"An Alaskan Experience"

'A Lifetime Ago'

SANDY (SIMKINS) BOGGS/HOWE

7/12/2016-8/19/16

Copyright2016 by Erma L. Howe a.k.a. Sandy

All rights reserved
No part of this writing may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system
without the written permission of the above named, except where permitted by law.

ELSBH 71966
Written in the USA, State of Pennsylvania, County of Chester, Township of West Caln

ILLUSTRATIONS
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Expecting, OMG, look how happy!

2 . Me & Lorraine enjoying that Alaskan Hoagie; it was good too! People in the
Military brought their
skills with them.

3 . We're having a party! Lorraine's husband, Tommy messing with me & Lorraine.
What's up with the sun glasses? Wayne in front of me in the middle with his head
raised up.

4. Mother's Day gathering with Lorraine & her family many years after leaving
Alaska. (so sorry Benjy, you were cut off somehow.) This was the only one I had.

5. Me & my BFF In the at Crystal's housewarming - August 2015

6. Baptism Day 4/2/67 - Father Moreau - Chapel 2 Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage,

Alaska

7. The Godparents - James & Shirley Skinner - April 2, 1967

8. Peter Lorre (lower right) in Edgar Allan Poe's 'Night of Terror' - Firstborn's
supposed look-a-like

8a . Pete & Joan Giunta, friends from West Chester that just happened to be in
Anchorage the same
time we were. Three years later they became the God
Parents to Son #3, Mark Andre.

9. Armed Forces Day Air Show 5/20/67 - Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska

10. Memorial Day Picnic with mom - Mirror Lake - May 30, 1967 (check out the
car!)

11. Memorial Day Picnic with dad - Mirror Lake, May 30, 1967

12. Mirror Lake Photos:

#1 Lakeside

#2 Beachside

#3 Northern Lights over Mirror Lake

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13. The little Airman - Sorry so blurry

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14. Christmas in Alaska with Mom (the kid is getting big) - December 1967

15. Christmas in Alaska with Dad - December 1967

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16.

Firstborn becomes a model thanks to Mom Mom West Chester

#1

#2 First Birthday Outfit

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#3 One of my favorites

#4 Received this outfit in Alaska, but not worn until Los Angeles. Here he is
eating one of
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my cookies with his dog, Tripper cleaning up the crumbs. You probably can
guess why
we named his dog "Tripper."

#5. Here he comes

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the following photos were taken in Pennsylvania after leaving Alaska. I

couldn"t help including them also.
# 6. First Ice Cream Cone compliments, Pop Pop West Chester

#7 Just too cool with dad!

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#8 Halloween....Those eyes!!

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17. The Paternal Grandparents - Helen Dorothy & Dwight C. Allen

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18. The Alaska Highway (a.k.a.) The Alaskan Highway, Alaska-Canadian Highway,
or the
ALCAN Highway

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19 . 'The Famous torn up, tattered, literally splattered, and battered cookbook '

Personal notes
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I'm a novice at writing a book, no matter how short. I'm just having fun reminiscing and writing
my own story and rules. That being said, I continue in bliss! Besides, this is not a Thesis or a
Literary Essay, it's just me telling my story. If I was like Mike Tyson, I could afford to have an
editor make me look like I knew what I was doing.

I'm not writing to make this story out to be a fairy tale, it is not. That all
those years were peaches and cream. No, I'm here to write about My
Alaskan Experience, and It seems like another life ago. But, the end game
to this story was the beginning of my future life, which included 18 years
of marriage, and the blessing of four children: "My three Sons," as I called
them; and one sweet baby girl which was a surprise at birth. I thought I
would never have a girl after 3 boys, but it didn't really matter back then
if she was a boy. Now in my later years, I'm especially grateful and
thankful that she was a girl!

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Table of Contents
Part One
Going to Alaska

Part Two
Standby

Part Three
What the Heck Kind of Airport is This?

Part Four
Expecting

Part Five
The Firstborn

Part Six
Land of the 'Midnight Sun'

Part Seven
I'm Out of Here

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Part One
Going To Alaska
The first Airline strike in this country's history had to happen two days before I was to leave for
Alaska. I had my ticket, money and money orders just waiting for the Airline to notify me when I
could leave for the airport. Finally, I received a call from United Airlines saying they could fly me
to Los Angeles, but I would have to be on standby.
Ok, let's do this! It's 90 plus degrees in Philadelphia the day I left. It was almost the middle of
July and I wore a wool suit......Why? I was going to Alaska, and knew it was very cold up there. I
was 19 years old, and never flew anywhere. Chalk my wardrobe choice to inexperience,
stupidity, or just too excited to think about the heat..... Oh, now I know why the wardrobe choice;
I'm was an optimist. I really believed I was going to arrive in Alaska the very same day I left. I
actually believed no airline strike was going to keep me from my destination.
Now, I have to go back further to the very, very beginning of my future Alaskan Experience. I
met a young man at the Lower Merion Relays in Ardmore, Pa - April 1958. After his track event,
I saw him standing under a tree by himself, so I walked up to him and I asked for his autograph.
He was a track star, and I was only 12 years old. We became instant pen pals at 12 & 13 1/2.
We never had a real date, but as I accumulated a few years under my belt, he invited his little
pen pal to West Chester to meet his parents.(I fell in love with all the family instantly.) I took the
bus out Route 3 (West Chester Pike), and I was mesmerized by the rolling, rural, green country
side. I really liked this; not like the Main Line at all. It was my kind of place. That was the day I
fell in love with Chester County. Good bye Main Line......this was going be my home one day!

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Part Two
Standby
Meanwhile, back to the flight. I made it to Los Angeles and was booted off the plane. So much
for all that optimism! They were nice enough to put all of us up in a hotel for the night. I had to
share a room with an older lady that I didn't know from Eve. I slept with all my money and
money orders in my bra. Next morning we were fortunate enough to fly to Portland, Oregon. So
I took off again....Finally, I'm going to make it to Seattle, Washington the same day. Now, I was
feeling pretty good about my 19 year old self. I never flew anywhere, switched planes, never got
lost, or missed a connection. : -)
I'm now on this plane. Let's call It what, Alaskan Airway? I can't really remember the name of
the Airline. Oh, oh..........I remember now; Northwest Orient, that's the name! Northwest Orient
flew me to Anchorage, Alaska, and I really thought I would be up there in about an hour or so.
Why, because I was such an optimist. But, no.....It took just as long to fly from Seattle,
Washington to Anchorage, Alaska as it did to fly from Philadelphia, Pa. to Los Angeles, Calif.

Part 3
What the Heck Kind of Airport is This?
I finally got to the Anchorage Airport. This sure didn't look like Philadelphia International!!
People walked around with CB's and they looked like something right out of 'American
Bushmen.'
So, I sat in this lovely airport waiting for someone to pick me up. Someone I didn't
even know. How was I supposed to know someone I didn't even know? But, I thought; as long
as that someone wasn't one of those CB carrying, 'Alaskan Bushmen' looking, 'Duck Dynasty'
guys, I would be okay!
I don't remember too much after that because I was so exhausted. I do remember
seeing all the damage from the 1964 earthquake. That scene had become a constant and
unsettling reminder that it could actually occur again!
(An afterthought) - Today, I would never even think about sending a child as young
as 19 anywhere like that alone. This is just too crazy of a world we live in now. But,
the world back then allowed you to mature at an earlier age. We grew up faster
because the world was so much safer. We were free of the fears that haunt us all
today.

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Part Four
Expecting
Looking back at the trip from the airport, I was about to meet my best friend in life. She was
from Philadelphia, but we met in Alaska. Oh, Wayne also met someone at the Commissary he
knew from West Chester, Pa. (Pete Giunta, Sr.) Small world huh? But, you always felt at home
with military families. We became family away from home.
As an effort not to make this story too long, I'll just touch on the most important things..... like, I
was sicker than a dog right away. I slept when I wasn't throwing up. Heck, I threw up when I
didn't even know I was going to throw up. I couldn't stand even a whiff of the cologne on our
dresser. This pregnancy was horrible!! I thought, "I'm never having anymore babies!" But, I
made it through by going back to bed, sleeping until lunch time, and then going back to sleep
until dinner time. I was hoping that was my secret because I felt like doing nothing. Thank God
for my future best friend that lived upstairs, she helped me a lot, emotionally. She was the best
thing that happened to me so far from home. There was a downside to that though, she had a
lovely first floor home to live in. She had actually paid her dues by living in the dungeon before
'movin on up.' Now, we got the dungeon (basement apartment) with hangers hanging from the
ceiling, and spiders hanging by their webs over our breakfast table. I could always escape to
upstairs whenever I happened to be awake. Our bathroom was so small that when it was being
painted, your butt would be rubbing the other side of the wall. Those hangers, well I soon
learned they would become my alarm to get the hell out of bed and run outside....Earthquake!!!
For sure; things were rumbling, rattling, and shaking all over the place. All I could imagine was
the floor opening and swallowing me up. I flew my pregnant self out of the bed as fast as I
could. I was never so afraid in my life! It was a helpless feeling because you didn't know where
to go, or run. I had never felt an earthquake before, but it didn't matter, when you felt it, you
knew it!
We had some good ole times in Anchorage. We laughed and got together often. My best friend,
Lorraine had a crazy husband, Tom. Tom had this thing for Jr. Walker & the Allstars' album. So
now when I think of Tom, I think about the song, 'Shotgun'. He had the house vibrating it was so
LOUD!! Everyone on the street had to know the words to 'Shotgun'. You could hear it in the next
block. Good thing there were no noise ordinances up there. That was Tom for you; Thomas
'Shotgun' Riley!
Turn up your speakers!
(It is safe, you can open this)

jr walker allstars shotgun - Bing video.url

That jerk was hard on your neck too, but so much fun. Did ya'll do the JERK?

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Part Five
The Firstborn
The time to have this little Eskimo arrived. Water broke, and off to this military hospital on base.
I thought the baby would come in a reasonable amount of time, but no, they had to
torture me. I laid in that bed for two days in labor. No water to help make the pain more
bearable. A nurse from hell told me to just settle down, it wasn't that bad! She should have kept
that mouth shut. All I could think of was kicking those teeth right down her throat. I was sane
enough to rethink that one though. So, I decided I didn't want to have this baby. I just wanted to
go home, (Ardmore, Pa. home).
After two days, he finally came!....... Now, I deserved a cigarette after that performance.
I lit one up right there in the hospital bed only to fall right back to sleep. A nice nurse put out my
cigarette in an ash tray for me because those ashes were as long as the cigarette and they .
never hit the ground! Now you ask, "when in the heck do you smoke in a hospital, and the nurse
provides you with an ash tray?" That's the 60's for you! It was customary to start killing yourself
at an early age. We had no child seat to take our prize home in either. Baby was right up front
on my lap. We didn't have seat belts back then. Matter of fact, we are miraculously still alive!
Those cigarettes will kill you though!
While in the hospital for five days, the new mothers had to work. We had to walk down to
the nursery to get our babies several times a day. We had to push these heavy carts, baby in
tow; seemed like for blocks to our rooms. Now, that was no easy task, believe me! Those carts
were no light weights. They had everything in them but the kitchen sink.
Now we are home with our baby, and the grandparents are happy as a Lark. We were taking all
kinds of pictures and sending them home. One such picture wasn't as well received. My Motherin-law told me the baby looked like Peter Lorre!! WHAT???? In case someone doesn't know
Peter Lorre, I've included his lovely photograph from Edgar Allan Poe's, 'Tales of Horror.' No
more bad pictures after that remark. But, you have to give her credit, not too many mother-inlaws would have told their new daughter-in-law that her baby looked like Peter Lorre. She really
must have liked me a lot, and felt comfortable enough to tell me.
Back in good graces after the Peter Lorre photo, we were receiving all kinds of outfits in the
mail. Low and behold, the Firstborn had become a model.

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Part Six
Land of the 'Midnight Sun'
We had some crazy winters and summers in Alaska. There was about 2-3 hours of darkness in
the summer. Black shades to block the sunlight was a must. It was daylight when you went to
bed, and if you didn't stay up, you would miss the couple hours of darkness. We were lucky
considering some parts of the State. Nome, Alaska for instance, had six months of day light and
six months of darkness. In Anchorage, I don't remember when the sun came out because it was
so brief during the winter months. The kids went to school in the dark and came home in the
dark. The mountains would tell us when it was going to snow; usually in September I believe. In
the beginning, the tips of the mountains would be snow-capped. When the snow reached the
halfway mark, we could expect snow. School students could forget about snow days; no such
thing in Alaska! I was in my glory though. I loved the snow. I can remember one evening we
dressed and headed outside to stand in the snow. It was soft and cold, but ever so peaceful. A
wonderful feeling to me. Thank you Lord for snow, I love that soft, cold and tingling feeling when
you have" snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes!' (No Plagiarism here) All credits go
to that wonderful song, [My Favorite Things....Roger & Hammerstein's movie, "The Sound of
Music' ] which just happened to be one of my favorite movies!
On one snowy day I was looking out our apartment window when I saw a moose run right past
my husband. Moose are strange looking animals; they run sideways. Well kind of, their hind
legs kick to their sides. He was down there plugging our car up for the night. Your car had to be
plugged in at night because of the cold or else you wouldn't be going anywhere in the morning. I
think that was what he was doing when he was almost run over by Bullwinkle.
Lessons I've learned living in Alaska. Never expose any skin if walking further then the other
side of the street. It was so cold the hairs in your nostrils would freeze. It felt like you sniffed a
bunch of splinters into your nose. I visited a friend that lived maybe two buildings from me. I had
on a hooded jacket, gloves, and boots to my knees. I was really looking good, but by the time I
got to the building I was in tears. My knees were burning. They felt like I had hundreds of
needles stuck in them. My head, nose, mouth, and legs were never left uncovered again. That's
why they wear parkas & snow suits up there. That's no place to try to look pretty.
There was an upside to all that extreme cold weather. On a clear cold night the skies would give
birth to the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis). These lights would dance through the sky like a
well-trained ballerina. Bouncing and swirling through the air at any pace they chose. It would
have been nice if I had known at the time what I was seeing. I did see them, just not as many as
my video on FB showed. I am ashamed to say that at the time I thought the show was
the work of a train coming in contact with the wires above it; which in turn caused the sky to
light up from the cold and electricity. They didn't have Northern Lights in Pennsylvania! I didn't
do any research on Alaska before I left. How was I supposed to know what I was seeing? But, I
was at least half right; just leave out the train part...... But, I got to see the Northern Lights
(Aurora Borealis) with my own eyes!!

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(part six continued)

It has been said that Fairbanks, Alaska is the best place in the United States to see the
Northern Lights. I didn't really learn to appreciate all those experiences until later in life. I was
mesmerized by the 'Land of the Midnight Sun'. So much so, that I would actually like to go back.
I would love to take a cruise to Alaska.
The lakes were beautiful. We did enjoy them during the spring/summer. Not like the summers in
the States, but not cold, even for Memorial Day. We went to Mirror Lake for a picnic on
Memorial Day. Unfortunately, now It brings to mind that horrible Valdez oil spill. That really upset
me a great deal because Alaska was to me the last best God given place of natural beauty that
I new.
Well, you learn to take the good with the bad, even the minor ones. There were no
conveniences like at home. I was accustomed to going to a hairdresser for my perms. So now I
had to do it myself. All I could find at a drug store was a perm called 'Curl Free.' Don't laugh, it
worked; kind of! I was new up there and didn't know any hairdressers at the time. But, I'm sure
there were hair dressers. You can find every occupation in the world on a Military Base.
As far as eating, the fish were absolutely to die for. They were delicious and fresh. On our first
anniversary we went to a Japanese Restaurant and sat on the floor with our shoes off and a
table as low as we were (Japanese style). We enjoyed a wonderful Lobster dinner in an
authentic Japanese Restaurant. That was my first lobster ever. None I've had after that can
compare. I was spoiled for life. This was the beginning of my love for all sea food, except Sushi.
There is no fish or lobster like Alaska's. But, much to my dismay, there were moose burgers,
moose steaks, and moose sausage. Military families loved to cook, and they fixed all their
different ethnic dishes. Everything I tried, I liked.....thank you very much, no moose for me!!
I learned to cook in Alaska thanks to an old, torn up 500-page cook book that was literally falling
apart. It had dried up food all over the inside on favorite recipes, I guess. But to me it was a
gem. It had everything you needed to know about cooking and baking. It even told you how to
boil water in the proper pot. So this is where my love of cooking and baking originated!!!I didn't
realize that until I started writing this story.
.
The cooking bible in my kitchen still lives. It is going to be passed down to my granddaughter
because she has that same cooking gene. I tried to bind it with clear packing tape and I labeled
the front of the book with an explanation that all that nasty and crusty food was there when I
TOOK IT. YES, I TOOK IT! I took it home with me. I wasn't leaving that book behind!
That cookbook belonged to a Staff or Master Sergeant's wife that had passed away; God rest
her soul. She must have been a woman after my own heart. She would be so happy to know
that someone loved her cook book and took care of it for 50 plus years. It was in many of my
kitchens over the years. I took the best care I could of those stained, torn up, with missing
pages book. So, thank you so much unnamed lady. Thank you!

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(part six continued)

Oh, by the way, I'm still trying to figure out how Sarah Palin claimed she could see Russia from
her house!?! There are mountains upon mountains up there. I used to wonder what was beyond
those mountains. So I made it a point to find out when we flew out of Alaska. My answer; more
and more mountains. I can't even remember when we cleared all those mountains. I've never
seen so many mountains in my life; row after row, after row. So, if Sarah Palin could see Russia
from her house, she had one heck of a telescope, or she lived on the last mountain before
Russia.
But to give her a little credit, she probably lived on the opposite side of where we flew out of
Alaska. She must have been very close to Russia on that opposite side. Yeah, that's it....I saved
you Sarah Palin! All the mountain must be on the opposite side leaving Alaska, otherwise we
would be in Russia's air space.

Part Seven
I'm out of Here
Other than flying home from Alaska to the lower 48, you could drive by car on the Alaska
Highway. You had to be awfully brave to try that Highway. Most cars would lose axles and such
from driving 1700 miles of unpaved roads. The Highway was completed in 1942 a.k.a. AlaskaCanadian Highway, or Alcan Highway [en.m.wikipedia.org] Alaska Highway-Wikipedia, the] "The Highway
was originally constructed in a hurry during WW2 for the purpose of connecting the
contiguous United States to Alaska through Canada. As of 2012, the highway was all
paved, and is now 1,387 miles. The difference in distance is due to constant
reconstruction of the highway, which rerouted and straightened out numerous sections.
It originally was opened to the public in 1948. It has been legendary over many decades for
being a rough, challenging drive. Everyone up there from the lower 48 talked about that road
like it was a monster to be tamed. Now that it is fully paved, I imagine that would be one
awesome RV trip! If you visit Alaska, you will never be disappointed in what you see and
experience.
As happy as I was to be leaving Alaska, it was sad not to be seeing those beautiful, snow
capped mountains just one last time. When we left it was summer, so all those mountains were
dismal looking; just black and grey with no snow caps. It was not very picturesque to be seeing
them that way. It's strange that I can remember the flight to Alaska, but nothing about us
leaving, except the mountains. I wish I could remember something, but I draw a complete blank.
Must have been a very uneventful flight. I guess once you've seen the Anchorage airport, the
shock value was gone! I was truly happy to be going home!!
What else can I say about Alaska? I believe I covered most of the important things through my
own experiences. There may be some memories I've forgotten, but I do believe I shared the
most important ones.

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Why I decided to download Windows 10 in the middle of this project, I do not know. All I
can do is shake my head. As the Administrator, I believed my work would most certainly
be transferred over. Nope, nothing was transferred. Luckily, I had other copies in many
other places on my computer, even on my phone in 'Notes', but that was a travesty. I
also found that you cannot edit a PDF file. Those saved copies didn't help me a bit.
Lord only know where those other copies might be.
I finally decided to get rid of the free Windows 10 and go back to Windows 7. Best thing
I did, as I actually can get this book finished if I can figure a way to post on Face Book.
By going back to Windows 7, I even discovered a way to copy my PDF files so I did not
have to retype everything.
I sure hope the Windows10 you buy is far better than the free one.

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I would like to thank all parties in my little story. Thank you Wayne for being in the Air Force, for
asking your little pen pal from the past to come to Alaska. We had a lifetime of memories, and
the beginning of four children we tried to parent. I will never, ever forget these experiences.
Thank you to Lorraine for being my very best friend for 50 years, and never giving up on finding
many years later after leaving Alaska. She left Alaska with her husband for Michigan. We went
to Los Angeles. I laugh at her finding me many years later. I lived on Simpson Road with the
last name of Simkins. She never forgot that when she got lost in Ardmore one day. She found
my grandmother's house where I had lived by asking the neighbors.
I thank Pete, Sr. (deceased) & Joan Giunta for being in Alaska when we were there. We had
become close friends. Years later they became the youngest son's God Parents.
I would also like to thank Shirley & James Skinner (wherever they may be) for being Anthony's
God Parents. We all had so much fun together.
I also thank all the Priest's that performed all the different Sacraments (God rest their souls).
.
Thanks to Helen & Dwight Allen for being wonderful in-laws to me, and loving me as a daughter;
even though I was from the Main Line!!! And, thank goodness she didn't get away with trying to
steal the firstborn son at the airport when we left Pennsylvania for Los Angeles! :-)
If I have forgotten anyone, please forgive me, I'm a little brain dead right about now.
A thank you to each one of you. All of you have a special place somewhere in my heart, and
just to say "thank you" doesn't seem sufficient. But, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

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