Carol Hand
Alaska, Oh Alaska A True to Life Novel of Frontier Alaska by Carol Hand ISBN: 978-0-9815193-2-6 156 pages, soft cover, $16.95 |
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Alaska, Oh Alaska
Your great and silent beauty, the rugged and awesome land that speaks softly to all who love the splendor! God waved a mighty arm and made the great and rugged mountains, wild rivers, flowing streams, mirror lakes, lush valleys, and green forests. Wild animals to keep you on your toes! Alaska was waiting for all who needed a place of solace—for some, a place to heal the wounds of life. Some ask, why do you want to live there? What do you see in it? I came long ago, along with thousands more, up the old Alaska Highway. We all came with dreams of starting over, packing all we owned in trucks, trailers, old buses, cars or whatever had a good motor. I saw them in old trucks puffing smoke on every mountain or hill, smiling and waving every time we passed, thinking they would never make it; but they did make it. Most, camping in campgrounds along the way, cooking over campfires. If someone's car was having problems, you stopped and helped. Fighting mosquitoes that never left us alone. They were dauntless in their efforts. I had never saw a snow-capped mountain or a bear, moose or caribou, nor a sheep. The Alaska Highway was unpaved back then, a lot of dust from the vehicles. The dust got into everything that you had. When it rained it was mud. Road construction was always holding up the traffic. Upon arriving in Alaska, they were tired and weary, but they got their homesteads, home sites, trade and manufacturing sites. Yes, and a job if there was one to be had. The Bush people lived off the land and what it provided, both spiritually and earthly. Why do we live here in the Bush, you ask. Why? Well, there isn't any other place like it! It is a challenge. You either love it or hate it.
My husband and I raised our children here, had wonderful times; stories that never end, and we also grieved the death of good friends that the unyielding land took violently. It is a state like no other: wild, free, and untamed—never will be tamed. So to all of you that have never seen it, come see it if you dare, but beware it may grasp your heart in its rugged beauty and you can't get away. Many have vacationed here and came back to call it home!
Beginnings
(from Chapter One)
My six-month-old baby girl lay sleeping in her bed. Our warm log cabin was our fortress and the nearest neighbor was fifteen miles away. The fire was crackling in the wood stove, keeping at bay the minus forty-degree temperatures knocking at the heavy wooden door. Wolves howled occasionally, and our dogs Lobo and Grumpy would growl as they lay in front of the door on their rug, guarding us faithfully. A few months ago this was only a dream, and now it had come true. We made it to the frontier of Alaska, our home now, and I was a changed person. I was always reading books and other information about land open for homesteading in Alaska (allocated in 160-acre parcels). When my child was born, I named her Natalie Olivia Bellefore. Her father and I were young and didn't get along, so we parted ways. Wanting the life I had dreamed about in Alaska, I still had my idea of taking Natalie there. I studied maps and compiled all the information I could for the trip, and then I started making plans to make the four thousand-mile trip from Arkansas to Alaska. I bought a new truck and camper. Starting over sounded like bliss after all I had been through. Declining all job offers, I was unfaltering in my plan to move to the Alaska Bush and file on a homestead. After all, I had roots in Alaska. My Uncle Ben had been there in the great Alaska Gold Rush in the early 1900s and returned home rich beyond belief. Those stories were just seed for thought. Uncle Ben had lived the dream and I wanted to as well. I wonder what went through his mind when Uncle Ben packed his suitcase and bought his ticket on the steamship bound for Alaska. He panned gold on the shores of Nome and then went to the Klondike. What an adventure! I wanted to know how it felt to be an Alaskan and maybe find some gold for Natalie and myself. I had so many thoughts and dreams that I was going to burst if I didn't go and do it!
Contents
Beginnings
Daily Living
Anchorage Run
Homestead Living
Meeting Clint
Finding the Grave
Getting Married
The Wedding
Our First Christmas
Cabin Fever
The Gold Mine
Our New Home
Bear Scare on Sheep Hunt
Moose Hunt
Diamonds Find Their Home
Big Bear Scare
Visiting New Mexico
Back in Alaska
Baby Madelyn
Wild Fire
Candice and Natalie's Adventure
Growing Up
Madelyn's Birthday
Madelyn's Sheep Hunt
September Poem
Looking Up Hardy
Candice's Last Ride
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