This Week in Alaska History: Sept. 8–14

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - This week’s We The People, hosted by Justin Mattson and Joe Allgood, brings us all across the state.

Sept. 8:

• In 1906, the Office of the Governor opened in Juneau after being moved from Sitka. This happened six years after Congress authorized the move.

Sept. 10:

• In 1907, the Tongass National Forest was established in Southeast Alaska.
• In 1918, the “Golden Spike” was driven in the railroad that connected Seward and Anchorage.
• In 1949, the director of the Boston Museum proposed installing a cosmic ray laboratory at the 18,000-foot Denali Pass on Mt. McKinley.

Sept. 11:

• In 1958, poet Robert W. Service died in Monte Carlo at the age of 89. The prolific writer was known as “The Bard of the Yukon.”
• In 1994, Binky the polar bear mauled a teen at the Alaska Zoo who climbed into the bear’s cage to swim in his pool. Criminal trespassing charges were pressed against the teen and his friends. This was the second mauling for Binky during the summer.
• In 2001, two Korean Airlines jets, one cargo and one passenger carrying 100 individuals, were escorted by F-15 fighter jets from Elmendorf Air Force Base and forced to land in Whitehorse. It was feared the jets may have terrorists on board following the attacks in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. As a result, parts of downtown Anchorage were evacuated.

Sept. 12:

• In 1940, Artist Sydney Laurence announced he was going to die. He died early the next day from a stroke.

Sept. 14:

• In 1998, Alaska Fish and Game biologists announced the Alaska Peninsula caribou herd was down by about 9,000 animals. They suspected predation and lack of food as a cause for the drop in the numbers.

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