In 1900, Ben Booher (Guthrie Center, Iowa) joined his wife's uncle, George Cheever Hazelet, (Omaha, Nebraska) and A. Jack Meals (O'Neill, Nebraska) on a prospecting expedition to Alaska. Booher's diary lists fourteen additional men in the party that departed from Seattle, Feb. 1, 1900, on the vessel Excelsior, and arrived in Valdez Bay, Feb. 13. They prospected in Copper Center, Valdez, Chisna, Chitna, Gulkana and Gakona. Booher's diary (MS 13-06) gives an account of their daily lives and the people they met on the pack trail. During his trip, Booher wrote to his wife in Iowa describing his days and adventures. Booher came back to Alaska in 1904 then returned home and worked as a farmer and carpenter. In addition to Iowa, he lived in Montana, Oregon and Washington State. He died in Kent, Washington in April 1975, at age 102.

George C. Hazelet and Jack Meals stayed in Alaska and were active in community affairs at Valdez. In 1908, Mr. Hazelet moved to Cordova where he helped survey the townsite and also served as Mayor after running against Judge Wickersham. He died in Cordova in August 1926. The Journal Of George C. Hazelet, an account of his 1898 journey from Nebraska to the Copper River Basin over the Valdez Glacier is available in the library (F912. C7H3).