There's a race of folk, some thick, some thin
But not a one of ‘em can stay still;
So they say, “so long,” to kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and ‘round flood they wend,
And they climb the mountain's crest;
Just to see what waits beyond the beyond the bend
And they care for to rest.
They pay the piper to see the sights
Read up on history’s page
Shoot photos in the megabytes
(To help memory which does age)
And they stand in front of a nifty place
Try to hear the piano from the past
Sure that’s a grin upon their face
And the prayer the feeling will last.
Personal Observations =====
Strangely, I feel I missed a moment here in Skagway – I have this inexplicable urge to have downed a shot of whiskey in a historic Skagway bar. I don’t even like whiskey. But there you have it, the imagination INSISTS I have shortchanged the Skagway experience.
I’m also feeling, well, kinship. Oregon Pioneers on my mom’s side. Drawn by the call of GOLD! My grandmother even lived in a tent-city mining camp (with a bunch of little kids – and a skiffy husband)(NOT my Grandfather). These are ‘my’ people, this is my history, psychologically, culturally. Russ’ as well – his were the people who sold $5 eggs to the 49ers. And also pioneered Alaska trading.
Perhaps this is why it’s so different from the Caribbean Cruises. In the tropics we are, well, sight-seers. [NOTHING wrong with that, by the way. Want to do it more than once every couple years!] But this. This has veins of pilgrimage – though I didn’t expect them.
And the resonance says I should have slogged back a whiskey. Sorry, Great-Grandpa.
Some impulses feel, well, a little too frivolous to indulge.
Nome Saloon ==========
Not that I could have quenched my thirst here.
Sure, they have shot glasses, but though the sun is always over the yard arm on the historic Nome Saloon’s façade, it’s now part of the Skagway Outlet Store complex, which spans the entire block of Broadway between 6th & 7th Avenues. I did buy souvenir coins, postcards, a couple t-shirts, and an Alaska 50th Anniversary hat.
A Brief Look at Skagway’s History
Skagway, one of America’s great historical shrines, played a key role in the dramatic Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-1898. For several hectic months, uncounted thousands poured through these streets on their way north. They were headed for Dawson City, more than 500 miles inland. Conditions were so rigorous that fewer than half of those who arrived in Skagway reached the gold fields.
For the first year of its existence, Skagway was a rough-and-tumble frontier port. Skagway boasted more than 80 saloons; gun play was common; the town was controlled by a gang of organized criminals. Civilization arrived when the White Pass and Yukon Route began constructing its railroad in May 1898, and it advanced when the criminal element was purged two months later. The WP&YR was completed to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory in the summer of 1900; by this time, the gold rush was over.
Skagway Walking Tour (
visit link)
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NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK NOMINATION
(
visit link)
380. Nome Saloon, 1899 & 1905. Two-story wood frame commercial building with flat and gable roof; double beveled shiplap, drop and historic wood shingle siding, cornices at second floor and eaves levels. East end of building is a two-story Gold Rush Era barracks.
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KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH SKAGWAY, DISTRICT OF ALASKA — 1884-1912: Building the Gateway to the Klondike Historical and Preservation Data
BUILDINGS WITHIN THE SKAGWAY HISTORIC DISTRICT APPENDIX
(
visit link)
The entire town of Skagway is included in the Skagway and White Pass National Historic Landmark. This landmark designation is commemorative in nature, and it provides a review period for all federal activities and allows for federal historic preservation incentives for owners of all historic properties in Skagway.
[That said, some get a call-out, like the Nome Saloon]
NOME SALOON 6th & Broadway
23 A on the historic district map
1899
Built in the fall of 1899, the two-story Nome Saloon was one of the many that lined Sixth Avenue. The Nome had a dance hail and gambling room besides the bar. An addition was built in the spring of 1900, and the false front was extended to house a variety theater. The following September the owners of the Commerce Saloon, Frank Payne and William Peterson, bought out the Nome's owners and remodelled the resort as the enlarged Commerce Saloon. Patsy Renwick, a well known gold rush gambler, had charge of the tables. Increased enforcement of Alaska's laws closed the gambling hall and finally the saloon.
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Its Current Employment is as a Souvenir Emporium:
Skagway Outlet Store (SOS) (
visit link)
Skagway Outlet Store (SOS) is THE original outlet store in Southeast Alaska. SOS is a shopper's paradise with the best prices and the largest selection of all your souvenir needs. Featuring value, selection and a friendly staff, SKAGWAY OUTLET STORE is well known in the cruise ship industry as the premier shopping place in Southeast Alaska. This is the place where your ship's crew shops! SOS offers a huge selection of destination specific t-shirts, sweats, fleece, plush, dolls, toys and much, much more. Don't be disappointed - wait to do your serious shopping at SOS! Home of the 20% Early Bird Discount. Open daily from 7:30 a.m. until you finish shopping. SOS was opened in 1995 by the Corrington family who have been serving Skagway shoppers since 1976 with CORRINGTON'S ALASKAN IVORY which is still operating just two blocks away.
Visit (
visit link) for a sketch of entire block – the Nome Saloon portion is at the far right