Category Archives: Books

Alaskan Roadhouses

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Helen Hegener

The newest book from Northern Light Media is Alaskan Roadhouses: Shelter, Food and Lodging Along Alaska’s Roads and Trails, by Helen Hegener. Scheduled for publication November 1, 2015, this 277-page book recounts the fascinating histories of twenty-four roadhouses, and presents … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged Alaska, Frank G. Carpenter, Helen Hegener, Icy Hell, Iditarod National Historic Trail, Iditarod Trail, James Wickersham, Leonhard Seppala, M. Clark, Nome Gold Rush, Northern Light Media, Richardson Highway, road houses, Roadhouse Tales, Roadhouses, Samuel Hall Young, Steese Highway, Valdez to Eagle Trail, Valdez-Fairbanks Trail, William E. Gordon | 1 Comment

2015 Alaska Book Week

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Helen Hegener

Northern Light Media will be participating in Alaska Book Week again this year, with a book-signing at our favorite bookstore, Fireside Books in Palmer, on Saturday, October 3, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm! We’ll be focusing on our mushing books, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged Alaska Book Week, All Alaska Sweepstakes, Fireside Books, Iditarod, Matanuska, Northern Light Media, Yukon Quest | Leave a comment

The WPA Federal Writers Project

Posted on August 9, 2015 by Helen Hegener

The Federal Writers’ Project was created in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as part of the United States Work Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal jobs program, to provide employment for historians, teachers, writers, librarians, and other white-collar workers. … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Books | Tagged Alaska, books, history, The Federal Writers' Project | Leave a comment

Knik Arm

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Helen Hegener

Only a River . . . Knik Arm is the northernmost branch of Cook Inlet, a great body of water which stretches 180 miles from the Gulf of Alaska and splits at Anchorage into Knik Arm and the more southern … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged Chugach Mountains, Glenn Highway, Helen Hegener, Iditarod, Knik, Matanuska Valley, Northern Light Media, Palmer, Parks Highway, Pioneer Peak, Talkeetna Mountains, Wasilla | Leave a comment

PHS History Night

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Helen Hegener

I’ll be giving a slideshow and presentation about four of my books for the Palmer Historical Society’s History Night on Wednesday, May 20th, at the Palmer Public Library. Through photos, stories, and a look at the history behind the Colony … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Books | Tagged Colony, Helen Hegener, history, Matanuska, Northern Light Media, Palmer | Leave a comment

The Matanuska Colony Barns

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Helen Hegener

In 1935 the U.S. Government transported 200 families from the Great Depression-stricken midwest to a valley of unparalleled beauty in Alaska, where they were given the chance to begin new lives as part of a federally-funded social experiment, the Matanuska … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Books | Tagged Alaska, Albert Marquez, Barbara Hecker, barn, barns, Breeden, Colony farm, Colony Project, Dave Rose, Eric Vercammen, Great Depression, Havemeister, Hegener, Jim Fox, Joanie Juster, Matanuska Valley, MATI, Northern Light Media, Palmer, Ron Day, Stewart Amgwert, The Matanuska Colony Barns | Leave a comment

Along Alaskan Trails

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Helen Hegener

Along Alaskan Trails, Adventures in Sled Dog History, by Helen Hegener, is a collection of true stories about Alaskan sled dogs and the role they played in the development of the north, with dozens of historic photos from the archives … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Books | Tagged Baldy, Balto, Chinook, Fritz, Helen Hegener, Iditarod Trail, Jujiro Wada, Leonhard Seppala, Mary Joyce, mushing, mushing history, Northern Light Media, Scotty Allan, Slim Williams, Togo | Leave a comment

Arthur Treadwell Walden

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Helen Hegener

“Let me tell you about this man Walden.” These words, found in the introduction to Arthur Treadwell Walden’s classic book, A Dog-Puncher on the Yukon (Houghton Mifflin Co., 1928), are the reader’s invitation to meet one of the most respected … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Books | Tagged A Dog-Puncher on the Yukon, Antarctica, Arthur Treadwell Walden, Chinook, Circle City, Dawson City, Helen Hegener, Kate Sleeper, Katherine Walden, mushing, mushing history, New England Sled Dog Club, Nome, Northern Light Media, Richard E. Byrd, Yukon River | 2 Comments

1935 Matanuska Colony Talk

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Helen Hegener

On the third Wednesday of May I’ll be giving a presentation about my book on the 1935 Matanuska Colony for the Palmer Historical Society’s History Night. Through photos, stories, and a look at the history behind the Colony Project, I’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Books | Tagged Alaska, Colonist, Colony, Fireside Books, Helen Hegener, Matanuska, Matanuska Valley, New Deal, Northern Light Media, Palmer | 1 Comment

Alaskan Roadhouses

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Helen Hegener

My current writing project is a book chronicling the old roadhouses of Alaska, and I’ve been sharing progress reports at a site I created for the book which is titled, as the book will probably be titled, Alaskan Roadhouses. From … Continue reading →