 |
| Hazelet-Meals Expedition on the trail, c 1898. Courtesy of Hazelet-Clark families. |
By Keith Waits
Entire contents
copyright 2013 by Keith Waits, all rights reserved.
One hundred years
after Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery, the American frontier seemed to be
dwindling fast, as civilization fully occupied the shores of the Pacific and
Manifest Destiny was, essentially, made a reality. At the dawn of the 20th
century, the opportunity for such discovery and exploration was harder to come
by. Yet for those determined few, the gold rush in the Alaska territory beckoned
John Clark grew up
knowing his great-grandfather, George Cheever Hazelet, had spent several years in
Alaska. Special hand-stitched leather-bound editions of the journals he kept
during that period had made the rounds within his family since they were
produced around 50 years ago, but Clark only found the time to sit and read
through them in the1990s. It was a profound discovery of family history that
would lead to the recent publication of Hazelet’s
Journal through Clark's new publishing company, Old Stone Press.
At first it struck
Clark as "...a quiet, little American story." But eventually he began
to see it as emblematic of the pioneer spirit of the times – a spirit that was
sometimes borne, Clark admits, from adversity. While living in Nebraska,
Hazelet had primarily been a schoolteacher. But various other business ventures
had met with misfortune, and by 1898, "He had run his string out,"
says Clark. His journey to Alaska, often under the most horrible conditions,
brought him to Valdez, where his attempts to mine for gold resulted in
something less than the fortune he had hoped for. Still, as so many
hardscrabble entrepreneurs would, he soldiered on and, if he did not strike it
rich exactly, he did take a meaningful role in fashioning a social community
further down the coast at Cordova. Hazelet helped lay out the town, became its
first mayor, invested in real estate and oil, was a partner in founding the
Cordova Power & Light Company, ran for governor, and was an early candidate
for territory state senator.
That all of this is
so well-documented reflects the great importance of written communication in
the Victorian era. The written word held great value among all classes of
society, with letters and journals a commonplace and vital means of staying in
touch or, in this instance, of reporting back to family members who had
invested in the expedition. A responsibility met with a literary sophistication
contrasting against an undeveloped world defined by a rough-and-tumble crudity.
Today, such an adventure would undoubtedly be recorded for posterity with
digital cameras instead of the vivid, fluid, documentary prose that flows from
Hazelet's pen.
 |
| The Copper Rive Country. Hazelet-Meals Expedition. Copyright J.H. Clark, 2012. Illustration by Mary Dennis Kannapell. |
The author's words
paint memorable and detailed pictures, but Hazelet also packed a camera when he
left Nebraska. So the handsomely designed volume is profusely illustrated with
his own black and white photographs, augmented by several images culled by
Clark from the archives of the University of Alaska and other sources. Many of
them have never been published.
Clark turned to
several friends and acquaintances to contribute and insure the quality of the
final product: Doug Kenny, Military Channel founder and author of over 15 books
on WWII and the “cold” wars, contributed the foreword; Elizabeth Perry Spalding
and 21 Skye Design fashioned a rich and elegant package; and local artist Mary
Dennis Kannapell was recruited to provide a critical map illustration.
Hazelet's Journal proves to be a
tale of real grit and determination, a piece of history seen through the eyes
of one hardy individual who placed himself at a turning point in the development
of the Alaskan wilderness – to some the “last frontier” in our American
history.
John Clark will be at
Carmichael's Bookstore July 19 at 7 p.m. for a book signing and discussion of Hazelet's Journal.
Carmichael's
Bookstore
2720 Frankfort Avenue
Hazelet's Journal
By George Cheever
Hazelet
Edited by John H.
Clark
Published by Old
Stone Press
308 pages
four photo wells
$29.95 (hardcover)
No comments:
Post a Comment