stories about its quality. (Photo courtesy of the Knackstedt Collection)

Windy Wagner: Breath of fresh air or just a blowhard? (Part 2)

By most accounts, Charles “Windy” Wagner was an energetic, boisterous storyteller who entertained his listeners

Charles “Windy” Wagner was an adept gardener who liked sharing his produce and telling stories about its quality. (Photo courtesy of the Knackstedt Collection)
Windy Wagner enjoyed entertaining company at his home along the Kenai River. (Photo courtesy of the Knackstedt Collection)

Windy Wagner: Breath of fresh air or just a blowhard? (Part 1)

Most folks seemed to enjoy Charles A. Wagner. They appreciated his hospitality and generosity, his stories and good humor, and his thorough knowledge of the… Continue reading

Windy Wagner enjoyed entertaining company at his home along the Kenai River. (Photo courtesy of the Knackstedt Collection)
John Fenger, seen here in his later years, died in 2006.

Medical establishment comes to Homer — Part 3

In early spring 1965, there were loose ends to tie up …

John Fenger, seen here in his later years, died in 2006.
The Fenger children — (left to right) Heidi, Eric and Peter — delight in a bounty of silver salmon gathered by setnet below their home in August 1962. (Photo courtesy of the Fenger Family Collection)

Medical establishment comes to Homer — Part 2

It was normal for Dr. John Fenger to receive phone calls when someone in Homer needed medical attention.

The Fenger children — (left to right) Heidi, Eric and Peter — delight in a bounty of silver salmon gathered by setnet below their home in August 1962. (Photo courtesy of the Fenger Family Collection)
Posing stiffly in the bow of the M.S. Hygiene, along the Alaska coast, is Nurse Grace Heutink, clad in a warm fur parka. (Photo courtesy of the Fenger Family Collection)

Medical establishment comes to Homer — Part 1

In the early days of formal medicine in Homer, doctors and dentists were often forced to improvise.

Posing stiffly in the bow of the M.S. Hygiene, along the Alaska coast, is Nurse Grace Heutink, clad in a warm fur parka. (Photo courtesy of the Fenger Family Collection)
This photo of John Floyd King was taken during his U.S. Army service during World War I. Written beneath the photo was “Some soldier, eh!” (Photo courtesy of the Brennan Family Collection)

The Separate Lives of the Man Who Fell — Part 3

Alec Hardin MacDonald appeared in the census count as a resident of Takotna Village in Interior Alaska

This photo of John Floyd King was taken during his U.S. Army service during World War I. Written beneath the photo was “Some soldier, eh!” (Photo courtesy of the Brennan Family Collection)
John Floyd King served in the elite Rainbow Division during World War I. By the end of his tenure, he was a machine gunner fighting in France. (Photo courtesy of the Brennan Family Collection)

The Separate Lives of the Man Who Fell — Part 2

John Floyd King disappeared from the record and Doc MacDonald came into being

John Floyd King served in the elite Rainbow Division during World War I. By the end of his tenure, he was a machine gunner fighting in France. (Photo courtesy of the Brennan Family Collection)
“A Thousand Cabbages and other poems” by Mary Mullen. Published by Hardscratch Press, 2023. (Promotional photo)

Taking a wider view

‘A Thousand Cabbages and other poems’ sweeps across time and distance in Mullen’s second outing

“A Thousand Cabbages and other poems” by Mary Mullen. Published by Hardscratch Press, 2023. (Promotional photo)
When Takotna resident Alec MacDonald registered in February 1942 for the military draft, he falsely claimed to have been born in 1900 in Chautauqua County, Kansas.

The Separate Lives of the Man Who Fell — Part 1

Even now, with much more of the truth laid bare, mysteries remain

When Takotna resident Alec MacDonald registered in February 1942 for the military draft, he falsely claimed to have been born in 1900 in Chautauqua County, Kansas.
Photo #1.628 courtesy of the Seward Community Library Association
Dr. John Baughman’s wife, Mina (left), poses in this circa 1905-10 photo with Mrs. E.E. Hale on a Seward city sidewalk near the Alaska Central Railroad and Seward’s first school.

Dr. Baughman’s Unusual Second Job, Part 2

Dr. John A. Baughman also filed a lot of paperwork.

Photo #1.628 courtesy of the Seward Community Library Association
Dr. John Baughman’s wife, Mina (left), poses in this circa 1905-10 photo with Mrs. E.E. Hale on a Seward city sidewalk near the Alaska Central Railroad and Seward’s first school.
(Photo from a lantern slide courtesy of Gary Titus
This 1904 Baughman Collection photo shows two hunters—Dr. John Baughman (left, holding girl) and W.H. Case—with four mountain goats they killed near the summit of White Pass and brought back to their home in Skagway later by train.

Dr. Baughman’s Unusual Second Job, Part One

In the late 1990s, Michael Hankins and two of his pals were treasure hunting near Old Knik when they unearthed a surprise — an intact… Continue reading

(Photo from a lantern slide courtesy of Gary Titus
This 1904 Baughman Collection photo shows two hunters—Dr. John Baughman (left, holding girl) and W.H. Case—with four mountain goats they killed near the summit of White Pass and brought back to their home in Skagway later by train.
The date is Oct. 19, 1957. The place is an airport in Kokomo, Indiana. The occasion is her departure from the Midwest. Her ultimate destination is Whittier, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Fair Family Collection)

Jane’s Story

I imagine my mother’s inability at this moment to truly understand the change her life is about to undergo.

The date is Oct. 19, 1957. The place is an airport in Kokomo, Indiana. The occasion is her departure from the Midwest. Her ultimate destination is Whittier, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Fair Family Collection)
Bank robber Paul Stavenjord was back in the news in big way in the late 1990s. In this KTUU-television images, he is seen here in law-enforcement custody.

Unfortunate Choices: Three lives and a robbery gone awry, Part 4

Upon his release from prison in Lompoc, California, in March 1975, Stavenjord vowed to turn his life around and go straight.

Bank robber Paul Stavenjord was back in the news in big way in the late 1990s. In this KTUU-television images, he is seen here in law-enforcement custody.
A year after the 1971 bank robbery, two of the suspects pleaded guilty and were sentenced to six years in prison, as seen in this Anchorage Daily Times headline from August 1972. The third suspect pleaded guilty a few days later.

Unfortunate Choices: Three lives and a robbery gone awry, Part 3

Even the U.S. attorney himself promoted a sentence shorter than the maximum because of the youth of the three defendants.

A year after the 1971 bank robbery, two of the suspects pleaded guilty and were sentenced to six years in prison, as seen in this Anchorage Daily Times headline from August 1972. The third suspect pleaded guilty a few days later.
Trainer Ted Fields, of Anchorage, stands with his search dog, Hite, in Seward in August 1971. (Original photo from the Seward Phoenix Log)

Unfortunate Choices: 3 lives and a robbery gone awry, Part 2

When this part of the story begins, they have been behind bars for one year.

Trainer Ted Fields, of Anchorage, stands with his search dog, Hite, in Seward in August 1971. (Original photo from the Seward Phoenix Log)
Seward Police Chief Bill Bagron puts his feet up contentedly after the arrest of all three suspects in the robbery of a Seward bank in August 1971. (Original photo from the Seward Phoenix Log)

Unfortunate Choices: 3 lives and a robbery gone awry, Part 1

Perhaps for the first time they were realizing that they had made a series of questionable decisions

Seward Police Chief Bill Bagron puts his feet up contentedly after the arrest of all three suspects in the robbery of a Seward bank in August 1971. (Original photo from the Seward Phoenix Log)
After 18 years at Leavenworth prison in Kansas, William Dempsey was returned to McNeil Island federal penitentiary in Washington in April 1939. He would escape from McNeil nine months later. (Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks archives)

A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey story — Part 9

On Jan. 30, 1940, nearly eight months later, Dempsey, while on a road gang in a heavy fog, slipped away from the work detail.

After 18 years at Leavenworth prison in Kansas, William Dempsey was returned to McNeil Island federal penitentiary in Washington in April 1939. He would escape from McNeil nine months later. (Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks archives)
Murder suspect William Dempsey is pictured shortly after he was captured on the outskirts of Seward in early September 1919. (Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks archives)

A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey story — Part 8

Dempsey spent more than a decade attempting to persuade a judge to recommend him for executive clemency

Murder suspect William Dempsey is pictured shortly after he was captured on the outskirts of Seward in early September 1919. (Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks archives)
After Pres. Woodrow Wilson commuted his death sentence to life in prison, William Dempsey (inmate #3572) was delivered from Alaska to the federal penitentiary on McNeil Island, Wash. These were his intake photos. (Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks archives)

A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey story — Part 7

The opening line of Dempsey’s first letter to Bunnell — dated March 19, 1926 — got right to the point

After Pres. Woodrow Wilson commuted his death sentence to life in prison, William Dempsey (inmate #3572) was delivered from Alaska to the federal penitentiary on McNeil Island, Wash. These were his intake photos. (Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks archives)
In 1914, Pres. Woodrow Wilson appointed Charles Bunnell to be the judge of the Federal District Court for the Third and Fourth divisions of the Alaska Territory. (Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks archives)

A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey story — Part 6

Prosecution lawyers were fortunate to have a fallback plan: witnesses to the crime.

In 1914, Pres. Woodrow Wilson appointed Charles Bunnell to be the judge of the Federal District Court for the Third and Fourth divisions of the Alaska Territory. (Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks archives)