History Night in Fairbanks on March 27
On March 27, The Alaska Mining Hall of Fame Foundation will induct three new mining pioneers at its museum on 406 Cushman Street in downtown Fairbanks. The ceremony will take place 7-9 p.m. There is no charge for the event and the public is invited to attend. Carl Gordon Parker was born Feb. 6, 1916, in Fairbanks, the son and grandson of Klondike stampeders. Carl graduated from the University of Alaska in 1939 with a BS in Mining Engineering, which provided guidance in his four decades of gold mining in Interior Alaska. By inducting Carl, the Foundation also honors many other members of the Parker Mining Family. Walter Roman’s extensive career spanned more than a half Century of mining in the Circle and Fairbanks districts of Interior Alaska. He was awarded the Alaska Miners Association’s Distinguished Mining Service Award in 1985 and he continued to mine until his death in 1993. Walter discovered ‘Blue Babe,’ the famous mummified step bison now on display at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. The well-preserved animal was found when Walter was operating his hydraulic giant to remove overburden on Pearl Creek, a tributary of Fish Creek in the Fairbanks district. Joseph Emil Usibelli was born Dec. 28, 1939, in a log cabin in Suntrana, Alaska. He attended a one-room school at Suntrana, Old Main School in Fairbanks, and the University of Alaska, earning a BS degree in Civil Engineering there in 1959. He was a crack shot on the first University of Alaska rifle team. After losing his father
the University of Alaska Museum of the North at UAF, scholarship programs, and the Literacy Council. Please join us for History Night, to honor these pioneers of Alaska mining.
to a mine accident, Joe took over Usibelli Coal Mine and is credited with streamlining production, upgrading equipment, developing new markets, and reclaiming mined lands years before it was required. Joe gave to the community of Fairbanks including
www.alaskaminers.org I The Alaska Miner I March 2024
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