Were you living in Unalaska in the 70s or 80s? If so, Christian Skovly is looking for you. The Californian wants to make a book of stories of life in Unalaska at that time.
Skovly came to Unalaska in 2007 and 2008 to work on Deadliest Catch. While there, he became fascinated with stories of life on the Bering Sea and around town. He grew so interested, he went looking for more tales.
“And I couldn’t find any recorded history back from the 70s and 80s in Dutch harbor back when Crab was king,” Skovly said. “So I thought if there was no book about it, I would take on the challenge and write a book myself.”
And he’s looking for stories, from everyone:
“I want to talk to the people who may think their life there was insignificant,” Skovly said. “The bartenders, the law enforcement people, the people who worked in the hotels, or the processing plant workers. Anybody there that could give a perspective on life on the island during this heyday of the fishing industry.”
People are growing older and he does not want these stories to go untold. That’s what happened to his grandfather.
“I think about my grandfather who was a butcher in South Dakota in a small town of about 100 people and no one thought to ask him what he did,” Skovly said. “And it makes me sad that I don’t have a record of my grandfather and if I can do that for someone else that would make me happy.”
If you have a story that you want to tell, you can contact Skovly at storiesfromdutch@gmail.com.
Zoe Sobel is a reporter with Alaska's Energy Desk based in Unalaska. As a high schooler in Portland, Maine, Zoë Sobel got her first taste of public radio at NPR’s easternmost station. From there, she moved to Boston where she studied at Wellesley College and worked at WBUR, covering sports for Only A Game and the trial of convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
