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Soon after gold was discovered in Juneau, prospectors fanned out into the 25-mile strip of country between the Mendenhall River and Berner's Bay. Here, the Mendenhall, Herbert and Eagle glaciers descend from snow-capped mountains to gravel-strewn valley floors less than 200 feet above sea level. Prospectors panned the stream gravels hoping to find gold in similar quantities to the discoveries behind the rapidly expanding town of Juneau. In the basins through which Montana and Windfall creeks flow, gold seekers found enough gold to stir images of fortunes.

The U.S. Forest Service's proposed actions for 2012 include projects in the Wrangell and Petersburg Districts.

KETCHIKAN - The Tongass Historical Museum has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to present "A Forest of Words," a Tongass-inspired exhibit at the museum.

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ANGOON

Home of the trans-Alaska pipeline, Alaska has been the setting for a few epic engineering battles rendered against nature. The Million Dollar Bridge, spanning the lower Copper River, is a reminder of another improbable Alaska construction project.

Indigo L. Prus, daughter of Tasha L. and Joseph E. Prus of Petersburg, recently graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Training Center in Cape May, N. J. Prus is a 2010 graduate of Petersburg High School.

Editor's note: This is the second installment in a two-part series recounting the events of a 1907 border survey team. Part one of the series appeared in last week's Capital City Weekly.

On June 5, 1907, a United States-Canada boundary survey team arrived at the mouth of the Bradfield River near Wrangell. The group's leaders were David W. Eaton, chief U.S. surveyor, and J. D. Craig, his Canadian counterpart. J. M. Bates was Eaton's assistant.

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“See these gold nuggets. If you take me along, I’ll show you where I found them.”

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ANGOON

Thanks to a partnership between local care providers, the level of fitness and health for young children in Southeast Alaska is boosted. The Association for the Education of Young Children (AEYC) administers the Child Care Food Program to approved and licensed family child care programs in Juneau, Haines and Wrangell.

For the men and women in Juneau, Douglas and nearby mining camps during the 1880s, the holidays were a nostalgic time. Home and family were far away and the festive celebrations of another time and place flashed through their thoughts as Christmas preparations in the frontier towns began.

I was confronted by a surprising fact a few months ago while driving on the Glen Highway. My road trip companion, a friend from Connecticut, remarked that Alaska is probably the last state in America with both towns and vast swaths of land ceded to roadlessness. I couldn't believe it. I'm a proud and eager booster of Alaskan exceptionalism, but I was surely convinced that bastions of roadlessness must have persisted in the far-removed corners of the other 49 states.

Alfred Brooks was a geologist who traveled thousands of miles in Alaska and left his name on the state's northernmost mountain range. Twenty years before his death in 1924, he also left behind a summary of what Alaska was like over a century ago, when "large areas (were) still practically unexplored."

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Perseverance trail, heading deep into the valley behind the town of Juneau, is a popular local recreational area. Hikers walk or drive up the streets to a narrow road hugging the cliffs that ends at the trailhead.

WRANGELL - The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) recently hired Ken O. Hoyt to manage the WISEFAMILIES Through Customary and Traditional Living program in the community.

Wood has always been required by man's activities in Southeast Alaska.

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Alaska food banks are the beneficiaries of fish taken as bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska thanks to Kodiak fishermen and local processors.

Many fish traps have floated off points of land in an attempt to lure passing salmon. A pile trap, in comparison, was historically constructed of long piles that were driven deep into the ocean floor. Both have served as obstructions in navigable waters, equipped with lanterns at night during fishing season to alert passing vessels.

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The Governor's Annual Awards for Emergency Medical Services were presented at the 36th Annual Governor's Alaska EMS awards banquet on Nov. 12 in Anchorage. The awards were sponsored by the Alaska Council on Emergency Medical Services.

The Governor's Annual Awards for Emergency Medical Services were presented at the 36th Annual Governor's Alaska EMS awards banquet on Nov. 12 in Anchorage. The awards were sponsored by the Alaska Council on Emergency Medical Services.

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In the 1920s, a cache was left in the Harris River mine, located on the east coast of Prince of Wales Island. Among the miners working for Kasaan Gold Mining Company at the time was a man named John Vial. He was an Italian who had worked in the Juneau mines before coming to Hollis, the town that served the mines on the island.

Folks often say the future is bright. A one-hit wonder once sang, "The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades."

In the 1920s, a cache was left in the Harris River mine, located on the east coast of Prince of Wales Island. Among the miners working for Kasaan Gold Mining Company at the time was a man named John Vial. He was an Italian who had worked in the Juneau mines before coming to Hollis, the town that served the mines on the island.

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In the 1920s, a cache was left in the Harris River mine, located on the east coast of Prince of Wales Island. Among the miners working for Kasaan Gold Mining Company at the time was a man named John Vial. He was an Italian who had worked in the Juneau mines before coming to Hollis, the town that served the mines on the island.

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JUNEAU - Ethel Lund, originally of Wrangell, was presented with the 2011 Shirley Demientieff Award by Gov. Sean Parnell on Oct. 21 in Anchorage. The award is given annually by the governor of Alaska for advocacy on behalf of Alaska Native women and children.

Editor's note: This is the final installment of a three-part series about the history of Wrangell's sawmills. See the archives section at www.capitalcityweekly.com for parts one and two of this series. Part two described the events of the sawmills during World War II and shortly after.

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State officials say there is "no reason to panic" and that Alaska salmon are "relatively safe" from a deadly fish virus that has appeared for the first time in Pacific waters.

During World War II, products shifted from local-use lumber to filling government contracts for the U. S. military and its bases farther north. In addition, the mill was again supplying spruce for aircraft-grade lumber for that industry. It was reported that the bulk of the aircraft spruce was going to Boeing.

Wrangellites, distant friends, and family helped win an orchard of 20 trees, a mixture of apples, cherries, and plums, for the entire community of Wrangell.

“We usually start with a ‘hoo haa’,” said master carver Wayne Price. “Can I get a ‘hoo haa’?” he called out to his adzing team. The chorus of voices echoing back was different than most carving groups: of the six adzers working under Price, four are women.

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Practically every community in Alaska had a sawmill at one time to supply the needs for buildings, boats, fish boxes, mines, docks and wooden streets. Wrangell was no exception. There have been continuous operations in Wrangell for 122 years, longer than any other community in Alaska.