David Reamer
@anchistorian.bsky.social
Historian with daily Alaska history posts & weekly column (https://www.adn.com/author/david-reamer/). Black Lives in Alaska (2022) co-author & 2023 co-Alaska Historian of the Year. Support at Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/davidreamer).
Circa 1900 view of Juneau from a postcard that was mailed in 1905. The sender wrote on the front because postcards then didn't have space for a message on the back. Post service didn't allow that until 1907. #alaskahistory #alaska
November 26, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Circa 1900 view of Juneau from a postcard that was mailed in 1905. The sender wrote on the front because postcards then didn't have space for a message on the back. Post service didn't allow that until 1907. #alaskahistory #alaska
Early 1980s "Having a Great Time at the Anchorage Municipal Landfill!" postcard by Jimmie Froehlich & Tom Sadowski, when the town dump was next to Merrill Field. That's Alaska Regional Hospital in the back. #alaskahistory #anchoragehistory #Alaska
November 25, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Early 1980s "Having a Great Time at the Anchorage Municipal Landfill!" postcard by Jimmie Froehlich & Tom Sadowski, when the town dump was next to Merrill Field. That's Alaska Regional Hospital in the back. #alaskahistory #anchoragehistory #Alaska
A melancholy town where we never smile
And all I wanna hear is the message beep
My dreams, they got her kissing 'cause I don't get sleep, no
(Aug 1941, Caleb Serwold, captain of the Caleb Haley, with his pipe affixed at Sitka. Via Anchorage Museum)
And all I wanna hear is the message beep
My dreams, they got her kissing 'cause I don't get sleep, no
(Aug 1941, Caleb Serwold, captain of the Caleb Haley, with his pipe affixed at Sitka. Via Anchorage Museum)
November 25, 2025 at 4:30 AM
A melancholy town where we never smile
And all I wanna hear is the message beep
My dreams, they got her kissing 'cause I don't get sleep, no
(Aug 1941, Caleb Serwold, captain of the Caleb Haley, with his pipe affixed at Sitka. Via Anchorage Museum)
And all I wanna hear is the message beep
My dreams, they got her kissing 'cause I don't get sleep, no
(Aug 1941, Caleb Serwold, captain of the Caleb Haley, with his pipe affixed at Sitka. Via Anchorage Museum)
Engine, engine, number nine
On the New York transit line
If my train goes off the track
Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up!
This is the Alaska Railroad 901 locomotive after it derailed outbound from Nenana on August 29, 1950. Via Anchorage Museum. #alaskahistory #alaska
On the New York transit line
If my train goes off the track
Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up!
This is the Alaska Railroad 901 locomotive after it derailed outbound from Nenana on August 29, 1950. Via Anchorage Museum. #alaskahistory #alaska
November 25, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Engine, engine, number nine
On the New York transit line
If my train goes off the track
Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up!
This is the Alaska Railroad 901 locomotive after it derailed outbound from Nenana on August 29, 1950. Via Anchorage Museum. #alaskahistory #alaska
On the New York transit line
If my train goes off the track
Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up!
This is the Alaska Railroad 901 locomotive after it derailed outbound from Nenana on August 29, 1950. Via Anchorage Museum. #alaskahistory #alaska
Lost, in a snow filled sky
We'll make it alright to come undone
Now we'll try to stay blind to the hope and fear outside
Hey child, stay wilder than the wind and blow me in to cry.
(1922 St. Paul, Alaska. Via National Archives)
We'll make it alright to come undone
Now we'll try to stay blind to the hope and fear outside
Hey child, stay wilder than the wind and blow me in to cry.
(1922 St. Paul, Alaska. Via National Archives)
November 25, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Lost, in a snow filled sky
We'll make it alright to come undone
Now we'll try to stay blind to the hope and fear outside
Hey child, stay wilder than the wind and blow me in to cry.
(1922 St. Paul, Alaska. Via National Archives)
We'll make it alright to come undone
Now we'll try to stay blind to the hope and fear outside
Hey child, stay wilder than the wind and blow me in to cry.
(1922 St. Paul, Alaska. Via National Archives)
1981 "Clean Up Alaska" public service announcement shot in Juneau. #alaska #alasakhistory
November 24, 2025 at 12:41 AM
1981 "Clean Up Alaska" public service announcement shot in Juneau. #alaska #alasakhistory
July 4, 1958 Hearst Metrotone News newsreel after Alaska statehood bill passed Congress, including celebration in Anchorage. Note the moose with the "Hey Texas Now I'm The Biggest Bull----" sign. Alaska statehood became official on January 3, 1959. #alaskahistory #alaska
November 22, 2025 at 9:02 PM
July 4, 1958 Hearst Metrotone News newsreel after Alaska statehood bill passed Congress, including celebration in Anchorage. Note the moose with the "Hey Texas Now I'm The Biggest Bull----" sign. Alaska statehood became official on January 3, 1959. #alaskahistory #alaska
2005 Arctic Cat "Moose" snowmachine commercial. Don't be crazy people. This was "professional moose on a closed course." Do not imitate.
November 21, 2025 at 10:51 PM
2005 Arctic Cat "Moose" snowmachine commercial. Don't be crazy people. This was "professional moose on a closed course." Do not imitate.
2000s commercial for Mattress Ranch of Anchorage and Wasilla. I don't even need to describe it any further, Alaskans know what this is. #alaska #alaskahistory
November 20, 2025 at 9:17 PM
2000s commercial for Mattress Ranch of Anchorage and Wasilla. I don't even need to describe it any further, Alaskans know what this is. #alaska #alaskahistory
Mishap Creek on Unimak Island is named for 1930s incident when Cape Sarichef Lighthouse keeper Lee Harpole tossed his clothes across creek so they would be dry after he forded. He missed & they were swept into sea. He walked miles in just underwear & cap. #alaskahistory #alaska
November 19, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Mishap Creek on Unimak Island is named for 1930s incident when Cape Sarichef Lighthouse keeper Lee Harpole tossed his clothes across creek so they would be dry after he forded. He missed & they were swept into sea. He walked miles in just underwear & cap. #alaskahistory #alaska
The first stop for Alaska placename research is Donald Orth's 1971 Dictionary of Alaska Place Names, free download here (dggs.alaska.gov/pubs...). Lots of fun bits in it, like the Ribdon River, of course named after a guy named Don who had a rib injury. #alaskahistory #alaska
November 19, 2025 at 2:00 AM
The first stop for Alaska placename research is Donald Orth's 1971 Dictionary of Alaska Place Names, free download here (dggs.alaska.gov/pubs...). Lots of fun bits in it, like the Ribdon River, of course named after a guy named Don who had a rib injury. #alaskahistory #alaska
1962 Red Devil, Alaska post office. Town named for Red Devil mercury mine, open 1939-1971. Mine closed before effective environmental laws, so owners simply abandoned site, leaving tailings that leak mercury & arsenic into Kuskokwim River. #alaskahistory #Alaska
November 19, 2025 at 12:00 AM
1962 Red Devil, Alaska post office. Town named for Red Devil mercury mine, open 1939-1971. Mine closed before effective environmental laws, so owners simply abandoned site, leaving tailings that leak mercury & arsenic into Kuskokwim River. #alaskahistory #Alaska
May 1957 Turnagain Elementary School in Anchorage. It opened after a slight delay with the fall 1956 semester. It was dedicated on November 18, 1956. Youth bicycle culture used to be different. Via Anchorage Museum. #alaskahistory #alaska #anchoragehistory
November 18, 2025 at 8:49 PM
May 1957 Turnagain Elementary School in Anchorage. It opened after a slight delay with the fall 1956 semester. It was dedicated on November 18, 1956. Youth bicycle culture used to be different. Via Anchorage Museum. #alaskahistory #alaska #anchoragehistory
Reposted by David Reamer
Because I'm on the Alaska-themed-parade-float beat, I should let you all know that Princess Cruises is going to have an Alaska-themed float in the Tournament of Roses Parade for the Rose Bowl: www.alaskatia.org/tournament-r...
November 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Because I'm on the Alaska-themed-parade-float beat, I should let you all know that Princess Cruises is going to have an Alaska-themed float in the Tournament of Roses Parade for the Rose Bowl: www.alaskatia.org/tournament-r...
November 1977, downtown Anchorage Sheraton, the hotel by the cemetery. Construction began that year but was shut down for months as builder Calista Corp narrowly avoided bankruptcy. Via Anchorage Museum. #alaskahistory #alaska
November 18, 2025 at 5:29 PM
November 1977, downtown Anchorage Sheraton, the hotel by the cemetery. Construction began that year but was shut down for months as builder Calista Corp narrowly avoided bankruptcy. Via Anchorage Museum. #alaskahistory #alaska
McDonalds hat from Sitka, a true Alaska relic. The location there closed in 2023. Many a real Alaskan outfitted themselves there before departing on adventures. Via Ebay, not my listing (ebay.us/m/o0PdwQ). #alaskahistory #alaska
November 18, 2025 at 2:02 AM
McDonalds hat from Sitka, a true Alaska relic. The location there closed in 2023. Many a real Alaskan outfitted themselves there before departing on adventures. Via Ebay, not my listing (ebay.us/m/o0PdwQ). #alaskahistory #alaska
Circa 1960s postcard of Pardner's Cracker Barrel in Glennallen. After the 1964 earthquake, Ed & Georgia Strunk moved from Anchorage to Glennallen where they opened the Cracker Barrel, which they ran for over 30 years. #alaskahistory #alaska
November 18, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Circa 1960s postcard of Pardner's Cracker Barrel in Glennallen. After the 1964 earthquake, Ed & Georgia Strunk moved from Anchorage to Glennallen where they opened the Cracker Barrel, which they ran for over 30 years. #alaskahistory #alaska
From the July 29, 1897 San Francisco Examiner. Even in the Klondike Gold Rush heyday, prospectors were widely mocked. My latest article is a photo essay about a rare individual who headed north not to mine or mine the miners but to collect photographs (www.adn.com/alaska-l...).
November 17, 2025 at 9:11 PM
From the July 29, 1897 San Francisco Examiner. Even in the Klondike Gold Rush heyday, prospectors were widely mocked. My latest article is a photo essay about a rare individual who headed north not to mine or mine the miners but to collect photographs (www.adn.com/alaska-l...).
1898, a prospector in Alaska reading a letter from home. My latest article is a photo essay about a stereograph photographer in Gold Rush Alaska. Read it here (www.adn.com/alaska-l...). #alaskahistory #alaska
November 17, 2025 at 5:57 PM
1898, a prospector in Alaska reading a letter from home. My latest article is a photo essay about a stereograph photographer in Gold Rush Alaska. Read it here (www.adn.com/alaska-l...). #alaskahistory #alaska
A photo essay about a stereograph card photographer's 1898-1899 journey about Alaska. And I even explain stereographs (aka stereoscopes)! My latest article here (www.adn.com/alaska-l...) #alaskahistory #alaska
November 17, 2025 at 7:15 AM
A photo essay about a stereograph card photographer's 1898-1899 journey about Alaska. And I even explain stereographs (aka stereoscopes)! My latest article here (www.adn.com/alaska-l...) #alaskahistory #alaska
1946, welcome to Ketchikan. Via UCLA library special collections. #alaskahistory #alaska
November 17, 2025 at 12:14 AM
1946, welcome to Ketchikan. Via UCLA library special collections. #alaskahistory #alaska
1898 stereograph card of female Gold Rush prospectors in Alaska. Note their skirt lengths, unfashionably short but a pragmatic accommodation to the terrain. My new article posting later today is a photo-essay of a stereograph photographer in gold rush Alaska. #alaska
November 16, 2025 at 9:36 PM
1898 stereograph card of female Gold Rush prospectors in Alaska. Note their skirt lengths, unfashionably short but a pragmatic accommodation to the terrain. My new article posting later today is a photo-essay of a stereograph photographer in gold rush Alaska. #alaska
1930 stereograph view of Anchorage's Park Strip golf course. Park Strip was originally cleared as a firebreak, and in the 1920s became town's combination golf course/airstrip. My new article posting later today covers a stereograph photographer's 1898-99 Alaska journey. #alaska
November 16, 2025 at 6:00 PM
1930 stereograph view of Anchorage's Park Strip golf course. Park Strip was originally cleared as a firebreak, and in the 1920s became town's combination golf course/airstrip. My new article posting later today covers a stereograph photographer's 1898-99 Alaska journey. #alaska
Late 1970s "Prudhoe Doesn't Pump, Valdez Sucks" T-shirt. Via Ebay, not my listing (ebay.us/m/J4q8Ch). #alaskahistory #alaska
November 16, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Late 1970s "Prudhoe Doesn't Pump, Valdez Sucks" T-shirt. Via Ebay, not my listing (ebay.us/m/J4q8Ch). #alaskahistory #alaska
Circa 1910 woman in full dress, coat, and hat on skis around Nome, a more dignified if ungainly era of skiing. Via University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections #alaskahistory #alaska
November 16, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Circa 1910 woman in full dress, coat, and hat on skis around Nome, a more dignified if ungainly era of skiing. Via University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections #alaskahistory #alaska