Aunt Phil's Trunk: Volume One, An Alaska Historian's Collection of Treasured Tales

Did you know there were two Klondike Kates during the great Gold Rush of 1898? Or that when the discoverer of the rich fields had a dream about salmon with gold nuggets for eyes, he thought it meant that he'd have good luck fishing? Aunt Phil's Trunk brings to life these and other little-known tidbits about Alaska's colorful past. Filled with more than 250 historical photographs, this book also showcases a spectacular photo essay following the harrowing routes rugged prospectors traveled to get to the Klondike, including the all-water route from Seattle to St. Michael and on to Dawson, as well as the Stikine, White Pass and Chilkoot Pass trails. Volume 1 features other fascinating stories, too, including how nuns mingled with rough and tumble adventurers on the banks of Nome, how the last shot of the Civil War boomed in the Bering Sea and how the scoundrel Soapy Smith served as an angel of mercy before he became the undisputed king of crime in Skagway. Many of the stories in this collection were written by my late aunt, Phyllis Downing Carlson, an award-winning author, noted Alaska historian and who served as Alaska reference librarian at the Z.J. Loussac Library in Anchorage. When Phyllis passed away in 1993, I inherited her articles, notes and personal library, including a large collection of rare books about Alaska. As luck would have it, I, too, am a writer and lover of Alaska history. Over the past few years, I've edited Phyllis' old articles, which appeared in publications like Alaskana, Alaska Sportsman and Our Alaska, and then wrote my own stories to dovetail with hers. I hope you enjoy the resulting labor of love as you turn back to the past in Aunt Phil's Trunk. - Laurel Downing Bill