Yukon Triple Hybrid

[alaska teardrop]

This is a still shot taken from a archival film clip circa 1950.

It was taken on the Yukon River near Eagle, Alaska.

Fred

:peace:

[Ira]

1950? That late?

I'm battling in my mind the age of the car, and the "look" of the entire scene, which appears earlier.

[mwatters]

How long did it take them to really crank-up automobile production again after WW2???

Anyway - would YOU take a brand *new* car, strap it onto a raft and float it down a river. A 20yr-old heap maybe...

Mike

[doug hodder]

Fred...don't know if you were up there then, but back in the 60's the McClains from the camera store (used to be well known) in Anchorage did the Yukon in an Amphicar! Doug

[alaska teardrop]

1950? That late?

I'm battling in my mind the age of the car, and the "look" of the entire scene, which appears earlier.

A couple of hints, Ira. The pic is in color. There are any number of Russian Orthodox communities in AK (one named Russian Mission farther downstream - can't be many left there though. The locals took rebellion seriously a long time ago!). Many still dress that way today. But I suspect those folks are just dressed to ward off the 24 hr. sun and/or mosquitos.

The car would not be considered that old. Dry climate and we don't salt the roads - no rust.

Doug, Don't know them, but I believe it. Ya see all kinds of contraptions. Right?

Fred

:peace:

[Lesbest]

Ira, don't the Cubans still use those today?? And it is a lot more dangerous crossing--no one is shooting at the people in the Alaska photo.

Les

[Ira]

I don't know--just speculating--but:

It could have been a B&W photo that was colorized. Second, the people don't even look real. (Do they look real to you?)

And even if they WERE real, notice the blur to them, especially the guy, as if the photo was taken in an earlier era with a camera that didn't have the fast shutter speed to catch it.

I am not SWEARING by what I'm saying here, but 1950?

Plus, notice the newspaper on the floor of the barge in the very right-hand corner with the headline:

"Richard Milhouse Nixon born today at Sacramento General."

[alaska teardrop]

Ira,

I will personally attest to the authenticity of the photo. The blur - it is a shot taken from the original film (8mm?) and transferred to DVD. It was given to me yesterday by a friend from that region. He knows of my long time fantasy of plying the Yukon as a bootlegger in my boat converted to a sternwheeler and towing a bluegrass band on a barge.

:)

Fred

:peace:

[AlaskaJack]

Fred,
I always had the fantasy of using a single engine Otter on floats as a flying brothel..... dropping in on the high dollar fishing lodges!
...aparently great minds think along similar lines!

A Model A Ford in the '50's was like $25 bucks.... certainly expendable and way more practical on the riverbanks than say a '50 Ford pickup!

By the way, emailed Dave re: the Alaskan Teardrop.... haven't heard back.... he aluded that he was "motivated" but quoted $6995.... I wrote something like $4500 to get the game started, lol, like I said.... he hasn't written back!

$25 Model A Ford in about 1957:
<img src="http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/AlaskaJak/modelAathorsethief.jpg" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting">

$10,000 Model A Ford in 2002:
<img src="http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/AlaskaJak/MeModelA3.jpg" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting">

[AlaskaJack]

Incidentally, the tear drop that you can barely make out to the left of the cabin on the right......
My old mom told me that that was where I was conceived! .... opening day of trout season in 1941! Lol, up at Rock Creek, just north of Bishop, CA in the Sierra Nevada.

[alaska teardrop]

That's a beauty of a Ford, Jack.

Do you still have it? That teardrop with some matching blue paint would sure look good behind it!

Fred

:peace:

[doug hodder]

AKJack....that brothel thing was done during the pipeline, along with gambling and grass....just not always in an Otter....pipeline survey crew early 70's...doug

[Ira]

Fred, what's kind of the story behind that picture? Putting a car on a raft?

Were they like moving to another part of the state, and that was the only way to do it?

[madjack]

Ira, think about a place that has no roads...now...Then think about it 50+ years back...so using rivers either as transport systems or just having to cross over to continue your journey cause there are even fewer bridges....
madjack

[AlaskaJack]

Fred, I no longer have the '31 tudor. It was a sweety but too nice for a daily driver and I ran outa room to keep it around.

Doug, Yep the "pipeline" era! .... those were some crazy days. I was on contract for many months as the "personal" pilot of the guy who was in charge of building all of the airports and installing the runway lights.... boy we sure did eat good!