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William and Effie Williams, Part 2

This is a continuation of an interview with William and Effie Williams by Wendy Arundale on November 20, 1992 in the living room area of their house in Allakaket, Alaska. This is a continuation from tape number Oral History 93-15-15.

Digital Asset Information

Archive #: Oral History 93-15-16

Project: Gates of the Arctic National Park
Date of Interview: Nov 20, 1992
Narrator(s): William Williams, Effie Williams
Interviewer(s): Wendy Arundale
Location of Interview:
Funding Partners:
National Park Service
Alternate Transcripts
There is no alternate transcript for this interview.

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Sections

1) Native involvement in river transportation

2) Effects of World War II and other big changes

3) Effects of Gates of the Arctic

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Transcript

Section 1: steamboat travel\ Kaltag\ Nulato -- downriver villages\ St. Michael\ Kotzebue\ Native villages -- brought out best food for boat\ Moses, Henry -- worked on steamboats\ Chief Henry\ Bergman, Billy\ Koyukuk River\ Fairbanks -- boats came all the way\ Natives -- pilots, captains\ Tobuk, David -- pilot\ Teddy H -- steamboat\ Tobuk, Frank -- licensed pilot and captain\ Bettles -- repaired boats in winter\ Teddy H -- Sam Dubin owned\ Dubin -- owned stores, boats, mail-run\ Nulato\ Dooley -- gas boat\ Koyukuk, Grafton -- Denali Center\ Koyukuk, Walter -- Grafton's brother\ Tobuk, Frank\ Dooley -- hauling freight too\ Nulato-Bettles run -- steamboat\ Bettles-Wiseman run -- kicker travel\ outboard motor -- got first one in about 1947\ muskrat -- trapping to make money for motor|
 
Section 2: Bettles -- radio\ stations\ airlines -- Kotzebue, Pt. Barrow, Nome, Galena\ Civil Aviation Administration -- built all in one summer, 1941\ draft -- no one local\ draft registration -- required\ change -- after war, all different\ Alaska -- became easy living with wages\ white people -- meant jobs cutting wood, etc.\ wood cutting -- families cut up to one hundred cords to sell, no chainsaw|
 
Section 3: pipeline -- started work on park after\ rivers -- hunting along\ sheep -- hunting\ boundary -- told not to cross\ Hunts Fork\ Alatna River\ attitudes -- officials don't like people to go up there\ attitudes -- Park Service and residents\ Hunts Fork\ hunting -- used to be the best up there\ Simon, Pollack -- went with to John River\ Alatna River\ John River\ hunting -- black bear, moose, sheep, caribou\ canoe -- traveled up|