The lines of history are most accurately understood in retrospect.
Although William Dempsey didn’t know it as he fled for his life, several things were working against him
AUTHOR’S NOTE: In the first three parts of this story, William Dempsey, who confessed to killing two Alaskans in 1919, escaped from prison in Washington… Continue reading
Anchorage authorities believed Dempsey was planning to sail from Seward and flee to the States
William Dempsey and two other men slipped away from the rest of the prison road gang on fog-enshrouded McNeil Island, Washington, on Jan. 30, 1940
For 50 years, Emma and Carl had been central to the story of Hope
Dr. Marian Goble’s dream of missionary medical work did not begin with Alaska
Dr. Goble served the various medical needs of the central Kenai Peninsula
Anchorage probation officer Roy V. Norquist was monitoring Arthur’s movements and reported that he was pleased with what he saw
The Frolichs’ establishment, then called the Watson Motel, had been owned by Arthur Vernon Watson and had become a crime scene
In late May 1959, officials from the Russian River Rendezvous, Alaska Sportsman’s Association, Inc., made a splashy official announcement in the Anchorage Daily Times
By the spring of 1931, a new two-story log building — the lodge’s third iteration — stood on the old site, ready for business
Thus ended the sometimes tumultuous Alaska tenure of William N. Dawson.
One man who never seemed to get on Dawson’s bad side was Peter F. (“Frenchy”) Vian
“… If I were to designate the meanest character I ever met, I should name ‘Old Bible Bill,’ an Ozarkian.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Part One introduced William N. “Bill” Dawson as a spinner of yarns who came to the Kenai Peninsula in the 1890s and became… Continue reading
Toeing the Line Bill Dawson, a well-known Kenai trading post manager in the early 1900s, loved to tell stories. Some of them were even true.… Continue reading
The many vital chapters in the story of Frenchy fell into place
By many accounts, P.F. “Frenchy” Vian appears to have been at least an adequate game warden for Kenai