Witness to history

Wasilla woman recalls birth of state

February 3, 2006

DAWN DE BUSK\Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - Katie Hurley was living in Juneau in June 1958 when Congress passed the Alaska statehood bill.

&#8220It was very exciting. People were ringing bells and blowing whistles. I was long-distance telephone calling all my friends around the state,” Hurley said.

When the 55 delegates representing all parts of Alaska gathered in Fairbanks to draft Alaska's constitution on Nov. 8, 1955, the members knew they were part of something meaningful, said Hurley, who acted as chief clerk at the constitutional convention and still owns copies of the minutes she took in shorthand and then transcribed during the 60 days of meetings that took place. &#8220Oh yes, I knew it was making history. I was there every day listening to every word,” she said.

Today, as part of the 50th anniversary of the completion of the constitution, Hurley will share her recollections of the event with advanced-placement history class students at Lathrop High School in Fairbanks.

Hurley recalls the intense focus of the delegates and the attention that went into selecting every word and keeping the language straightforward.

&#8220A style and drafting committee critiqued it so the language was broad statements that didn't include legislative language. That was the advice they had from lawyers and people who wrote constitutions,” she said.

Also, the delegates decided to meet in Fairbanks at the college, rather than in the political environment of Juneau.

&#8220Partisan politics were left at the door. People were working together for a common cause. Some of them had been fighting for this for 20 years,” she said.

&#8220Delegation president Bill Egan was very thoughtful and caring and made even the most inexperienced delegate to feel comfortable,” she said.

Although the convention began in early November and didn't wrap up until early February, many of the territorial residents took a two-week break for the Christmas holiday and went to their respective homes, Hurley said.

During the break, Jim Hurley, who later became Katie's husband, presented Valley residents with copies of the early draft at public meetings held in the old borough building gymnasium.

In Juneau, an organization called Operation Statehood pushed forward with the delegates' work while three men - Bill Egan, Ernest Gruening and Ralph Rivers - lobbied in the nation's capital.

Not everyone favored Alaska joining the Union, Hurley said.

&#8220A lot of people were opposed to statehood. They were worried about taxation, and some people with interests in the fishing industry felt there would be costs involved with becoming a state,” she said.

On Saturday afternoon, Hurley will join other participants of the constitutional convention and then attend a Creating Alaska dinner and community celebration at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, followed by a premiere of the documentary &#822049th Star.”

Other events taking place in Fairbanks are listed in the calendar section of www.alaska.edu/creatingalaska

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252 or dawn.debusk@

frontiersman.com.