FEB. 25-28, 1919 & PART 3 OF KATHLEEN'S JANUARY LETTERS TO ROCKWELL
ROCKWELL KENT WILDERNESS CENTENNIAL JOURNAL
100 YEARS LATER
by Doug Capra © 2018
February 25 – 28, 1919 –
2019
Part 3 -- Kathleen’s
January letters to Rockwell
ABOVE – A Jim Pfeiffenberger photo titled "Otter Morning" -- note the sea otter on its back in the foreground. Taken this last day of February 2019. Fox Island and the entrance to Resurrection Bay in the distance.
Kent and his son arrive
back on Fox Island on February 25, 1919. They’ve spent several days in Seward
collecting new mail from the arriving steamships and writing letters to go out.
Ironically, just as Kent readies to leave Alaska, he finds himself more than
welcomed in town with many offers of housing, meals, sleepovers for Rockie with
other children, and travel bargains. People are even curious about his
paintings and want to see them. The Seward Chamber of Commerce has invited him
to speak and have probably offered him a letter of recommendation.
There is a historical
context for Seward’s special interest in Kent. Beginning in 1903 when the town
was founded, two privately financed railroads struggled. The first, the Alaska
Central Railway, went bankrupt and reorganized as the Alaska Northern Railway. They
managed to push the rails 71 miles north. During these years, especially after
the Russo-Japanese War, the U.S. Navy is substantially expanding operations in
the North Pacific Ocean – and the navy needs coal. So does the rest of the
nation. During William Howard Taft’s administration the Pacific fleet had
critical coal shortages. Most of their coal either came from England via ship
or across the country via rail. There were no substantial coaling stations on
the West Coast. After Alaska became a territory in 1912, Taft ordered an
investigation into completing a railroad from somewhere along the Alaska coast
to the coal fields north of present-day Anchorage. This was the impetus for
construction of the Alaska Railroad. Taft was willing for government financing
but against government ownership. President Woodrow Wilson agreed to both but
ordered a new investigation. In 1915, the Port of Seward was selected as the
terminus for the new government railroad and construction began. The year before,
entrepreneurs and job seekers began arriving in Seward, and a tent city emerged
along Ship Creek, the present site of Anchorage – both locations possible
terminus selections. Seward immediately undergoes a population and economic
boom. For an insight into this, read here the article I wrote about famous
travel writer Frank Carpenter’s visit to Seward in 1915. The town split over issues emerging from its rapid growth. One faction created the Alaska Evening Post to complete with the Seward
Gateway. Seward elected a newcomer durng 1915 and 1916, as mayor, Charles Antonio Myers, manager of
Carston’s Meat Market. The old
timers on competing sides of the issues probably didn’t trust each other and had
confidence in Myers’ objectivity. Political, social and economic relationships
are complex in small towns. The Seward Chamber of Commerce split and for all
practical purposes dissolved. By 1917 the two newspapers had merged and the
chamber of commerce began to reorganize. By 1918 the new chamber became active but had serious problems
– coal; railroad construction priorities; the war's effect on the economy; port
access; the loss of their railroad headquarter status; and competition with the new rapidly growing
town of Anchorage, named the new railroad headquarters. The tracks had been quickly
pushed north from Anchorage to the northern coal fields. It was all about coal.
Seward wanted the next priority to be to complete that 71-mile section of track from Resurrection Bay so the
coal could be shipped to the Port of Seward. Anchorage wanted to build up its
port, even though Cook Inlet froze up in winter. The inlet also filed up with silt and had to
be dredged by the Corps of Engineers.
The point is – Seward is
changing and growing quickly. But so is Anchorage. Seward is under stress,
especially about the Port of Anchorage eventually taking over shipping from
Seward. As the largest city on the Kenai Peninsula, Seward is also taking the lead
in encouraging settlement and investment. With an artist in town, Seward has an
opportunity to promote the beauty and economic potential of Resurrection Bay. Rockwell Kent can be of use to Seward, and the town can be of use to him. It seems like a logical and productive partnership.
ABOVE -- During the first years construction of the Government Railroad, Anchorage had an inadequate docking situation. Most supplies had to be brought in by smaller boats. Seward had an active port and a substantial dock, and lobbied for the tracks to be completed quickly to Seward so coal shipped out of Resurrection Bay and other supplies could be shipped north. Photo from the Frank Carpenter Collection, Libraryof Congress.
I located an interesting
letter in Kent’s handwriting in the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institute.
It appears to be the draft of a recommendation or letter of introduction
designed to help Kent get assistance for his Alaska painting. It’s not dated
and Kent doesn’t sign it. My guess is that Kent asked for a letter of recommendation
from the Seward Chamber of Commerce. They said, why don’t you write the kind of
letter you need and we’ll sign it. Note that Kent is offering to chronicle the quickly disappearing history of Alaska. Alaska has often said that Kent is the first noted artist to come to Alaska for solace and healing, not to chronicle its history. That is correct. This letter confirms that at this stage of his life, Kent is willing to do whatever he has to do to enhance his career. His handwriting is difficult to read, but the
transcription below is what my wife and I were able to decipher.
Mr. Rockwell Kent
Seward, Alaska
Sir: --
The Seward Chamber of Commerce wishes to assure you of the high
importance it attaches to the work.
In
the hope of …the American artist to find in Alaska a great field for his work
and part…you can return and continue to completion the work that you have begun
away as the Seward Chamber of Commerce herewith assure you of the high
importance it attaches to your permanently valuable as you record of
Alaska and its life as only the artist can make. It is the regret of every age that the past,
up to the very fresh hold of today, has left so little record of itself. Our
occupation of Alaska must eventually efface every vestige of the primitive
civilization
we found here on the virgin
wilderness. That much is already gone and lives only in the distant memory of
the elder pioneers must not blind us to a recognition of the still rare value
of what remains. The present one day will be of the past to the generation
already here. To record that past Now of the unique romance of these
great swift changing times of occupation and development. To have full records
of it all is my duty to history.
And
there is another interest we {put} in your work. We need to be known! The
wonderful natural splendor of our north country to which you have paid tribute
must be recognized. If it is for our interest to attract men here it is surely
their great gain to learn of the beauties and opportunities of this vast
territory. It is… that we want a wide spreading, not a random fiction but of
the of the facts, of the truth about Alaska. And that truth in which we are
interested and which can move these men toward us can not be ever known by that
casual observer, the touring traveler. That in coming here you have entered so
thoroughly into the life and spirit of the land is the great reason in our
confidence in the value of your work to us and to Alaska. With the heartiest
good wishes we are yours very truly.
BELOW -- Here is a copy of this letter. If anyone reading this is able to decipher what I couldn't, please let me know with a comment.
By late afternoon on
Tuesday, February 25th – Kent and Rockie are back on Fox Island.
“And how fine to get home again!” Kent writes. “Only an hour and we were again
seated at dinner in our warm cabin.” He not only brings Olson presents – a box
and some batteries – but also some mail. “He rarely gets any,” Kent writes. With
the old Swede’s mail is a post card and letter from Kathleen. (I haven’t
located these.). That evening a gasoline boat anchors in their cove. It is two young men with their wives, hunting they say, for a stray boat. All go into
Olson’s cabin and chat. After they leave Olson tells Kent their story is
suspicious. They are probably dragging for hidden caches of whisky cached away
by Seward businesses before the territory’s Bone Dry Law went into effect on
January 1, 1918. On occasion the owners haul up what they need. But the owners
must beware. Others who own no hidden caches like these fellows just arrived on
Fox Island, seek out these riches. It's like a treasure hunt in the days of pirates, Kent writes. Some sources claim Olson has a still on Fox Island, but I've not found evidence for that. It's more likely, as Kent suggests, that the old Swede occasionally hauls up somebody else's cache. He always seems to have some hard stuff on hand.
“Today has been again
overcast but beautifully mild,” Kent writes. “It is really a wonderful climate.
Rockwell makes the most of these last days. He went this morning to the ridge’s
top east of us, and this afternoon high up on the mountain side. He now wants
to stay here and become a wild man. There is no question in my mind about his
entire willingness, his desire, to be left here when I go." I recall my interview with Rockie a year or so before his death in April 1986. He told me how sad he was to leave Fox Island. His son, Chris Kent, has told me how significant the Fox Island stay becme for his father. At one point in his life, Rockie had serious plans to move his whole family to Alaska to live a like he had with his father. It never happened. Throughout his life he maintained his love of animals. The photo below, courtesy of his son Chris, is a photo of Rockie (Rockwell Kent III) later in life.
BELOW -- A photo of the interior of the cabin on Fox Island taken by Kent. Notice the frames handing from the ceiling, the sketch beside the south-facing window, and the snowshoes. Photo from the Rockwell Kent Gallery, Plattsburgh State University, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Back to Kathleen’s
January 1919 letters to Rockwell:
“This is such disgusting cheap paper,” Kathleen writes on Jan. 17th. “I am almost ashamed to write on it, but it
won’t last long, as soon as the kiddies find it.” Compared to Rockwell’s,
the legibility of Kathleen’s letters range from
completely faded to pretty good – with all conditions in between. Perhaps
that’s why her role in her husband’s Alaska adventure have not been fully told.
My wife, Cindy, and I have struggled through every one but those that are
completely faded. Fortunately, Cindy has managed to learn Kathleen’s handwriting
while using her x-ray eyes to read through that onion-skin-type paper. I
transcribe every word we can read while she dictates. She has the printed
letter and I refer to the digital copy on my computer when we can’t make out
sections. In fairness to Kathleen, she has been economizing on everything – and
writing paper is unimportant compared with the rent, food and clothing for the
kiddies, doctor bills. She knows Rockwell is living frugally, too, and feels
guilty that she can’t save more for him to use. As an artist, Kent is adamant about
using quality paper for his letters. To him, the letters are works of art.
BELOW -- Page 1 (of 2) of Kathleen's Jan. 17, 1919 to Rockwell. Archives of American Art.
Bessie’s leg is getting
better, Kathleen tells Rockwell. Bessie
Noseworthy is Kathleen’s maid and nanny. She is from Newfoundland and worked
for the Kent’s while they were there during 1914-15. On Aug. 6, 1915, now back
in the states, Kent is working in New York for George Chappell at the
architectural firm, Ewing and Chappell. Kent writes to Bessie using George’s
address: “We’re settled in a fine little
cottage in New London, on the beach and we want you right away. Please pack up
and come…I’m sending you twenty dollars for expenses. We can settle the matter
of wages and expenses later but you can depend upon us to treat you well and
pay you no less and perhaps more than $22. But please don’t fail to come at
once, as Mrs. Kent is without anyone to help her preferring to wait for you.”
I’m not sure how long she stayed with the Kent’s, but Bessie eventually left
and settled in Ontario, Canada. On June 11, 1917 Kathleen wrote to her from
Monhegan Island, Maine. Apparently Bessie had lost contact with them. “I am
not surprised at your wondering what had happened to us,” Kathleen writes. “The truth is that every time I sat down to
write you, I remembered that I still owed you more than a month’s wages and I
hadn’t the face to you write till I had the money to send. I hadn’t forgotten
it and will try to get it to you soon.” Rockwell is planning to spend a
year in Alaska, she tells Bessie. “Mr.
Kent hasn’t gone yet and doesn’t know just when he will get off…I have been
hoping continually that you would come back some day and now I shall count on
having you with us in the fall if it suits you. We will be a big family in the
house but will therefore have two maids and I think that will mean less walking
for you. The children are all fine and often speak of you.” (Source –
Winter, 1989 issue of The Kent Collector.
Anne and Edgar Hubert submitted these letters on behalf of Loretta Green,
Bessie’s daughter-in-law. On Dec. 21, 1920, Bessie married George Allen Green
at Arlington, Vermont. Green had worked with Kent on Monhegan Island and in
Vermont.
Jan. 18th
Kathleen spends an awkward evening at dinner with Albert and Marie Sterner and
later at the Comedy Club. After dinner while she’s talking with Albert he
realizes he’s due at the club to appear in a sketch and rushes off without
Kathleen, who was supposed to accompany him there. In comes a Naval friend of
Marie’s (Commander Henderson) to pick up Marie. Kathleen and the officer
introduce themselves and quietly wait for Marie who soon arrives and the three head
to the club. Marie and the commander leave after the play and Albert walks
Kathleen to her bus. “I had a very nice
time altogether,” she writes. “I’m am
getting quite used to coming home alone at all hours of the night and there is
almost always a policeman at the corner of Sixth Avenue & this street, and
the site of him is always reassuring.” Bessie is a little better, and
tomorrow night she’s taking the kiddies out to dinner.
Another short letter on
Jan. 21st, that begins with “I
can’t seem to write to you every night; I am often in too despondent a mood.
What I would write there would only make trouble. I’ve tried it but torn up the
letters instead of sending them.” What could be troubling her? There’s
always Hilda and finances. Her family has money problems, too. She misses
Rockwell and is anxious for him to come home. But I believe her despondency is
connected more to how her nights on the town remind her of the life she might
have had in music and entertainment. She’s already told Rockwell how she feels
about getting old without accomplishing some of her dreams. He probably
wouldn’t appreciate more of that.
Kathleen must be
troubled. The next letter I find from her to Rockwell is written ten days later
on Jan. 31st. Her “very good and very sweet and devoted” friend,
Elizabeth, stops at the apartment that afternoon – and that evening Kathleen
and youngest daughter, Barbara, (formerly named Hildegarde) have supper at
Elizabeth’s place. Elizabeth, like Bernice, is perhaps one of those close
friends Kathleen confides in and whose advice she is taking. As she writes
this, she observes her 3-year-old daughter, Barbara. “Isn’t it strange
that we have to see the children to realize how truly lovely they are. You have
found this out with Rockie.” It’s
clear from Rockwell’s letters that he has been closely observing Rockie, too.
In many ways he’s seeing his son for the first time. Never before has he spent
this much isolated time with any one of his children. Does his son remind him
of Kathleen and her wonderful of raising him? Does Kent stand in the middle of
William Blake’s poetic trinity – with innocence and experience on either side
of him? Kathleen has invited Carl to tea sometime but it hasn’t happened.
Rockwell urged her to give him a specific time and she agrees. “Rockie’s letter of the same date as yours
did move me to tears,” she writes, “in fact most of his letters did, tears of
happiness in the knowledge that he was mine and yours. Darling, thank
goodness you are not going to sell your (life) for one’s day’s happiness with
me. A little more waiting and then we will have many, many, many
days of happiness together.”
Kathleen’s
quote above is a response to what Kent wrote to her on Dec. 31: “Mother dear, oh Mother darling!, to be
again with you! to live with you, tease you, pet you, love you, sing with you,
play my old flute with you, sleep with you, wake and cuddle with you till the
sun stands high. Ah, it’s well this is no age of fairies. Oh, knowing my
longing would long ago have come to me and sold me one day’s happiness
with you – for my life. I would give it (now), mother dear – ah I’d sell my
soul for you now, dear sweetheart, and I will remake my soul and my whole
nature, if I must, to win back to me your calm, trustful, deeply-loving look.”
Both
finally realize that they have not really been responding to each other because
of the long delay in the mails. Rockwell has asked Kathleen to go back and
reread all his letters and respond specifically to each one. He begins to do
that in his letters to her – numbering and dating all her letters and
responding to each specifically. She begins doing this for him in her letters. Both
don’t hesitate to challenge each other but the tone is much more loving and
kindly than in the earlier letters.
BELOW -- One page of Rockwell's Feb. 15, 1919 letter to Kathleen. Notice how he's going back to her past letters and commenting on each one specifically. Although Kathleen tries to do the same as he's requested, she's not as meticulous or obsessive as he is.
In her Jan. 31st letter Kathleen
writes: “I have read letters 10 & 11 ****too.
There is a terribly gloomy with the enclosure for George. I think dear, that I
have answered that already with my telegram and night letter and my letters of
late in which I have tried to show you my true love. Again in no. 11 you speak
of having ended all with Hildegarde and having promised me faithfulness. All is
not ended with her, for you are still writing to her. I called this unfaithfulness,
under present circumstances for you have promised me everything. I shall wait
hourly for a wire with your promise…it is absolutely {necessary} to our future
happiness. Now darling, I am going to snuggle into bed to dream of you, which
is {a} pretty poor substitute for the real thing, but infinitely better than
nothing.”
February
1919 has ended. Kent is packing up to leave Alaska. But he hasn’t given up on
convincing Kathleen to join him in Alaska. If he can get her to come, he can
accept Theodore Wagner’s $2000 to cover them both through the summer. He has
backup plans in case Kathleen changes her mind.
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