Growing up in Nome Alaska - part nine

My dad really enjoyed camping with hunting and fishing. He was a loyal friend and had many friends. There was always someone visiting our home. Mother would serve something yummy like homemade donuts, cookies, pie or cake.

Mother supported dad and would accompany him on some camping trips and making our home a happy place to welcome friends. I remember that my mother fell on the ice when she was pregnant and had to go to the hospital where she had a miscarriage. The doctor told my dad it was a little boy.


I remember taking baths in a round metal tub and thrilled when we bought a long rubber tub. I had a bath then mother washed a few clothes in that water and finally mopped the floors with the water.

It was February 1950 when I received a message that I was not to come home for lunch but to go home with Suzy for lunch. I wondered what was happening and why I couldn't go home for lunch. I went with Suzy for lunch but as soon as we were finished with lunch I didn't go back to school but walked home which was only a few houses from Suzy's house. My mother and Aunt Florence were crying. My dad asked why I didn't go to Suzy's house for lunch. I said I had gone there for lunch but I wanted to come home. My dad took me by the hand and we walked into the living room by the window and he sat down and took me up into his lap. He told me that my Grandma Verheek had died. He was very gentle and loving. He told me mother would need to go to Montana and I would be staying with Suzy while she was gone. He gave me a hug and told me I needed to go back to school I was very sad because I loved my Grandma but did as I was told.

June 25, 1950 the Korean War which was called a military conflict began. So in August of 1950 my parents sent me out to Montana to live with my Aunt Mabel. Mary Louise Lyle and I flew out together on the plane. I was 12 and Mary Louise probably two or three years older than me so we were just young girls traveling alone. The picture shows Mary Louise and I with corsages from her mother and my two good friends Donna Lyle and Suzy Galloway. Mary Louise and I had flown to Fairbanks and then to Seattle. While we were flying to Seattle the men behind us were talking and said that two of the engines on the plane had quit. We were so scared but the plane was able to fly safely to Seattle on the two remaining engines. My father told me he knew about the engines quiting as he was tracking our trip. My parents left Alaska at the end of 1950.

Here are three photos taken at the airport that day. The first is my mother, then me, then me and my friend Suzy Galloway.

It is very interesting what we remember and what we have probably forgotten. I really have tried to do the best I can to share my memories with you and be as accurate as I can.

I loved walking in the crusty snow believing I was walking on little diamonds. When it is snowing and the wind blows it reminds me of the wind and show whipping around making drifts of snow. I recall the midnight sun in the summer with dark shades to keep the light out so we could sleep and the beautiful stars shining on a clear night in the winter. i would look for the big dipper and the north star.

The Alaska flag is so beautiful! There were lots of dogs in Nome and I would feel sorry for those sled dogs that were chained to their little box sheds. You couldn't go near to them though because they would bark and growl at you. I don't want to forget the mosquitoes either and all the jokes how big they were. Mother would try to protect me from the mosquitoes with some kind of repellent when we were on picnics, camping or picking flowers and berries.

Living in Nome Alaska was a memorable opportunity and I remember fondly my loving family, choice friends and terrific experiences. In my autograph book someone wrote...

"Make new friends but keep the old...Some are silver and the others gold."

I'm grateful that I had the unforgettable and memorable experience of living in Nome Alaska!