XOE_CPNWS0070swalogbooks Guide to the Southwestern Alaska Cannery logbooks 1918-1950 Southwestern Alaska Cannery logbooks Finding aid prepared by Rainbow Koehl Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies © 2006
Goltz-Murray Building 808 25th St Bellingham, WA 98225-9123 Phone: 360 650 7534 Email: cpnws@wwu.edu
Finding aid encoded by Ruth Steele 2006 Finding aid written in English. Finding aid based on DACS ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard). Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Building 808 25th St Bellingham, WA 98225-9123 Phone: 360 650 7534 Email: cpnws@wwu.edu
XOE_CPNWS0070swalogbooks Southwestern Alaska Cannery Logbooks 1918-1950 1.25 linear feet The Southwestern Alaska Cannery logbooks, spanning the period 1918-1950, document the daily work accomplished by various fishing crews working for canneries in Alaska. Collection materials are in English.

The Squaw Harbor Cannery was located on Unga Island, one of the islands that composes the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. It was one of the canneries acquired by Pacific American Fisheries (PAF) in 1917 when demand for salmon increased during World War I.

Henry Loofs, who worked for the Alitak Cannery, maintained a 1941 logbook of fishing activities around Olga Bay, near Kodiak Island. Alitak Cannery was also purchased by PAF in 1935. The Petersburg Cannery was located on Mitkof Island south of Juneau and was also purchased in 1935 by PAF.

The Southwestern Alaska Cannery Logbooks, spanning 1918-1950, document the daily work accomplished by various fishing crews working for canneries in Alaska. The Squaw Harbor Logbooks span from 1918 to 1929, although two years are missing. The logbooks discuss ship arrival and departure, personnel, daily duties accomplished, injuries, and the weather. Usually the logbooks begin in late February or late March and end in September.

Other logbooks include an unidentified journal from 1932, and logbooks documenting fishing activities at Olga Bay and Petersburg. The unidentified journal contains a small number of notations regarding supplies and fishing, and a brief log of a car trip from the West coast to the Midwest. The Olga Bay Logbook from 1941 was kept by Henry Loofs who worked for the Alitak Cannery. Like the Squaw Harbor Logbooks, it contains information regarding ship arrival and departure, personnel, daily duties accomplished, injuries, and the weather. The Petersburg Logbook from 1950 also contains information regarding ship arrival and departure, personnel, daily duties accomplished, injuries, and the weather.

The Southwestern Alaska Cannery logbooks are organized in accordance with the following series arrangement:

Series I: Squaw Harbor Logbooks and Journals, 1918-1929 Series II: Other Logbooks and Journals, 1932-1950

The collection is open to the public.

Southwestern Alaska Cannery logbooks, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.

Galen Biery donated the logbooks to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies.

 About Harmful Language and Content

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Loofs, Henry. Pacific American Fisheries, Inc. Alaska, Southwest -- History -- Sources. Canneries -- Alaska, Southwest -- History -- Sources. Fisheries -- Alaska, Southwest -- History -- Sources. Cod Fisheries -- Alaska, Southwest -- History -- Sources. Cod Fishing -- Alaska, Southwest -- History -- Sources. Salmon Fisheries -- Alaska, Southwest -- History -- Sources. Salmon Fishing -- Alaska, Southwest -- History -- Sources. Salmon canning industry -- Alaska, Southwest -- History -- Sources. Fisheries and Wildlife Fishing and Canning Ships and Shipping Alaska

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series I Squaw Harbor Logbooks 1918-1929 1/1 Squaw Harbor Logbook 1918 1/2 Squaw Harbor Logbook 1919 1/3 Squaw Harbor Logbook 1920 1/4 Squaw Harbor Logbook 1922 1/5 Squaw Harbor Logbook 1923 1/6 Squaw Harbor Logbook 1924 2/1 Squaw Harbor Logbook 1925 2/2 Squaw Harbor Logbook 1926 2/3 Squaw Harbor Logbook 1927 2/4 Squaw Harbor Logbook 1929 Series II Other Logbooks and Journals 1932-1950 2/5 Journal 1932 3/1 Olga Bay Logbook 1941 3/2 Petersburg Logbook 1950