Comments & Reviews
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The town of Unga was built over a hundred years ago by hardy men involved in cod fishing in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Families came and raised their children there. To give them opportunities of learning not available at the time, the women formed schools, a library, churches, music appreciation and other groups. When the town died with the cod fishing industry, the residents moved to other places and fit in easily because of their superb education. The link formed by the residents of Unga has remained until this day. This is their story. Ruth Bjornstad McCausland
If you're interested in primary source history, The Alaska Pen captures life on the Aleutian island of Unga during the World War II era in a way that no other text has yet to address. This book is a wonderful compilation of actual high school newspapers which served as a chronicle of village life, written by the authors and other students while they grew up in Unga. Teachers today could use this book as a journalism model of real writing about real people in their own community. The numerous photographs of the war years enhance this compelling historical account presenting the reader with a multi-layered study of Alaskan history that accents life in a small town during the last global conflict. It's a must read if you're an Alaskan history buff! Dorothy Gray, Program Director
In 1995 I published a book about my mother's life that began with her girlhood in Unga village, a gift for her and the extended family, surely of scant interest to the rest of the world. But as I began traveling with the book, I encountered an astonishing number of people fascinated with Unga--the village and the island itself. Many had actual connections with the community. Others had merely sailed by and been seduced by the beauty of those Irish-green hills, as Alaska writer Ed Opheim Sr. referred to them, or had heard pensive bits of the history of what is now a ghost village. I always wished I had more Unga stories for them, and for myself. Now thanks to three people who knew Unga well, we have those stories in The Alaska Pen. From the original Alaska Pen publication, which was always so much more than a "school paper," from their own growing-up years, from photos and anecdotes contributed by others, Thor, and Peggy and Ed have compiled a volume that brings the village back to life. My mother is gone, and her own story is out of print. But how she would have pored over this treasure of a book! I'm eager to share it with my children, and I know other families will be doing the same. The three authors deserve our thanks. Jackie Benson Pels |
