Beware of the Rug: If this is Thursday it must be poscards, 410

Thursday, August 1, 2019

If this is Thursday it must be poscards, 410

Ketchikan, Alaska

This postcard above has a photo of a street in Ketchikan, Alaska by Michael M. Anderson. The card is an “Alaska Joe” original printed in Italy by Greatland Classic Sales Co., Inc. The identifying number, 82-134B, is found on the back of the card.

Ketchikan was the last Alaska stop on the cruise. The day was sunny and beautiful; an anomaly according to my Juneau friend who claimed that Ketchikan gets the most rain of all the southeastern towns. According the blurb on the back of the postcard Ketchikan was Alaska’s first city and the downtown area is a National Historic District. The town is named after the Ketchikan Creek that flows through it and empties into the Tongass Narrows. The Creek was a summer fish camp for Tlingit natives well before the town was established in 1885.

Beaver Clan House at Saxman Totem Park, as seen from the ship

We had seen a few totem poles in Sitka and wanted to see more. Ketchikan has four major areas with totem poles, Saxman Totem Park, about 2 miles to the south; Totem Bight State Park, 10 miles to the north; Potlach Park, adjacent to Totem Bight; and the Totem Heritage Center within walking distance of where the cruise ships dock. There are shuttle buses available to take visitors to Saxman, Totem Bight, and Potlach Park. Most of the totem poles at Saxman and Totem Bight are re-carvings of older poles. We chose to walk to the Totem Heritage center, which has displays of preserved 19th century poles, that were rescued from abandoned villages near Ketchikan, as well as some newer poles. It took us about 20 minutes to walk from the dock to the museum. On the return trip we took a different route and stopped at several small shops so although it was a shorter distance it took a bit longer.

The Totem Heritage Center is located next to the city park and the fish hatchery. We found displays of old totem poles, some newer carved poles, and examples of other native art. It had the added advantage of young native docents who were happy to answer any questions and relate information about the displays and the native peoples who live and lived in that area.

There were totem poles outside the museum and individual carved figures on the sides of the museum building. Some of the poles were painted and some were not. Inside the museum there was a room with very old poles under glass for preservation. Each pole tells a story.

This pole was near the museum entrance

Recent native carving

19th century totems poles

The photo above shows 19th century totem poles that are indoors to protect them from further damage. It sometimes took a team of artisans more than 2 or 3 years to carve the poles. The docent told us that these poles will last about 100 years and then need to be re-carved and reinstalled in the ground. Each pole has a blank uncarved section at the bottom end that is placed in the ground, leveled and held in place with rocks and stones, and the hole is filled in the rest of the way with dirt. It would take many men with ropes and pulleys to get the pole from the prone position while it was being carved to the upright position that it was destined to have. Sometimes rings were carved at the top to indicate how many times that particular story pole had been made, or the story told. Each new or re-carved pole that was placed in the ground was reason for a potlach gathering where the story was retold and a festival was held to honor the placing of the pole.