Cobblestone articles from April 2002

Cobblestone archives from April 2002

Editor's note.(Alaska)
April 1, 2002... In 1959, Alaska became the forty-ninth state. Its admission to the United States added an enormous amount of land to our country. With Alaska's abundance of natural resources and beauty, it has become America's last wilderness. Alaska can...

Native Alaskans.(Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos)
April 1, 2002... Based on similarities in their language, culture, and ethnicity, native Alaskans can be divided into three main groups. They are Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos. Each of these groups settled in specific geographic areas of Alaska thousands of...

Beringia land bridge.(Alaska)
April 1, 2002... Throughout the earth's history, there have been many ice ages. During such periods, much of the earth's water supply is held frozen in massive glaciers. This leaves less water in the world's oceans. When ocean levels drop, more land is exposed....

An eye on Alaska. (Geographically Speaking).(Alaska facts)
April 1, 2002... Facts About Alaska Dress Warm and Dry for This Climate Summers are very short, with temperatures in July averaging 55 [degrees] F. Winters are long, with temperatures in January averaging 5 [degrees] F. Annual rainfall can vary from...

Alaska's Russian roots.
April 1, 2002... In 1725, shortly before his death, Russian czar Peter the Great told Danish-born Vitus Bering to travel north to find Gamaland, which was thought to be part of North America. The czar hoped to find new lands and assets for Russia. His quest...

The great Alaska gold rush.
April 1, 2002... The discovery of gold in Alaska drew thousands of Americans to the territory. In the latter part of the 1800s, minor discoveries of gold occurred at Cassiar (British Columbia), Sumdum Bay, and Sitka. Then in 1880, Tlingit chief Kowee helped...

More natural wealth.(Alaska)
April 1, 2002... While gold drew people to the area, Alaska's other natural resources have kept it growing. Rich natural resources are part of its past and future. Between 1890 and 1950, salmon canning was Alaska's number one moneymaker. During that same...

On the road the Alaska highway.
April 1, 2002... Between March and November 1942, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers achieved an amazing accomplishment: It completed a fifteen-hundred-mile road that stretched from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada, to Fairbanks, Alaska. After that feat,...

Planes, trains, and automobiles.(transportation in Alaska)
April 1, 2002... Good transportation is an important factor in the growth of any territory or state. Without it, a region cannot expand or attract new businesses. In Alaska's case, its location is important to consider, too. Since Alaska is not connected by...

Did you know?(facts about Alaska)
April 1, 2002... In 1867, Russia sold Alaska to the United States for a little more than 7 million dollars. That came out to about 2 cents per acre! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With Alaska as America's most northerly, point, the Russian and U.S. mainlands...

Statehood at last.(Alaska)
April 1, 2002... In the summer of 1958, Americans anticipated the addition of Alaska as the forty-ninth state. Children like Ronald Becker of Missouri wrote to President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposing ideas for how this exciting happening could be acknowledged...

Black gold and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.(history of oil pipeline)
April 1, 2002... When an estimated ten billion barrels of oil was discovered under Alaska's North Slope near Prudhoe Bay (see the map on page 8) in 1968, delivering the oil to points south brought controversy, challenges, and people to Alaska. Several oil...

Environment vs. oil.(Alaska and the Exxon Valdez oil spill)
April 1, 2002... Discussion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline brought environmental issues to the forefront in America. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed a piece of legislation that continued what had been started in 1971 with ANCSA. The Alaska National...

Today's Alaska.
April 1, 2002... Arriving at Anchorage on a plane from Seattle, Washington, or Denver, Colorado, or Chicago, Illinois, a visitor to present-day Alaska might be surprised. The airport and the city beyond it look just like the city from which he or she came. ...

Code of the wild. (Quote of the Month).(cipher puzzle)
April 1, 2002... On July 25, 1897, the author of this month's quote boarded steamship in San Francisco, California. It was bound for Juneau, Alaska. He had about fifteen hundred dollars in cash and supplies (four thousand pounds' worth) for himself and his...

Brain ticklers.(Alaska quiz)
April 1, 2002... Give your brain a little tickle to see how well you read and understood this issue on the history of Alaska. If you believe the answer to be false, give yourself the ultimate test and see whether you can explain why it is false. Answers below....

A final word.(Alaska)
April 1, 2002... What is your opinion on the future of Alaska? Should it be preserved as our nation's last wilderness? Or should various industries be permitted to use the land to benefit the state, and the entire United States, economically?

In the Shade of the Barn. (Letters).(Poem)
April 1, 2002... In the Shade of the Barn As I sit in the shade of the barn, I feel calm and complete. The splash of water in the pond suddenly startles me. Ripples spread quietly. As I sit there, Mother Nature and I...

Arctic Fox. (Letters).(Poem)
April 1, 2002... Arctic Fox Fluffy as the snow; lovely as the white blossoms blooming in the sun. Ruth Pagan Desert Hot Springs, California

Wolf Season. (Letters).(Poem)
April 1, 2002... Wolf Season Footsteps, soft as a pillow. Howls, as loud as a truck horn. Hunting for his prey, running rapidly, walking in swamps up to his neck. Brown as the bark on a pine tree. Standing...

Swinging the bat. (Letters).
April 1, 2002... Swinging the Bat The crowd is roaring, and their hands are clapping. The teams' flags are soaring, and the teams' hands are slapping. The ump yells, "Play ball," as the first batter comes to the ...

Basketball. (Letters).
April 1, 2002... Basketball Basketball is fun. I like to play it year-round. In the summer, I play one-on-one with my dad, uncles, and friends. I like to play people who are better than I am because I get better if...

United we stand. (Letters).
April 1, 2002... United We Stand American hearts are full of dreams of the times ahead with pastures green. A time of joy and peace and light, a place where no one will ever fight. One time the dreams were very ...

Books to read. (Digging Deeper).
April 1, 2002... Alaska by Donna Walsh Shepherd (New York: Children's Press, 1999), part of the America the Beautiful series, features the geography, history, economy, resources, arts, and people of the state. A time line of Alaskan and U.S. history is...

More media. (Digging Deeper).("Alaska: Man & Nature")
April 1, 2002... The Alaska Experience shows the many aspects of the forty-ninth state, from its cities to its countryside and from its forests to its mountains. In Alaska: Man & Nature, you view Alaska's amazing scenery and wildlife, and hear stories of those...

On the web. (Digging Deeper).
April 1, 2002... xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/BARTLETT/ 49state.html brings you to "A Brief History of Alaska Statehood (1867-1959)," which covers topics such as "Seward's Folly," the Klondike gold rush, colonial exploitation, the drive for Alaska's admission to...

Places to visit. (Digging Deeper).
April 1, 2002... Alaska State Museum, Juneau, Alaska. This museum holds collections of and does research into Alaskan history and art. It also is involved in numerous activities, such as a statewide education service that includes a hands-on loan program to...