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Al Stout
Al Stout was interviewed on August 21, 1991 by William Schneider and Steve Ulvi at Al's home in Eagle, Alaska. Al was sick and under heavy medication, but he maintained a sense of humor and he was able to recall many details about individuals and events in the past. He seemed very pleased to have Steve Ulvi present at the interview. The focus was on tracing people and places down the Yukon River during the 1930's and 1940's and telling stories about how he remembered them. In this interview, Al talks about making a living along the river by trapping, mining, hunting, and working on the steamboats, and talks about many of the people he knew along the way, including Willard Grinnell.
Digital Asset Information
Archive #: Oral History 91-22-13
Project: Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve
Date of Interview: Aug 21, 1991
Narrator(s): Al Stout
Interviewer(s): Bill Schneider, Steve Ulvi
Location of Interview:
Funding Partners:
National Park Service
Alternate Transcripts
There is no alternate transcript for this interview.
Themes
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Sections
1) Arrival to the North, and the first work he did including on the Whitehorse-Dawson telegraph line
2) Impact of World War I on the population in the North, and the work there was to do
3) Work at Circle Hot Springs in 1933 and the years after, and the old timers he knew
4) Travel on the river
5) Other old timers and people he knew down the river
6) Some miners at Twenty-six Mile
7) Traffic on the Yukon River, and the mail trails in winter
8) The time he brought a dead Canadian from the Charlie Creek (Kandik River) area
9) Memory of Willard Grinnell
10) Time he spent at Coal Creek, Woodchopper Creek, and Seventymile.
11) Best memories of Fortymile country and moose hunting
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Transcript
Section 1: Stout, Al\ river steamers - "Yukon"\ Kobuk River - 1953\ Racy, Fred - story\ Eagle\ mining - Mission Creek\ mining - story\ river steamers - wood cutters|
Section 2: World War I - impact\ trapping - marten\ trapping - lynx\ trapping - Fortymile - trapping\ trapping - World War II prices\ trapping - Champion Creek|
Section 3: Stout, Al\ Stout, Roberta\ old timers - Fortymile\ mail carrying - Fortymile\ Miller, Heinie - Sheep Creek\ Miller, Heinie - story\ river steamers - wood cutters\ Starr, John - Nation River\ Bauer, Dick\ Fourth of July Creek - 1930's\ mining - Seventymile river\ Matlock, George\ Terwilliger, Fred\ Biederman, Ed\ Charley Creek\ Kandik River\ Biederman's Camp\ Taylor, Jim\ Nelson, Chris - story\ "Phonograph Nelson" - Nelson, Chris|
Section 4: river steamers\ Stout, Al\ travel - floating\ Circle - 1934\ Slaven's Roadhouse\ Bryant, Bert\ Patty, Ernest\ Slaven, Frank|
Section 5: Ames, Al\ trapping - old timers\ Charley River\ Terwilliger, Fred\ Gundrem, Morris\ Gundrem, Silas\ trapping - Kandik River\ lifestyle - trapping\ trapping - Fort Yukon - story longevity\ Woodchopper\ Welch, Jack - story of dogs\ dogs - aggressive\ Circle City|
Section 6: mining - Twenty-six Mile\ Twenty-six Mile - story\ old timers - bears|
Section 7: summer travel - 1930's\ economy - 1930's\ boats - technology\ Biederman, Ed\ mail trail - camps\ Eagle-Circle - mail trail\ mail trail - construction and maintenance\ mail trail - break-up\ Boulder Creek - Sheep Creek Trail\ mail carriers\ Powers, John\ wood cutting\ N. C. Company - Eagle\ Krager, Fred - Nation River\ mining - Sixtymile\ mining - Dawson area\ Krager Homestead - story|
Section 8: "Jesus Christ, you're beatin' the hell outta that guy and he's dead!" - Pauer\ trapping - Kandik River\ Stout, Al - stories\ dog mushing\ bush living - supplies\ Parker, Harry\ Biederman, Charlie\ winter travel - dogs\ Biederman's Camp\ dogs - sleds - Yukon|
Section 9: Grinnell, Willard\ Charlie Creek (Kandik River)\ Johnson Gorge\ Stout, Al - stories\ winter travel - camping\ Grinnell, "Sleepy"\ Grinnell, Willard - story\ bush living - foods\ old timers\ Grinnell, Willard - Coal Creek|
Section 10: Coal Creek - 1930's\ mining - cold-water thawing\ mining - steam thawing|
Section 11: Stout, Al - stories\ hunting - moose\ fire - effect on moose habitat\ Kobuk River\ hunting camps - Native\ lifestyles - subsistence|