By Dimitra Lavrakas
Special to the Frontiersman
 Photo courtesy of the Alpine Historical Society Two people stand in front of coal bunkers at Jonesville Mine in an undated photo donated to historians by Robin Allen and Craig Thomas, grandchildren of both Wiley Robinson, supervisor of Jonesville Mine and Edward Gordon Thomas, supervisor of Eska Mine. The rich history of the Sutton area is celebrated annually at the Coal Miners’ Ball, set for Saturday night at the Alpine Lodge. |
Rich in mining history, the town almost gave up on the event several years ago until a transplanted Californian, Jennifer Crosby, stepped up.
“I had this crazy, wacky dream to put this place back on the map again,” she said.
Crosby has gathered a core group of volunteers that took charge of everything - from getting door prizes to cooking to mounting an historical timeline on the walls of the Alpine Inn.
The women gathered like clockwork throughout winter to plan the event. The Alpine Historical Society and the Sutton Activities Committee joined to make the ball a salute to the men and women who contributed to an industry that brought the Sutton area to life.
Alpine Historical Society members Cherie Verah, Jo Frisby, Donna Clark, Laurel Flynn-Overby, Claudia Dolfi, Ingrid Shaginoff, Nancy Dryden, and Sutton Activities Committee members Crosby, Bobby Mason, Rebecca Hobbs, DonnaRae Pearson, Katrina Naverot, Rocky Hansen, and Kim Henderson, braved some pretty foul weather this winter to attend the meetings.
“What a group of magnificent women,” said Crosby.
The ball is more than a dance, its a true community wide event.
The potlatch will serve up homemade food.
Verah is potlatch chair, said Crosby. “She's worked endless hours.”
Sutton, like so may other small Alaska towns, has experienced a boom-and-bust cycle over the years. Those who remain, stay anchored with friends and relatives and in the town's coal mining history.
According to Frisby , who works at the Alpine Historical Park in Sutton, coal was first found in the Matanuska Valley in 1899, when a military expedition found a large outcrop of the black gold on the Chickaloon River.
By 1916, the Alaska Railroad had laid track to the Matanuska coal field, and the U.S. Department of the Interior opened it up for leasing. In 1917, Doherty Mine opened along Moose Creek.
From the early 1900s to the mid 50s and 60s, the Sutton area saw its economy rise with coal, sink, then rise again. When the Alaska Railroad converted it engines to diesel, and Elemendorf its power plants to natural gas, Sutton's economy was snuffed out.
Now, as cars and RVs whiz down the Glenn Highway, the town offers several attractions hoping to waylay visitors.
Coal mining brought the town together, said Crosby, and so does the annual ball.
The Alpine Inn, where the event is held, also has an historic past - having, like so many Alaska roadhouses, burned to the ground and been rebuilt over the years. A combination of bar and restaurant, it overlooks the scenic Matanuska River Valley and its towering peaks.
The potlatch starts at 5 p.m. on Saturday, but the doors open at 4 p.m. for people to hoist a few at the long wooden bar. Old-timers will be inducted into the Coal Miners Hall of Fame at 6 p.m. that night.
This year, they include Walter Shaver, Mark Moffit, Tom Thomas, Ray Sund, Bud Motherstead, Charles Edmunds, Arthor C. Erickson, and Earl Marlo Johnson. Their pictures will hang in the bar's back room wall.
Donors have been most generous this year, said Crosby.
Usibelli Coal Mine, Hobbs Industries, Full Metal Minerals, and Alaska Earth Resources each contributed $500.
“That's a total of $2,000, that's huge for us,” said Crosby.
Randy Frank, who organized entertainment for the evening, said at 7 p.m. there will be opening ceremonies by Colony High School's ROTC. The Borealis Dancers will perform, as well as The Overbys and William Resinger.
The dance band will be the Bush Bandits.
“They play rock and country, no heavy metal,” said Crosby.
Tickets are $12 and that includes the meal, door prizes and entertainment. Theyare on sale at the door and at local businesses. The Alpine is is at Mile 61 of the Glenn Highway in Sutton.
Comments
4 comment(s)good job mom wrote on Sep 11, 2008 12:23 PM:
love your dauter alice "
patricia moss wrote on Jan 8, 2008 4:15 PM:
Dawn Foster wrote on Nov 14, 2007 2:33 PM:
Joanne Carroll wrote on Oct 29, 2007 7:57 AM: