Hesden Scougal

Hesden Scougal was born in 1921 in Shell Rock, Iowa to Opal and Alexander Scougal. As a boy, he worked as an apprentice at his father's newspaper business and learned typesetting. In 1940, Hesden joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served in China and on the aircraft carrier, USS Lexington. After a medical discharge in 1942, he worked as a carpenter apprentice for Lytle & Green Construction in Iowa. In Januay 1943, he was transferred to Fairbanks, Alaska where he worked on building airfields around the state as part of the war effort. He married Roma Hulse in 1945 and together they operated the Copper Center Roadhouse for a while, before returning to Fairbanks where they homesteaded on Badger Road in North Pole. He continued to work throughout the Arctic in the construction industry, with Lytle & Green, Arctic Contractors, Burgess Construction, and others. During his career, he helped build many of the airports and roads that greatly improved Alaska's transportation infrastructure. In 1968, he became the administrative director of the Department of Highways for the State of Alaska, and served as Deputy Commissioner and Acting Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities during Governor Jay Hammond's administration (1974 to 1982). During this time, he was involved with design and construction of the Hickel Highway, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and the North Slope Haul Road. From 1973 to 1976, he was city manager of Petersburg, Alaska. After retirement, Hesden served on the State's Board of Transportation until its disbandment. Hesden Scougal passed away in 2012 at the age of 90. For more about Hesden Scougal, see his obituary in the Juneau Empire newspaper.