


As time passed and our surroundings became a bit more civilized, the preferred heat source was a Mama Bear model of the steel Fisher stove. Although they cost several hundred dollars and weighed about 180 pounds before you added the fire bricks, they were a wonderful source of heat, handling logs up to 18 inches long and about 7 inches in diameter. Obviously, they were much easier to set up to burn all night long.
There was still a
problem with the heating systems. With the logs soaking in salt water every day, the smoke and soot sent up the chimney was extremely corrosive. Regular blue steel stove pipe would be eaten paper-thin in about a month. The solution was stainless steel stove pipe. Much more expensive, but it would last several months. It also looked neat! Chimney fires were common, and would give a blast of heat to the cabin as the pipe glowed red hot.

Note the shiny stainless steel stove pipe and the rescued rocking chair.

The final tally showed we all lost some items but nobody was hurt. The loss of housing for four families caused further crowding in the remaining buildings but thanks to sharing spaces, we all had a roof over our heads. As for us, we immediately moved into the new space even if it wasn't complete. The fire was caused when one of the girls in the lower left apartment was running their wood stove full blast to heat an antique iron to smooth out some clothes. The red-hot chimney had ignited the wood up in the apartment above. Fortunately it happened at high tide, so we were able to do a bucket brigade to try to stop the fire. However, the reality is we were as effective as a mosquito trying to stop a sledge hammer. Once a wood dwelling caught fire, there was no way to stop it under those conditions. Unfortunately, all of our buildings were wood...
Several years later in the middle of the night we were awakened by a noise and bright light, only to find that the laundry house was on fire! Once again we were powerless to stop it from completely eliminating this valuable facility.
I had spent months constructing this building through the winter so our women could do their laundry in livable conditions. When we first arrived at Game Creek, Marge had to chip the ice out of the #3 galvanized tub, heat the water on a wood stove, and then wash our clothes using a Yukon plunger, a hand-powered agitating system. Clothes would then be passed through a hand wringer and then hung artistically from the rafters to dry. You can see that we had incentive to wear our clothes for a bit longer than we would have in a more civilized setting. We would miss the electric wringer machines, the indoor drying areas, and the large stove to heat the wash water provided by the laundry house. This time the stove pipe was not the villain. The night watchman had grown frustrated with the wet wood and used Blazo lantern fuel to get the fire going. Another quick lesson in how not to get a fire going.


When we visited Game Creek twenty years later, we were relaxing in one of the cabins when a call came over the radio that there was a fire in the tabernacle. We ran over to do what we could, and were relieved to find it was only some smoke from the main stove. What a thoughtful reminder of previous times!
Here's a picture of a Yukon plunger as it would look fresh from the Aubuchon Hardware store in Juneau.
Final note: when the first cabin burned to the ground, we had no fire insurance to recover the loss. As word spread, friends from all over the world reached into their own pockets and sent gifts that allowed each of us involved to replace the critical lost items. Thanks to all of those people who gave so generously to help us rebuild.
Final note: when the first cabin burned to the ground, we had no fire insurance to recover the loss. As word spread, friends from all over the world reached into their own pockets and sent gifts that allowed each of us involved to replace the critical lost items. Thanks to all of those people who gave so generously to help us rebuild.
Wow, I'm trying to put names and faces togetehr on the group photo. Allen D. up front and Banaszaks, I recognize. Is that Emily behind Marge? And Barbara & Travis? Gary L. way in the back? Anyone else you can identify from Ware?
ReplyDeleteKeep writing, Keith. I never knew Hoonah was this primitive.
Great job Keith, quite a documentary! Very well stated!
ReplyDeleteAfter living in Haines, AK. 1979-1982, and visiting Hoonah, among other parts of AK. and Canada, I experienced some of what you wrote about-still, those early days were truly the pioneering days!
I also heard stories about the early days of Hoonah, from my bro., David Seymour. Where is he in this Alaskan Magazine photo? I know he helped establish the game Creek Farm, lived there from 1975-
March of 1979.
Catherine Seymour