In 1965, with 18-month-old
Gretchen Renee in tow, Chuck and Sara took jobs as teachers with the
Bureau of Indian Affairs and lit out for the Northern Territories. Life
in Nunapitchuk, Alaska meant lots of canned soup, an end to fresh eggs
and no more fresh vegetables, as everything they ate had to be ordered
months in advance, packed in barrels and sent up the coast by ship. But
it also meant lots of fun for the young family, which was having such a
good time that
it grew by 33 percent in 1968. The family was living in Chefornak when
Traci Rae arrived. They moved on to Emmonak before leaving their
beloved Eskimo students behind and returning to the lower 48 in 1971.
Going to Alaska was an unusual life decision to make. It meant leaving
behind friends and family at a time when that wasn't done as
casually as it is today.
"I really hated to see them go," remembers Lillian. "I'll never forget
the day they left."
I really didn't see it
coming. Course, you
know your other grandparents
were up there. And I think that's what caused them to go up there,
because they could get on with the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, and her folks were already up there doing the
same thing, so I think that's what influenced them more than anything.
But I really
hated to see them go. I'll never forget the day they left.
They all came here for dinner Edna and Gleason and Charles and Sara and
Gretchen. If I could find the picture, I took a picture of them in the
yard over at the other house as they were leaving. And one of ëem
is holding Gretchen, don't know whether it's Charles or Sara. And then
we all went down to the train station down at Kansas City and we put
'em on the train and saw 'em off to Alaska. And Denzil's mother just
cried and cried, just couldn't hardly stand it.
We didn't
really have much time with them for the next six years
because they'd come back in the summertime and go to Columbia and go to
college. So they were up there most of the time. They sent a lot of
tapes back to Edna and Gleason, but we usually just wrote letters.
They'd send pictures of you kids all along.
We did have
some nice visits with them. Denzil missed them after they
left here. It was just one of those things. Charles was his baby
brother. He was protective of Charles. He thought a whole lot of
Charles.
Kathi, too, remembers that day and the tape recordings that would
arrive from Alaska to be listened to by family over the next six years.
There was a lot of
activity getting your
folks ready for their journey
to Alaska - suitcases, crates, baby stuff, etc. I think Dad even
had a washer and dryer shipped up there. What I remember most was
everyone going to the train station in Neosho to send them off. I
remember Grandpa and Grandma being so emotional. Then there were the
tape recordings that were traded back and forth. I remember Grandpa
trying to learn how to run the tape recorder - a little frustrating for
him at first. (Just think how far we've come!) When a new tape would
arrive, Grandma and Grandpa would play it after our Sunday noon meal
along with any pictures they might have received.
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