Alaskan Roadhouses: Shelter, Meals and Lodging Along Alaska's Early Roads and Trails

Research on this book is over the top! Awesome photos! Author, Helen Hegener, left no stone unturned in revealing Alaskan roadhouses that I wasn't aware of. Added to my collection of Alaska history books for future reference, now sitting gracefully between "Dictionary of Alaska Place Names" and "Alaska Nellie."

Cool book I need to sit down and read now

excellent

Alaska history remains untold in large part because the heart and soul of its story is not wrapped up in politics and riches, but instead on the priceless exchange of humanity. Hegener has offered us a slice of homemade pie from the modest roadhouse table that provided an oasis for many a wilderness traveler seeking their fortunes in the Last Frontier. Alaska is a land without pretensions. The President of the United States was afforded the same courtesy as a miner down on his luck. Stories that circulated around those roadhouse tables kept the history of Alaska alive and we can thank Hegener for retrieving them to share with all, whether in Alaska or not. This is a work that brings the warmth of the kettle home again.

Drawing on her many years of experience following and reporting on Alaskan Sled Dogs Helen brings to life the mainstays of life on the trails of Alaska, the roadhouses that offered rest, food and companionship to those that struck out across Alaska for whatever their reasons. From mining for Gold, mining for men's souls or just the grand adventure those that took to the trails knew the roadhouses well. While many of the roadhouses are long gone the stories of the men and women that found their ideal life to be one lived in relative isolation in the wilderness live on. Helen has visited many of the remaining roadhouses, knows the owners of many of those still in operation and has a deep understanding of the unique time and place in our history that brought about the existence of the roadhouses.As a standalone or as a companion volume to her works on the Matanuska Valley and Sled Dog racing this is a much anticipated and well received addition to any Alaskan library. Alaskan Roadhouses: Shelter, Meals and Lodging Along Alaska's Early Roads and Trails