Located at the end of the road in the land of the midnight sun, the historic village of Talkeetna has played a significant role in trapping, mining, railroading, and mountaineering history. Talkeetna's function as a gathering place and transportation hub in America's last frontier has been important from its onset and continues today. People from around the world gather in Talkeetna each year in preparation to ascend Denali (Mount McKinley), North America's tallest peak and one of the world's most challenging mountains. Talkeetna continues to preserve its rural Alaskan character, charm, and culture while annually hosting thousands of climbers and visitors from around the globe. Locals and guests enjoy Talkeetna's Bachelor Auction, Mountain Mama Contest, and Moose on the Loose events.
In 1939, four brutal murders occurred at three separate locations on a single day in “Cache Creek country,” a remote Alaska gold-mining region near Talkeetna. Two of the victims, Dick Francis and Frank Jenkins, had mined there for almost three decades, but disputes over mining claims in the 1930s launched the two men into protracted court battles and an arena of antagonism. By 1938, when Francis' claims were auctioned to satisfy courtordered damages awarded to Jenkins, everyone in the scattered but close-knit mining community of Cache Creek country was aware of the bitter feud. At the end of the 1939 mining season Jenkins and one of his young employees were bludgeoned to death in Wonder Gulch; three miles away, Helen Jenkins was murdered near the Jenkinses' cabin along Little Willow Creek; and, in his Ruby Creek cabin, Francis was found shot in the head with a revolver in his hand — an apparent suicide. He was thought to have first vengefully murdered the others. But an autopsy revealed that Dick Francis had been shot twice in the head. The shocked and outraged mining community began to suspect that the Jenkins/Francis feud had been ruthlessly exploited for caches of gold long rumored to be hidden on the Jenkinses' property. The case assumed sensational proportions in Alaska and, because law enforcement was minimal in this remote region, angry Alaskans clamored for a full-blown investigation by the FBI. More than sixty years later, the evidence—never made public before—whispers that justice may not have been served.
Talkeetna, the series Paul Kitka likes women, fast cars, and his job as a lieutenant in Alaska State Patrol. Unfortunately, life isn't quite that simple. Candace Marshall isn't sure what she likes. Years married to an abusive husband does that. She likes Alaska, though, so that's a start — a rocky start. The e-book set includes the first two books of Talkeetna and a bonus short story. Book 1: Everybody Lies Candace Marshall came to Alaska to escape her abusive husband. Then her abusive husband ends up dead on her cabin floor. Paul Kitka seems to believe her when she says she didn't do it. But then, who did? When your ex happens to be a lobbyist hated by everyone in Alaska, it turns out there is no end of suspects. Book 2: Somebody's Secrets Paul Kitka is headed home to Sitka, Alaska, for the first time in 18 years. His brother is accused of murder, and his mother needs him home. To save his brother, he may have to expose the secrets that have haunted him since childhood — secrets people have killed to protect. Candace Marshall, with a brand new pilot's license, is happy to fly Paul home. Sitka is supposed to be beautiful. It'll be fun, she thinks. And deadly. Someone forgot to tell her that. Dead Tourist (A bonus short story.) It's Candace's first winter in Alaska. When her cabin fever makes Paul crazy, he suggests she needs a railroad trip to Seward. It's a beautiful train ride to a beautiful coastal port. How much trouble can she get into? He forgot who he was talking to.
Heritage of Talkeetna focus is on the people. From its beginning, Talkeetna seems to have been a lure for people noted for their character, individualism, sense of independence, and humor. This pattern remains true today, and in a thoughtful sense might almost be identified as an ongoing legacy. Despite tough, often harsh lives certain people remained for many years, providing durable threads that strengthened and maintained the fabric of the village. These people, their perseverance, and the manner in which they conducted their lives, shaped the character of what has become Talkeetna's special heritage. The reader will find that a substantial amount of activity in these pages occurs in the Yentna River and Cache Creek areas, which contributed no small amount to Talkeetna's past. People that trapped, prospected and mined in those areas relied on Talkeetna as a supply and service point, but perhaps more importantly, Talkeetna relied on the trade these activities provided. It was a symbiotic relationship, inseparable from the story of Talkeetna.
Dip a toe, paw, or fin into history with this fact-tastic Level 2 Ready-to-Read, part of a new series all about pets and the people who loved them! In this story, learn all about a sweet kitty who was voted the mayor of a town in Alaska! Stubbs was the mayor of a small town in Alaska. He was friendly and well respected by the townspeople. But there was one thing that set Stubbs apart from any other mayor: he was a cat!
Kitty Banner was born into a loving, adventurous, Irish-American family in Chicago, Illinois, joining three older brothers and welcoming a second younger sister. The siblings enjoyed excellent guidance from their parents, who encouraged them to contribute to the work of the family business, to live life fully, to be considerate of others, and to strive for excellence. All generously shared their variety of interests, which ranged from hiking, fishing, climbing, target shooting, sailing and watersports, to snow skiing, horseback riding: and, in the case of her brothers, a passion for flying. Kitty was captivated by aviation and tried sky-diving before taking her first flying lesson from a unique and accomplished aerobatic pilot, a professor of geomorphology, and flight instructor, David Rahm. Once licensed as a pilot, Kitty went on to obtain an Instrument rating, her Commercial License, and her Glider and Flight Instructor Ratings. Inspired at the age of 14 by the motivation exhortations of Wilferd Peterson, author of "The Art of Living", Kitty, in turn, became a motivation and inspiration to all who came into contact with her. Having visited Alaska at age 19, hiking and exploring with a firend, Kitty could scarcely wait to return and, by age 22 with her pilot license in hand, she revisited Alaska, where she excelled. Kitty flew as a bush pilot and as a glacier pilot, mastering a variety of aircraft including heavy load transport with tundra tires on off-airport remote sites; seaplane and float operations, landings and takeoffs on the ice and snow of high altitude glaciers; and flying with exterior loads as well as exterior- mounted cameras for aerial filming and action photography. Kitty's evacuation flights included, among others, a newborn baby and his mother, survivors of two separate aircraft crashes, many mountain climbers from a world-wide number of countries, countless hunters and fisherman, and even sled dogs.
Don Sheldon has been called 'Alaska's bush pilot among bush pilots', but he was also just one man in a fragile airplane who, in the end, was solely responsible for each mission he flew, be it a high-risk landing to the rescue of others from certain death in the mountains of Alaska or the routine delivery of supplies to a lonely homesteader. Read James Greiner's Wager with the Wind to learn how a hero was born, and also how he made his courageous journey to the unknown skies of dealing with cancer.
