Artifact of the Month: June 2018

The Diary of a Tour Conductor

A trip to Alaska before World War II was challenging and exotic, much like trying to reach Antarctica is for today's adventure seekers. The window for good weather was short, the cost was prohibitive, and the inconveniences were many. Historian Bill Wilson estimated about 30,000 visitors came to Alaska in 1940. Two million people are expected to visit Alaska this year!

In the summer of 1940, Carl G. Ossmann, was hired to be a tour guide for a Berry Company tour from the Midwest to Southeast Alaska. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Carl had no experience at such a job and had never before been to Alaska. When he returned home, Carl penned a little booklet called, "The Diary of a Tour Conductor" documenting the 20-day trip from July 12 to July 31. After the bombing at Pearl Harbor, Carl joined the Navy as a Lieutenant, J.G. and retired after the war as a Lieutenant Commander. He went on to serve as Superintendent of Schools in Greenleaf, Kansas for 29 years. Carl died in 2001. The booklet was donated to the Museum by Carl's son, John Ossmann, who grew up listening to his dad's summer journey to Alaska.

The adventure begins with a train ride through the Midwest, picking up passengers along the way. The group entered Canada at Manitoba, taking the Canadian Pacific Railroad west and stopping at many towns along the way. Around Banff, Carl recounted the hijinks of a stowaway riding on the top of a rail car through curvy mountain passes. Two hundred passengers boarded the SS Yukon for a tour of the Inside Passage. Of Alaska, the booklet highlights visits to Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau, Skagway, canneries in Hoonah and Tenakee, and Sitka. The group enjoyed tasty meals, dancing late into the night, side excursions, and even a quick trip to a house of ill repute in Petersburg. The group stopped in Ketchikan on both the 7th and 15th days of their trip. Carl marveled at the towering totem poles, the attention of the shop keepers, and all the fish in Ketchikan Creek.

Ketchikan Museums, KM 2016.2.34.1