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Arlene Bell
Tape #H95-27

Arlene Bell met with Laurel Tyrrell on February 21, 1995 in an apartment in Fairbanks. She longed to move back to the Yukon River where she lived and worked for many years. Illness and medical treatment during the last few months of her life kept her in town, close to the doctors and hospital. Just a few short months after recalling her life in and around Central for the purposes of this computer program, Arlene succumbed to cancer, never able to return to the area she loved so well.


Click on a section of the menu to listen to the audio for that segment.

Arlene Bell speaks with Laurel Tyrrell about...

1) Coming to Alaska.
Bell, Arlene - early life\ coming to Alaska - reasons\ homesteading\ Central - reasons coming\ Fairbanks\ Chicken\ Eagle|

2) Getting prepared to move to Alaska.
travel - vehicles\ moving - preparations\ Bell, Arlene - children\ bulk food\ Bell, Arlene - husband\ wage earning|

3) Arlene's five sons.
Bell, Arlene - sons\ children's - ages\ animals\ rabbits\ spruce hens\ snares\ home school|

4) First winter in Central, 1968.
wanigan\ hospitality - teaching newcomers\ Jewell, Wilbur\ keeping warm\ house construction\ felt liners\ canvas boots\ Crow, Lucy|

5) First winter in Central continued.
Central - population\ hospitality - helping out\ Kennedy, Tom\ Albert Creek\ drinking water\ Riddle, Roy\ roadhouse|

6) Moving to 40 Mile. (forty miles upriver from Circle).
Bergeson, Andy\ Bergeson, Andy - wife\ celebration - Christmas\ celebration - New Years\ hospitality - helping out\ Jewell, Wilbur\ Bell, Arlene - husband\ wage earning\ Bertoson, Gordon\ boat\ O'Leary, George\ camping\ 40 Mile\ fish camp\ cabin - fire|

7) Life at 40 Mile.
cabin - building\ wood - hauling\ dog team\ home school\ Gelvin, Ed\ supplies\ Fairbanks\ Pierce's General Store\ trapline\ Bell, Arlene - sons\ Bell, Arlene - husband\ fish - dried|

8) Fishing at 40 Mile.
fish - learning\ Bertoson, Gordon\ fish wheel\ nets\ fish - cutting\ wheelbarrow\ fish - drying\ fish - Chumfish\ King Salmon\ fish - smoked\ fish - canned\ fish - income earning|

9) Leaving 40 Mile.
BLM\ lawn\ garden\ agency - asking to move\ breakup - flood\ Bell, Arlene - husband\ Bell, Arlene - sons\ boat\ Coal Creek\ Vogler, Joe\ Woodchopper\ moving - reasons|

10) Living at Woodchopper.
track vehicle\ barge\ boat\ Woodchopper\ flood - salvage\ cabin - Patty's Palace\ wood - cutting|

11) Living at Coal Creek.
insulating cabin\ Coal Creek\ wage earning - cook\ Bell, Arlene - sons\ Richard\ David\ Bell, Arlene - husband\ wage earning - cat skinner\ moving - reasons\ Central\ homestead\ cabin|

12) Leaving the river.
river - reasons living there\ beautiful\ earning living|

13) Wages.
wage earning - Fairbanks\ Wilde, Jim\ Wilde, Lori \ Letter Shop\ traveling - Outside|

14) Flood in cabin.
Cabin - flood\ Trapline Chatter\ boots\ supplies sent\ Gelvin, Ed\ airdrop\ booze\ flood - salvage\ cache\ electrical wire|

15) Drinking water at 40 Mile.
water - hauling\ ice chopping\ dog team\ water - settling silt\ stream|

16) Gardens Arlene had.
40 Mile - garden\ fish - fertilizer\ 40 Mile - greenhouse\ Woodchopper - greenhouse\ water - pump\ water - tank\ Coal Creek - greenhouse\ Coal Creek - garden\ bought plants\ water - pumps|

17) Food for Coal Creek.
airdrop\ Coal Creek\ food - ordering\ Booth, Del\ Fairbanks\ airplane\ Quality Meat\ Safeway\ food - bulk|

18) Coal Creek camp.
good food\ crew\ cook\ pranks\ stove - coal\ stove - cook range\ Fort Worth|

19) Coal Creek camp continued.
stove - cook range\ crew - size\ kitchen - machinery\ stove - propane\ electricity|

20) Picking berries.
berry - picking\ berry - location\ cranberries\ bears\ blueberry\ 40 Mile\ Bell, Arlene - sons\ berry - location\ cranberry - cooking\ Woodchopper\ mushrooms\ Coal Creek\ raspberry|

21) Running a dog team.
Bell, Arlene - husband\ dog team - transportation\ snow machine\ Bell, Arlene - sons\ dog team - use\ school work\ dog team - wood hauling\ dog team - water hauling\ Woodchopper\ Swede\ dog team - visiting neighbors\ toboggan\ dog team - drag\ dog team - size|

22) Running a dog team continued.
dog team - wearing bunny boots\ brakes\ canvas boots\ snowshoes\ Bell, Arlene - sons\ dog team - obeying\ dog team - size\ dog team - individual dogs|

23) Running a dog team continued.
dog team - dog breed|

24) Wage earning.
wage earning - jobs\ Central\ Circle\ Bell, Arlene - jobs\ Circle Hot Springs - cook\ Bell, Arlene - husband\ seasonal employment\ Riddle's\ roadhouse\ Pierce, Frank\ Pierce, Vi\ Pierce's store|

25) Wage earning continued.
Circle District Historical Society Museum\ Circle Hot Springs\ wage earning - house keeping\ Oakes, Pat|

26) Living on the river.
river - reasons living there\ beautiful\ travel - river\ travel - summer\ river - changes\ sunset\ sunrise|

27) Living on the river continued.
winter - daylight\ river - people living there\ Swede\ Charley River\ roadhouse\ home school\ learning English|

28) Neighbors at Coal Creek.
Swede - women\ berry - picking\ garden\ greenhouse\ knitting\ yarn\ King Salmon - Swedish recipe\ pancakes - Swedish|

29) Neighbors continued.
Swede - men\ dog team - trapping\ cultural\ neighbors\ Straub, Fronzie\ Straub, Bill\ 14 Mile|

30) People floating River.
Spokane\ family - floating\ death - physical illness\ medical help - options\ Zurik, Doctor\ emergency\ Zurik, Dr. - teaching|

31) People floating River continued.
medical help - options\ different rafts\ fish wheel\ hospitality - helping out|

32) People going upriver.
boat\ hospitality - helping out\ Bell, Arlene - husband\ preparedness\ Mercury\ hospitality - exchange\ neighborliness|

33) Leaving cabin open for people to use.
hospitality - cabin use\ German\ visiting\ fish - preservation|

34) A negative experience.
Bell, Arlene - sons\ fish wheel\ Bell, Arlene - husband\ Ray\ hospitality - abuse\ property - permission|

35) Another negative experience.
Bell, Arlene - husband\ Bell, Arlene - son\ hospitality - abuse\ dog team - individual dog\ bluff|

36) Circle Hot Springs.
Circle Hot Spring - gardens\ Circle Hot Springs - greenhouse\ Hotel\ Motel\ underground refrigerator\ cabins\ Berdahl, Johnny\ pool\ Circle Hot Springs - current|

37) Circle Hot Springs continued.
Circle Hot Springs - general store\ Circle Hot Springs - Post Office\ Leach, Emma\ Reiter, Jim\ Circle Hot Springs - small shops\ Circle District Historical Society Museum\ nursing\ illness\ closing|


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