Daniel O'Neill

Jim Pepper was interviewed by Dan O'Neill and William Schneider on October 8, 1991 at a National Park Service meeting in Vail, Colorado. Jim's friend, and a co-worker at Gates of the Arctic National Park, Mark Matsell, was also present. We were interested in Jim's recollections because he worked for the National Park Service in Washington, D.C. at the time of the legislative battle for passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), which established many new park lands in Alaska in 1980, and had responsibilities for Alaska lands. He was then subsequently assigned to work at Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

Dan O'Neill and Steve Ulvi collaborated in interviewing Bill and Lill Fickus at their home on Crevice Creek, John Rivers, about 40 miles north of Bettles, Alaska on September 26, 1994. Dan was a research associate at the Oral History Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and conducted some of the interviews funded by the National Park Service in the Yukon-Charley Rivers Preserve areas. Steve was a subsistence specialist at Gates of the Arctic National Park. The interview with the Fickuses was funded by the National Park Service as part of a project documenting the lives of people living and working in or near Gates of the Arctic. Dan and Steve conducted the interview around the kitchen table with the Fickuses for several hours, ate dinner, spent the night, then resumed the interview after breakfast for a few more hours. The time of year had been selected as a time when there were few pressing chores, such as garden harvesting and hunting. In this first of five interviews, Bill and Lill talk about their backgrounds, meeting, marrying, and living at Crevice Creek year round. The interview continues on tape numbers Oral History 93-15-64, 93-15-65, 93-15-66, 93-15-67.

This is the continuation of an interview with Bill and Lill Fickus by Dan O'Neill and Steve Ulvi on September 26, 1994 in the Fickus' home in Crevice Creek, Alaska. In this, part three of the five part interview, they talk about raising their children at Crevice Creek, Bill's hunting stories, and their thoughts on  the establishment of Gates of the Arctic National Park. This is a continuation from tape numbers Oral History 93-15-63 and 93-15-64, and the interview continues on tape numbers Oral History 93-15-66 and 93-15-67.

This is the continuation of an interview with Bill and Lill Fickus by Dan O'Neill and Steve Ulvi on September 26, 1994 in the Fickus’ home in Crevice Creek, Alaska. In this, part five of the five part interview, they talk about rescues, people they have met through the years of living at Crevice Creek, use of dogs, hunting, and raising their family at Crevice Creek. This is a continuation from tape numbers Oral History 93-15-63, 93-15-64, 93-15-65, 93-15-66.

Ed Gelvin was interviewed on November 2, 1991 by Dan O'Neill and William Schneider at Ed's log cabin in Central, Alaska. The yard contained his construction equipment and airplanes and included a small landing strip and a hangar. The interview was conducted at his kitchen table; his wife and grandson were in the background. His wife, Virginia, did not wish to participate in the interview, although at times she added her opinions and perspective. There were a couple of hunting dogs in the house, and books on flying and fishing were prominent in the home. Ed was reserved and quiet in the interview, but voiced strong opinions about Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve and willingly described his many years of flying and getting to know many of the old-timers in the area. He speaks with an authority derived from hours of flying in the country as a registered guide and aerial wolf hunter. In this interview, Ed talks about his mining, flying, hunting and guiding activities in the area of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. He describes and tells stories about many of the early pioneers in the area, as well as the more recent "river people" who arrived in the 1960s and 1970s. He also talks about issues with the National Park Service over land selection and use, conflicts between resource development and protection, and his support for aerial wolf hunting.

Laura Cross was interviewed on August 28, 1991 by Dan O'Neill on the bluff above the Yukon River in Eagle, Alaska. Dan O'Neill was sitting in the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve's visitor's center when Laura came in to get tourist information. Dan overheard her say she had come to Alaska to "claim my national interest lands." She said she had worked hard back in the 1970s to get the various D-2 lands established as conservation units, and now she had come to see as much of them as she could. Thinking that it was fortuitous to meet an "outside conservationist," O'Neill asked if she might like to say on tape what motivated her to campaign for the park lands in distant Alaska, and what they meant to her. She agreed readily, and Dan and Laura talked while sitting on a picnic table near the bluff behind the National Park Service headquarters building. In this interview, Laura talks about her involvement with the effort to protect Alaska land as conservation units, what wilderness means to her, and her perceptions of subsistence and the local response to the creation of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.

Gordon Bertoson was interviewed on November 1, 1991 by Dan O'Neill and William Schneider in Central, Alaska. In this first part of a two part interview, Gordon describes living in Central/Circle, on the Yukon and Kandik Rivers, and at a base camp at Forty Mile (mouth of Eureka Creek). He talks about the seasonal round of activities, including trapping, mining, hunting and fishing, and traveling by dog team and boat. He also discusses some of the old timers he knew in the area and the old system of dog team mail delivery and freighting. In addition, he gives some of his opinions on the "young people" who moved into the Yukon River country in the 1960s and '70s.

Stanton "Stan" Patty was interviewed on October 11, 1991 by Dan O'Neill at Stan's home in Vancouver, Washington. In this interview, Stan recounts his early life in Fairbanks, Alaska and spending his summers at the mines on Coal Creek and Woodchopper Creek, as well as telling a wide range of family anecdotes. Throughout the narrative, he discusses such things as early Fairbanks history, gold rush history, meeting various "characters" who came north with the major rushes to the Klondike and Fairbanks areas, and what it was like working at the mines. He also mentions some of Alaska's early aviation pioneers.

This is the continuation of an interview with Steve Ulvi on April 9, 1991 by Dan O'Neill in the audio studio at Elmer E. Rasmuson Library on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska. In this second part of a two part interview, Steve continues to talk about living a subsistence-based lifestyle in a remote cabin in the area that was to become Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. He talks more about the way of life, using dog teams for winter transportation and canoes in the summer, the role of women in maintaining their lifestyle, the sense of commuity among other people on the river, and how conflicts were or were not resolved. He also discusses the effect of the Preserve's creation on the "river people" and the balance of local lifestyles with resource protection.

Faye Chamberlain was interviewed on November 1, 1991 by Dan O'Neill and William Schneider at her home in Circle, Alaska. Her six-year-old son, Scotty, was home sick from school that day and was laying across her lap as she talked. Occasionally, some conversation with Scotty, or his coughing, is audible. Faye was formerly married to Richard Smith, with whom she lived on the Yukon River for several years, and he is mentioned throughout the interview. In this interview, Faye talks about living a subsistence-based lifestyle on the Yukon River, National Geographic making a film about "river people," and the impact of the establishiment of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve and National Park Service management regulations on local people's uses of the area.

Stan Albright was interviewed on October 7, 1991 by William Schneider and Dan O'Neill in Vail, Colorado where he was attending the 75th anniversary meeting of the National Park Service. In this interview, Stan talks about his work as National Park Service Area Director for Alaska from about 1971 to 1975. A predominant theme in this interview is how poorly the National Park Services' Alaska Task Force teams worked with the Alaska Area Office staff. Although he did not give any specifics and tended to talk in general terms, Stan emphasized that the Alaska Task Force study teams could have avoided much trouble by drawing on the local National Park Service's expertise. As Area Director, he had a different approach to the selection of new park areas than some of the task force members. He suggests that the study team may have wanted to go for more far-reaching changes than he did. Often during the interview he talked around issues, using few specific examples, and was obviously uncomfortable with disclosing details that would point a finger at others in the Park Service.

Melody Webb was interviewed on October 7, 1991 by Dan O'Neill and William Schneider in Vail, Colorado where she was attending the 75th anniversary meeting of the National Park Service. Schneider worked with Melody in the early 1970s in Fairbanks, Alaska on the National Park Service's Native Historic and Cemetery Sites studies, but at the time of this interview, she was Superintendent of Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park in Texas. In this interview, Melody talks about historical research she did for the National Park Service in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve and Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park. She speaks of personal experiences doing the Yukon-Charley Rivers study with Dave Evans, and the historical themes she helped develop that are now the basis for current preservation activities in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. She also discusses the concepts of preserving history and cultural values and the role of the National Park Service in doing this, and her views on the "river people" and subsistence.

This is the continuation of an interview with Dave Mihalic on October 9, 1991 by Dan O'Neill and William Schneider in Vail, Colorado where he was attending the 75th anniversary meeting of the National Park Service. In this second part of a two part interview, Dave continues to talk about working as superintendent of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve and the management issues he faced, including subsistence, the legitimacy of the "river people" who arrived in the 1960s and 1970s, mining, and hunting. He expresses his views about interpretation and implementation of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), the responsibilities of the National Park Service, and dealing with animosity towards the National Park Service from local residents in Eagle, Alaska and along the rivers. He specifically discusses an episode with Joe Vogler related to his mining operation at Woodchopper Creek, and finally mentions the naming of geographical features in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve and the importance of the oral history project.

This is the continuation of an interview with Bob Belous on October 9, 1991 by William Schneider and Dan O'Neill in Vail, Colorado where he was attending the 75th anniversary meeting of the National Park Service. In this second part of a two part interview, Bob continues to talk about the establishment of new national parks in Alaska after passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980 and development of subsistence policies in Alaska national parks. He speaks with precise logic and reason but also with concern and care for how the policy has been received and how it might be fine tuned to the conditions as they exist today. Bob also asks that listeners take care not to reference his remarks out of context since the issue is so very complex.

Randy Brown was interviewed on October 28, 1991 by Dan O'Neill in the audio studio at Elmer E. Rasmuson Library on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska. He was enrolled in classes and maintained a busy schedule. On the day of the interview, he had only one hour free. Consequently, the scope of the interview is abbreviated, but he agreed to continue the discussions at a planned second interview during the holiday break. In this first interview of a set of two interviews, Randy talks about living a subsistence lifestyle on the Kandik River in the late 1970s. He discusses his decision to move out there, how he learned to survive and relied upon trapping, hunting and fishing, building sleds, and tells the story of a previous fellow who starved to death when trying to live out in the country.

This is the continuation of an interview with Randy Brown on December 30, 1991 by Dan O'Neill in the audio studio at Elmer E. Rasmuson Library on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska. This is the second part of a two part interview that is the second interview in a two inerview series. The first interview (ORAL HISTORY 99-21-42) was conducted on October 28, 1991. In this second part of the second interview, Randy continues to talk about living on the Kandik River in the late 1970s. He discusses how he and his family survived, how the area changed as more people moved in, and the effect of the arrival of the National Park Service and the establishment of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. During the interview, they were looking at USGS maps (1:250,000) of the area, so much of the conversation can be traced on the map. Since Dan O'Neill, had been a dog musher in Alaska for ten years, many of the questions relating to dogs, gear and traveling conditions are fairly specific.

Lynette Roberts was interviewed on November 4, 1991 by Dan O'Neill in the audio studio at Elmer E. Rasmuson Library on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska. In this first part of a two part interview, Lynette talks about living a subsistence-based lifestyle with her husband, Steve Ulvi, in a remote cabin on the Kandik River in what is now Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. She discusses why they chose to live there, the seasonal round of their activities, the challenges of being a woman and raising a family out there, and their eventual move into Eagle, Alaska and then to Fairbanks. Steve got a job with the National Park Service, which was a source of resentment among some of the people of Eagle, and Lynette talks about some of the hostility expressed towards her and her family. This is not to say that Lynette's loyalties must be considered as if she was a National Park Service employee. She is clearly a woman with her own views. Though Dan O'Neill had never met Steve and Lynette before the project started, they became friends during the course of it, and this may have introduced a complication in the interview process. While Dan O'Neill was very interested in "the woman's perspective" on the bush lifestyle, he felt awkward pressing too hard for details on such marital issues as the division of labor.

Zorro Bradley was interviewed on September 27, 1991 by William Schneider and Dan O'Neill in Fairbanks, Alaska. In the 1970's, Bill Schneider worked for the Cooperative Park Studies Unit under Zorro's supervision, so they knew each other well prior to this interview. In this first part of a two part interview, Zorro talks about working as an anthropologist with the National Park Service in the early days of establishment of new park units in Alaska after passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) of 1980. He discusses projects worked on and his role in the formulation of the National Park Service's policy on subsistence management in the parks.

Skip Ambrose was interviewed on December 5, 1991 by Dan O'Neill in the audio studio at Elmer E. Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska. At the time of this interview, Skip and Dan had been good friends for about sixteen years, having met through a mutual acquaintance, raptor biologist Robert J. (Bob) Ritchie. O'Neill and Ritchie had been friends for thirty-two years. Ritchie's name and his work with peregrine falcons on the Yukon River come up frequently in the interview. In this interview, Skip talks about his early research on peregrine falcons along the Yukon, Nation and Kandik Rivers within Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, how the birds are captured, banded and studied, the results of his research, and managing the area to best protect the falcons.

Carolyn Kelly was interviewed on October 30, 1991 by Dan O'Neill in a conference room at the Noel Wien Library in Fairbanks, Alaska. The location was selected because it was close to where Carolyn worked, and because she said her husband held strong anti-Park Service views that it would be easier for her to speak freely on "neutral ground" rather than at their home. Dan O'Neill was put in touch with Carolyn by Karen Kallen-Brown. In this interview, Carolyn talks about living a subsistence lifestyle in a remote cabin in the area of what is now Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. She describes the "river people's" society, their daily life and seasonal round of activities, raising a child in this remote location, and the division of labor between men and women. She also talks about moving into the community of Eagle, Alaska, conflict with the National Park Service over land use, subsistence, and resource management issues, and impacts of losing this particular lifestyle.

Ray Bell was interviewed on October 31, 1991 by Dan O'Neill and William Schneider at the Bell's log home in Central, Alaska. During the interview, Ray's wife, Arlene, occasionally contributed some comments and clarifications from the other room. At the interviewers' urging, she moved into the living room and sat next to Ray so she could be better heard on the recording. Dan O'Neill previously had interviewed Richard Smith, Ray and Arlene's son, at his camp at Forty Mile (from Circle) on August 4, 1991 (ORAL HISTORY 91-22-09). Ray and Arlene built their log house in Central before going up to the Yukon to "live on the river." The house in Central is a large log cabin, 22 by 24, partitioned into bedrooms, living room and kitchen areas. Pictures are prominent, some of family members and, most notably, a picture of their son, Richard Smith, at his Forty Mile camp. There is also a painting which resembles their house at Woodchopper. It wasn't made at Woodchopper, but so closely resembled their cabin there that they obtained it. In this interview, Ray talks about his experiences living and raising a family on the Yukon River at Forty Mile (from Circle) and at Woodchopper, and working at the mine at Coal Creek.

Karen Kallen-Brown was interviewed by Dan O'Neill on October 29, 1991 in the audio studio at Elmer E. Rasmuson Library on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska. She mentioned her hope that the oral history project would not overlook the "woman's perspective," and she suggested several names of women who lived subsistence lifestyles in the area. Some of the women she suggested had already been interviewed, or had been scheduled for interviews, but some names were new to the interviewers and they were added to the list. In this first part of a two part interview, Karen talks about coming to Alaska to be a teacher and living a subsistence lifestyle, with her husband Randy Brown, in a remote cabin on the Kandik River in the area of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. She discusses their seasonal lifestyle, building a cabin, raising children, the gender-based division of labor, her love of the country, and their decision to leave the area and move into Fairbanks.