Members of the Central community chose to present their home and experiences to others through the creation of this program. The recordings used for this project were selected by fifteen members of the community from many available resources archived at the University of Alaska and the Circle District Historical Society and were recorded between 1983 and 1995. The photographs were generously supplied by members of the community including Laurel Tyrrell, George Hiller, Mary Warren, Earl Beistline and Eddie O'Leary as well as archive sources from the Circle District Historical Society, CDHS. Unless otherwise noted all color photos are part of Laurel Tyrrell's personal collection and black and white photos are courtesy of CDHS.

CDHS, in partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, UAF, and the Alaska Humanities Forum, sponsored the production of the program.

CDHS operates a non-profit enterprise composed of community members. CDHS has undertaken to provide a place in the museum for viewers to use the completed program.

The entire staff of the University of Alaska Oral History Program provided critical technical assistance for the creation of the computer program. Mary Larson was essential to the work as it progressed. William Schneider, as head of the Oral History Program, provided guidance, support and valuable insight throughout the various phases of this expression of the community. This jukebox was created between 1997-1998.

This project was supported in part by a grant from the Alaska Humanities Forum and the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency.

Laurel Tyrrell served as project director. She organized the funding and worked to oversee every stage of the final product. Other old time Central inhabitants including but not limited to, Jane Williams, (archivist of CDHS Museum), Mary Warren (lifetime resident of the area), and Ruth and Roy Olson (also lifetime residents of the area), worked closely with Laurel to insure program authenticity. Carol Gelvin-Reymiller used her considerable talent to create the original drawings used in the opening screens of the program.

Many other people provided a beneficial perspective with their time and effort as well as their moral support. Thanks to a community effort, this program was possible.

Arlene Bell

Pat Oakes

This computer presentation is dedicated to two women, Patricia Oakes and Arlene Bell. These two people represent two of the more complex facets of the "Central" personality. Pat and Arlene led very different lives, but the thread they held in common, that encircled their lives and tied them together in friendship, was the place called Central. Pat was a highly educated woman who devoted her life to teaching and endeavoring to improve the lives of others. Arlene was a "Household Engineer" who mushed dogs, taught correspondence to five boys, fished and odd jobbed her way around the countryside. Together they embodied the spirit of hardy individualism and self reliance that is prevalent in this Alaskan Interior community. Pat died November 22, 1993. Arlene died April 18, 1995.