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Karjala

@chenaridge.bsky.social

3.7K followers 1.1K following 941 posts

Alaska, Vermont, History, Weather, Finland, Ukraine, Decency - mostly don't do DMs, not looking to hookup

Karjala @chenaridge.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Connected to the BLM Reporting Application and got this. Interesting ... was I asleep when connecting other times or am I sensitized to the unfriendly people who might be monitoring my interactions with a government that has been invaded ... instead of it being a normal "don't be an idiot" warning.

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Karjala @chenaridge.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Creamer's Dairy - Fairbanks, ad in the Daily News-Miner, September 19, 1932 Read a brief history of the dairy at fairbanks-alaska.com/creamers-dai... #alaskahistory

The man of the house, presumably holding a glass of whole milk, facing a baby holding a baby bottle. Both are smiling - that milk must be good! But spending time with each other is a joy in of itself.
We used to be able to get milk locally. Later further away from other dairies in Alaska and now mostly far far away. We used to get milk from Fowler's Dairy, near Delta Junction, in the 60s, into the 70s.
Alaska Range Dairy in Delta Junction is a dairy in Alaska.

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Karjala @chenaridge.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Saturday Mar 31, 1956 "WAY TO SKARLAND SKI JUMP - Sunday, April 1 at 2 pm champion skiers will soar down the 125 feet Skarland Ski Jump .. turn left at the experimental farm ... find the road across from the Chena Pump Station. #alaska #ChenaRidgeHistory #alaskahistory

The map shows the gradients at the northeast end of Chena Ridge. The Chena River is shown squiggling from the southwest to the center of the map thence to the east, with Noyes Slough meandering to the north and then back south to join the Chena.
Fairbanks is at the center right, with Cushman Street crossing the Chena to the north, becoming Illinois St and crossing Noyes Slough and becoming College Road, which goes west to the north of Noyes Slough to the University. The road to Ester/Goldstream continues to the west past the Experimental Farm. Chena Pump Road crosses the tracks to the south at the Experimental Farm and heads past the Chena Pump House to the Tanana River, off the map to the south. Chena Ridge Road, which existed at the time, is not shown.
This map shows the jump located on a steep slope that faces generally to the southeast.
I (Karjala Koponen) remember seeing the jump from Chena Pump Road as a youngster in the 60s.

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Karjala @chenaridge.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Thinking of the 'interesting' news and social media environment we are now experiencing, I thought I'd show a letter to the editor from a few years ago that I just ran across. #alaska at least

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Karjala @chenaridge.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Did everybody save the April 10, 1964 issue of LIFE? Though I'm sure some put their copies in protective liners😀 #Alaska

Cover of April 10, 1964 issue of LIFE magazine showing a broken house sitting on a very nice black car on Turnagain Heights, Anchorage.

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Karjala @chenaridge.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

The house we lived in east of Godalming, actually in Shalford, England during the winter of 1958-59 while my father studied Anthropology at the London School of Economics. I walked to/from school in Godalming. There was a dairy over the tree covered hill to the west.

Field of nettles in front. Plumbing on the outside of the house. A small pool.

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Karjala @chenaridge.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Portion of the 1952 USGC map. Looks better and more text in ALT. Note lack of development. Chena Pump Road starts at the Experiment Station. #ChenaRidgeHistory

The section lines are marked with the section numbers in red. Each section is one mile square/640 acres.
College is in the upper right with the University to the east.
The railroad comes from Fairbanks to the right and exits toward Nenana to the center North. Ester Road doesn't get called the Nenana Highway because the road doesn't reach Nenana for several years.

The Tanana River is across the lower portion of the map with the Ladd Air Force Bombing Range to the south.
The Chena River enters the map from the east (right) side about 3/4 of the way up and wiggles its way down to the Tanana in the lower center of the map.
You can see the airport, new at that time, on the southeast side of the Chena with very little development around it.

Chena Ridge is the elevated land 'pointing' at the Experiment Station and running to the southwest, off the map, and then back on in the lower left corner, down to the Tanana. The dashed line is the unimproved Chena Ridge Road.
Cripple Creek is the wiggly blue line to the north of Chena Ridge. You can follow it around the northeast end of Chena Ridge then running south to the Chena River at the pumphouse.
Most of Chena Ridge Road in 2024 follows the road shown here. The northeastern end is an exception.
When the USGC established the lots/tracts in sections parts of sections 12, 13, and 14, Chena Small Tracts Rd, between section 12 and 13, on the west side of the Chena River and Pikes Landing Rd on the east side were built. The east end of Chena Ridge Road was then moved down to meet Chena Small Tracts Rd.
Note that Chena Ridge, on the east end, takes a winding path up the hill, giving access to the starting ends of the two ditches and then goes north of the little prominence in sections 10/11.
The road was rebuilt south of that in the 50s.
The 60s upgrade had the road go back to the north then upper section 12.
Chena Pump was built away from the Tanana and the north end has seen multiple changes with other roads added.

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Karjala @chenaridge.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

My first word. Our house was heated with an Ashley stove like that pictured. Even shut down it could still be quite warm. As a baby, I would crawl around, touching everything. When I'd reach out to the stove my mom would say "Hot!". A day came when I touched the stove and said "Hot" myself.

Ashley Wood Stove with thermostatic control - door openings in the front and on top, resting on four feet. Chimney up at the top rear.

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Karjala @chenaridge.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

That cleared a few acres. But they found that clearing land was a big deal so they purchased a modest sized Oliver dozer to clear land in front of the house, a middle field, and a lower field and roads connecting. The picture is facing south, looking at the Alaska Range.

68 Years after starting the homestead (1953) on Chena Ridge, facing south. The upper field - we had fences and horses, all gone now. Trees are taller. You can see some excavation in the flats before the Tanana but otherwise this view hasn't changed. Alaska Range in the distance.

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