Anchorage Memories Podcast Michael R Dougherty

Our story begins, one afternoon, long ago.
Somewhere between the newsreel and the main movie, I sat there, a young boy in the 4th Avenue Theater, when an ad filled the screen.
The first thing I noticed was that it was for a local Anchorage business. I had heard the name, “Snow White Laundry and Cleaners” many times before, but knew nothing about them. I became fascinated as I watched their movie theater ad.
Snow White Laundry and Cleaners got its humble start back in the days when Anchorage was just a “tent City”.
It was muddy, crude, and only there because of the Alaska Railroad.
Welcome to Anchorage, Alaska around 1914, 1915 and 1916. It was simply a “tent city” that sprang up around the mouth of Ship Creek.
“Harry” Kimura and his wife Katsuki moved from Seattle to what was then Anchorage and took over a small hand laundry from a relative, and gave it the name, H&K Hand Laundry. It was located near 5th Avenue and C Street.
By the way, there was no running water.
Chop Suey House
Then, as if he didn’t have enough to do, Harry opened the Chop Suey House in a small building next door to the laundry.
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The Kimura family grew to include:
Sam, who went on to become a professional photographer and taught at the University of Anchorage, Alaska for 23 years. His wife, Joan, an Anchorage artist, designed the seal for the city of Anchorage. William “Bill” Kimura, who became a painter, sculptor, and teacher. And George, who ran Kimura restaurants like the Golden Pheasant Café’ and Nikko Garden.
World War II
In 1941, Harry Kimura was locked in a barracks at Anchorage’s Fort Richardson as part of America’s wartime “internment” program.
During that time, his son George was in basic training and was given MP duty outside that same detention center.
At some point, the Kimuras left Anchorage.
Snow White Laundry and Cleaners
Following World War II, the Kimuras returned to Anchorage and expanded their H&K Hand Laundry into Snow White Laundry and Cleaners.
Along the way, they also opened a restaurant called “The Golden Pheasant Café on D Street between 4th and 5th Avenues.
Nikko Garden
Opened in 1966 and located on Spenard Road near Spenard Lake, Nikko Garden was Anchorage’s finest Oriental restaurant.
It quickly became, “the” place to go in Anchorage.
A Very Special Note:
For many years, Mary and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with dinner in one of those memorable private rooms in Nikko Garden.
Today, that restaurant location is but a fond memory for so many Alaskans.
In 1979, Nikko Garden burned down.
I was a news videographer for KTVA at the time and following the fire, I was assigned to go inside and shoot video of the charred remains. I can still remember the strange, tragic sight of the pond that ran the length of the restaurant.
It was covered with black soot and burnt debris was floating in the once beautiful water.
Now, even though it’s gone, we will always have the wonderful memories of that fine Kimura restaurant.
Nikko Garden – Gwennie’s Connection

Anchorage Memories did a story about Gwennie’s Old Alaskan Restaurant in Spenard.
Gwennie told us that when her and her mother first came to Anchorage, they rented an apartment from the Kimura family and got to know them.
Then one evening, many years later, Gwennie decided to drive down Spenard road from her restaurant and visit Nikko Garden.
When she walked into the restaurant and George Kimura saw her, he nearly fainted because he hadn’t seen her in so many years.
BONUS
To learn m

They look peaceful enough, but a moose is still a wild animal and they can be dangerous.
Here are some fun stories of moose encounters in and around Anchorage, Alaska.
Cindy sent us this one
“Adam and the Moose”
“It’s hard to believe that anyone who has lived in Anchorage does not have a moose story.
Adam had a “Close Encounter of the Moose Kind”. We were going out for a bike ride. I set the bike on the sidewalk and my toddler grandson, Adam, climbed on. As I was pushing him towards the driveway (my head was down, watching him) I noticed two unfamiliar brown tree trunks directly ahead.
Confused for a second, I thought, “I don’t have trees in the driveway“.
But they were not tree trunks. Instead, they were the front legs of a yearling moose - close enough for an immediate head-on collision!
I swooped up Adam, and bolted back into the house. We watched the young moosie from the safety of the living room’s bay window. Needless to say, Adam was very put out that we came back inside before he got his bike ride. As for me, I’m pretty sure that’s the day my hair started turning gray.”
And Rose told us her moose story
“There was a Moose in my Way”
“In the dead of winter in 1973, I took a shower at a friend's house who lived in the foothills of Anchorage (sorry, don't recall the name of the road).  He was a young man, living at his parents' house, and he had basically snuck me in when no one was home, so I could take a shower, since where I was living did not have one. 
While I was showering, his mother called him to tell him she was coming home in a few minutes to have lunch, and she asked that he be there.  He panicked and told me I had to clear out before she got home.
My long hair was dripping wet, and I was very angry about having to leave the house in temperatures below zero in such a hurry. I set out on foot down their dirt road to get to the main road where I could hitch a ride.  
All of a sudden, this very tall and large moose ran out in front of me from my left side, snorting with steam coming out of his nose. He just stood there glaring at me and blocking my way to the main road.  I was so cold and angry that I yelled at him, "What do you want? Get out of my way, I'm not having a very good day!"  
He stood there snorting at me for a moment and then turned his backside to me and ran on down the road. He had evidently decided that I was some kind of critter he did not want to tangle with.  I was able to walk on and make it to the main road where a very nice woman in a warm car pulled over and gave me a ride home.
I will never forget the look on that moose's face when I told him to get out of my way.  I did not know what he was going to do, but I am so grateful he didn't come after me.”
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Connect with Us
Did you enjoy these “Close Encounters of the Moose Kind”?
When you live in Alaska, you can experience all kinds of adventures, like finding yourself a little too close to wildlife… like a moose, a bear or?
Do you have a comment? Or do you have a close encounter with an Alaska moose story you would like to share? You can contact us at Anchorage Memories.com
Until Next Time
Mike and Mary
Anchorage Memories.com




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In 1908, Seldovia’s “main street” was built along the beach and was only accessible at low tide.
You’ll find this Alaska town of about 255 people, located on the shores of Kachemak Bay on the Kenai Peninsula, about 246 miles from Anchorage.
However, you can only get there by boat or airplane. There are no roads connecting Seldovia with the rest of Alaska.
Athabascans, Aleuts, and Eskimos were the first to discover the area. They set up camps, fished and hunted in and around Kachemak Bay.
How Seldovia Got its Name
In the late 1700s, Russian explorers arrived and noticed a heavy population of herring in the waters of the bay. They named it “Zaliv Seldevoy”, which means, “Herring Bay”.
The Russians built a trading post and church in the area.
The Gold Rush
While Seldovia had a trading post, the Alaska Gold Rush made them a transportation hub.
Cook Inlet around Kachemak Bay was open during the winter.
Because of that, prospectors from all over the world journeyed to Seldovia to board steamers headed to the gold fields in the upper Cook Inlet.
The Seldovia Salmon Company
Beginning in 1910, the Seldovia Salmon Company began operation. Its success brought canneries who packed herring, shrimp, halibut crab and more.
Sadly, following the 1964 Alaska earthquake, the canneries closed.
Fox Farms
In the 1920s, raising foxes in the area around Seldovia was a big business. At one time, those farms were all over the south shore of Kachemak Bay.
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The Boardwalk
Seldovia was originally built along the waterfront. Settlers had to use the beach at low tide to get to homes and businesses.
Then, in the late 1920s, the community came together to create a wooden boardwalk. The boardwalk was constructed so it could be used regardless of what stage, high or low, the tide was in.
The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake
It was Good Friday, 1964, when suddenly, a peaceful afternoon was shattered by a 9.2 earthquake that savagely shook for 5 long minutes.
The land in Seldovia dropped many feet and the waterfront community was threatened by high tides, reaching as high as 32 feet. The boardwalk, businesses, and homes were flooded by water from Kachemak Bay.
The Seldovia waterfront has since been rebuilt and there is still a section of wooden planks that locals call, “the new boardwalk”.
BONUS
Do you want to know more about Seldovia?
Take a look at Seldovia, Alaska and discover.
Yes, Seldovia has bounced back several times.
So, if you’ve never visited this unique Alaska community on the shores of Katchamak Bay, you need to put it on your list of places to go.
BONUS
To enjoy more stories, photos, and videos, visit Anchorage Memories.com and enjoy.
From our North Stars (that’s you)
From our look at Anchorage Movie Theatre Memories.
Helen sent us this:
“Lots of wonderful memories of these great old theaters, it was always a treat to go to a good movie and get hot buttered popcorn and a cold Coke! And I remember the Billiken Drive-in in Muldoon - my mom was the short-order cook there for a couple of seasons!”
And Patti remembers this:
“We used to be able to go to a movie for a cereal box top and a dime. I don't remember if it was Post box top or another one. That was our favorite treat, after we got our chores done.”
Jackie commented too:
“I don't remember which theater it was, probably the Denali, but in the later 1950s Grandma and I went to see (for reasons unknown) one of those black-and-white scary films. All I remember about it is that during one pivotal scene, Grandma shouted out “LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!” and I was mortally embarrassed! But I caused my own embarrassment at the 4th Avenue Thea

In 1916, during his first year in Anchorage, the Anchorage Daily Times wrote the following:
“Joe Spenard caused considerable excitement Saturday afternoon when he attempted to drive his yellow car through the doors of Robarts Pool Hall. He made the attempt for a box of cigars promised him by Jack Robarts if he accomplished the feat: otherwise, he was to pay the damages. Joe is still smoking his pipe.”
Joseph “Joe” Arthur Spenard was born in 1879 in Ottawa, Canada. Around 1906, he married Edith Lewellyn.
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Alaska, Here We Come
In 1909, Spenard and his wife arrived in Valdez, where he opened a second hand business. When things were slow, he pushed a handcart filled with merchandise through the streets.
The pushcart developed into a transfer business in 1913 which he advertised as City Express, a delivery, and taxi service.
The Tent City Days
Joe and his wife moved to Anchorage in 1916 when it was still a tent city, where Joe continued his City Express service.
He used an REO truck and attached a sign to his radiator with yellow letters.
“Time and Tide will Not Wait,
But City Express is Never Late”
Always a showman, Spenard would run ads like the following that appeared in the Anchorage Daily Times on June 26, 1916.
“Of all the cars both big and small
The Yellow car just beats them all
Complete satisfaction, nothing less
Is given by the City Express”
Joe Spenard bought a yellow suit with a matching plug hat and wore the rather gaudy outfit on special occasions and as often as he could.
On May 1916, the Cook Inlet Pioneer (later, the Anchorage Daily News) reported the following.
“The genial, fun-loving Joe Spenard played the part of Santa Clause to about a hundred school children yesterday. Joe dressed in his famous suit of yellow with top hat to match, took the youngsters in relays for an auto ride through the streets of Anchorage, and judging from the smile Joe wore and the singing and laughter of the children, the pleasure was mutual.”
The Tale of Lake Spenard
About 5 miles out of town was a lake. Known as Jeter Lake (an unofficial title) named after a homesteader named Thomas Jeter.
But the lake was in the Chugach National Forest and closed to homesteading. Thomas Jeter had to move.
Not long after, the land was opened to homesteading and Joe Spenard took up a 160 acre homestead that included the lake.
Spenard set out to develop the lake and surrounding land into a full-scale resort, complete with a roadhouse, bathhouses, and a bathing beach.
The Creation of Spenard Road
Needing access to his resort, Joe Spenard persuaded members of the local Anchorage Elks Club to help him cut trees and build a trail, (a corduroy road) from 9th Avenue and L Street across Chester and Fish Creek valleys to the lake.
That trail is now Spenard road.
Spenard Lake Resort
Joe’s Spenard Lake and dance pavilion became very popular with Anchorage residents.
But on the night of May 24, 1917, a fire, thought to be set by careless hunters, destroyed Joe Spenard’s houses, dance pavilion, picnic area and other improvements.
The End of Their Time in Anchorage
Health problems caused Joe to sell his yellow car and business ventures.
The Spenards left for the lower 48 in 1917 for the winter, with plans to return in the spring. But they never did.
Spenard Lake Came Back from the Ashes
The lake continued to be a popular summer and winter place for recreation for Anchorage residents.
In the winter, Spenard Beach Park was a popular place to ice skate. And in the summer, as many as 8 hundred residents and visitors would swim there on weekends.
The First U.S. President Visits
In 1923, President Warren G. Harding became the first U.S. President to visit Alaska.
President Harding came to dedicate the Alaska Railroad.

Alaska has long been a magnet for colorful characters. In its early days, Anchorage had Joe Spenard and Russian Jack. During the Klondike Gold Rush, Skagway had “Soapy” Smith. And you have probably heard of others.
Many years ago, the Inuit Eskimo and Tanaina Indians settled about 125 miles southwest of what would become Anchorage, on the Kenai Peninsula.
Gold
Then, in the late 1800s, a mining company promoter and con man came to an area where a spit of land goes out into Kachemak Bay. He passed himself off as a gold prospector, even though gold mining had never been profitable in the area.
The con man built living quarters for a crew that would mine for gold. Men, who were working in near-by fish canneries, were lured to the scam because of the living quarters the man offered.
Miners crowded into the area, but the gold mining venture failed.
By 1902, the area was all but abandoned.
About a year after the con man arrived in the area… he was gone.
Coal
In the 1890s, coal was discovered in the area.
The Cook Inlet Coal Fields Company built a town, dock, railroad, and a coal mine.
Coal mining continued in the area until World War II. There are still about 400 million tons of coal in the area.
The Beginning of a Town
From around 1910 to 1920, homesteaders settled in the area, where the coal mine town had begun.
But this new town needed a name.
For some unknown reason, it was decided that the new town would bear the name of the con man who had claimed to be a gold prospector. His name was Homer Pennock and that’s his picture at the top of this edition.
And so, Homer, Alaska was born.
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You can easily share this with them, and when you do, they will be so happy that they will give you a lifetime supply of your favorite cookies… well, it could happen.
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Did you know?
Homer, Alaska, is the Halibut fishing capital of the world.
And
Homer has a population of about 5,500 people.
BONUS
Do you want to know more about Homer, Alaska?
Take a look at Homer, Alaska and discover.
From Our North Stars (that’s you)
Our look at favorite restaurants in Anchorage brought these comments:
Molly wrote in to say:
“some of my favorite restaurants are, the Garden of Eatin, the Rice Bowl, Legal Pizza, Flippers (or Flippy’s) and Harry’s”.
Larry said:
“I really liked Elevation 92, Clinkerdaggers and The Corsair”.
And Sam wrote this:
“The Lucky Wishbone story was a great one and brought back many a great memory. Dad owned the property on 5th Ave between Pop Hodleys grocery store and a little ways down towards Merrill Field. I don't know the exact street, but that is where my dad started Alaska Towing and Wrecking. So The Lucky Wishbone was one of our hang-outs as kids”.
Michael Remembers this:
“My earliest memory of eating at a restaurant in Anchorage was at the White Spot when it was located at 412 C street. This was probably in 1969 or 1970. We had just moved to Alaska (Bethel) in 1968, so it was a treat to have a hamburger there back in the day. Will always remember that!”
Don wrote this:
“My memory recalls Klinkerdagger, Bickerstaff & Petts, the original Rice Bowl along E. 5th; then to E. 6th and now The Rice Garden off Sitka St. and E 5th.  The Nikko Gardens, and The Garden of Eatin''; both in Spenard. 
Connect with Us
Did you learn something new about Homer, Alaska? We certainly did.
And thank you to all our North Stars for the great comments about your favorite Anchorage restaurants.
Do you have a comment? Just reply to this email, or you can Contact Us to say, “I caught a Halibut in Homer”.
Until Next Time
Mike and Mary
Anchorage Memories.com





Get full access to Anchorage Memories VIP Club Podcast at anchoragememories.substack.com/subscribe

He had no money, and no job prospects on the horizon.
So, in 1929, during the Great Depression, he was able to sneak on board the SS Aleutian steamship, headed for Seward, Alaska.
Once in Seward, he made his way to Anchorage, where he found work, driving a delivery truck for Standard Oil.
Later, he began a fur trading business using dog teams and chartered planes to reach remote Alaska villages.
His fur trading company led him into the aviation business.
Meet Linious “Mac” McGee.
He never learned to fly because he was more interested in business and organization, than aviation.
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How it Began
In 1931, McGee partnered with an Alaska Bush pilot named Harvey W. Barnhill.
The two purchased a three-seat Stinson aircraft and began Barnhill and McGee Airways in Anchorage.
About a year later, in 1932, McGee bought out Barnhill’s share of the company. Then, after purchasing another Stinson aircraft, McGee started McGee Airways. It was one of the first air services in Anchorage.
Over the next two years, McGee Airways grew into a fleet of seven Stinson aircraft.
With all the same planes, McGee reasoned that they could interchange parts, which would make it easier to maintain flight schedules.
1934
McGee sold his airline to Anchorage based, Star Air Service, but stayed on as the manager for several years.
1937
He later decided to get out of aviation all together.
By this time, McGee was involved in the mining industry and later retired at the age of 73.
Star Air Service became Star Airlines
Then, in 1942, Star Airlines was sold, and the name was changed to Alaska Star Airlines.
The Beginning of Alaska Airlines
Photo by Harley D. Nygren
In the picture above is a 1949, Alaska Airlines DC-3
In 1944, the company, that began as McGee Airways, was renamed for the last time. The new name is Alaska Airlines.
Yes, Alaska Airlines came about because of a 1929 stowaway named Linious “Mac” McGee who came to Anchorage, Alaska seeking a new life and opportunity in the Last Frontier.
BONUS
You can learn more about Linious “Mac” McGee and Alaska aviation history.
Take a look at McGee Airways: The Story Of Alaska Airlines' Predecessor and discover.
From Our North Stars (that’s you)
From our look at Homer, Alaska
Jim sent us this comment:
“I listened to your podcast on how Homer, Alaska got its name. Very interesting and informative.”
And Sam shared this memory:
“What I remember most about homer is the homer spit. As a small boy, Dad and mom took out onto the spit, to dig for those huge muscle clams.
We filled a small gunny sack. Then, when we got home, mom made clam chowder with those huge chunks of clams in it. That was some good clam chowder. Another great memory.”
Jon had this question:
“I wonder if Homer Pennock had something to do with Pennock Island in Ketchikan?”
A Note from Anchorage Memories:
Yes, Jon, we looked it up and Pennock Island in Ketchikan is also named after Homer Pennock. He definitely got around Alaska.
And Arlise had this suggestion:
“I know of a little town not far from Homer you could mention, and maybe write a little somethin' about. Seldovia! What do you think? I grew up there and still have family and many friends there, so I may be a little partial.”
A Note from Anchorage Memories:
Arlis - great suggestion. Seldovia has a very interesting history. So yes, we will be creating an entire edition of the Anchorage Memories VIP Club podcast about Seldovia very shortly.
Connect with Us
Did you enjoy the story of Anchorage Pioneer, Linious “Mac” McGee and his contribution to Alaska aviation? We certainly did.
Do you have a comment? Just reply to this email. Or, you can Contact Us to say, “I flew with Alaska Airlines 243