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The stories about Leo and Agnes are reproduced with permission of their son, Denny. Send thanks to Denny. |
Here is a later picture of Leo.
A few years ago, I think in 1989, Leo was named Businessman of the Year for the state of Alaska. He is now retired and living in Fairbanks.
Leo's wife, Agnes "Hering" Schlotfeldt has a story of her own about the history of her family's pioneer life in Alaska.
"Hey farm boy! Where'd you get the ribbon? You look like a sissy with that ribbon on your cow-smelly overhauls." The three bullying loud mouths were town kids and I was now a farm boy since my dad had moved us all out to the dairy farm. Walking home from town every day past the general store where the town kids hung out had toughened me up quite a bit but it was hard to ignore their jeers. The biggest of the bunch got right up to my face. He was at least two heads taller than me but that school ribbon was the first one I'd ever won and I was really proud. The lout pulled a knife from his pocket and before I could figure he snipped that ribbon in half.
"Overhauls is what you farm boys wear. You don't need fancy ribbons " I hit him. HARD. I wasn't big but I'd hefted potato sacks and hauled rocks. A real scrap followed but I'd already learned at thirteen in those depression days that you gotta be tough. Dad was mad when I got to the farm so I stayed twice as long out finishing my chores. I hated losing that ribbon but I felt pretty good. No town kid was gonna push me around.
I was born Leo Albert Schlotfeldt, November l, l907, a town boy of Buckley, Washington. My father, Hans Dudley Schlotfeldt was probably a full blooded dutchman born on a farm somewhere in Iowa. He endured the conditions working in nearby coal mines to keep a roof over me and my seven brothers and sisters. Mother was Ellen Donovan Schlotfeldt and she came from Pennsylvania where I heard she'd been disowned by her very Irish family for marrying a dutchman. She had beautiful black hair and was all Irish. She made sure we were baptized catholic if that tells you anything. Herman was my oldest brother, then Catherine, Frederick, myself, Dudley, Margaret, Gertrude and Ernest. My sister Margaret died when she was just a little girl
I remember those years in Buckley being about as close to Huckleberry Finn's lifestyle as you could imagine. Always barefoot in the summer, playing baseball in the streets or else cowboys and Indians. Dad worked in the mines at Wilkeson and Carbonado and what a struggle he had feeding and clothing us children. He always had a large garden to eat from. We had no cars at that time, mostly horses but of course I had a broken down bicycle.
My dad was really concerned about us growing up in a town with nothing to do so during my eighth grade year he bought a forty acre dairy farm close to the town of Enumclaw, four miles east of Buckley. Moving to the farm was probably the best thing he ever did for us kids. We were always struggling but we learned to take responsibility, learned how to work which really helped all of us later when we were on our own. The farm house was not insulated and was heated with a wood stove in the kitchen and a wood heater in the dining room. It had one bedroom downstairs and two upstairs. We spent most of our time clearing stumps from the pasture, hauling rocks from the fields, cutting wood, gardening, and milking cows. Dad continued to work at the coal mines so much was left for us to do. He always tried to give his family a little more than ordinary but the poor fellow was always 'scraping the bottom of the barrel ' as he would say just to feed his family.
Shortly after moving to the farm my mother died and took part of my father's heart with her. He was beside himself with her loss and with so many children and no mother. My sister, Catherine shouldered this responsibility and kept all of us together. In later years I would realize the great sacrifice she had made for her brothers and sisters and for her I am very grateful. Many times I can remember dad, exhausted from work, alone in his family responsibilities, hurting and discouraged.
My brother, Herman, finished high school while Catherine and Fred did not go. They worked instead to help keep the family through those tough years. Herman worked after school in a grocery store while Fred labored in a saw mill for $3.50 per eight hour day. They insisted I go on to high school at nearby Enumclaw which I did and graduated in l926. During my last year at school I was responsible for all the work on the farm. Feeding and milking our few cows, doing the plowing, planting and harvest all by myself. Soon after graduation my dad gave the farm back to the people he was buying it from. The struggle was too much for him. I remember that day almost too well. Hearing the news that we'd lost our farm and always since wondering if I was at fault. Could I have somehow done more?
With all my brothers gone working at various jobs dad sent me to Toppenish to help my uncle on his farm. He too was struggling raising hay and corn and this was another disheartening experience. My uncle had lost all his previous fortune thru bad investments and was just struggling to save his pride and trying now only to pay his own way. After that first summer with my uncle I got a job in a feed mill where they processed wheat, oats, barley and potatoes. My job was as a helper, loading rail cars with spuds, wheat and the rest. The wheat sacks weighed as much as I but the owner seemed satisfied with my work and kept me thru the winter. In the spring he sent me to one of his farms to help with the plowing and seeding, wages $25 per week plus board. I enjoyed farming especially when after a long hard day I could look around and feel I'd really accomplished something.
When spring planting was completed I traveled by bus to Enumclaw to visit my brother Herman. While there he introduced me to a man who was teaching school to enlisted men in the Signal Corps. He taught them to operate wireless and telegraph stations preparing them for duty in Alaska for the Washington Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System. With his influence and my high school diploma (which was required) I joined the Signal Corps and spent the next nine months in the city of Seattle at this school learning communications and preparing for life in the unknown....Alaska.
The year was 1927, I was twenty years old and was leaving Seattle on an old tub called the 'Admiral Watson'. I was a private in the US Signal Corps headed for Alaska to be stationed at Seward as a telegraph operator. I remember being in the dining room for my first nautical lunch. The 'Admiral' was just leaving Queen Charlotte Sound and entering the Gulf of Alaska when the first open-ocean swell tilted the old tub and sent me to my stateroom for the rest of the crossing.
The ship stopped at Wrangell, Petersburg and all the coastal towns on our way north. It seemed that everyone in each town (which were not many) including many Indian people in their parka's and native garb came to the dock to watch the landing of the ship. The dock areas were unlighted in those days and it really seemed as if I were entering a very strange land. At Valdez I stood in amazement as we docked. It was probably February and the snow must have been twenty feet deep. There was no snow removal equipment so that we walked on paths cut thru the snow banks with the snow towering over our heads. Many of the buildings used the second story for entering as the first story was completely undetectable.
We arrived at our destination, Seward, late in the evening. It was dark and there were very few lights on the dock. It was an eerie feeling to see the people standing huddled in their coats with snow on the dock, like being on some other planet. My new friend, William Griffin and I went looking for a room immediately and found a suitable one above Brown & Hawkins grocery store. We no more than got settled when a lady burst in with a big cake and a hearty welcome for us. Her name was Cleo McKanna, the first Alaskan we had met. Little did I know back then that years later, about 1950 my future wife and I would buy the house Cleo and her husband later built in Fairbanks, but that's farther on in the story.
Seward in those early days was a very lonesome place. There was little for the young, single, servicemen to do and no recreation facilities. Once in a while us young wamcats would play a little basketball or baseball with the local high school kids. Occasionally we would go to the Russian river to fish. Before any roads were built this river was primitive and chock full of huge rainbow trout - caught one on every cast. There were also lots of dolly varden in all the nearby creeks. We would catch several fish then return to town where a cook in a local restaurant fried them up. They were wonderful. During that winter there were very few people in town and you never saw anyone on the street until noon. I often thought I had been stationed at the end of the world. The scenery was beautiful and the people were warm and friendly. I especially remember SGT Urie and also E.F.Jessen, publisher of 'the Seward Gateway' who later moved to Fairbanks and published a local newspaper, Jessens Weekly- He was a grand old fellow. I liked working at the Signal Corps office with SGT Capps who we called 'dingbat', SGT Benny High and Ed Leedon.
In the fall of 1928 or early 1929 I was transferred to Fairbanks (in central Alaska) as a Morse operator in the W.A.M.C.A.T.'s Cushman street office. The old Signal Corps building was located at the edge of town on Twelfth Ave. a couple blocks east of Noble (where the new Federal Building now stands).
The living quarters at the telegraph station were on the second floor. We all had our little corner in one big room, a locker, table and a bed. Downstairs had a huge kitchen where we did our own cooking. Another room had a pool table, a generator was housed in another room and in the largest room was the radio equipment and stations for the radio operators. This large operating room was the communications relay for northern Alaska. The WAMCATs had wireless radio stations at Circle, Ft Yukon, Nome, Kotzebue, Barrow, Nulato, Bettles and others along the Yukon and Koyukuk rivers. The Fairbanks station had regular daily scheduled contact with each outlying wireless station for weather reports, commercial messages and personal communications. At Fairbanks we relayed this traffic via telegraph to Seward. At Seward messages bound for the lower 48 states were relayed by undersea cable to Seattle.
We also had an office downtown on Cushman Street to serve the local people especially the merchants who would order their groceries from outside through the WAMCAT relay system. Often Noel Wien, Harold Gillam and other bush pilots of that time would come into the office to get the weather reports from the outlying areas. They had been flying bush supplies for several years without instruments and without accurate weather information. Our daily scheduled wireless weather reports were a real improvement for them and critical to their safety.
One day I was very busy sending messages for the local merchants when Howard Thompson from the weather bureau gave me the Fairbanks weather to relay to the different towns and villages in northern Alaska. Not thinking of the importance of this information, I threw the weather reports into the waste paper basket. When Mr. Thompson returned and saw his messages in the trash he straightened me out in a hurry as the weather reports were supposed to be priority over everything else. He explained to me in no uncertain terms that Noel Wien, Harold Gillam and other bush pilots were probably on the ground waiting for weather information and they depended on these reports.
I remember Sergeant Reeser who was in charge of the Cushman Street office and Sergeant Glasgow who was in charge of the twelfth avenue radio station. I enjoyed working with them and many others, SGT Woofter, Cliff Fellows, Clyde Cobb, Shorty Moran, Webb, etc. Life was very lonesome since coming to Alaska especially during the long dark winters. One day I was walking to my quarters and at Second and Lacey (near where the Nevada Bar was later to be built) I met a lovely sixteen year old girl named Agnes Hering. I asked if I could walk her home and she said "yes" and that's how I first met my future wife. She was going to high school and working at the Empress Theater and also served ice cream during the afternoons at the photo studio and ice cream parlor two doors down from our Cushman Street office. I 'd stop by every day to have an ice cream and visit with her while she was on duty until her boss lowered the boom because she'd given me an extra scoop.
One day I asked Agnes on a date for which she had to first get permission from her mother. Mrs. Hering agreed only on the condition that her sister Patricia would accompany us so the three of us had a great time. I spent many many off hours at the Hering home after that and Mrs. Hering treated me like I was her own son. When my enlistment in the WAMCATs was up I decided to remain in Alaska. I asked Agnes' mother if she would approve our marriage- us being so young I am sure it was a shock to her. She asked us to wait a year so we would be sure this was what we really wanted. I know she was also concerned about if I could support her daughter.
Prior to my discharge I had been working part time for the Fairbanks Exploration Company as a laborer. Cliff Fellows covered my scheduled shifts at the signal corps and I would split my wages with him which gave us both some extra cash. With my discharge in hand and a fiance in Fairbanks I went full time working for the F.E.Company as a laborer on the hydraulic pipe gang. Agnes and I were married on January 4, l932 with the thermometer stuck at minus sixty below and spent our honeymoon snowbound on the train near Currey. Soon after I was promoted to a deck hand on various of the FE dredges at Goldstream, Gilmore and Chatnika. Agnes was working on her job which she started after graduating from high school at the FE company as a bookkeeper under the supervision of L.E. Linck. His pet name for her as she was a very hard worker was 'Tilly the Toiler'.
I remodeled an old building near the dredge at Gilmore creek and we enjoyed our new married life there for a couple of years. When I was off work we would go fishing in the Chatnika river, hunt birds and caribou in season. We cut our own firewood and hauled our own water. No rent. No taxes. No worries. I was promoted to oiler and moved to Chatnika where we bought our first little home. Because Agnes and I lived near the dredge I was always hired as a watchman during the winter months while mining operations were shut down which really helped us out financially. We lived off the main highway about a quarter of a mile. I had a model 'A' Ford coupe which Agnes would drive back and forth to her bookkeeping job in Fairbanks. In the winter months we had no antifreeze for the radiator so I always drained the water and oil. When we wanted to use the car we would heat the water and oil on the woodstove and pour it into the car so it would start. One winter we had been snowbound by a heavy snow for about a week. Agnes wanted to go to town to see her mother. She was always lonesome for her family. I decided to shovel the road out to the main highway. After two days of shoveling I reached the highway just as the company grader arrived to plow our driveway and the road to the dredge. That was one of my lessons.
Eventually I was promoted to what they called a winchman who manually operated the mechanical part of the dredge. Each dredge crew consisted of two deckhands, one oiler, one winchman for each eight hour shift in addition to the dredgemaster and two other laborers. Mr. Hopkins, the superintendent of dredges asked me if I would transfer to Chatanika and be a winchman on that dredge. We bought a small house behind the mess hall and fixed it up real comfortable. In 1933 our first child, a little girl, was stillborn. Our second, Leo Edward Jr. (nicknamed Butch) was born September 5, 1935. Sue Ann was born April 7, 1937.
We enjoyed those years at Chatnika raising our new family. There were more people with families living there than there had been at Gilmore. I was also fortunate enough to be kept on the F.E. company payroll as a watchman during the winter months. Often we would be snowbound for over a week but eventually the state road commission would plow out the road from Fairbanks. About the middle of February or the first of March the dredge crew would return to clear the ice from the dredge pond to get an early start. Jim Dalton and his wife lived near us during the winter and Tony and Alma Troseth lived at old town. They were old timers and Agnes and I enjoyed their presence. Old town Chatanika was located about two miles downstream from the FE camp and it was the end of the old narrow gauge railroad that ran from Fairbanks, through Fox, Olnes, Cleary and Chatanika during the early days of drift mining.
In the fall after the dredge closed down I worked a couple seasons on the electric drills drilling thaw holes. A log was kept showing the footage drilled by each driller each day. This system established a competitive spirit among the drillers as we tried to outdo each other. I was pleased during one winter season to come in second. I felt very fortunate to be working every year during the winter. I guess it was because I was always available and not choosy about what the company asked me to do.
In 1940 I suffered a nervous breakdown and thus ended my career as a winchman on the dredge. After several months of rest I returned to the FE company working on their thaw drills and prospect drills. While with the prospect drilling crew they would send us to different creeks drilling holes and evaluating the ground. This was a real experience and I learned many things: the importance of maintaining the equipment and an insight into the value of evaluating the ground before making any investment.
After Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese and the United States had entered World War II the Defense Department ordered all dredge operations to cease in order to focus all resources on the war effort. To aid our Russian allies a new airfield was constructed in Fairbanks called 'Ladd Field'. Aircraft built in the lower 48 were flown here where Russian pilots could be trained in their use. I went to work in a machine shop as a lathe operator at Ladd Field in 1941. I also worked in the Corps of Engineers machine shop. They were constructing the runway and most of the fellows I worked with had come from the FE company which made it nice. Carl Johnson (Agnes's sister Muriel's husband) and Jim Winfree (married to sister Betty) also went to work at Ladd and both stayed on many years till they retired. Jim was eventually in charge of the motor pool and Carl ran the heavy duty equipment shop. Many of the old FE crew became foremen and lead men because of their training on the dredges.
During the years I worked on the dredges Agnes' brother in law, Gene Rogge (who had married Patricia) had purchased Sourdough Express from the Hering family. He continued the local cartage and coal hauling and in l929 when the Valdez trail was built he began trucking supplies to Fairbanks from the port of Valdez. The government constructed airfields along the Valdez trail at Dry Creek, Northway, and Big Delta and there was lots of freight to haul, a real boom to Sourdough's business. In 1942 Gene asked me to come to work for him and manage the business within the Fairbanks area so I quit my job at Ladd Field and joined Sourdough Express.
Hauling freight from the Alaska Railroad terminal and delivering coal was the main work Sourdough was involved in at that time. We had three coal trucks and a local cartage van and concentrated our efforts in improving our equipment and expanding with the country. In l944 Gene split Sourdough into the local business called Sourdough Express and the freighting business which he called Sourdough Freight Lines. Also my son Robert Allen was born on August l0th of 1944. It seemed we worked from sunup till sundown building the business, shoveling coal and hauling from the railroad but there must have been a little spare time in those next years because on July 2lst, l947 our fourth child, Dennis Michael was born.
In 1948 Agnes and I purchased Sourdough Express, the local part of the business from Gene. Fairbanks was growing rapidly with all the construction going on at Ladd Field, the newer Eielson Air Force Base being built twenty miles south of town and Ft Greely the new army base near Big Delta. Our first office was located at First and Lacey where the Polaris building now stands. This office building was later moved to our property at Harding Lake. Eventually Sourdough moved to new offices built by Bob Bloom on Third Avenue between Lacey and Cushman. (The spot now occupied by Mt. Mckinley Mutual Savings). Our truck shop was on Twelfth Avenue between Lacey and Cushman, a frame building that housed six small trucks. Many years thawing out frozen equipment for the FE company taught me something that became invaluable. Keeping our trucks in a heated building at night when not in use gave us a real advantage over all competitors. When we needed them to be ready they were warm and set to go. Many of our competitors spent the better part of their morning just trying to get trucks warmed up and started. By 1952 we had outgrown our small truck shop so I built a much bigger concrete garage addition. A few years later an office building was added and we moved from Third Avenue to get the whole operation in one location.
In 1948 or 1950 my good friend Sig Wold moved to Fairbanks from Kennecott Copper. He and Joe Mehling and Ernie Maurer built a sawmill on some land near the coal bunkers about where the Union Oil has their station now. They processed local timber into building material but they didn't have a dry kiln and had a hard time with the green lumber warping. Cap Lathrop bought some shiplap from them for the forms for the concrete pour at the new Lacey Street Theatre construction site. A day or two after they had delivered all the green lumber to the site all the knots dried and fell out. Cap sent the whole order back. Fortunately the Corps of Engineers was buying everything in the country for the war effort and they bought the mill.
About this time Romeo Hoyt had a dodge two ton delivery truck which he called 'Hoyt's Transfer" picking up local merchants' freight from the train depot and other small jobs. Sig Wold bought this business and changed the name to "Sig Wold Transfer and Storage". I met Sig about this time and we became competitors in supplying drayage services for the local merchants. We probably became a little too competitive. It was quite a spell after before we would speak to each other after that. When housing for military families was completed at the nearby bases Sig was approached by North American Van Lines to be their agent in Fairbanks. Soon after Lyon Van Lines approached me to represent them here. When we accepted they sent an old fellow from Seattle to show us how to pack personal effects, furniture etc. In those days we used old newsprint and boxes we got from the city dump for moving cartons.
On October 28, 1952 (Agnes' birthday) she got an unusual gift, our fifth and youngest child, Walter Patrick was born. Since taking over Sourdough our heating customers had expanded greatly. I think at one time there we had eleven trucks hauling coal to homes. About 1956 furnaces using heating oil burners were introduced into Fairbanks. Heating oil had many obvious advantages over coal and oil burners rapidly took over the home heating market. Seeing the need for an oil delivery truck (at first oil was delivered on a flat bed in fifty-five gallon drums) we ordered a reel and a pump and welded together a tank and assembled the unit in our garage on twelfth. This was the first home heating fuel delivery truck in Fairbanks. In later years we bought trucks 'outside' and had Clough tankers mounted on them. By the l980's we had added ten new tankers and delivered approximately 12,000,000 gallons of heating oil per year.
In the early 1950's we had a crew consisting of George O'leary, Bill O'leary, Carl Mock, Slim Amderson, Don Hering (Agnes' brother) Whitey Gregory (later to marry my daughter Sue Ann), George Simpanen, Neil Haun, Bill Rogge (Gene's son) Odell Johnson, and others. Agnes ran the office assisted by Misha Bigovitch, Virginia Koleen and others. Agnes kept all the books from 1943 until 1980. Mischa worked for us about 15 years and Virginia about 25 years. Bob Meath came to work while attending college at the University of Alaska just outside Fairbanks. After college he spent two years working for Consolidated Freight then returned to Sourdough where he eventually worked his way up to manager of the fuel company and part owner.
In 1954 Don Hering and I bought out a competing fuel company called Fairbanks Fuel. Don ran this company which continued independent of Sourdough as a fuel supplier in the city. When Don died in ---- Bob Meath purchased his interest and took over the management of this company until it was merged with Sourdough in 1982. Between the two companies we provided most of the heating oil in town. We were both Standard Oil Distributors. Once in a while one of our oil customers would get mad at Sourdough and say that they were going to get Don Hering at Fairbanks Fuel to sell them oil and vice versa which we thought very amusing. Don gave good service and had lots of friends especially among the old timers. Don had worked at Sourdough with his dad, Edward, prior to his death and also for Gene Rogge hauling over the highway for Sourdough Freight prior to the purchase of Fairbanks Fuel.
In those years we did a lot of express work hauling flour, groceries, moving pianos and all kinds of drayage work, anything that came along. Don, Carl Mock and Slim Anderson could move anything. That was the days before forklifts and other lifting equipment and everything was done with brute strength and awkwardness. I remember we would haul one hundred pound sacks of flour from the rail car at the train depot, haul on a flat bed to the bakery, then stack them ten high in the back room without any complaints. It was always a pleasure to have Don and Slim along when we moved a piano. If the piano had to go upstairs Don would take the lower end and put his stomach against that piano and we would take the upper end and away we'd go. It was a pleasure to work with Don and Bob Meath and the rest all those years. They all got along so nicely. Maybe their main problem was getting along with me, especially on Monday mornings- after I had thought things over during the weekend.
A few years after World War II, about 1954 a fellow in Seattle, Washington started an air freight service to Alaska using army surplus C-46 cargo planes piloted by ex army pilots. He arranged with us to unload and deliver the cargo around town. Most of it was perishable: fruit, produce, flowers, etc. Eventually airfreight was used for auto parts, emergency repair equipment, etc. This was the start of the air freight business here. Phil Gruger was the owner and he called it 'Pacific Air Freight". His business grew so fast he had to issue stock to expand his coverage in the lower 48 states. Because of his need to issue stock he eventually lost control of his company and it later merged with Airborne Freight Corp.
We were agents for Lyon Van Lines moving military household goods and we also began representing Alaska Orient Van Service owned by Jim DiJulio in Seattle. This relationship with A.O.V.S. worked out very well as most of the furniture was moved by the military in the summer months while the kids were out of school and we could maintain the same crew that we used in the winter months delivering heating oil and coal.
In 1959, the same year that Alaska became a state, Sourdough also became a household goods agent for National Movers.
Eventually with the population growth in the community it became necessary to make the household goods business separate from the fuel oil business. Therefore in 1962 we built a furniture warehouse on property that had been part of the old Zehnder Homestead in the railroad industrial area. I had bought ten acres of land here a few years prior from Lloyd Martin for $30,000 in anticipation of some day moving all our businesses from the Twelfth Avenue property. Also in l962 I was asked to serve on the board of directors of the Alaska National Bank in which we owned some stock. Agnes and I had many friends and were active in the Pioneers of Alaska, Igloo number four and also the local Elks club, the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce and Rotary.
It was about this time that a competing moving and storage agent in Fairbanks, Denali Transportation Corp. was up for sale. Sig Wold had resolved our differences and become good friends and it seemed a good investment at the time so we entered into a partnership and purchased this company and operated it separate and independent of either Sourdough or Sig Wold Transfer. As the trucking business was greatly expanding we became active in the Alaska Truckers Association and Alaska Carriers Association and also the National Defense Transportation Association.
The 1960's were good years. The businesses were growing with the post war community. My oldest son, Leo Jr. had graduated from Notre Dame University and was working at Sourdough assisting me in the management of the heating oil company. My daughter, Sue Ann had married Richard (Whitey) Gregory and he was managing the moving and storage and cartage operation. Both Robert and Dennis worked summers for the company while attending high school. Sue Ann was busy raising our first grandchildren, Doug and Debbie Gregory.
One evening in the fall of l964 our son Robert rushed home to tell us that the banks of the Chena river, which flowed through downtown Fairbanks, were flooding and insisted we move everything out of our basement. At first we didn't believe him but could see water flowing in front of our home so we hurriedly emptied the basement. Late that night the flood hit our house at Sixth and Noble, broke out the basement windows and filled the house to a few feet above the main floor level. Agnes and I evacuated the family to the Twelfth Avenue property that was built much higher than anywhere else in the downtown area. The office and garage there became the emergency home for not only our family but almost all of our employees and relatives families as well. Things were real primitive there for awhile without sanitation or fresh water. Transportation thru the downtown was by riverboat. As the waters settled we worked day and night with out trucks transporting people and their remaining personal goods to safety. During the cleanup following the flood our coal trucks were busy hauling all the condemned groceries and liquor from warehouses and stores and bars to the city dump for disposal as the Health Dept. had condemned it for fear of disease breaking out.
Sourdough had applied for and been granted operating authority by the Alaska Transportation Commission and the Federal Interstate Commerce Commission to move household goods, general commodities and freight within points in the state of Alaska. In 1970 we expanded our operations by building a large 60 by 140 feet truck shop on the ten acres in the railroad industrial area. In 1963 son Robert was off to college at Gonsaga University in Spokane, Washington and Dennis left in 1965 for Regis College in Denver Colorado. Agnes and I had only our baby boy, Walter at home and were getting used to the grandparent idea with not only Doug and Debbie Gregory but Leo Jr. new little ones, Joseph and Ellen.
When news of the first oil strike at Prudhoe Bay was released in 1969 the local truckers including myself recognized the need for surface transportation north of Fairbanks. The state highway department seemingly had no interest in building a road. The oil companies were talking of moving all supplies by sealift barge from Seattle around the coast of Alaska to Prudhoe bay. It seemed we truckers were left to fend for ourselves so we decided to go it alone.
Our first priority was to establish a route north and it was decided to purchase a large Nodwell vehicle that would travel the rough terrain during the winter. My brother in law, Gene Rogge, built a wannigan on the Nodwell complete with cook stove and a refrigerator to carry the choice beef Rogge so enjoyed. We formed a company to pool our finances for this expedition, including purchase of the Nodwell, and called it: "Great Northern Transportation LTD. The group involved in this brainstorm was: Rogge, Frank Chappados, Mack Moore, John Rowlett, Howard Bayless and myself.
It was decided to leave Fairbanks about the middle of April when the weather became most favorable. The plan was to haul the Nodwell to Nenana by lowboy and then to commence cross country going through the Minto Flats to Livengood, north through the Knute Flats to Wiseman, up the John River, through Anaktuvik Pass and finally across the tundra to saswan.
Gene Rogge was selected and agreed to be chief of this expedition and operator of the Nodwell. Howard Bayless became the navigator and Mack Moore the engineer and chief mechanic.
Amid warm cheers and encouragement for a successful trip the trio was sent off on their pioneer journey. Those of us left behind returned to the drudgery of everyday life with complete confidence our boys would return heroes. Three days later our disappointed crew returned. They had encountered steep gullies and rough terrain which they were unable to traverse. Our disappointment was somewhat relieved of course by the return of the fine T-bone steaks and roasts from the Nodwell's refrigerator. While enjoying these we again put our heads together in hopes of a new plan.
In the meantime the local chamber of commerce was urging the governor and the state highway department to proceed with the construction of a winter road. After much convincing the highway department went forward and did build, that same spring, a winter road along the same route we had planned: from Livengood to Wiseman thru Anaktuvik Pass and on to Sagwan. This route eventually became known as the 'Hickel Highway'.
During the next year the Alaska Carriers Association, the local trucking companies and the Chamber of Commerce tried unsuccessfully to convince the state to build a permanent, year round, road north. Many trips to Juneau were made and at every turn the Governor would ask for proof as to the amount of freight that would be hauled over this route. Attempting to comply with the requested information, we inquired of every possible oil company regarding their transportation requirements but were met with no response.
Finally, Governor Hickle said the state would build the road under off-highway conditions providing the trucking industry would maintain the same. Members of the Alaska Carriers Association, namely: Bayless & Roberts, Denali Transportation, Sourdough Express, Sig Wold Storage, H & S Warehouse, Mukluk Freight, Weaver Brothers and other local suppliers formed an association called the Arctic Development Corporation to comply with the demand that we maintain this road. Our final discussion with the Governor resolved that the trucking industry could not meet his requirement that $200,000.00 be deposited in escrow. This money would then be forfeit if we failed to comply with the Governor's maintenance requirements. With these negotiations at a stand still, the state proceeded with their original plan and continued clearing the winter road to Sagwan, up the John River and through Anaktuvik Pass.
Seeing the state obstinately proceeding along the winter haul road line, our group: Bayless, Chapados, Rogge, Moore, Rowlett and I decided to modify several surplus army tank retrievers and build trailers suitable for them to tow across the winter route. These trailers were forty feet long and twelve feet wide and capable of hauling forty to fifty ton loads. The modifications to the tank retrievers were done in Seattle as well as the construction of the huge trailers. When they finally arrived in Fairbanks our problems really began. The work that needed to be done was way up north, our specially built trucks were in Fairbanks. Summer had come and the winter road was impassable. After much very frustrated waiting winter finally came, we secured full loads for these giants and our crew: Gene Rogge, his son, William and a couple other drivers were off to the north.
Almost immediately after their successful return the next bad news struck. The US Dept. of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management invoked a land freeze upon the state of Alaska specifically halting the use of all off highway vehicles and all land transportation north of the Yukon River. For the next few years prospect drilling for oil was intense in Petroleum Reserve number four and at Prudhoe Bay, all on the north coast of Alaska. All the necessary equipment and supplies had to be freighted by sealift barge during the summer months or by Hercules aircraft until the settlement of the Indian land claims and the consequent unfreezing of the contested land. When finally a pipeline construction permit was issued by the Department of the Interior the interested oil companies formed a consortium called Alyeska Pipeline Company. The Alyeska company then did what the state had been so reluctant to do previously. It constructed a permanent year round haul road from Fairbanks all the way to Prudhoe bay. This road was eventually named the Dalton Highway after a famous Alaskan, Mike Dalton. The highway was constructed with the specifications of a second class road which permitted the use of tractor-trailer truck combinations and thus our large off road equipment became too slow and obsolete.
When I look back at all the effort we expended during those early days it is still beyond me why so much resistance was encountered. At the present time there are 150 to 200 trucks per day using the Dalton highway and yet there continues to be resistance to keeping this valuable economic resource open year round. The commerce derived from this road is vital to the Fairbanks and Anchorage economy in the form of jobs, parts, supplies and equipment necessary to support the oil fields and the trucks hauling this road.
With the Federal 'freeze' on oil and gas development awaiting the settlement of the Indian Land Claims as well as environmental court challenges the economic growth I had anticipated was postponed. It became necessary therefore to rent out the new truck shop until the oil companies were finally allowed to develop the oil fields that had been discovered on the north coast of Alaska. Our long term plan to move our entire operation from the Twelfth Avenue property had to be put on hold for a while. We did however go forward with another desire we had and that was the purchase of several Kenworth tractors and many flatbed trailers for freight handling.
In 197l with the pipeline permit finally issued to Alyeska Pipeline Service Company and the land freeze removed the trucking business really took off. We built a modern two story office building next to the shop in the railroad industrial area. With the expanding opportunities in the trucking business at this time we decided to split the business and established Sourdough Express as the freight and household goods company located in the office and buildings in the railroad industrial area. The heating oil business remained in the Twelfth Avenue property downtown and was renamed "Sourdough Heating". Leo Jr. managed Sourdough Express with Whitey Gregory and the fuel company was managed by Bob Meath. By 1972 it became evident that our oldest son, Leo Jr. was discontent and he moved his wife, Barbara and children: Joe, Ellen, Louie, Tom, John and Bernie to Anchorage where he started another moving and storage agency named Pacific Movers with the purchase of the old Pacific Air Freight Anchorage permit.
Whitey became manager of Sourdough Express assisted by son, Dennis who was responsible for the local moving and cartage business. Whitey built the business into a successful trucking company and made a name throughout Alaska for quality service in the transportation field. I continued as Chairman of the Board of both Sourdough Heating and Sourdough Express as well as being active in our other businesses and on several other boards including the Northward Building and the Alaska National Bank. Our son Robert had graduated from Gonzaga University and was employed by the US Small Business Administration. During this period I also was appointed to the Alaska Land Commission and worked with the community to help preserve our mining history as well as promote tourism.
In ________ Agnes' brother Donald died of a heart attack just days prior to his planned retirement. Bob Meath purchased his interest in Fairbanks Fuel Supply and took Don's place there as manager. Our youngest son, Walter, now graduated from the University of Alaska accepted the position as manager of Sourdough Heating. Dennis chose to leave the transportation field and spent three years in Bellevue, Washington doing financial planning. He is now employed as the endowment manager for the Monroe Foundation here in Fairbanks. Sue Ann is co owner of her own business, The House of Fabrics in the new Bentley Mall and raising some great kids: Doug, Debbie, Jeff and Karen. In 1977 Agnes and I had the great honor of serving as King and Queen Regents for the Golden Days celebrations representing the Pioneers of Alaska.
On November first I reached the age of seventy-two. Agnes had her sixty-sixth birthday October 28th.
Walter is still managing the Sourdough Heating company and Whitey Gregory is manager of Sourdough Express. Robert Meath is the manager of Fairbanks Fuel Supply.
Denali Transportation, owned by Sourdough Heating in partnership with Sig Wold is now managed by William James with offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks. This company is involved primarily in the moving of household goods both in Alaska and worldwide. During the past year Denali purchased a 26,000 square foot warehouse in Anchorage and are doing very well. I hope this trend continues as the purchase of this facility involves a fifteen year mortgage.
My oldest son, Butch, sold his equity in our companies and moved to Enumclaw, Washington. He sold the moving business in Anchorage, Pacific Movers, that he had built to Denali. In Enumclaw he bought a business called "Northwest Engine Repair". I so hoped he would make a success of this business but yesterday I received a letter from him advising me of the losses incurred and his loss of the money owed him through his sale of equity in our businesses. As it stands today my son Butch is in trouble with his own business, Robert is not working but back going to school. Dennis is making out on his own at the Monroe Foundation. Walt and Whitey are still with the family businesses.
My heart aches for my oldest son who tried so hard to be a success. It grieves me when other than my own boys are managing our companies receiving good pay, bonuses, travel and expense accounts. I feel I have failed somewhere in my relations with Butch especially and wish I could go back and start over. It is difficult for father and son to work together sometimes but I wish I didn't feel so bad the way things are on my 72nd birthday.
Agnes and I want to thank our children individually and collectively for your kind thoughtfulness having the fiftieth anniversary party celebration at the Travelers Inn. Everyone had a wonderful time and we have received many compliments on the arrangements and the professional manner and thoroughness shown.
I appreciated Butch, my brother Dud and his wife Clara coming all the way up here for the occasion and am sure they enjoyed their stay here. I guess I will have to finally admit that I have become a senior citizen (age 74). My health seems to be excellent for a person my age and I hope I can continue for some time.
On looking back through the years regarding my relations with my children I hope the good I have done for each of you is on the plus side. We cannot live in the past but looking back I guess I could have done a little better and probably been more considerate at times. You each have had at least a normal home life- education and opportunity to become good American citizens. Mother and I are proud of each and every one of you.
You are all different with various values, personalities, etc. One virtue we appreciate most is your honesty and we hope you will all respect and help each other more with each passing year.
Editing note: Needs lots more of information filled in for example: hunting and fishing adventures, cabins on rivers, etc., personal memories of each kid, etc.