MEMROIRS OF BYGONE YEARS IN ALASKA

by my Dad~Bill~

Spring had finally arrived after a very long,severe winter. The temperature had dropped to 52degrees below zeroF. It was in the early part of May. Everyone was anxiously awaiting the breakup of the ice on the Kuskokwim River. Aniak,Alaska is located on an island, with the river on one side and a large slough going around the other side of the island.

Word kept coming of the breakup up the river at McGrath,Stony River,Sleetmute and Russian Mission. It was predicted that the breakup would be very severe,due to the unusual thickness of the river ice.

When reports of the flooding upriver were received,contact was made with the R.O.and JACK JEFFORD. He was the chief FAA pilot. He and his crew flew the 123 out to stand by in case evacuation was required.

For 3 days they flew occasional flights up the river to get a firsthand report on the progress of the breakup. Inbetween flights and sleeping time was spent in playing poker!

On the day the ice moved,I happened to be standing on the point of the island where the Aniak river empties into the Kuskokwim. The Aniak river ice had cleared out about ten days before. The Kuskokwim ice level was about twenty feet lower than the level of the island.

As I stood there,the ice started to move in SLOW MOTION. It only moved for a few minutes when it jammed a couple of miles below the station.

As I watched, a MOUNTAINOUS RIDGE OF ICE was forced upward in real slow motion,until it appeared to be FORTY-FIFTY FEET HIGH. It reached clear across the river,then started backing up.

On the point where I was standing,the ice was slowly pushing up the bank and onto the island. I observed with amazement, the AWESOME POWER that was being exerted by Mother Nature. The water started rising at an amazing rate. Within thirty minutes it was coming over the island~

In the meantime I rushed back to the comserfac and broke up the poker game by reporting that the breakup had arrived and the ice had jammed. The plane crew rushed out and started getting the C-123 plane ready for evacuation of personnel.

All of the station women and children were put aboard the plane. Jack taxied the plane to the lower end of the runway and waited while the FAA flatbed truck was picking up a few RCA families. The truck was plowing through a foot of water before the pick-ups were accomplished. They were finally put aboard the plane and Jack was ready for takeoff.

He experienced some trouble with one engine,which delayed them longer. He finally had both engines running right,but by this time the river was running across the runway,about midway of the 5000 foot field. Barrels,timbers and many various items were being carried across the field.

There were 42 people aboard the plane and only a little over 2000 feet of runway left. The runway was rapidly getting shorter!

Jefford finally started his takeoff with both engines doing their utmost,aided by the booster pods installed on each wing. The plane became airborne just before running into the debris water on the runway. They were on their way to Bethel with the women and children.

Seven of us remained at the station. In a short period of time, the island was completely submerged, with only two places not flooded. The White-Alice site was on a built-up pad. It stayed dry. The Flight-Service Station remained in operational status around the clock. The building was built up about 4 feet from the ground and the floor stayed dry.

The operators changed shifts by using a motor boat to travel from the quarters to the F.S.S., b traveling down the runway which by this time was a RAGING RIVER!

The operators could not enter the entrance door to the F.S.S.,as a couple of HUGE ICE BERGS had drifted across the runway and stopped right in front of the door. They tied their boat to the end of the building and crawled through a window to get into the Flight Service Station.

Dick S. was on mid-watch one night of this time. He was 'scared out of ten years growth' by observing a huge black object drifting across the runway. It was heading right for the station. It grounded once in the middle of the runway,then started again. It landed at the end of the F.S.S.,coming to rest on one of the tower guy-lines. It happened to be a 60 FOOT-long building that belonged to the natives of the village. It is readily seen why the operator was scared! It was dark in the early morning hours and everything during this period was real EERIE! [By the way..We had an AWFUL job moving that building later on in the summer!]

The flood lasted for a week. It is hard to imagine the strain that each of us were under. We never knew when we might be wiped out completely and NO PLACE TO GO! We tried to rest and sleep, but weren't very successful. Everyone was completely fatigued by the time it was over. Our little world consisted of about one acre of ground that was not submerged in ice and water.

Boats used,were tied at doorways of living quarters. One ATC spent all of one night in his boat tied at his back door. He was afraid to go to bed,as we were in danger of losing ALL the buildings.

The ice finally worked on down the river and the water started dropping. WHAT A MESS -after the flood! HUGE ICE-CAKES,6 and 8 feet thick, were left on the runway. Field lights had disappeared. THOUSANDS OF BARRELS were scattered everywhere on FAA property. A huge pile of stored POWER POLES were scattered all over the country. Roads were washed out. Standby engine generator at the range, had it's gas storage tank filled with flood-water. The standby had operated until flood-water filled the fuel tank. It didn't work 'worth a darn' on flood-water!

All in all-It was a VERY INTERESTING time..enjoyed by all..for a considerable length of time,while trying to recover!! In all of this period, the FLIGHT-SERVICE STATION WAS NEVER CLOSED DOWN. It stayed ON THE AIR for 24 hours a day. The remarkable thing about the whole episode was that regardless of the AWFUL WEARINESS of everyone, the MORALE of all employees stayed HIGH. There was no bickering or complaining amongst the crew. It surely was a RELIEF to have it ENDED~

One last remarkable result of nature's power has to be told..

The Aniak River had been cleared of ice before the breakup. It is a fairly good-sized river and runs between 10-15 feet high banks. When the Kuskokwim ice jammed, the water backed up so fast that WATER AND HUGE ICE-CAKES RUSHED BACK UP THE ANIAK RIVER. They overflowed the river-banks. Those ice-cakes floating UPSTREAM, swept everything in their path. Trees growing on the banks were sheared like match-sticks. Trees up to 20 inches in diameter were snapped off with ALL THE TREETOPS POINTING UPRIVER!

It is beyond words to describe the AWESOME POWER RELEASED by nature. I wouldn't have missed this adventure 'for the world'..but ONCE IN A LIFETIME is ENOUGH for this boy! We did experience another flood the following spring, but it was not nearly as severe as ANIAK '62~

Post...BILL retired from the F.A.A.[Federal Aviation Agency]in 1979. This story was hand-written by my Dad Bill in 1989..while he was living in Anchorage.In 1999 he was 87 years young~

Note* Jack Jeffords,the chief FAA pilot that rescued these people,was a famous Alaskan bushpilot for many years. When he passed away several years ago, a book was written about his life. This same Jack, had saved my life and my mother's,the year before this flood. We were with him on an 'ill-fated flight' in that C-123 frieght plane. But for his expertise and bravery, our flight would never have made it through to Aniak..but that is ANOTHER ADVENTURE to tell!:o)

During this event in 1962 and before the Great Alaskan earthquake of '64,which he and our family also experienced, I was in ENGLAND. I one day picked up a military newspaper. On a back page my eye caught a small article. It said "HUGE FLOOD IN REMOTE ALASKAN VILLAGE OF ANIAK..PEOPLE ON ROOFTOPS"..! My parents lived there and I had heard nothing about this! I went to the Red Cross and asked for help with a message. They got one through in a few days and told me my parents were alright.Whew! There are more exciting stories to tell..in the "Land of the Midnight Sun"! Time will tell~~~:o)

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