All of the photographs and film clips in this collection were taken during a 12-day cruise aboard the S.S. ALASKA, August 3-15, 1950. The following notes are from material provided by Margaret Lewis.

The F. Garland Swain family boarded the S.S. ALASKA at the recently opened Pier 42 of the Alaska Steamship Line in Seattle, Washington. “There were eight family members in our group, including my parents, my grandparents, my sister (age 16) brother (13), younger sister (7), and myself (age 9 but celebrating my 10th birthday on board the ship.

We stayed in four rooms, each having bunk beds and a sink, with toilets and showers down the hall. Our four rooms were across from one another, sharing a common corridor. The ship could accommodate about 220 passengers in all, and the main dining room could seat about 140 people, including the ship’s officers. Our family shared a table for eight. One night we hit rough seas, and my brother and I were about the only passengers to make it down for dinner that night.

Activities on the ship included shuffleboard, quoits, bingo, jigsaw puzzles, and other games played in the social hall on the upper deck near the front of the ship. Besides looking at the beautiful scenery and taking tours in some of the towns, my favorite pastime was watching the crew unload and load freight in each port.

My brother, who was befriended by the entire ship’s crew, got to pilot the ship and talk with the various officers and staff. He was even allowed to scrub the deck with an electric power scrubber (no labor or liability concern back then). He also watched the crew drop crab pots off the stern of the ship when we were in port.

We got off the ship in most ports and walked into the small towns or took more extended tours, usually escorted by ship officers. The ship stopped at Ketchikan, Petersburg, Juneau, Seward (where we took a train to Anchorage, returning by bus), Valdez, and Cordova. My brother remembers that ‘the train to Anchorage had a coal burning engine, and when you stuck your head out the window, lots of soot would get in your face and eyes.’ We went close to the Columbia Glacier and watched the glacier calving when the ship’s captain blew the horn (not legal now). We also saw the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, and my brother and I remember being able to climb onto the edge of the glacier. We also visited the Saxman Village totem park in Ketchikan, toured a salmon cannery in Petersburg, and viewed an aurora borealis one night.

My souvenirs from the trip consisted of a drum, which I won playing quoits, a pair of fur moccasins, a small diary, and a small beaded pin of miniature moccasins. We also brought back two small ivory totem figures, and we kept some of the ship’s menus. I still have all but the larger moccasins.