JUNEAU – Join Dr. Katherine Ringsmuth for a community conversation about the NN Cannery History Project on Friday, February 23, at 5:30 pm at the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum at 395 Whittier St. The primary goal of the cannery project is to collect, preserve, and interpret the underrepresented stories of the cannery people, whose customs and traditions shaped the cannery’s workscape and directly linked Alaska to the broader Pacific world. In 2021, the accompanying exhibit Mug Up is scheduled to premiere at the Alaska State Museum.
The NN Cannery is situated on the south side of the Naknek River, one of five major rivers that make up the Bristol Bay salmon fishery, Alaska’s largest and most sustainable commercial fishery. The NN Cannery Project is a collaborative partnership between Tundra Vision, Alaska Association for Historic Preservation, the Alaska State Museum, Trident Seafoods, and local Bristol Bay groups aimed at preserving the important history of more than a century of cannery lives.
Dr. Ringsmuth received her doctorate from Washington State University with concentrations in American, environmental and public history. She is a term professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage and the proprietor of Tundra Vision, a public history consulting business that focuses on history exhibits and curation, Section 106 application, and education support. Ringsmuth is the author of five books for the National Park Services, including two on canneries: Beacon of the Forgotten Shore: Snug Harbor Cannery, 1919-1980 and Buried Dreams: the Rise and Fall of a Clam Cannery on the Katmai Coast. She also has a personal connection to the NN Cannery: her father, Gary Johnson, was the cannery superintendent from 1979-1997, and Ringsmuth herself earned money for college by laboring as a cannery worker.
A person experiencing a disability who needs accommodation for events hosted by the Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum can contact the Division’s ADA coordinator at (907) 465‑2988 to make any necessary arrangements.
The Alaska Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums preserves historical books, manuscripts, and state records for study and research, operates the state museums, offers library and information service to state agencies and the Legislature, provides for the orderly management of current state records, operates the Talking Book Center for Alaska, and supports libraries, archives, museums, and cultural centers around the state through professional consultation services.
Claire Imamura
907.465.2458
0 Comments.