John Adams a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence and the second ever president, wrote to his wife Abigail of the 4th of July; ‘I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival… It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward.’
Clearly all Americans have taken this sentiment to heart and including those listed above, celebrations nowadays typically involve a BBQ. I experienced all of these on this day.
The festivities (recommended by Eric the jeweler) at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks were scheduled to start at lunchtime so I figured I would have enough time to drive to the North Pole first. - Not that North Pole - the Alaskan one. Huh? The Alaskan North Pole was once named Davis – when it was settled by white people in 1944. In the 50’s a couple of entrepreneurs arrived at the somewhat nondescript locale and decided they could attract toy makers (?) and thence the gullible public by renaming the place ‘the North Pole’. No matter that it was about two and a half thousand kilometres short of the mark. Voila! Up sprang the perfect tourist trap!
Apparently if you mail a letter to Santa, addressed, c/- the North Pole, it goes to the Alaskan North Pole, and I think if you put in a self-addressed stamped envelope they even write back. Inside Santa’s there’s a wall devoted to the last year’s crop of letters and they are delightful to read. Aside from the police car with ‘North Pole Police’ on it, the kids’ letters were the most entertaining part of the visit for me. One earnestly declares – ‘Santa Clause, I love you.’ So very sweet and probably a great bet if you have been playing up during the year!
Back in Fairbanks the majority of the local population and me congregated in Pioneer Park. Pioneer Park, formerly known as Alaskaland, has all manner of attractions in it: a land-lubbing paddle steamer, a native village, a gold rush town and an aviation museum. No time for all of that though, with the official 4th of July speeches, the brass band and gun salutes. Half a dozen marines, rifles pointed aloft, fired rounds in unison as each of the fifty states had their names and nicknames read out.
Arkansas! – the natural state! – BANG!
Arkansas! – the natural state! – BANG!
Georgia! – the peach state! – BANG!
Nebraska! – the cornhusker state! – BANG!
Oregon! – the sooner state! – BANG!
And on it went til they got to Alaska! – the last frontier! – BANG!
And on it went til they got to Alaska! – the last frontier! – BANG!
For me it was instructive and at the same time painfully percussive. I’ve never been a fan of firearms and this experience confirmed it 50 times over times 6. The rest of the audience enjoyed the 6-gun salute, as they clapped and cheered appreciatively after each round. Especially when Alaska was announced as the fiftieth state. After the Star Spangled Banner, the band played Alaska’s anthem called Alaska’s Flag.
Eight stars of gold on a field of blue
Alaska's flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby;
The gold of the early sourdough's dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear" the "Dipper" - and, shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
Over land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska's flag - to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier.
Interestingly Alaska’s flag was designed by Benny Benson, a 13-year-old native Alaskan, in 1926. He entered and won the flag design contest, and the fortune of a $1000 scholarship and a wristwatch.
After the anthems and formalities were over I wandered over to a specially fenced area and patted dogs and chatted with their owners while I waited for the ‘dog pull’ to start. The dog pull was a competition divided in three weight classes, where the dogs use a harness to pull a cart across a line and weight is progressively added until a winner is declared. A wide range of breeds were represented and surprisingly the huskies didn’t win all the classes. Once the cart was too heavy some of the dogs just sat down while others sniffed the ground, some looking decidedly embarrassed, their owners wildly trying to coax them to keep pulling. The reindeer sausage sandwich I was eating, silently and unnoticed dripped reindeer fat and BBQ sauce down my front and I mistakenly thought I had a special connection as a friend to the dogs that nuzzled my chest. I was in fact a reindeer flavoured friend. Oh well.
Later that evening back in my hotel the festivities were completed as I watched fireworks light up the sky.
The next morning before my flight back to Anchorage I made a dash to the Alaska University Museum of the North through the rain soaked streets. The Museum sits high on a ridge overlooking Fairbanks and boasts an eclectic collection dealing with the history, culture and nature of the state. Pioneer women are featured among the characters and their stories are all at once poignant, comical and courageous. For instance, Belinda Mulrooney arrived in the Klondike as a tender 25 year old and made good, building a hotel close to the mining action. Her business interests grew steadily until she unfortunately married Charles Eugene Carbonneau who squandered most of her fortune until she kicked him out and had to start again!
I lingered at the museum enjoying the art and stuffed animals a little too long and had to make a mad dash to hand in the hire car and get to the airport. Flying back to Anchorage, just the tip of Denali was visible through the clouds…elusive as ever...
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