R. Rolland Armstrong on Presbyterian missions in Alaska.

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This was the combination that the board had set up years before.

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This was true under the time of Dr. Summerdyke, when he was

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in charge of Sunday-School missions in Alaska. Few men

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of administrative stature had come into Alaska since

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the time of Sheldon Jackson. Everett King had come

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into the state or territory. And, on his

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return to New York, he got in contact with us in Michigan and

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said he wanted to go to the First Presbyterian Church in

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Fairbanks. Part of the sales pitch at that time was that the Fairbanks Church was in a strategic lo

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cation was near the University of Alaska.

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They had a tremendous enrollment and they needed student work.

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Dr. King's estimate of the University of Alaska was far from correct.

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Instead of having somewhere in the neighborhood of 2000 students,

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it was probably closer to 250 or 300. The figures that he

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received and was using, floated extension courses under

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the agricultural department. I think throwing in a bunch of 4-H young

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people. Nevertheless, we

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started off for Alaska. Driving across

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to Seattle was an experience in itself and getting on the steamship and heading

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north was also one that cannot be forgotten.

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We found on board that the Crawfords [Crawford, David H.] were

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heading for Alaska. Dave and Anne were

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young missionaries as ourselves. They were heading for Cordova

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heading for the different

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parts.

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We saw something of Alaska. I was not impressed by Ketchikan. We stopped at

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Petersburg and I wondered what the Presbyterian Church was even

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trying to do there for the church. And Petersburg

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seemed to be an old barn that was painted barn red. And, the

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poor missionary who was working there George

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Betts was living in the upper part

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of the building. Little did I realize that later on George Betts would

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be one of my favorite friends among the Tlingit people. We

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went on to Juneau. Mr. and Mrs. Glass were the

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pastors of that time. and John Glass was out of town so we just got a

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chance to see a Northern Light church and visit with the pastor's wife.

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I was impressed by Wrangel, as we passed through Wrangel. This seemed to be the cleanest thing that

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we had run into of Presbyterian work. Beautiful, semi-Colonial

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church. Up on a hill

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with some rolling grass around and it

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looked inviting. Then across the Gulf and

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to Cordova where we dropped off the

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Crawfords, saw this town and the ramshackle

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building that they inherited. This had been a building built by S. Hall

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Young in the early days. It had a gymnasium

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and sort of a semi basement. Then on the first floor, a sanctuary

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and educational rooms and on the second and

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third floor is where the living quarters were located.

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Actually the top floor was about five stories above the

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first floor but this is what the Crawfords inherited. And,

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we moved on to Valdéz, and as we hung over the rail looking down

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onto the dock, here was a man who was to meet us, the Reverend

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B.J. Bingle [Bingle, Bert J.] A book had come out entitled, "The Lure

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of Alaska," and we looked down at

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Bert and said there is the lure of Alaska.

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We started up the highway, which was known as the

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Richardson and stopped at least two nights before

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we could get into Fairbanks. It was quite a

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time crossing the rivers out a dulla

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because this was the old system that Ickes had installed where

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you had to pay a fee to get across on the river barge.

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This was the scene of many amusing and interesting events later

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on. The Interior Department tried to halt the

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truckers from moving from Valdez into Fairbanks

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and making people use the Alaska railroad.

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Our arrival in Fairbanks was one

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that we will never forget. We

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finally got something settled in the manse and started to

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count what money we had left. We had a little over ten

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dollars. Went to the store to see if we could get enough for breakfast.

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There was nothing in the manse in the way of food. There must have been a

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jurisdictional dispute between the Women's Association and the session.

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After buying our breakfast material, I think we had just a few

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dollars left.

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It took almost seven dollars to get the basic supplies we needed.

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But along came a wedding. A

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family by the name of my Mandigo, who lived next to the manse,

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prepared ahead of time for a wedding for

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one of their relatives. The fee from that seemed to hold us

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over until we could get another wedding and then finally a check.

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I'd been employed down in Kentucky and

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five county project of Sunday School missions for twelve hundred dollars. When I

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married they raised this and I think when we got to Fairbanks

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we were getting around $1800. Checks

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had to come by boat. And so,

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although they were still a month apart, it seemed a long way from New York,

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our friends and what few relatives we had.

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For those of you who don't know about the background of our family.

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I married Catherine Ratcliffe, a

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Colorado girl who had trained in Pueblo

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and Denver and John Hopkins. She wanted to

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serve with Greenfeld but ended up taking a position

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with Mrs. Breckenridge of the Frontier Nursing Service in Kentucky.

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We were married.

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December 3rd. Nineteen thirty

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seven and stayed there for

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about a year before we moved on to

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Michigan.

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Moving into Fairbanks I succeeded John Ewell, who had been

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in Alaskan service at Anchorage and Fairbanks.

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He was being transferred by

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Everett King into the Sunday School mission work and was supposed to take care

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of some of our work such as at Amana. Our

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first impressions of Fairbankswere that it

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was a small struggling but growing town. It still

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did not come into its own except for a gold mining company.

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Been having some real problems. Most of the

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creeks were still in operation. On

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my first trip was to Kings Light Camp. This

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was a real adventure because we took the train and

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overnighted at Healy and

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then went on down to Badnuska, where we got off.

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By truck went into the camp. This was Bert Bingle's

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project and we dug in to help him in this

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pioneering effort. One of the trips

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from the camp was a truck ride into Anchorage over a dirt road.

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This was my first introduction to Anchorage. It

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was a small town that seemed to. Have a little more life in Fairbanks

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and in general made a good impression on me.

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One of the interesting things that happened when we were in Fairbanks was the first airmail

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regular schedule to come in by Pan-American airline Airways. A

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very festive mood. Dog teams met the little Lockheed Electra as it

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landed. I can still remember the summer

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flowers that grew along the

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fences and we were impressed by the tremendous growth

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and many flowers in the Fairbanks area.

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But the next year another great event was a flight with Everett King

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and one or two others to Barrow. We

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chartered six place plane took off from Fairbanks

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on floats.

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We were to land on

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the Yukon River at the mouth of the Johns River

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and then fly on to Barrow. We got to the Johns River

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section.

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The wind died down and we had to stay there about four or five hours

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before we give up enough wind to counteract the

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speed of the river. Finally we took off.

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Once we were in the air over the Johns River, going through the Endicotts, the

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pilot gave me a map and said I've never flown here before.

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See if you can help me navigate. And so we thought we were.

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Real sharp. That we picked up the landmarks and

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hit the sea about 12 miles south of Barrow and followed it up the

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coast. We came a place where we could sit down on the lagoon.

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After visiting there we took off for Wainwright

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found the missionary layworker, Percy Pollock was ill. He

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had to be taken back to the Barrow

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hospital. taking off in the Arctic Ocean

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our pilot Brady finally got off and landed at Barrow.

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turned around and came back to Wainright landed on the ocean.

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All of us got on the plane but then we found that there was so much

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weight in the plane that the props chopped the

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waves as they came towards the plane. So, we were

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asked to get out. Again we were picked up and carried to shore.

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Plane took off and then landed in a

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lake behind Wainright. After sloshing through the mud

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and all we finally got to the place where we could be picked up.

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Another thing that happened during the experience in Fairbanks was taking the job and

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the Chatanika gold mine under the F.V. Mr.

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Hopkins who was a member whose wife was a member of the church had been

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instrumental in helping me get the job. Funds have been running low.

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The session of the Fairbanks church did not seem

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to be particularly interested in what the financial status

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of the pastor might be. But moving the family to

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Chatanika and staying there for six weeks, I was able to make enough money

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to recoup and to go back to a church. About

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at the same time, there was

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another development. The church was moving towards self-support.

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But there were a few who did not want to push this as they were afraid that once we cut

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loose from National Missions they would be forgotten.

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What it was during the fall and spring of

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42 that the session

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took action to go on self-support. This was a real act

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of faith. And, the session and the congregation deserves much credit at

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this point.

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But I made up my mind that the transitional work that I'd done

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at Fairbanks was about over.

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And, there was an opening that happened in

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Anchorage and we received a call. And, National Missions concurred that I should

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take the Anchorage church. On the 7th,

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December 7th of the year before, war had been declared.

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The Pearl Harbor outbreak had shaken everyone

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up. The Board of National Missions had asked if anyone wanted

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to leave Alaska. They could go if they wanted to with the

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expenses paid by the Board. The Armstrongs decided to stay.

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The pastor who was in the Anchorage church had decided to leave.

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And so we took that opening and in September of 42

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we moved down the railroad until we came to

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Anchorage and moved into the manse.

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Here again there had been another jurisdictional dispute between the Women's

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Association and the trustees. The people who had

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been renting the Manse just moved out and

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left a horrible mess. Katherine joined with

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me in clean up campaign, If it had not been

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for an elder by the name of Blind Jones who took

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compassion on us, I don't think we would have ever got that task

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completed. But new linoleum was put down. Painting was done.

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In general things moved along.

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One of the things that happened in Fairbanks that I'd

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forgotten was the all the funerals we had. These were

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reminiscent of things that we'd run into in the mountains so we were not shaken by it.

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Hosie Ross owned an old whippet. This whippet was

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used as an ambulance and also as a hearse.

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Hosie called me one day to come down to the funeral parlors, long about

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Fourth Avenue, asking

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if I'd have a funeral when I got there.

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I asked where the congregation was, and he said there wouldn't be any. Fellow had n

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o relatives. I said what's his name. And he said the only thing we have on the death certificate is Turnip

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Pete. Turnipr Pete had come from down in the

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Yukon. He'd gone in with the gold miners

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found gold mining hadn't been too profitable so he started gardens. And, he

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would sell vegetables to the miners. And this was one way that he got his money. Turnip. Turnip Pete had his funeral. And, Hosie

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said, you'll have to help me with the casket. So I helped put the

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casket in the little whippet. And again we

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started on up to the cemetery and here again I said

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the words and then helped Hosie and the grave digger put the

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casket into the ground. This was not to be the

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last time these strange funerals of this type of

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some of those early pioneers in Alaska.

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During that time we were in Fairbanks, there was also a peculiar presbytery meeting. It was

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held in Cordova. We started on down in Cordova by train,

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picked up the boat at Seward, moved over to

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Cordova. There we had our presbytery meeting. One of

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things the Crawfords [Crawford, David H.] had that seemed to be particularly good to us was

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grapefruit sections and some crab meat. So on the way back

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to Fairbanks, why I picked up some of the material in the grocery store and had it packed

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away in a suitcase. Well, you got back about

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portage on the train. The train was covered with

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snow. Get out to look at the engine and all you could see with the smoke coming out of

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the snow bank where the heat

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had burned a hole through the snowdrift. We

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decided that we had nothing to do but stay for the night. And,

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everybody put the backs of the chairs down and made the

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train into one great big bed. Bert [Bingle, Bert J.]

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was along. And so with Boyd Cubbage [Cubbage, Boyd G.], myself

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and they finally got some sandwiches out of one of

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the section houses. We were closest to the

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coal cars, so they came on through and they said to all women and

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children first. Remember they are going through with baskets of sandwiches

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all the way down the train. They started on back. When they got what they ran out.

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So for our evening meal, we

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had grapefruit sections and crab meat. It's not a very good

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combination when you're hungry. It used to

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take about a week to go to presbytery.

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I'm sure that Bert and others will tell you some of the long strange

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trips we had to take. It still was better than the

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early history of the Presbyterian Church. And folks had to move out of Eagle and they might be

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gone for a couple of months by the time they went to presbytery and got back home. But,

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then this situation in Anchorage we

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found again that this was a church that was

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on a mission National Mission support. Early in October

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42, we sat down with the elders and we

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discussed the entire matter of self support. I remember the night

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that we argued back and forth and finally decided that we would go on self

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support. Following the meeting Bob Atwood came over to the house and for

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another hour or two we discussed the entire matter. There was great

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reluctance on Bob's part as to where we might go in the

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situation. Providentially Bob along with others in the

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session were great help as we moved along, doggedly

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making our own ways as a self-supporting institution. While in Anchorage,

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a few things seemed to

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bring us together. There was a group known as the Board of Directors.This have been established by

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Dr. Romig the famous dog team doctor. It had no

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organization. There was no officers, but

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they met every Tuesday. And, we would meet at the old Anchorage Grill and there we

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would order what we wanted and pay for dutch treat and walk out. Once

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a year they would have an Alaska wildlife dinner

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and everyone would be asked to bring something to this and it would be at the Country Club

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or whatever

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it was called out by the lake. At

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Lake Spenard and the Chamber of Commerce was a

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challenge because it was a struggling organization and some of the first

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breakthrough seemed to come when the Chamber of Commerce moved into

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studies on the airport and were almost

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vicious in trying to get the international airport for Anchorage.

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The first signs of progress as far as the church was concerned was the building of an educational

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unit on the back of the church.

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This was built during the war.

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One had to have special permission to buy lumber.

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I was out on vacation during that period. And, we were called

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back because things were not going right. A man by the name of Wanstead

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had the contract

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and so we used to stand around to see that they worked and the material that was

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supposed to go into the building actually got there.

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Part of this money came from some capital funds that were raised by the

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Presbyterian Church for wartime emergencies. And, because of our

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proximity to the airbase and to the

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army, $11000 was granted towards the erection of this unit. The

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man who was in charge of building at that time for the Board of National Missions was A. B.

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Kieler. When we've gone into

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Anchorage. I will never forget the sight the first sight of the church because

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sandbags were all around the basement. Struts were

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dug into the lawns in front of the church and this was supposed to be

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preparation for any advance of the Japanese. The

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sandbags would make the basement of the church a bomb shelter.

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There were other things in Anchorage that we remember.

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Northwest Airlines had a special freighter

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that had been chartered to bring seamen from the Orient

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on its way from Anchorage on to Chicago they

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miscalculated their route and hit Mount Sanford. Following

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this crash Northwest Airlines asked three of us to

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go up in one of the airliners and to have a memorial service over Mount Sanford. And

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that particular day, Father Flanagan of the Catholic Church

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and myself, and a representative of the Jewish

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faith got into the plane with officers

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and managers of Northwest. We soared over Mount Sanford.

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You could not see the mountain, but we stood at our respective

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stations in the fuselage of the plane and read our committal services

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while the door was open and wreaths were shoved overboard. This was Father Flanagan, who is now

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Bishop serving in Juneau.

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A longstanding acquaintance with him that has been cherished over the years.

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I also served on the first library board for the city of Anchorage.

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And we hired the first full time librarian.

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The. Library moved into what was called Cow Palace, a corrugated

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iron building that was set on a corner of the lot where the city hall is. I

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was also appointed by Governor Gruening to

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the Alaska Board of Health and served on that for at least six years.

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During that time we hired Dr. Earle Albrecht

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as the first full time commissioner of health.

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And around the church were adventures which not be forgotten.

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We were able to help in a building of Faith Presbyterian Church. This was originally

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an area outside of Anchorage, which was looked down upon by

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most of the people. The riffraff lived in that area and there

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was a illicit sale of liquour and there was prostitution.

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We were able to get to a Sunday School started in the basement of the little cabin

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on East G. Finally money was given

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for the material as well as the material

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itself.

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And so Chester Peterson offered us a lot. And we went ahead a built

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a church. This could be a long involved story. And, maybe I ought to tell

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this particular story another time, but you'll

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find in the Anchorage Times a good story of this and

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Bob Atwood would be able to refer you to this building of Faith.

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Very soon after this. There was evidence of the need

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for a church in the Spenard area and

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so we worked around and Sugguth and Lyman

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took us under their wing and began to search for a place.

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We suggested one place. They suggested another. And, finally we took

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their word for it.

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The land was donated to us. And,

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we were then in the process of trying to receive some financial aid from the Board of National Missions

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to build a building. This money came, and we

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invested in logs and tried to put up a log building.

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Some of this was done with volunteer labor of young people from

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First Presbyterian Church.

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One of the problems was the digging of a well. None of us have had this experience before.

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We went ahead and finally we're ready and able to

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put them well for this two-room facility.

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About this same time, a young man and his wife

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came to this field. Sackett Johnson was appointed by Earl Jackman.

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Little did we know that he was to come to such providential time. We

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had to find a place for him to live. So in order to to give the money

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to buy a place, Catherine and I sold an acre of property that

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we had off Spenard Road t

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o get the down payment for the property. Meantime the Board

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decided they would invest in the property and buy it, and

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we got our money back, but never did we reinvest in the land.

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The eternal problem of finances continues to dog

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us. At a later time, it was seen that

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the army base was moving more and more towards Anchorage on the Government Hill

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area. So we negotiated with

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Colonel Johnson of the Alaska Railroad for a piece of

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property on Government Hill. And, again, through the friends of the

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church, a very lovely piece of property was set aside. Fred Koschmann [Koschmann, Frederick B.]

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came to our aid at this point and helped

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in the clearing of the land. A Quonset hut was negotiated for and

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moved onto the lot. This was the beginning of the Government Hill property.

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We should say that once Faith Presbyterian Church had been in operation for a while, it

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called a pastor and Fred Koschmann was called to be this pastor. Fred had

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left his school work as superintendent of schools in

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Anchorage and moved on to Dubuque [Dubuque Theological Seminary] where he took his work and then

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returned to Faith. He left here for his job at Fairbanks.

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We were again to be reunited when he became dean of Sheldon Jackson

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Jr. college. It was while I was in Anchorage, we also

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had the opportunity to serve men who were at the

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sawmill at Whittier. I would alternate with Bert Bingle in going

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down the railroad and through the newly created tunnel to the

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seaside there and having services for the men.

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This was usually held in the mess hall. While the

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fellows were playing blackjack in one section of the room, we would be

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singing praises of the Lord in the other end of the room.

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It was during this

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period that I was in Anchorage that

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I had the opportunity of working with a great number of young people.

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We had a large evening service that would sometimes go as high as 100 to 150.

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These would be generated by the young fellows that

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came from the Fort, who couldn't come in in the morning, but could come at night.

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They would come along about 5:30 or 6 cook supper, have Young Peoples

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meeting, go to church and then have the time

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afterwards for recreation. And, we practically had to push them out of the door at midnight. But, out of this

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group came a number of young fellows who went on into

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education and into the ministry.

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Bob Lantz [Lantz, Robert Brown], who is now a chaplain. Vic Urban, who was ah

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Presbyterian minister for a while, now working for the Department of Welfare in

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California. Bill Weir [Weir, William F., Jr.],

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Joe Smith and others. One of the young ladies was

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Shirley Sutton who's now.

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Shirley Sutton Baird, whose husband is in the Presbyterian Church in

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Colorado Springs. People like Esther

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Wolf and Ruth Dodd can tell you some of the background of these young people, who

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really penetrated the spiritual life of the church during those days.

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Long illness or was close personal relationships built up with members of the

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congregation. It was with great reluctance

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in 1950 that I made the

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decision to move out of Anchorage into the work in the

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territory. Catherine Gladfelter and Earl Jackman [Jackman, J. Earl] both

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worked on me to accept the position as a field

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representative for the Board.

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This later was changed to being an assistant secretary to Earl Jackman.

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This work took me on trips to Barrow, Wainwright, Barter

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and to St. Lawrence Island, Wales. I was

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able to see a great deal of a glorious territory of

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Alaska. Some of the trips were, were

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more thrilling than others. And, I can remember with

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Samuel Simmons walking across to Brower Store and Barrow.

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and Sam telling me I better put my gloves

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on my nose because I was fr,eezing it. And, sure enough,

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it was white. For a time that I was down at Wainright

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and returning from Wainright,

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Bill Wharty saying it's right along here we should find this Skull

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cliff tower. And, with that, he veered to the right. And, we just missed

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shearing off the wings of the plane.

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Or the time we were at the mess in the

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Navy area of Barrow, we saw Colonel Geiser. And,

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he asked us where we were going. And, we said we're going back to Fairbanks to

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get ready for a trip to Barter and he said he was headed for Barter. And so, Earl Jackman

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and I

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hustled and got our things together. And, Colonel Geiser took us to Barter. There we had

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preaching, and a baptismal service and headed back

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for the dedication of the community church at College, Alaska.

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One of the times we took, Earl Jackman and I took a trip to

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Gambell was with the intent purpose of moving across the island to Savoonga

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for the dedication of the church. Alice Green

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was there. Alice can tell you the story of that Easter

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when we got there.

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There was a tremendous experience.

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Because we made one attempt to get to Savoonga, had to turn back

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to Gambell. On the second attempt we got as far as.

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Topics stayed there overnight and then moved on the next day coming over the ridge

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and stopped to see the little village away in the distance.

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The service went and on and off all day, as we

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had dedications, baptisms, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. I also

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made another trip in the summer time, one with Nick Camel and Alice Green. We

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had an Eskimo camp

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on the shores of the Arctic

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Ocean. Betty Camel had cooked,

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along with the Eskimo people, to have plenty of food ahead of time.

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It was at this summer camp that we got closest to our Eskimo

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people. Then there was a trip in the wintertime to Gambell and over to Savoonga.

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When on the way back with Claire a third.

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Clarence Pengally correction, Clarance Pengali.

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That we got lost in a storm that came in over the

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island. And, Clarence finally admitted he was lost. Let the dogs go.

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By the time we got in to Gambell.

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It was so

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bad. We were so cold. When I walked into the manse

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I dropped to the floor in sheer exhaustion. And it was a tremendous

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experience to wake up having ou Eskimo people huddled around me, tring

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to help me to regain some strength.

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Again. I was at Wales. One experience where I

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went in before Thanksgiving, and was to come right out again the next day.

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But it was 19 days before I got out. This is when Emma Stauffer was there.

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I remember vividly going into the

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Star Airlines office to find that I was

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facing an irate man at the counter, who bawled me out because of the way we

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had our missionaries work. He told that someone had come in

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from Wales saying that the poor old missionary was on the roof, nailing on

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shingles.

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I confronted Emma with this. And, sure enough, this is true because she had hired some of the men

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to do the work. And, they got almost to the top of the roof and then left it

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open at the, at the crown. So she had to

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get some boys together go up and nail on enough shingles to keep the weather

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out.

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It was at this time that I was at Wales, I found that I had been

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hoaxed out of a ride back to Nome.

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It was a man there who was taking pictures for a Sunday supplement. And, he told me

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that he just received word that he had to get out immediately

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because his wife was going to have a baby. He was playing upon my sympathy as a missionary. I

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finally backed out and let him have my seat. And that was about

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17 days before another plane could get in. The joke was that

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when he hit town he went on a roaring drunk. I don't think he.

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His wife was going to have a baby.

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In fact the way he acted I don't know whether he had a wife.

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Now, this ends part of the experience as a field

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representative except to say that in

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1950 I had the occasion to go to Washington

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state congressional delegation in

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reference to statehood. This was my initial interest in the

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statehood movement. It was in

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1955 that I went to

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Fairbanks as a delegate at large of the Constitutional Convention. This

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was on the basis of election from the entire state of Alaska.

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This went over into January and part of February of 1956.

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It was in January of

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56 I was called back to New York. While I was

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in New York. Frank Walker.

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Alec Sharpe and one or two others confronted with me the possibility of going to

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Sheldon Jackson. I knew something of the

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situation at Sheldon Jackson because a field administrator I'd seen some of the

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difficulties that had gone on in the administration.

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Rolland Wuerster was, was the president and taking this over

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because he did not want to see the S. J. situation crumble.

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Things look desperate. And so with this in mind I took

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the responsibility of going to Sheldon Jackson and this transfer was made in

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June 1956. Again Catherine Gladfelter had

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stepped into the picture and asked me to take over this work.

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And I know for certain that Earl Jackman was hurt by

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this decision and had hoped that I would continue to work with him.

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I felt there were some real transitions that had to happen and should happen

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in the Alaskan work. But that I was in no position

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at this time to help guide them or to even feel.

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Ready administratively for them.

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And so I took the responsibilities at Sheldon Jackson because

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of the great internal pressure and conviction that that's

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where I should be. It was not the place I wanted to be.

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And I say this again because I did not feel that I wanted to go to Sheldon Jackson. But,

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it was a clear cut conviction that this was what God wanted me to do.

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The school had been under scrutiny and the continuation of the program was stated

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this way by Alex Sharpe: You either keep it open

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or it's going to close. The first thing that we seem to run

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into was that they had been appointed

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an advisory committee for the school. And, we had to

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have the development of this indigenous group to see if they could not

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develop something that would be strong. The names that I'm giving

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are not in order, nor do they have priority because of their

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listing.

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But these are a few of the names of people who worked with us on the advisory committee, who helped us a great deal. These

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names would include Norma White, Doris Barnes,

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Al Brady, Nolan Lang. Two

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that had been on board for years Ed Phileo, Wade Morley, Den

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Brian of the University of

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Washington. The election of George Beck of Ketchikan was

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a highlight because his father and former superintendent of school

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was also the administrative help. Brian pre-work and Bill Pritchard

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along with this course were the administrators out of New York, who had been helpful, although for some

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time discouraging. And, after Catherine Gladfelter had

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come, Milton Brown

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and the great help of Dr. Harry Stearns.

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Finally, Doctor Forrest Brown. Burns. B-U-R-N-S.

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It was the advisory committee that then began to agitate for

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long range plans for the school upgrading the college,

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employment of staff. Finally the division of the high school and college.

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And so the program seemed to develop. The Ad building

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had been almost finished

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and this was the newest building on the campus when I arrived.

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Then came the first college building, Condit house. This had

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been planned by my friend Ed Crittenden.

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Then there was the renovation of the Sage building into a high school building, so

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we could have more separate facilities for the college. With the re-modelling,

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the Sage came the division of the libraries. The

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high school library in Sage and the college library in Yaw. And

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then there was remodeling of the cafeteria, the remodeling of science and Allen

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building, the building of a swimming pool and

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next to the gym. The swimming pool was originally financed

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by a grant of $3000 from the First Church of Anchorage. This had

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been their second grant, the first one being towards an Allen organ for the chapel in Allen

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building. Then finally the board listened to the

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call of the Advisory Committee and forwarded the money so we could build a second

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college dormitory. And, this college dormitory is now

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being occupied by women. After years of

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study, probably going back as

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late as nineteen fifty five fifty four, there had been a

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call for a student center on the campus. Originally this was

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conceived as a small snack bar. Finally with the growth of the

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college, grants came out of the 50 million fund, we were able to move it ahead

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and do real planning for the student center.

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One of the major things that happened during this program of fund raising was grants from

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Alma Rasmussen's personal giving and from the Rassmussen

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foundation hundreds of gifts came along with this. And, what it

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showed the Board of National Missions was that Alaskans were interested in S. J.

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So the hundred and sixty thousand dollar student center

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was dedicated after we left in 1966. But,

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we were able to see it almost completed. And, the

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farewell reception they had for us was in the

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student center.

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Other things happened during the time we were in Alaska. Two

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different occasions I had the opportunity of being involved in

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the president's commission on children and youth. I attended

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these very fine conferences in Washington D.C.

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I believe there was a measure of influence that we were able to bring to

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the state of Alaska by quietly

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being able to enter into the offices of the governor

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or the head of the BIA and to talk to them about problems that

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were faced by people of Alaska and the great needs that

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they had. Also, during this time in Alaska,

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we had the opportunity

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of working with the Alaska Council of Churches. It was while I was

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the assistant secretary that I talked to Fred McGinnis, who pastored a Methodist church in Juneau

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about the need the churches working

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together. Gradually, the sentiment began to

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rise to the point where we were able to call an Alaska Council of Churches meeting. Eventually,

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I was elected to the presidency of this

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organization. During the time when we had an experiment by the

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National Council of Churches of having Ross Payton as a paid

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executive for the Council. This was a

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time when we had to learn the meaning of working together

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structuring ourselves to do a job.

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It's real gratifying to note that the Alaskan of Churches is moving

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in many areas and is stronger than ever before. Now

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I'm going to come to the close of this particular tape. and I ask that,

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after you have reviewed it, that if you have questions, that you to ask me.

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I know there are many things that I have not delved into,

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but I think this will be a starter. If you

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will send me a list of questions on the basis of what you

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want to know, various areas of our work, I will try to

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clarify it.

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We resigned from the work at Alaska

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after we became cognisant of the fact that

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things were tapering off at Sheldon Jackson and building programs should be

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turned over to a professional educator. In

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the spring of nineteen sixty

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six, the accrediting commission of the Northwest Association of Secondary and higher Schools

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was on the campus.

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They came into the office after they'd made a review. And, they were very helpful and very positive in

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pointing out the things that they appreciated about the work of the school.

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They asked me if I had one recommendation a

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recommendation that I would like to put into the findings. And, I said at that time, that it should

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be a professionally trained college educator that should go into the

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work.

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I left then for a General Assembly in Boston.

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It was there that I had the opportunity of interviewing Dr. and Mrs. Stratton [Stratton, Orin] .

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I had no idea at that time that they would be strong candidates

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for the presidential position at S. J.

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But I was very happy that the transition could be made with as

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little difficulty as we seemed to make it.

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During the winter months of 1966, Mrs. Armstrong and

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myself had found it absolutely necessary to take an extended vacation.

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She had a heart attack. She'd been sent to Virginia Mason

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clinic for diagnostic work. We planned to

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make a trip to Europe in the

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early part of 66 ending up in Boston for General Assembly.

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We found she had to get away for her health. We ended up

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in Phoenix. It was at this time that

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Dick Smith made his approached me about taking over the work of the school. And, a

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decision was made after a great deal of contemplation. So,

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on the 21st of August 1966 we boarded the ferry and headed

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on down arriving in Ganado on the last day of August to take up the new

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work as a field administrator for National Missions for the

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Presbytery of Northern Arizona.

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But there are some things that remain with me

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and shall always remain with me. This is the many friendships

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we've made in Alaska. There's the Doctor of

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Divinity degree granted by Whitworth College signed by Frank Warren in

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nineteen fifty-five.

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1953.

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There was the citation for Doctor of Humane Letters

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from the University of Alaska.

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The efforts of Elmer Rasmussen and President William Wood.

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This was granted

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in May of 1962.

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There is also an award that came to me after I arrived in Arizona.

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The Alaska Press Club made me a member of the Alaska

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Forty-Niners state of Alaska. These things

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that hang on the wall. I'm not

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a

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R. Rolland Armstrong on Presbyterian missions in Alaska.

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