KIFF COVERAGE ‘08

Film:  Alaska Far Away:  The New Deal Pioneers of the Matanuska Colony (documentary) www.alaskafaraway.com

Studio:  Juster Hill Productions 

Produced and Directed by:  Joan Juster and Paul Hill

Written by:  Joan Juster, Paul Hill, Mark Lipman, James H. Fox

Narrated by:  Peter Coyote 

Screening Date:  September 21, 2008 Kansas International Film Festival

Film length:  91 minutes

Rating:  unrated

Reviewed By: Deborah Ground Buckner (Kansas City Correspondent – Canada)

“Just living your life can make history” is the conclusion demonstrated by the stunning film Alaska Far Away:  The New Deal Pioneers of the Matanuska Colony.  Through the use of government footage from the National Archives, studio newsreel reports, and interviews with original colonists and their descendants, filmmakers Joan Juster and Paul Hill tell a story of American history many might never have known.

In the 1930s, the effects of the Great Depression reached far beyond the well-known images of the Dust Bowl.  In regions of Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, known as the Cutover, rural families also faced impossible circumstances.  Once heavily forested land had been logged until only stumps and infertile soil remained.  This, coupled with the short growing season, made farming efforts a disaster, and there was so little work available that a man counted himself lucky to make 25 cents a day.  Every problem may be seen to give rise to an opportunity, however.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt, anxious to send a message of hope with his administration's New Deal and wanting to see more Americans settling in the Territory of Alaska, offered a proposal.  An opportunity for homesteading invited 202 families to travel to Alaska and establish a colony in the Matanuska Valley (for those who have realized a new interest in Alaska following the nomination of Sarah Palin as Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, the colony site is about 15 miles from Palin's home of Wasilla).

Would-be homesteaders could look forward to a grant of 40 acres of land and $3,000, with a contract requiring repayment to the government after 30 years.  Criteria for the homesteaders asked that they be “honest-to-God farmers,” be married couples between the ages of 25 and 35, physically strong, preferably “Nordic type,” and have an “average” family, that is, not too many children.  It is not clear how this latter criterion was judged, since some colony families traveled with ten or eleven children.  Selected families became subjects of great interest from the media as they traveled in two large groups.  One train carrying 67 homesteading families traveled from Minnesota to San Francisco, while the other, carrying colonists from Wisconsin and Michigan, traveled to Seattle.  Enthusiastic crowds and brass bands met each train.  After arrival and celebration, each group boarded Army transport ships for the journey to Alaska.

Crossings were difficult with passengers experiencing seasickness and confined to separate quarters for men and women (this presented a challenge, though not unsurmountable, for couples who envisioned the journey to Alaska as a honeymoon trip).  Upon arrival, the Minnesota colonists had to remain on the ship for four days, waiting until the tents that would serve as temporary quarters could be erected on platforms.

When all colonists arrived and settled into their makeshift city of tents, they drew lots for their land, many unhappily discovering they were to settle on land completely forested.  Land had to be cleared before homes could be built and planting could begin, with colonists racing against the days that would bring an Alaskan winter.

Through vintage film, photographs and interviews, Juster and Hill allow the colonists to tell their own story of the hardships they faced.  One woman spoke of the special challenge of raising children in an Alaskan summer when the sun shines 24 hours a day.  Trying to call them in for bed inevitably led to the plea, “But it isn't dark yet!”  “It isn't going to get dark!” came the reply.

The colonists faced inadequate medical care which proved devastating when an outbreak of measles swept through the camp, worried about the slow completion of housing, found frustration with the exorbitant pricing of needed supplies, and were angered by all the usual hurdles that accompany a program run by a bureaucracy.  Some families abandoned the enterprise quite early, but in those hard times, the government had little trouble finding replacements for them.

The hard struggle for existence reached a turning point during World War II when colony families found a market for their goods and produce with the U.S. Army soldiers stationed in Alaska and the Aleutians.  (During a question and answer session, the filmmakers mentioned the establishment of the colony was necessary for the U.S. to justify building military bases.  As early as 1935, the Japanese were demonstrating an uncomfortable interest in the Aleutians, sparking FDR to take steps to secure the Territory).

As the film depicts the annual reunions of colony families, an overwhelming spirit of determination, strength, and a will to achieve beyond mere survival prevails.  According to Juster and Hill, historians say the colony was a failure, costing over $4 million in 1930s currency.  For the families who made it, the experience “changed our lives.” 

Juster came to this project with no experience in film; Hill had worked in the industry with special effects.  Yet, they exhibit a rare gift in filmmaking:  The ability to recognize a great story and the discipline and restraint necessary to step back and allow the story to tell itself.  This is a film that belongs on the History Channel, on PBS, or in the classroom, demonstrating how ordinary people can make extraordinary history.