Rockwell Kent "Wilderness" Centennial Journal

ROCKWELL KENT WILDERNESS CENTENNIAL JOURNAL 100 YEARS LATER by Doug Capra © 2018 These days 100 years ago Kent and his son were in Seward off and on between gathering supplies and making the Fox Island cabin livable. “Father laid a floor, cut window openings, mounted windows and roof, which he shingled, built shelves, a table and a bunk,” Rockie recalled. “I would like to report that we did all these things, but I believe I was of little help. I may have held the end of a board when so requested, but I think I was sent off to explore the woods, to get out of the way of flying nails and hammer.” And what a place to explore for an eight-year-old! Kent mentions the flat, odd-shaped stones on the pebbly beach but only a few times. I’ve always been surprised that he never commented on the flat, heart-shaped stones we sometimes find. As I’ve strolled the beach over many years, I’ve finally come to understand why. Kent was not looking down – the artist was looking up – at the sky, the ...

ROCKWELL KENT WILDERNESS CENTENNIAL JOURNAL 100 YEARS LATER by Doug Capra © 2018 Aug. 29, 2018 “Wed. 28th. – Drisly rain and cold,” Olson wrote in his August 1918 diary. “Mr. Kint and is son arrived from seward this afternoon. goats out all night.” “Thurs. 29th. – goats cam ome – 12:30 P.M. Mr. Kint Working on the Cabbin fixing at up. Drisly rain all night and all day.” Lars Matt Olson No doubt Olson was restless Wednesday, Aug. 28th, as he gazed off and on out to sea waiting for the Kents to arrive in their dory. The trip would take the artist and his son longer than they had planned. After their engine conked out, they dropped it off at George Hogg’s camp along the western shore of Resurrection Bay. If Hogg was around, they may have briefly talked with him – but they had to move on. As Olson noted, the day was cold and rainy -- so it would be a long, wet row to Fox Island – at least 3 hours, which meant they arrived at mid-afternoon. “So we settled on Fox Island,” Roc...

ROCKWELL KENT WILDERNESS CENTENNIAL JOURNAL 100 YEARS LATER by Doug Capra © 2018 August 28, 2018 "The wilderness hath charms. To go to it is to return to the primitive, the elemental. It is reached by the trail, the oldest thoroughfare of man. The trail breathes out the spirit of romance...The wilderness still exists...Away off, far from the haunts of man, you pitch your camp by some cool spring...Dull business routine, the fierce passions of the market place, the perils of envious cities become but a memory...At first you are appalled by the immensity of the wilderness...Almost imperceptibly a sensation of serenity begins to take possession of you...Your blood clarifies; your brain becomes active. You get a new view of life. You acquire the ability to single out the things worth while. Your judgment becomes keener...You learn how simple life is when reduced to its elements. The complexity of the life you have left behind becomes apparent. Slowly you become like the land yo...

ROCKWELL KENT WILDERNESS CENTENNIAL JOURNAL 100 YEARS LATER by Doug Capra © 2018 August 25-27 -- Part 2 Olson towed Rockwell and Rockie from Humpy Cove to Fox Island and beached the boats. Once Kent and Rocky climbed the steep, flat-pebbled beach, they were surprised by the “green grass lawn” and what Kent called an “orchard of neatly pruned alders to the mountains base.”  Alaskans might laugh when they read this description of a green grass lawn and an orchard of neatly pruned alders. In the wild, alders and devil’s club have caused much profanity from those bushwacking through their precarious world. It does make sense, though, that Olson would clear the spaces between the alders for trails while keeping some intact. But to call it an orchard? It also shows the romantic wilderness ethic of the time that Kent so enthusiastically goes about -- pioneering, cutting down the trees, and clearing the land –essentially, taming the wilderness. Then they saw Olson’s home. It wasn’...

ROCKWELL KENT WILDERNESS CENTENNIAL JOURNAL 100 YEARS LATER by Doug Capra © 2018 August 25-27, 2018 – Part I On Friday, August 24, 2018, I ventured to Fox Island with a film crew for a project about Fox Island, Kent and this centennial year. At the end of the text, just before the photos, you’ll find a link to a video of some drone shots we took. I was up early and when I looked out my door, Seward was shrouded in a dense fog. The weather this August has been rainy with only a few decent days. We had to cancel shoot once while waiting for a better window. Today was supposed to be it. The forecast, however, said the fog would clear and we’d have a fine day. The producer/director Eric Downs and his sound-man, cinematographer, Josiah Martin arrived in Seward early to catch a sunrise. Instead they did get some eerie footage of the fog. We left for fox Island at 8:30 aboard the Alaskan Explorer, courtesy of Kenai Fjords Tours. They dropped us off at Fox Island then continued on the N...