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Sally Edwards and Lorraine Adams, Interview 1
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Sally Edwards and Lorraine Adams were interviewed on January 15, 1998 by Wayne Howell and Mary Ann Porter at the National Park Service Visitor Center in Yakutat, Alaska. In this first of two interviews, Sally recalls the dramatic impact of the 1958 earthquake in Dry Bay. (A separate account of the earthquake can also be found on Tape 2 of the Dry Bay Field Trip interviews.) Sally also tells of better times at Dry Bay, including a visit by the moose named "Connie Francis" (see slideshow), mysterious stories of disappearing animals, and the variety of ways in which food was prepared. Lorraine Adams describes the dangerous conditions at the mouth of the Alsek River and the location of abandoned tribal houses in the Dry Bay area.
Digital Asset Information
Archive #: Oral History 2001-10-08
Project: Dry Bay
Date of Interview: Jan 15, 1998
Narrator(s): Sally Edwards, Lorraine Adams
Interviewer(s): Wayne Howell, Mary Ann Porter
Location of Interview:
Location of Topic:
Funding Partners:
National Park Service
Alternate Transcripts
There is no alternate transcript for this interview.
Themes
After clicking play, click on a section to navigate the audio or video clip.
Sections
1) Life at Dry Bay and the conditions at the mouth of the Alsek River.
2) Location of the Canoe Prow House and the abandoned cannery.
3) (Sally starts speaking here…) Constantly moving from site to site and working for the floating cannery.
4) Impact of the 1958 earthquake and the move to Anklin River.
5) Description of the earthquake.
6) Moving to higher ground in order to avoid an oncoming flood.
7) When the earthquake hit.
8) The aftermath of the earthquake and the arrival of Connie Francis, the moose.
9) More on Connie Francis, and a blind bear cub that wandered into camp.
10) Bear encounters and the story of the disappearing bear.
11) A mysterious story told to her by Harold Robbins; and witnessing a boat turn over and disappear.
12) Encounters with moose and bears, and how she misses the Williams Creek area.
13) Differences in the flavor of salmon from different areas.
14) Preparing salmon in a number of ways; finding good strawberries at Williams Creek.
15) Remembering Italio River and the Box House located there.
16) Location of the Box House .
17) Looking through old photographs.
18) How close people were and how much was shared in the old days.
19) Living in tribal houses.
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After clicking play, click a section of the transcript to navigate the audio or video clip.
Transcript
Section 1: Dry Bay\ weather -- conditions\ dogs -- sled\ Adams, Lorraine -- grandfather\ Canoe Prow House\ Goosh Tleim Tláa\ dolls -- paper\ Albert, Dick\ fishing\ Yakutat, AK\ Fall -- weather\ boat -- Italio\ Dry Bay -- conditions\ tides\ whirlpools\ wind\ Adams, Lorraine -- father\ Alsek Glacier\ picnicking\ boats -- gas\ rapids|
Section 2: Alsek Glacier\ Canoe Prow House -- location\ Cemetery Hill\ Cannery Creek\ cannery -- abandoned\ father -- occupation\ fishing -- commercial\ trapping\ Williams, John\ Yakutat, AK\ fishing -- salmon\ Italio River\ Antlen River|
Section 3: tent\ cabin -- building\ river -- changes\ moving sites\ Shack Creek\ Alsek River\ Edward's Homestead\ Dry Bay Area\ cannery -- floating\ Edwards, Sigurd\ fishing\ Johnson, Nora\ cannery -- work\ Johnson, Ester -- aunt|
Section 4: movement -- seasonal\ Yakutat, AK\ Dry Bay\ earthquake -- impact\ Lituya Bay\ nets -- loss\ Anklin River -- move to\ fish buyer\ Erickson, Fred\ gear -- purchase\ Johnson, Ester\ traveling\ Alsek Lake\ picnicking\ rapids -- dangerous\ Edwards, Sigurd\ Mark, Elmer\ Gateway Knoll\ rock fall\ boats -- gas\ keels -- dee|
Section 5: earthquake\ cabin -- sank\ tent\ island -- sinking\ Edwards, Sigurd\ boat\ children\ nets -- loss|
Section 6: Chester's -- move to\ Vent, Butch -- pilot\ note -- dropped\ Alsek Lake -- dammed\ icebergs\ Muddy Creek -- mouth\ Edwards, Sigurd -- homestead\ flood\ Dry Bay -- lower|
Section 7: earthquake\ Vent, Butch\ Dry Bay\ Cemetery Hill\ Lituya Bay\ steam comber\ Edwards, Sigurd\ boat -- anchored\ earthquake -- effects|
Section 8: earthquake -- aftermath\ cabin -- prefabricated\ Edwards, Sigurd\ raft\ Williams Creek\ cabin -- rebuilt\ Francis, Ernest\ Francis, Maggie\ Milton, Clarence\ moose -- baby\ moose -- feeding\ Connie Francis -- moose|
Section 9: Connie Francis -- moose\ Dry Bay -- lower\ cabin\ Williams Creek\ fishing -- fall\ bear -- cub\ Francis, Maggie\ Edwards, Sigurd\ Francis, Ernest\ bear -- blind\ children\ Yakutat, AK\ fight -- bear vs. moose\ rifle -- .22 Hornet|
Section 10: dogs -- barking\ bears\ tent -- island\ moose -- swimming\ Bear Island\ bear -- orange\ Henniger, Barney\ Phillips, David\ Edwards, Sigurd\ bear -- shot\ driftwood\ bear -- disappeared|
Section 11: Robbins, Harold\ Robbins, Betty\ Muddy Creek\ fish -- tub\ driftwood\ eagles\ crows\ fish -- arranged\ people -- drowned\ boat -- gas\ boat -- sank\ fishing\ nets -- stretching\ sand -- shifting|
Section 12: moose\ children\ smokehouse\ fish -- cutting\ bears\ seals\ Johnson, Chester\ Edwards, Sigurd\ spotlight\ Geddes, Bill -- camp\ bears -- shooting at\ Dry Bay\ nets -- loss\ Williams Creek -- cabin|
Section 13: salmon -- flavor\ Anklin River\ Situk River\ Dry Bay -- king salmon\ Nunatak\ Beasly Creek\ glacier\ fish -- firm\ hooligans -- abundance\ Great Uncle -- Sh du l'éiw\ dolls -- paper\ Situk River\ Italio River\ fishing -- seine\ Marks, Emma\ Hammond, Lilian\ Brown, Mabel -- Sally's mother\ smokehouse\ fish -- filleting|
Section 14: stickleback\ Brown, Mabel -- Sally's mother\Hanlen, Lilian\ Marks, Emma\ fish -- filleting\ Edwards, Sigurd\ fish -- smoking\ fish -- preparation\ strawberries -- quality\ Williams Creek\ Williams, John\ fish -- fertilizer\ Italio River\ Akwe River\ bears -- number|
Section 15: Fall -- conditions\ coho salmon -- season\ Yakutat -- conditions\ Italio River\ Dry Bay\ Williams, Jack -- Lorraine's father\ salmon\ seasonal movement\ Antlen River\ trapping\ Box House\ tribal house -- condition\ smokehouse|
Section 16: equipment -- fishing\ boats\ Box House -- location\ Italio River\ Marks, Emma\ Box House -- name\ Gágaan át kawliaa\ fishing -- invitation\ Dry Bay\ Box House\ Kaagwaantaan\ Sitka, AK|
Section 17: pictures\ Sato, Sam\ Sato, Selma|
Section 18: people -- closeness\ helping\ food -- sharing\ seal -- dividing meat\ seal oil -- preserve\ berries -- dried\ Góokw\ Fort House - clan house\ sharing -- changes\ Edwards, Sigurd\ people -- feeding\ cooking\ children\ Edwards, Tina\ Edwards, Dolly\ Edwards, Lloyd\ Johnson, Vincent\ visitors -- outsiders|
Section 19: John, Maggie\ Williams, Sara\ cooking\ people -- feuding\ food -- sharing\ tribal house -- Noow Hit\ K'atxaan hít\ drowning -- relatives\ Knight Island\ "Sitka Nate"\ potlatch\ Jack, B.A.\ tribal house -- residents\ Johnson, Nora\ Moon House\ "Ma Boss"\ Whitney, Art|