Paintings done from trip photos

But First, A Little Background

The four intrepid travelers on this trip are Mary Alice Lee, her sister Virginia "Ginger"Lee Danzer, Kelley Sinclair Allton and me, Ginny Reilly.

Kate Plein's sister Margaret Hegans married Edward W. Reilly of St. Louis and had seven children: John, Edward P., Lawrence, Alice, Catherine, Margaret and Agnes. Mary Alice & Virginia are Alice's daughters. Kelley is Lawrence's granddaughter. I'm the granddaughter of Edward P. Reilly.

Let's see if I can make this more confusing. I'm a first cousin once removed to the Lee sisters. So is Kelley. But Kelley and I are second cousins. Mary Alice & Ginger are Kate's grandnieces. Kelley and I are her great-grandnieces.

The four of us share an affliction common to our female Reilly ancestors. It's called wanderlust. We look for any excuse to travel. We can't help but feel a kinship to Auntie Plein, who once went off for a great adventure in a new frontier.

A Bio of Mary Catherine Hegans Staley Plein

Auntie Plein or Mary Catherine Hegans was born in New Orleans in 1861. Her mother Mary Gaffney was a young widow with a son, Thomas, when she married Peter Hegans. They went on to have 5 more children: Edward, John, Mary Catherine, Margaret and Mathilda. The family lived in St. Louis, MO.

Mary Hegans died within a few years of giving birth to Mathilda, who was born in 1868. Peter Hegans died, we believe, in 1884. The boys stayed with him, and the girls were largely farmed out to other families. Mathilde was adopted by a well-off couple named Finnegan. She later became a nun. Margaret lived with a number of families, and we have no idea who raised Mary Catherine.

At some point, Mary Catherine married Milton Staley. There was a daughter named Nathalie, born in 1882, who may have been adopted. Somewhere along the line, Mary left Milton, met Joseph Plein (pronounced "pline") and followed him to Nome, Alaska in search of gold. We don't know when or if the Pleins were legally married. She wrote a letter to her sister from Nome in 1900, seeming to apologize for the hurt she caused her family. It was signed "M.C. Staley."

The Pleins eventually made their home in Fortuna Ledge/Marshall, where they pursued their mining interests, and Aunt Kate functioned as kind of a town nurse. She is recalled as having saved lives with her medical skills. She also taught school for a time at a nearby village called Russian Mission. She died in Marshall on Jan 28, 1932 and had a funeral befitting a beloved figure. Joseph Plein died in 1939 in Sitka, AK.

Wandering Foot
Auntie Plein wrote a lot of letters, which the Lee sisters saved and plan to donate to the museum in Nome. The letters give some indication of what life was like in the Alaskan Territory in the early part of the 19th century. There were sled dogs and hog-killings and foxes . The summers were full of gardening (they grew cabbage, turnips, potatoes, lettuce, carrots and radishes) and the long winters were punctated with parties, carnivals and balls. She writes of their mining endeavors in Marshall, which at times made the Pleins very prosperous. She had no romantic ideas about Alaska, but was drawn to its wildness. She writes in a letter dated 1918, "The great charm of this country is I think its unsettled state. You don't know what you may do tomorrow ... I surely have a wandering foot. If I had my way, I'd be on the go all the time."

Our Mission in Marshall and Nome
In Marshall, we hope to find the Plein house, and possibly the site of the Plein's gold mining efforts. In Nome, we hope to find Plein records - business, probate, marriage, etc. Ginger, Mary Alice and I have already spent many hours researching the Pleins, but hope to have more questions answered during our trip to Alaska.

Return of La Rana 8.14.07

I knew yesterday was going to be good day when one of the frogs came back. For most of July, I had three Canyon Treefrogs living on my studio porch. Then there was a fierce rainstorm, and they all left. No note, nothing. Their absence wasn't easy for me. I was left having to go on with my life without the love and support of my frogs. Then, yesterday, one of my amphibians returned. So you know, the frog is smaller in real life than in this photo, but I did no photoshopping of this image. It is a naturally attractive frog.

The Return of La Rana was a good omen. A short time after, I received an email from Jeanne Ostnes, who once published a mining history of Fortuna Ledge/Marshall on the internets, and who is worshipped as a goddess by those of us who are trying to research the mining history of Fortuna Ledge/Marshall (admittedly, not a large group). Mary Alice, Virginia and I have been trying to track her down all year, but she's been very hard to find. She's like the good Osama. But finally this week I googled her down and made contact. And she's going to meet with Mary Alice & Ginger on Thursday in Anchorage. Like I said, yesterday was a good day. Now to organize my tech stuff for the big trip.

Everyone Wanted to Come on this Trip - 08.15.07

There are only four of us going on this trip to Alaska, but we could have had a much larger crowd. Some of Virginia's and Mary Alice's nephews and nieces were seriously considering coming. My Aunt Mary Gray and her daughters Mary and Margaret would have loved to join us. Unfortunately, the timing isn't good for the Marys. Their goth-punk band "The Mary Grays" is going out on tour in the fall and they are tied up in rehearsals. As for Margaret, who was recently fired as drummer for "The Mary Grays" for glowing in the dark (a decided distraction on stage), her doctors at The Melanin Clinic have deemed her "too pale to travel. Even to Alaska." We're sorry the Grays and others couldn't make it.

But I Am Going and Here's Why

This is a very spendy trip. It's not like you can rent a car and drive all over Alaska. There are no highways to most places. You can't take a train or bus to go to towns like Nome and Marshall. You have to fly. Everywhere. And that gets expensive. It doesn't help that hotels and restaurants aren't exactly bargain-priced in the Last Frontier. Sadly, I had kind of a spendy summer. Had to replace a dying computer, and I also had to buy a proper camera for studio work. And I don't need to tell you people about the price of cocaine these days! Through the roof! So I didn't think I would go, and then about two weeks ago, Mary Alice, a.k.a. Greatest Human Being Ever, came up with the greatest win-win idea ever. She said she'd pick up my expenses in exchange for artwork. So here I am, packing to leave for Alaska. Which reminds me: I should really go and pack.

Joe Plein's Eyes Creep Me Out - 08.16.07

Were those white horror movie contact lenses around during the Pleins' time? Or did Joe P. just have a set of those extraordinarily creepy light-colored blue eyes? Either way, I get kind of squicked out looking at the photo of him.

Off to the Airport in a Few Hours

I leave in a few hours and am all packed to go, except for the mountain of stuff I haven't put in the suitcase yet. I won't get into Alaska until 7pm. (FYI: Alaskan time is just an hour earlier than pacific time.) Then I will rush to the hotel via shuttle and meet Jeanne Ostnes, Ginger & Mary Alice for dinner. Oh, this morning I found two frogs in my flowerpots. I like to think it bodes well for the trip.

Them Internets is Real Slow in Alaska - 08.19.07

We're having an amazing time in Alaska. Unfortunately, them internets is way too slow to upload photos, so my big photoblog may have to wait until I get home on the 23rd of August. Weather has been incredible, people have been very friendly and we're having a wonderful time. Photos and stories to follow when I get some decent internets.

Alaska Day 1: Anchorage, 08.16.07 - Arrival

Mary Alice Lee, Jeanne Ostnes and Ginger Danzer. Jeanne Ostes, the historian of Marshall, Alaska, met with Ginger and Mary Alice late in the afternoon at our hotel. I arrived in Anchorage hours later and joined the group at 7:30pm. Jeanne gave each of us a cd with old photos of Marshall. She told us Kate Plein was a very well-loved figure in the town. Jeanne is descended from a mining family with a long history in the Yukon Delta and she inherited 21 boxes of documents, photos and letters from her family. She's currently working as a legislative aide for an Alaskan congressman, but we're encouraging her to write a book. We ended up having dinner at the Millennium Hotel, across from our hotel, and Kelley joined us when she arrived from Dallas a few hours later. Jeanne is a wonderful woman with a wealth of knowledge, and Mary, Ginger and I have decided to forgive her for working for a Republican.

A view of Spenard Lake from Millennium Hotel. This lake is very popular with owners of float planes, and the planes fly in and out from the lake all day. You can just barely make out one of the docked planes at the bottom left of the photo. Shortly after this picture was taken, Kelley and I headed out to buy provisions for the big trip to Marshall the following day.

Alaska Day 2: Marshall, 08.17.07 - Best Day Ever

A man picks up Mary Alice. We left Anchorage early in the morning and flew to Bethel, AK. We then had to take a van to Hageland Aviation, a small airline with small planes that services the small villages. This is where Mary Alice got picked up by a guy. Sean, a nice mechanic from Nebraska, saw Mary Alice having difficulty getting into the van and gently lifted her in and out of the vehicle. From the Hageland Aviation airfield in Bethel, we then flew to Marshall.

Mom, I lied about the bus. My parents don't like puddlejumper planes, so I lied and told them we were taking a bus from Bethel to Marshall. Big fat lie. Here's our "bus" to Marshall, and the little girl standing near it is Katie, the daughter of our "driver", Derek. You cannot travel by bus or car in most of bush country Alaska, because the landscape is swampy tundra and you can't build roads on it. Oh, and Mom? On the return trip to Bethel, just after landing, the electricity went out on our aircraft, and the plane had to be towed down the runway by an ATV.

An aerial view of Bethel. See what I mean about the landscape? The locals told me travel is so much easier in winter, when they can travel from village to village via snowmobile. A trip that takes 20 minutes in January can take days in June, and in the summer you also have to worry about being attacked by bears.

Our co-pilot was two years old. As the plane took off, little Katie put down her sippy cup, turned to her father and asked, "Is the plane door closed, Daddy?" Pilot Derek, who is from CA and has kind of a Malibu Taliban look, did something else we've never experienced on a plane. He spotted a pair of moose and turned the plane back so we could get a better look!

We didn't know what to expect in Marshall. A local businessman, Leslie Hunter, spoke by phone to Ginger before the trip and said he would charge $50/person to use the town's only rental car for the day. That didn't happen. Instead, Leslie greeted us at the airfield and drove us (gratis) directly to the Tribal Council Office, where we were greeted like visiting dignitaries.

"We have a whole day planned for you." After arriving at the Tribal Council office, we were told that the day's activities had been planned for us. Valerie Andrew (pictured) would take us around Marshall and show us Kate's gravestone and the site of the Plein house. Then there would be a luncheon, followed by Eskimo dances. We arrived at the TC office about 10am and hung out with Valerie, and her co-workers Nora Tikiun and Ruth Fitka for a bit. As we did, many of the locals stopped by the office to say hello. They were an incredibly kind and friendly group. The village of Marshall started out as a (white) mining settlement and slowly ended up a native village when the US Government stipulated that Native Alaskan children had to go to school. Since Marshall had an established school, many native families moved there. Today the town is about 95% Native Alaskan. Some of the common surnames in Marshall are Andrew, Boots, Duny, Fitka, Hunter, Isaac, Kameroff, Oney and Polty. Many of the people are part Russian, and the heritage shows up in not only in surnames but in the form of lighter skin and green eyes. One of the Boots' ancestors originally had a Russian name but was rechristened "Boots" in honor of his footwear.


Plein House Site. This is the site where the old Plein house stood, and where a new house is currently being contructed. It has a very pretty view of the Yukon. We were told the original Plein house was burned down in either 1980s or 1990s. When we showed a picture of the original house to one of the village elders, he immediately recognized a nearby house as the one he grew up in.


















Mary Catherine Plein's Gravestone
The inscription reads "Here Rests Mrs. M.C. Plein. 1861-1932. Life with her was worth while/ Many years were spent in smiles." In anticipation of our visit, locals cleaned up the area around Kate's gravestone, which incidentally is one of only two marble gravemarkers in the entire cemetery. Kelley did a rubbing of the gravestone.

Salmon Drying. (photo by Kelley) This was a shack by the river that is used for drying salmon. Later, at the buffet prepared for us by the Tribal Council, we were served not only dried salmon, but salmon patties, moosemeat stew and ambrosia.




Fortuna Ledge Grocery Store (photo by Kelley) At about 5pm at this time of year in Marshall, everyone gets off work and goes to the grocery store for snacks and sodas in preparation for a night of moose-hunting. Only Native Alaskans can hunt moose, and even then, they are forbidden to shoot female moose, so ahem, successful moose hunters must harvest "proof" that they shot a male.


Little girl playing with a toy (photo by Kelley) The village seems like an extended family, and all the kids seem to play together like brothers and sisters. Kelley and I both thought the Marshall kids were very sweet and well-mannered.




Kevin & Emma. This is Kevin & his little sister Emma. Kevin played the drums when the dancers performed after the luncheon.
The four of us all took lots of pictures of the photogenic Miss Emma.







Eskimo Dances Nora, Valerie and Anna perform an Eskimo dance. Anna, a village elder, joined in just for this dance. She was an strong and vigorous dancer.







Dance Fans One of the dancers gives us a close up of her dance fans. Kelley loved the fans and bought a pair when she was in Nome. The village elders work hard to pass on old traditions and crafting skills to the younger generations.














Valerie The always-smiling Valerie in her regalia headress. She was our driver and guide for the day and patiently answered endless questions from a certain pesky blonde.






Benton Just before leaving AZ, I decided I should bring toys with me to Marshall in case I ran into any kids. I settled on those small plastic animals that are sometimes given out as favors at parties. I brought jungle animals, cats, dogs, sea creatures and lizards. (The lizards and cats went first.) The children really seemed to love the toy animals. Here's Benton with his stash. (Kevin turned out to be major dog lover, so I gave him all the leftover dogs.)






Anna Before the festivities ended, Anna presented Mary Alice with a beautiful woven basket she herself had made. She spoke in her native Yup'ik language and her words were translated by another elder: "A stranger is welcomed into my village."

Alaska Day 3: Nome, 08.18.07 - Arrival

There's no place like Nome. Kelley took this picture of the famous sign in front of the Nome Nugget Inn. Across the street from this sign is the equally famous Iditarod finish line. We arrived in Nome in the late morning, quickly got settled into our hotel, and made our way to town for lunch and to visit the Carrie M. McLain Museum.





Our first meal in Nome. Ginny, Ginger & Mary Alice at the Polar Cafe. Many times we would look out at the waters and say, "We're on the Bering Sea! We're right across from Russia!" The locals told us they rarely saw whales, but that recently a moose wandered onto the beach and ended up knee-deep in seawater.

Mary Alice takes it all in. Here's MA on the porch of our hotel, the Aurora Inn, not only the nicest hotel in Nome, but probably the nicest building. Mary Alice & Ginger were given a room on the first floor with a great ocean view. This was headquarters for our microwave popcorn happy hour each evening.





















Nome at Night. Kelley took this photo at about 10:45PM. The sun has almost set, so that should tell you how many hours of sunlight we had each day. Coming from AZ, I was surprised to find that Nome is just a dusty little Western town, only on the Bering Sea. Like they say, "There's no place like Nome."

Alaska Day 4: Nome, 08.19.07 - Hello Central!

Jesus of the Puffins. We enjoy a leisurely Sunday morning in Nome. Kelley and I attend Mass at St. Joseph's church, where Kelley can't get past the idea that there's an artwork on the wall showing Jesus surrounded by puffins. During the service, we get to sing an Inupiaq hymn (the Native Alaskans in Nome are largely Inupiaq; in Marshall, they were Yup'ik.) and we both agree that the priest, Fr. Sean, looks like a young Ted Kennedy. At the end of Mass, Father asks if the silvers are running. This apparently has to do with fish. I'm quickly learning that everybody out here is interested in hunting and fishing. Everybody. After Mass, we head to a grocery store and buy ungodly expensive bottled water because we're going to meet up with Mary Alice & Ginger and take a tour with Richard Beneville! A former Broadway Dancer! Who gives tours of Nome!


This is Richard Beneville. Richard is half-French and half-Irish. At one time, he was a total drunk. He has been sober for 17 years. Growing up in New Jersey, Richard would call the operator and hear "Hello Central." This has become Richard's catchphrase and he uses it often. In order to say "Hello Central" like he does, imagine that, like Richard, you were a dancer on Broadway for twenty years. Ah yes, now you're saying it properly.




Anvil Rock Ginger, Kelley & I pose at a famous area landmark called Anvil Rock. Kate Plein also had her picture taken here, and we were trying to duplicate the angle. When I get the old photo of Kate scanned into my computer, we'll see if we got it right.



Nome Cemetery. This tombstone had a poem: Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.
(Note to person buried here: You did die. You have a tombstone.)


Alaska vista Some of the scenery we saw on our tour with Richard. There were some muskoxen around (most of us would have missed them, but Kelley has an immense gift for spotting wildlife) but on this day, they were too distant to make decent photographic subjects.





The Iditarod Musher. German-born Nils Hans with one of his puppies. Nils and his wife Diana, a reporter for the Nome Nugget, have dozens of dogs, some of whom raced in the Iditarod with Nils four years ago.






















More of Nils' Dogs.
Modern sled dogs are not all purebred Siberian Huskies. Many seem to be Husky mixes, though. I also would have expected the dogs to be somewhat aggressive, but they were very friendly animals.






A Sled Dog's Life. Kelley's photo of one of the dogs. Meanwhile, my dog Sarge gets upset if he has to sleep on just one fluffy bed. He prefers a stack of 2 or 3 fluffy beds.























Lizzie. This is Nils & Diana's three year old daughter Lizzie. She showed me her greenhouse, where she and her mom are growing some beautiful strawberries, along with other fruits and vegetables.





Wild Berries!
Kelley shows off some of the blackberries, raspberries and blueberries she collected in Alaskan fields. The state had a great blueberry season this year, and we saw a lot of people park on the side of the roads and go off to collect the berries that were growing abundantly in the wild.

Alaska Day 5: Nome, 08.20.07 - Museum

A Day at the Museum. Today was the day we met with Laura Samuelson, the director of Carrie M. McLain Museum in Nome, to donate original cards, letters and photos from Mary Catherine and Joseph Plein. Mary Alice has been keeping this trove safe for years until she found the right place to donate it. The letters were sent from both Nome, where the Pleins lived from 1900-1914 and Marshall/Fortuna Ledge, where they resided from about 1915-1932. Mary Alice made numerous copies of the letters, and gave sets to Ginger, Kelley and me. The museum happily accepted the letters, but asked that we take the photos home (there are probably between 60-75 of them), scan each one onto disk, and carefully document them more fully. The photos are now in my possession and soon I'll begin the scanning project. Then Mary Alice may come out to Arizona to help provide provenance for each photo.

We had hoped to do more research on the Pleins, and search microfilms of old newspapers, of court cases involving Joseph Plein (there were three), of mining claims, etc., but our efforts were thwarted by a broken microfiche machine. Laura tried to arrange for me to use the one at the University of AK-Fairbanks/Nome library, but their machine was also broken.

Despite the research frustration, we all genuinely enjoyed our time at the museum, and spent a lot time looking at books, exhibits and photo collections. Laura and Beverly could not have been nicer or more helpful.


The Museum Ladies Nome local (and granddaughter of Carrie McLain) Cussie Kauer, museum staff member Beverly Gelzer, Mary Alice Lee, Ginger Danzer, museum director Laura Samuelson and (me)Ginny Reilly.
On Wed., Cussie's mother met us at the museum, looked through the Plein photos of Nome, and helped us identify local buildings.




Kelley Allton, Ginger, Mary Alice, Ginny, Beverly & Laura (museum photos by Kelley, with the help of her camera timer).




























The Gold Dredger. Kelley and I took a long evening beach walk to find sea glass. (I learned that sea glass are shards of glass that have turned opaque and funky after years of being worn down by the ocean.) Along the way, we ran into a man who had designed his own little gold dredge, which he operated the public beaches of Nome. At left, you can see his "catch" for the day -- a line of little specks of gold on the right side
of the pan.









Kelley's first time in the Bering Sea. This would be probably be as good a time to talk about what a terrible roommate Kelley was. I could leave all the lights on and make as much noise as possible, and she could sleep through it all. Where's the challenge in that? And she didn't steal any of my chocolate! What, my chocolate isn't good enough for her? Wow, those redheads is nothing but trouble.








Ginny steps into the Bering Sea. Since I come from the desert, Ginger, Mary Alice & Kelley are forced to spend much of their time with me explaining basic concepts like "oceans," "marine life" and "beaches." One morning, after patiently teaching me the difference between a lagoon and a sound, they admitted that although normally none of them drinks at all, that this week they've all been imbibing heavily just to assuage the pain of my constant questions.









Crabfest. Mary Alice & Kelley enjoying crab at the Polar Cafe. I believe "crab" is a type of edible marine creature, but I will have to look it up on wikipedia.







The only mean person in Nome totally chewed out Kelley for staging this photo at the (closed) Nugget Inn bar. I mean, all Nike Girl did was take out a few glasses and a bottle of Grand Marnier from behind the bar, and some cranky chick at the Nugget is screaming at her like she's doing something dastardly! Luckily, the Nugget Hag was the only nasty person in a town of friendly souls.



Kicking it with the Lee Sisters. Ginger and Mary Alice in front of the Bering Sea Saloon.

Alaska Day 6: Nome, 08.21.07 - Teller

We have a car! Our hotel also operated a car rental, but we were told there were none available all week. Kelley pestered the front desk for a car until she was told there was a one we could rent from Tues to Wed. (Good work, Kells!)We decided that on Tuesday, we will take the 144 mile round trip to Teller, AK. This is supposed to be a great day trip for viewing wildlife.


An abandoned gold dredge off the road to Teller.





Gold Run. By the time we arrived here,at about the 30 mile mark, we had seen some moose in the distance and not much else. We felt, if nothing else, that Gold Run Creek would be an appropriate place for a bathroom break.





"Show us some animals, Aunt Kate!" No sooner had one of us made that request, than a big herd of reindeer appeared in the distance. Right in the middle of the road.






Closer and closer.
This is what it looked like as we moved closer to the herd. Click on the photo to enlarge.









U-Turn.This is where the reindeer decided to turn around and give us the back view. Kelley had a telephoto lens on her camera and I used it to take about 17,000 images of reindeer backsides. (You're welcome, Kelley!)











Paris Hilton. This was our view for miles and miles. The deer moved along at a brisk pace, but would not go off the road. Turns out reindeer are like the Paris Hiltons of the animal world: quick to display their nether regions, and really, really stupid.






Group Decision. Finally, the reindeer made a team decision to go left. Then we asked Aunt Kate to show us some more animals. And she obliged.








America's Next Top Muskox Model.This guy was such a poser. We think he was hoping to get a modeling contract. His mate was a little more shy.

The average male muskox weighs 600-800 lbs. Typically, he will spend about three hours a day shampooing, conditioning and blow-drying his hair.




















Teller Girl
I say this out of love, but the town of Teller is a bit of dump. But this little girl, in the door of the grocery store, was cute.









We flat out.
On the way back, we heard a pop. And sure enough, the right back tire had a nasty side slash about four inches long. We were on an empty road in bear country with no car manual and no cell phone coverage, so this was not a good situation. At first, we couldn't figure out how to remove the spare on a Ford Explorer. Then, thankfully, Kelley recalled watching her husband remove a spare from his Explorer a month earlier, and she was able to get the spare out. The next problem was that the jack didn't bring up the car up high enough to put in the spare tire. It was about 6 inches short. So I suggested digging a ditch, an idea sufficiently crazy to work (which it did). Ginger found a nice skinny dirt-sweeping rock. The dirt was easy to move except we kept confronting large rocks in the ground. Finally, the ground was low enough and we were able fit the spare on and be on our way. At the hotel, they told us everyone flats out around Nome. "We have crappy roads here." Yeah, we know that now.













Dinner at Milano's. Later that evening, we struck up a conversation with the three ladies at the table next to us. (I was surprised to learn that all three consider themselves Native Alaskan. Like nearly everyone in the Lower 48, most Alaskans are also a mixture.) Milano's serves Italian food, sushi and the worst garlic bread in the entire world.