(UGASHIK)
Pilot Point (formerly Ugashik) is
on the eastern shore of Ugashik Bay on the Alaska Peninsula. Today, the tiny village, of 75 Aleut-Eskimo
people, is mainly a fishing village.
The following photographs are courtesy of the Virgil and Josephine Hanson family. Virgil's parents (Samuel Clarence and Florence May Hanson) taught school at Pilot Point for 16 years (starting in 1929) and took these photographs. The Hanson family has generously allowed me to post them here, with hopes of identifying these Pilot Point residents.
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL AT PILOT POINT 9/30/1929
LEFT TO RIGHT:
SAMUEL CLARENCE HANSON
Government teacher
ANNE GRIECHEN 15
VIRGINIA HANSON 9
AGLAPHENA HANS 14
NENA HANSEN 9 (Olga
Hansen's sister)
ALICE GRIECHEN 8
ALECK GRIECHEN 7
OLGAPHINA "Olga" HANSEN
5
FLORENCE
MAY HANSON (teacher) standing in back
On
the back of the above photo, it says 1932 Ugashik School
This photo was published in a book titled: "The Alaska Native" by
Professor Anderson Stanford Press
Teachers in photo (center) are S. C. Hanson and wife Florence
DO YOU KNOW ANYONE IN THIS PHOTO?
The back of this
photo says "OUR SMALL SCHOOL"
SAMUEL CLARENCE HANSON
and FLORENCE MAY HANSON TEACHERS
3/12/1937
Pilot Point, Alaska
Second Row, 4th from right: Olga Hansen
Students of the Pilot Point School (in the garden)
early 1930's
Do you recognize anyone?
In front of Landing Lake (taken in the early 1930's)
Mrs. Florence Hanson is on the far right,
do you recognize anyone else?
Left to right: Olga Hansen and sister Nena Hansen
Anyone look familiar?
The back of the photo says "Olga, Nena, Mamma and Nefotre"
Do you recognize these children?
Second Girl from Mrs. Hanson on Left is Olga Hansen
Thank
you to Ingrid Hansen, daughter of Olga Hansen Reamy for helping
with identification in these photos.
These photographs are privately owned by the Virgil and Josephine
Hanson Family and their children.
They may not be used without the Hanson Family
Permission
IF
YOU RECOGNIZE ANYONE IN THE ABOVE PHOTOS, PLEASE CONTACT ME
coleen_mielke@hotmail.com
"We went to Alaska in 1929, just before the depression in the States. We never realized there was a depression up there except after the first year of my mother's being on her government assistant teacher salary, they cut her off, but she went on teaching all the rest of the time we were there without a salary.....Dad taught grades 5-8 and mother taught grades 1-4.....Mother ordered a post office unit from Washington D.C. so we could have a post office in the village. Our village was called Ugashik when we first went there. An old village up the Ugashik River from us was called Old Ugashik. Well, the bag of post office equipment happened to get routed through Old Ugashik and the old German cannery watchman stole it and set himself up a post office. We kept wondering why the equipment never arrived, but finally found out why. So, Washington D.C. told us to send in three suggestions to rename the village (to get a post office they would have to give up the name Ugashik). Washington D. C. chose the name Pilot Point from the three submitted names. The post office kit finally arrived and mother was the postmistress.
Mother took a six week practical nursing course from our church in 1929 and was the nurse and doctor for the village. The government kept her supplied with basic medicines to dispense to the villagers free of charge. My father even had to enter into doctoring one time. One of the villagers froze his foot and dad had to amputate some toes to save the foot. He went to the cannery winter watchman for the village and asked if they had any instruments. Dad sterilized the instruments and did the dreaded job. Mother treated accidental gun shot wounds, frost bitten or frozen feet, pneumonia, scarlet fever, TB, pediculosis, ring worm, impetigo and so forth. Dad saved the village from scarlet fever by radioing the government to send in a doctor and nurse to vaccinate the villagers, as they were exposed to it by sailors off of the government teacher supply boat called "Boxer" in 1931 (when the boat delivered supplies all up the coast as far as Nome). Other villages were hit hard.
My folks organized the first S.D.A. Eskimo church. John Spoon, the Eskimo Chief of our village used to attend and many other Eskimo's did. The Aleut did not, as they had the Russian Greek Catholic Church in the village.
Dad also handled the W.P.A. jobs for the villagers when Roosevelt authorized them to give the poor jobs. He and the villagers built three miles of road from the village to the lake that the planes landed on, and some other roads throughout the village and down to the beach. Our village had three cars and later a fourth one.
In 16 years that my folks lived there, we observed a volcano blow up (Aniakchak) to the south of us near Chignik. The ashes caused hardship on the wild birds such as ducks, geese and on the deer because they would eat the reindeer moss and take in ashes as well. We had no wild berries for a couple of years after that. It ruined our water supply as well because we got our water from the lakes.
We also encountered being flooded twice by tidal waves. The school house was located on the "flat". Our front yard was the beach. It was on the terrifying side to find ourselves completely surrounded by water and waves breaking and lapping at our porches by several feet. That evening, the cannery winter watchman managed to get to a boat at the cannery dock and rowed to us in the dark and pulled up to our front porch. He asked us if we would like to be rescued and taken to the hill and stay at their place for a night or two or until it was safe to come back...you bet we did! The next fall, another tidal wave surrounded us. This time it was in November and icebergs were all over the "flat" when the water receded.
We
were there to witness the first landing of an airplane in our village. The
whole village turned out. It was Father Hubbard, called the "Glacier Priest".
He was headed for Aniakchak to camp and study it. He is supposed to have
predicted that it would blow up before it did. Soon after that, air plane
mail service came to the village, once a month at first, then twice a month.
It was a lot better than once a month by boat and a couple times a winter
by dog sled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following is the
1920 US Census for Ugashik. Keep in mind that the census takers spelled the
villagers names phonetically and you will have to use your imagination to
decipher some of these names. I have copied them here, just as they appear
on the census charts...no corrections.
1920
UGASHIK (Pilot Point)
Aloklok, McCallie 37
Aloklok, Nina
34
Oguska,
Avon 38
Oguska, Anuska 31
Oguska, Avon 8
Appalepen,
Gusta 48
Appalepen, Sofia 42
Appalepan, Wascelie
22
Appalepan, Samels 14
Anders,
John 47 born Sweden immigrated 1897
Johansen, John F. 29
born Norway immigrated 1912
Bartman,
William 34 born Holland immigrated 1906
Bartman, Amalia 25 born
Alaska
Bartman, Pavalof 8
Bartman, Lyman 4
stepson
Yukluk,
Simeon 18
Yukluk, Walla Walla
17
Yukluk, Bellekia 2 months
Yukluk, Wascelie 12
brother
Matfe,
Miska 45
Matfe, Nina 25 wife
Matfe, Bellekia 4
Matfe, Kartonah 2
Matfe, Massa 21 servant
Latapukstok,
"Un" 37
Latapukstok, Sophia
32
Latapukstok, Nek__tia
15
Latapukstok, pavalof
8
Oknok,
Hotwoover 35
Oknok, Annie 25
Oknok, Sofia 3
Evolok,
Avon 48
Evolok, Natalia 45
Evolok, Petia 7
Evolok, Atmathok 4
Evolok, Fuekta 2
1930
UGASHIK (Pilot Point)
Hanson, Samuel C. 50
born Iowa school teacher
Hanson, Florence M.
41 born Washington school teacher
Hanson, Virgil F. 17
Hanson, Virginia R.
10
Newport,
Charlie 52 Eskimo
Newport, Augusta 35
Eskimo
Newport, Mary 19 Eskimo
Newport, Pauline 16
Eskimo
Newport, Effy 12 Eskimo
Newport, Oscar 10 Eskimo
Newport, Thomas 8 Eskimo
Newport, Alice 7 Eskimo
Newport, Jessie 5 Eskimo
Newport, Florence 3
Eskimo
Newport, Berther 1 Eskimo
Mitigoruck,
Joe 55 Eskimo (widower)
Mitigoruck, Frank 24
son Eskimo
Mitigoruck, Murphy 17
son Eskimo
Johansen,
Fred 63 born Norway
Johansen, Caterina 26
wife Aleut
Johansen, Lafela 11
Nichelson,
John 48 Aleut
Nichelson, Annie 24
wife Aleut
Nichelson, Evan 9
Sonota,
Annie 24 (widow) Aleut
Sonota, Mary 7
Kighlgnak,
John 45 Eskimo
Akaiak, Chas 20 Eskimo
Hansen,
Bertel P. A. 35
Hansen, Salipena 35
Aleut
Hansen, Nina 10
Hansen, Olga 6
Hansen, Peter 3
Dunkel, John 63 born Russia
Blandow,
Fred 48 Aleut
Blandow, Walla Walla
38 Aleut
Blandow, Elmer 11
Blandow, Sasa 9
Blandow, Evan 7
Analguck, Evan 45 (widower) Aleut
Alutak,
Jim 50 Aleut
Alutak, Mala 35 wife
Aleut
Alutak, Morpy 16 son
Alutak, Simon 13
Alutak, Tutsey 9 daughter
Alutak, Sam 7
Alutak, Lena 4
Alutak, Annie 6 months
Alberts, Yelman 18 boarder
Aleut
Yelman, Nipnty 21 boarder
Aleut
Dahl,
Alisema 40 Aleut
Dahl, Evan 2
Spoon,
John 50 (widower) Eskimo
Spoon, Frank 21 son
Eskimo
Orock,
Henry 40 Eskimo
Orock, Rosie 30 Eskimo
Orock, Billy 8
Orock, James 6
Orock, Flora 2
Metigoruck,
Nick 28 Eskimo
Metigoruck, Annie 20
Eskimo
Hoir,
Alfred 50 born Norway
Amundsen, Olaf 47 born
Norway
Schneider,
Frank 59 born France
Schneider, Fatiana 24
wife Aleut
Schneider, Frank B.
10
Schneider, William 6
Struck,
John 38 born Germany
Struck, Sasa 35 wife
Aleut
Griechen,
Gus 47 born Germany
Griechen, Olga 25 wife
Aleut
Griechen, Anna 15
Griechen, Alice 9
Griechen, Aleck 8
Griechen, Mary 6
Griechen, Sophia 4
Griechen, Eli 2
Ada,
Joe 57 Aleut
Ada, Sophia 45 wife
Nislon, Olga 14 adopted
daughter
Enginak,
Yaku 30 Aleut
Enginak, Anna 22 Aleut
Naketa, Niluty 15 nephew
Aleut
Morfe, Scotty 45 boarder
Aleut
IF
YOU RECOGNIZE ANYONE IN THE ABOVE PHOTOS, PLEASE CONTACT ME
coleen_mielke@hotmail.com