Recently a couple of people reminded me that my experiences growing up in rural Alaska were very unique and they encouraged me to write about them. The timing was perfect since I now have some copies of pictures of me growing up to share. I welcome your thoughts on my experience, and hope you’ll share some stories of your own unique backgrounds, too.
We lived in Cordova, Alaska when I was born; accessible only by ferry and plane. Cordova sits in an area considered to be very beautiful, but due to the constant rain, my mom hated the town so much she refused to have me born there. As my due date neared, she flew alone to Anchorage and stayed with friends until the big day arrived. I was the only one of us three kids born ‘naturally’ as they say. She was ‘knocked out’ for the other two more than a decade prior.
I arrived a few months after the “Good Friday Earthquake”. At 9.2, it was the largest earthquake recorded in the world. Post-quake tsunamis were felt in Canada, Oregon, California, Hawaii, and Japan. My parents were bowling in Cordova when the quake hit. Apparently, they had a hard time getting back to the apartment due to widespread damage, but weren’t injured or in physical danger.
When I was a year old, we moved to Cape Yakataga, but left my brother and sister behind so they could continue with school. Yakataga is even more remote and I believe it had a population of less than 25 people. Dad worked for the FSS (Flight Service Station) which later became the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). Mom told me that she loved picking the wild strawberries that grew along the beach grass. While beachcombing, she also found stray Japanese glass balls used to hold fishing nets afloat.
After a year, we moved to McGrath where we lived until I left home. My siblings rejoined us there since they could go to high school. McGrath is accessible by air only. It’s population was around 500 and was an aviation hub for interior Alaska. We had jet service three times a week; a post office, school, two bars, a roadhouse (cafe/rooms for rent), and a grocery store. Groceries even back then were so expensive that a gallon of milk was around $5. Since my dad worked for the government, we got our groceries (a little less expensive) delivered by plane once a month. Produce in winter was a treasure. I was an adult when I found out apples weren’t supposed to be mushy!

My house is the top right in the row next to the runway. (with 2 trees) Notice the ‘swimming hole’ straight across from my house.
My earliest memory there is having boarding students live with us. McGrath was one of the larger towns in rural Alaska, so the native village kids got sent to live with families for the school year. Over the years, I think we had 6 students live with us. We had five at once for a while and it was pretty chaotic. Our house had three bedrooms and one bathroom.
Sharon and Bertha were Eskimo sisters and stuck together like glue. Their English wasn’t very good because many of the villages kept their Native tongue as the primary language. White people living in the villages was not very common. The girls were elementary school age and I always wanted to be in the middle of what they were doing. I walked the mile with them to school one day because I felt left out. They told me to go home, but I wouldn’t listen. We didn’t have a phone until many years later, so it took a while before my mom found out where I was.
Susan had siblings, but for some reason they got spread out to various families. Her sister Sandy would sometimes come over to visit. They were a few years older than me, so I didn’t feel as close to them as with Sharon and Bertha.
Gail, Dianne, and Dee Dee were teenage sisters that lived with us. I remember sitting outside their bedroom one time trying to listen to what ‘big girls’ talked about. One of them came out the door and saw me. I figured I was really going to hear about it, but she just laughed and they let me paint my nails. They had the shiniest and most beautiful black hair. I was a minority with my blonde hair, and I wished so badly to have pretty hair like them. I remember one of them always wearing a beaded headband that said “Indian Power”. Early on, I didn’t know what that meant.
At some point, though, I figured out they were Indians! Living in my house! Until then, I had no idea of this fact. (only that they had beautiful black hair) When I found out I had Indians in my house I was terrified. All I knew of Indians was stories about Cowboy and Indian days when white people got scalped. I worried they might have knives or bow & arrows hidden in their room and that they might get me in the night. Luckily, my blonde tresses were never in danger of getting scalped and I have mostly fond memories of all the girls that lived with us.
How about you? What unusual things in your childhood would you like to share?
Nov 10, 2013 @ 00:36:21
Denise, a fascinating past. I can imagine you didn’t know they were Indians, and then on discovering it you were afraid. Isn’t it awful, how we’re raised? !
Very vivid memories here. A town of 25 people!!!
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Nov 10, 2013 @ 07:34:30
The longer I’m away from it all, the more I’m seeing how very unusual everything is that I thought was normal. So much more than just the abuse.
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Oct 29, 2013 @ 10:54:23
Great story and pictures, Denise!
This explains why you’re an adventurer now.
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Oct 29, 2013 @ 12:12:55
Haha!! Thanks, Bill 🙂
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Oct 27, 2013 @ 01:51:57
I love the trip into your childhood! So fascinating! And I’m glad you are sharing it with us…what an amazing place to grow up.
Also, I nominated you and your blog for the Sunshine Award, partly because I love your blog and you, partly because I would love to hear your answers to my questions! http://susannahfriis.com/
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Oct 28, 2013 @ 07:10:10
Thanks, Susannah! You are so sweet 🙂
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Oct 23, 2013 @ 11:14:02
Wow, what an amazing place to grow up! My husband and I have been to Alaska once. It was beautiful, but I can’t imagine living there—especially in areas accessible only by boat or plane.
Years ago, a friend of my sister was married to a man who had to make a business trip to Alaska and was on one of those small planes. Sadly, they never found the wreckage when it went down. I just can’t imagine that being a “normal” hazard of a job.
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Oct 23, 2013 @ 18:33:58
It is very beautiful, and diverse.
Unfortunately, plane crashes are a bit too frequent -and often fatal. I’m sorry of your sister’s friend’s loss. I have known many people who have died in plane crashes. I feel very lucky to have survived one.
Thanks for stopping by.
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Oct 21, 2013 @ 08:28:39
Denise! You arrive a couple of months before the world’s largest earthquake and living next to a runway. No wonder you love to get out on that bike of yours, lol. Joking aside, you are/were one adorable person. That photo with you next to the bear paw print is terrific. Still smiling at your adorableness. xoxo
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Oct 21, 2013 @ 14:08:37
Thanks, Paulette! It was fun to write about 🙂
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Oct 19, 2013 @ 01:55:49
I love hearing about places far from the usual hub, Denise. And I loved your picture on the beach. You little jacket harked forward to your biker days! Cool! Thanks for sharing your early life with us. Its a treasure.
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Oct 19, 2013 @ 06:27:20
Hi Yaz! It is fun to hear other people’s stories, isn’t it? I loved seeing that little jacket, too! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
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Oct 18, 2013 @ 05:54:51
What a nice blog. I like to hear the past of friends I’ve met on line. I have many childhood memories – metal skates and the key on a string around my neck, pink bike with tassels, jigsaw puzzles, dancing in the living room and making the record skip…many more. I grew up in a large city on the east coast, suburbia.
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Oct 18, 2013 @ 06:50:57
Ah making records skip! I’d forgotten about that – kids nowadays don’t know what they’re missing 😉
Sounds like you had a lot of fun times, Karen! Thanks for sharing.
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Oct 17, 2013 @ 20:46:51
Thanks! I love stories illustrating how our experiences bump up against our expectations and give us a new perspective.
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Oct 18, 2013 @ 06:51:34
Perspectives… they are ever evolving, aren’t they Allen? 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
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Oct 17, 2013 @ 13:16:07
I love hearing more about you, Denise. What an adorable child you were. My favorite photo is the one with you next to the bear paw prints in the sand. Wow.
🙂
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Oct 17, 2013 @ 18:20:21
Thanks, Lori!!
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Oct 17, 2013 @ 06:16:14
I love that bit about not knowing apples weren’t supposed to be mushy! What a wonderful experience.
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Oct 17, 2013 @ 07:24:35
Thanks, Kate! My husband is from Washington (the apple capital!) and he is the one who commented on the icky mushy apples. I thought he was crazy but once I had a crunchy apple then I had to agree they were much better!
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Oct 16, 2013 @ 19:32:54
Hey Denise, are you going to do NaNoWriMo this year? I think it’d be fun to hang out with you again this year!
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Oct 17, 2013 @ 07:23:07
Hi Vicky! Yes, I am! It would be fun to hang out again! I”ll look forward to it 🙂
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Oct 16, 2013 @ 16:28:20
Great stories!! A town of less than 25 people sounds unreal. It’s the opposite extreme of growing up outside of New York City. Would love to hear more!!
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Oct 16, 2013 @ 17:34:13
Thanks, Arlene! I went to NYC when I was 14 and went into culture shock! It was so fun, but so different. I saw Michael Jackson in the Wiz, went to the Statue of Liberty, and got into a disco underage. Hee hee!!
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Oct 16, 2013 @ 17:40:57
You saw the King of Pop? That is AWESOME!!! I can just imagine the culture shock. Sounds like you had fun though 🙂
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Oct 16, 2013 @ 17:54:34
Yes, can you believe the first live theater I ever went to!!… how do you top MJ and Diana Ross? It was incredible!!
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Oct 16, 2013 @ 14:54:11
I love the photos, and your accounts of what life was like in the towns. I’d love to have a more ‘personal’ view of the story where you followed them to school…or perhaps like many stories of my youth you remember it from your mom’s telling and not so much from how you felt and what you did. I just thought that would be a fun story to be ‘in’ when you wandered away excited and then found yourself so far from home and then when you had to face the very worried Mom who finally tracked you down.
I’m sure you have other stories, like perhaps the eavesdropping on the big girls and getting accepted in to have pretty nails that would be fun ‘in the moment’ stories too.
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Oct 16, 2013 @ 17:32:34
Thanks for the great suggestions, Sheri! I’ll think on how to implement them and see what happens 🙂
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Oct 16, 2013 @ 12:24:50
It must have been so beautiful!
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Oct 16, 2013 @ 17:31:40
Yes, it is a very beautiful place. Thanks,
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Oct 16, 2013 @ 12:10:16
How cool! I’ve never known someone who was raised in Alaska! I would love to hear more and see more photos! ♥
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Oct 16, 2013 @ 17:24:17
Thanks for the feedback 🙂
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