Donations to the SMHS Maritime Collections
The Tom and Al
This summer Lynne Chassin donated a print of E. W. Merrill's photograph of the Tom and Al, a halibut schooner, on the beach at what is now Katlian Street. This print was one made from the negatives of Sheldon Jackson College a number of years ago.
The photo is from some time after 1907, which was when the radio towers visible in the background were constructed. The Tom & Al was built by the (Thomas J.) King and (Albert M.) Winge shipbuilding company in Seattle in 1900, as the Ragnhild. (In 1914, the yard built the King and Winge, the halibut schooner involved in rescuing the survivors of the Karluk expedition, which sank working as a crabber in the Bering Sea in 1994.)
SMHS had the image scanned and is now sharing it at our website. There is lots of fun detail, from the fishing gear, to the natty headgear of the day. Thanks Lynne, for your donation!
This summer Lynne Chassin donated a print of E. W. Merrill's photograph of the Tom and Al, a halibut schooner, on the beach at what is now Katlian Street. This print was one made from the negatives of Sheldon Jackson College a number of years ago.
The photo is from some time after 1907, which was when the radio towers visible in the background were constructed. The Tom & Al was built by the (Thomas J.) King and (Albert M.) Winge shipbuilding company in Seattle in 1900, as the Ragnhild. (In 1914, the yard built the King and Winge, the halibut schooner involved in rescuing the survivors of the Karluk expedition, which sank working as a crabber in the Bering Sea in 1994.)
SMHS had the image scanned and is now sharing it at our website. There is lots of fun detail, from the fishing gear, to the natty headgear of the day. Thanks Lynne, for your donation!
From the Osbakken FamilyWillis Osbakken has generously donated two items from his father John’s collection, and SMHS is excited to add them to our collection, which will eventually be part of our hands-on collection in the planned boathouse collection area.
John Osbakken came to the U.S. from Norway as an apprentice ship’s carpenter aboard the Balclutha, which is now the centerpiece of the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park. In Sitka, Willis’s father had various enterprises, including a liquor store and the tender Point Reyes; he also built skiffs and repaired fishing boats at his partner Louis Johansen’s boat shop near Goddard, and would do work on boats in the harbor. Willis tells us that his father could size up the piece he needed, go to his shop (an addition on the back of the Osbakken house, which is now the Sitka Rose Gallery) and make the piece as a first-time perfect fit. 
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From the Osbakken collection: A portable boat compass, brand name Dirigo (“I lead” in Latin). This compass is made to swing freely and stay level in a moving boat. It may have had a wooden lid at one time.
The second item is a hand-made wooden box of caulking irons, an old soldering iron, and several rollers for rolling caulking into the seam between boat planks. The rollers would have been used on smaller boats. Caulking irons are used to drive in and firm cotton or oakum into the seam between two planks on a boat. Different widths are needed for different widths of seams. The irons are hit with a caulking mallet, like the piece featured in our fall newsletter, of likely similar vintage, that was donated by Randall Rodgers. SMHS is extremely grateful for these beautiful examples of our maritime history, gifted by Willis Osbakken, who we interviewed this past November. A radio edit of the interview will be made available for broadcast to KCAW soon. ~ |
Donated by Harry Jimmy
 Harry Jimmy observes as Rebecca Poulson inspects the planes Jimmy donated to SMHS. The planes had belonged to boatbuilder Andrew Hope. (James Poulson photo)
Harry Jimmy, who purchased his Katlian Street shop from mid-twentieth century Sitka boatbuilder Andrew Hope, has donated a number of items from the shop to the Sitka Maritime Heritage Society.
The items, which had once belonged to Hope, include four wooden and two metal planes as well as molds for a Davis-style boat, a yellow cedar bowstem, a pattern for the keel and transom angle, and planking stock. The Sitka Maritime Heritage Society is incredibly grateful for the donated items, which come form the heyday of wooden boatbuilding in Sitka. They will be provide a visual link to that era for years to come. |
Donated by Randall Rodgers Rebecca Poulson photo
Randall Rodgers graciously donated an engineer’s caulking mallet that is about 100 years old to Sitka Maritime Heritage Society.
The mallet is a traditional tool used to pound oakum or cotton into the seams of a wooden boat hull in order to make the hull firm. This particular mallet was found in the 1980’s inside the hull of a 110-foot schooner that was scheduled for demolition. As the boat was taken apart for salvageable parts, the mallet was discovered inside the hull, where it had most likely fallen to an out-of-reach place during construction. It had been perfectly preserved for the life of the boat, when it came into the hands of Randall Rodgers. SMHS is extremely grateful for this wonderfully preserved piece of history, and will display it for public viewing once the boathouse project reaches completion. |
Collection items will eventually be on public display in the Japonski Island Boathouse.
Have items to contribute? Contact SMHS at sitkamaritime@gmail.com
Have items to contribute? Contact SMHS at sitkamaritime@gmail.com