MARCH 19 - 24, 1919

ROCKWELL KENT WILDERNESS CENTENNIAL JOURNAL

100 YEARS LATER

by Doug Capra © 2018-19

March 19-24, 1919

ABOVE – The front page of The Alaska Weekly Post, the Weekly Edition of The Seward Gateway for March 22, 1919. Kent and Rockie are in Seward on this day preparing to leave Alaska later in the month.

Kent and Rockie leave Fox Island for good and arrive in Seward on Tuesday, March 18, 1919. We have little record of precisely what they do there between their arrival and departure on March 29^th. In at least one letter to Kathleen, Kent mentions his disappointment that leaving early will prevent him from taking a free trip on the new railroad. Kathleen writes back that he should make sure he does that trip before he leaves, especially for Rockie’s sake. The boy loves trains, and must have been delighted with the rail trip across country in July 1918. In a March 4, 1919 letter to Rockwell, Kathleen writes: “This afternoon I went up town to do an errand…I bought the kids each a little car to use on Rockie’s train track. They were delighted with {them and} played for about an hour, then Barbara started pulling hers to pieces discovering that…the roof and…the wheels made wonderful whistles. Raymond is coming over tomorrow to play with them and was most anxious for me to get some trains for the track, but I’m afraid they’ll be nothing left of the cars by the time he gets here.”

BELOW -- The Kent family in 1915 after their return from Newfoundland. Photo courtesy of the Rockwell Kent Gallery, Plattsburgh State University.

I had always wondered whether the two made that train trip because I’ve never found a reference to it in Kent’s writings. But Rockie does mention it in the second version of a memoir he wrote for The Kent Collector shortly before his death. In those notes, he says, “Toward the end of March and after a few days of frantic packing, we left the island, utopian Fox Island, for good. It was a tearful time for me and nearly so for Mr. Olson as we waved goodbye. It all seemed to happen so abruptly. In a few days we were aboard the steamship heading for Seattle.” Rockie recalls he and his father waving goodbye to Olson as they leave Fox Island. Kent tells us Olson went with them to Seward. And the 11 days the spent in Seward seemed only a few days to the youngster. But this is no surprise, for Rockie also acknowledged that “From this time-distance, the Seward trips blend together in my mind. I recall isolated happenings but not in the order in which they occurred, nor the time.”

BELOW -- Rockwell Kent III (Rockie) as an adult. Photo courtesy of his son, Chris Kent.

One event he does recall vividly – which makes perfect sense – because it was probably during those 11 days before they left that his father took him on the Alaska Railroad north. Rockie writes: “I remember a trip on the railroad that ran from Seward to Fairbanks. It was, at that time, Alaska’s only railroad.” 

There were other railroads in Alaska at the time, but this was to be the longest, and the only one connecting tidewater to the territory’s interior.

“There were one or two freight cars and one passenger car with maybe a dozen persons. The snow was deep at the start and became deeper as we moved further inland. At about halfway to Fairbanks, the snow became too deep for any further rail progress. Dogs and sleds were led out of the baggage cars. The dogs harnessed and the sleds loaded with baggage and those passengers who were going on. Father and I stayed aboard to return to Seward. Among the passengers were two women traveling together with two little girls. One woman treated the girls sweetly, but the other was gruff. I explained to Father that the gruff one was definitely the father of the girls.” 

BELOW -- Route of the Alaska Railroad from Seward to Anchorage, circa 1918-19.

The snow probably stops them before reaching Anchorage. Transportation with dog sleds is still common during this time – for mail, freight and even passengers -- but within a few years after the Alaska Railroad completion in 1923, airplane travel becomes much more economical and considerably faster than dogsleds.

BELOW -- Notice on the route map above Lawing, Grandview and Tunnel. These were roadhouses run by Nellie Neal Lawing, who eventually became know as Alaska Nellie. In the photo she is seated at far right. Nellie was one of he first women to get a roadhouse contract from the Alaska Railroad. She was an all-around business woman, chef, meat hunter, boat captain, trapper, storyteller and crack shot. It's possible Kent may have met her on the railroad trip north but if so Rockie would probably have remembered her.

During these days in Seward Kent is probably strengthening his friendships with the locals and securing free travel and other benefits. By March 23^rd, he’s made arrangements for his and Rockie’s return. He’s given up on convincing Kathleen to join him, but he hasn’t ruled out another later trip to Alaska, this time with Kathleen. On Feb. 24^th he writes: Now let me tell you what Seward does to me to rob you of my time. So far I’ve dined out continually. Everywhere I’m greeted and engaged in conversation. The community is much interested in my welfare and happiness – and in yours. You are wanted here. The Roots even offer to look after you while I go adventuring about – as if I’d do it without you! The “Chamber of Commerce” considers me a person of vast importance and wants me some night – next week – as its guest. In an earlier post I wrote about the draft of a letter I found in Kent’s handwriting – what seems to be a letter of recommendation from the Seward Chamber of Commerce for him – but he’s writing it for himself. He may have spoken before the Seward Chamber of Commerce but I find no record of it. If it happened the Seward Gateway would most likely have mentioned it. His Feb. 24^th letter continues: I am arranging for a written endorsement from them {Seward Chamber of Commerce} forming a future trip of mine to Alaska. I’ll use that to help get a free trip here for us both or all someday. Brownell, an awfully nice fellow, has offered me the freedom of his house – I have the key – for writing. And yet he’s so often there himself and so hungry for conversation and confidence with me that I’ve had to flee from this back to the hotel. And here my room is cold and the lobby, when I am writing, very busy. Tonight again Brownell and I go to the Roots. The German songbook has come and I’ve that to sing from. Thanks, my sweetheart, for sending it.

Prospects appear too good in Alaska for Kent not to return. But if he does he’ll insist that Kathleen and perhaps the children join him.