Prince of Wales Island



Close Quarters at Wrangell, a rainy departure

 

As we readied to depart Wrangell in the morning, we noted that a large fishing boat (one behind us and one in front of us) had come in during the night.  With little room to spare, it reminded us of the time a fishing boat lost steerage (a broken prop) arriving at the dock nearly hitting the back of our boat.  This near miss occurred the first time we had visited Wrangell and apparently the story is still being told since the harbormaster remembered the event.  

Beautiful Thorne Bay

After reminiscing, we departed Wrangell heading south through Zimovia Strait into Ernest Sound, then crossed Clarence Strait arriving at Thorne Bay on Prince of Wales Island.  It was a pleasure to once again see Harbormaster Shane and his family with whom we have become friends.  

Klawock Totem Park (old cannery in background)

We mentioned to Shane that we wanted to drive across the Island to visit Craig again and stop at the Native village of Klawock.  We were going to rent a car in town but Shane kindly offered the use of his truck and we were happy to reimburse him for gas and mileage for his thoughtful gesture.  

Klawock Totem Park

The trip across the Island is quite scenic with steep mountains and lovely tundra landscapes overlooking Big Salt Lake, a connected inlet to the sea.  Per Shane’s suggestion, we stopped at the totem park in Klawock, an impressive collection of new totems, reproductions of much earlier poles that were recently completed in 2013. 

The park was created in the 1930’s when the CCC’s (Civilian Conservation Corp) initiated the project of bringing carvers together to duplicate twenty-one Mortuary Poles from Tuxecan, the winter village of the Heinyaa Kwann.  Tuxecan, a small island off the northwest coast of Prince of Wales, has long been abandoned but was once home to more than a 100 totem poles, all appearing to have been mortuary poles created to honor the dead, the ashes of nobles stored in bentwood boxes in the back. 

One of the original poles was taken from the abandoned village during the Great Depression by late actor John Barrymore.  By then the Natives had relocated to Klawock.  The village of Klawock has yet to launch a formal process to bring back the pole under the Federal Repatriation Law.  The poles at Klawock were duplicated once again, when in 1998 the City of Klawock began the Klawock Totem Park Restoration Project. 

All twenty-one totem poles were recarved as a means of preserving the stories and images of the old poles from Tuxecan.  There are still dozens more to be carved and the Natives find great comfort in the poles, enabling them to make spiritual connections with their clans and ancestors.  Klawock was first established as a fish camp used by the Tlingit’s where families processed salmon to feed their clans year-round. 

When Europeans arrived, a trading post and salmon cannery was built, one of the first in Alaska.  While at Klawock, we also visited the Fireweed Lodge per Shane’s suggestion, a lovely sport fishing lodge with beautiful views serving excellent dinners.  From here we continued the remaining six and a-half miles to Craig, a stop we had made with Got d’ Fever on our first trip to Alaska.  

Craig Alaska, Prince of Wales Island

The town still looked the same, perhaps better with a new coat of paint on buildings left from the mid-1800’s.  

Abandoned Cannery at Craig

A cannery, sawmill, and other facilities were built in the early 1900’s and the town was later incorporated in 1922.  The old abandoned cannery and boardwalk is still intriguing, offering opportunities for scenic photographs and visions of a once active bygone era.  

Old Cannery Boiler

Today, Craig is the largest of the small towns on the Island and serves as the major supply center.  After a nice lunch in Craig at the Dockside Café, we started our 40-mile drive back to Thorne Bay, Java no-doubt was anxiously awaiting our return.  

Overlooking San Alberto Bay at Craig

It had been a pleasant day but the best was yet to come.  Shane and Sheila invited us to dinner at their lovely home overlooking the bay.  Shane barbequed some venison burgers with beef added for that juicy texture, Sheila made several delicious salads, and we brought wine and a carrot cake for dessert. 

Friends Terra, Sheila, and Shane

We so much enjoyed the conversation over dinner discovering mutual interests such as hiking and snow skiing as well as geographic connections with Washington State and Montana.  We are looking forward to having them visit us in Anacortes/Seattle, where they have other friends and family members in the area.  The evening wore on and we mentioned how everyone on the Island seemed so polite with words like "excuse me," and gave us hello waves as we passed other cars on the road; then Shane proceeded to tell us a funny story:  a girl who had moved to Thorne Bay for work left within the month because she thought people were "flicking her off," she must have been from a big city and misunderstood the finger(s) wave, one of those cultural miss communications!  After we finished dinner, Shane's and Sheila's daughter, Taylee, arrived home from work and joined us for dessert.  We wished her the best as she leaves to attend college in Florida this Aug-Sept.  Shane and Sheila had asked us if we had any “empty-nester” advice, all we could say is that it gets easier as time passes and to appreciate the new opportunities that come along.