Leon Stuart Vincent Videotape of Home Movies

Leon Stuart Vincent Videotape of Home Movies, circa 1941-1943

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Vincent, Leon Stuart
Title: Leon Stuart Vincent Videotape of Home Movies
Dates: circa 1941-1943 (inclusive)
19411943
Quantity: 1 D-2 videocassette (64 minutes) : silent, black and white and color ; ¾ inch
Collection Number: PH0822
Summary: Includes vidoetapes of home movies of whaling, seal hunting, traditional dancing, community events and scenic views of Alaska during the early 1940's
Repository: University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions: The original video is not accessible due to preservation concerns. Arrangements can be made to view the film by contacting the Visual Materials Curator.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the University Libraries 21st Century Fund and by a grant from Friends of the Libraries

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Leon Vincent was born on August 31, 1904, in Frelighsburg, Quebec. He came with his parents to Seattle, Washington, where he graduated from Seattle Pacific College (now Seattle Pacific University) in 1927. He married Ruth upon graduation and sailed with his new bride to Point Barrow, Alaska, where he spent three years as missionary, teacher, and principal of the Point Barrow school.

Throughout the 1930s, Leon worked primarily as a fisherman and seafood processor. During this period, he lived with his wife Ruth and their children David (born 1931) and Marilyn (born 1932) in Juneau, Cook Inlet, and Seattle. From 1940 to 1942, Leon taught school at Woody Island school (near Kodiak) and at Copper Center and Eklutna, Alaska.

Leon returned to serve as principal of the Point Barrow school between 1941-1943. It was during this time that he filmed many of the scenes in this collection.

After leaving Point Barrow, Leon spent a year as principal of the Kotzebue school and subsequently worked as a coal miner, ship's captain, radio operator, and writer, eventually settling in Juneau. Ruth Vincent died in 1947. In 1953, Leon married a woman from Chicago named Bobette whom he had met in a writers group in Juneau. Their son, Michael, was born in 1954. Leon Vincent died in 1958.

Historical BackgroundReturn to Top

The traditional name for Point Barrow is Ukpeagvik, meaning 'place where snowy owls are hunted'.The U.S. Army established a meteorological station near Barrow in 1881. A whaling and trading station was constructed in 1893, and a post office opened in 1901. When Leon Vincent began teaching in Point Barrow in 1927, there were as yet no radio or airport services. Ships could only reach shore when the sea ice receded. The residents depended upon traditional subsistence marine mammal hunting, supplemented by inland hunting and fishing.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

These home movies are a partial record of Leon Stuart Vincent’s experiences in northern Alaska during the early 1940s. They prominently feature Alaska natives and their way of life, including whaling, seal hunting, traditional dancing, community events, school, and scenic views of the Arctic landscape.

The children of the Point Barrow School are a frequent subject in his films. The school children were of Inupiat, Russian, and European descent. The earliest scenes were filmed in Copper Center, Alaska, probably on a Hasselblad hand cranked clockwork drive movie camera.

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

Some of this material was filmed in color; some in black and white. A small portion of the video features superimposed images (doubly exposed film) that may have been created by the filmmaker for an artistic effect.

The original collection is a D-2 videotape containing a compilation of the content from the original film reels. This tape was created by donor Michael Vincent.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donor: Michael Vincent, 1994

Processing Note

Processed by Michael Rene Wood, Laurel G. Evans, and Marion Brown, 2009 ; additional processing by Alden Lee, 2012 ; Jack Falk, 2013 ; Processing completed by Andrew Weaver, 2014.

Video duplicating master and viewing copies for this film were made in 1994 by Alpha Cine.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
viewcopy	item
VC59	1	Leon Stuart Vincent Videotape of Home Movies Family (Leon and Ruth Vincent with son David?) removing catch from fish wheel in river. Fish on drying rack. Man paddling kayak. Ice floes seen from ship deck. Eskimo men sit on floor playing traditional drums and singing, as women and men perform hunt dance. Sled dogs in harness pulling canoe over snow/ice. Frozen seals on ice; men cleaning guns. Hunting for seal, view of Barrow from water. Children and men moving parts of butchered walrus. Tractor pulling whale carcass ashore. Children posing with butchered walrus tusks and organs. Man butchering seal carcass. Women skinning seal with ulu knives. Church attendees outside after church. People at sunset, midnight sun. Man with rolling sled being pulled by dogs on land and water. Truck with tracks and skis. Woman sitting, playing with a pile of human bones. Large group pulls heavy object using rope. Community gathering: sack races, tug-o-war, and other games. Girls carrying young children on back in traditional parkas. Man brings furs to trade in store ("Taakpuk and Bert at town store"). Girls jumping on seesaw. Reindeer pulling sled. Tractor pulling a number of loaded sleds ("supply train"). Men cutting sea ice to build walls for reindeer herd counting. Reindeer herd of 600+ on beach; mother nursing calves. Man harnessing reindeer; two reindeer pull sledge. Woman (Ruth Vincent?) standing by animal skin drying rack. Original 1 videocassette D-2 (64 minutes) : silent, black and white and color ; ¾ inch	circa 1941-1943

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