Alaska would not be the state it is – had it not been for former Senator Ted Stevens.
A special presentation of Talk of Alaska, on Thursday, will give Alaskans a chance to share their experience with Ted Stevens.
Tell us what you remember about the man affectionately called, Uncle Ted. Send us your stories, thoughts and photos to: talk@aprn.org .
Even though the show has already aired, please continue to send us your memories, recollections or pictures of Ted Stevens.
HOST: Steve Heimel, APRN
GUESTS:
- Joel Southern, former APRN correspondent
- Stephen Haycox, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Alaska Anchorage
Download Audio (MP3)
Tales, Memories and Recollections of Ted
“In numerous visits over several years advocating for local projects I gathered lots of memories of Senator Stevens. The one that may best capture the depth and breadth of what it meant to be Ted Stevens was sitting in his Capitol office watching him with a Blackberry in his hand and another beeping on the desk; an essential 20th-century man in a 19th-century building with a thorough mastery of 21st-century technology, putting it all together to help a kid back home. We will miss him.”
-Ron, Seward
For more stories about Ted Stevens, read more!
“When I worked at KBRW in Barrow I had the chance to interview Sen. Stevens many times. His office always got back to me right away after I called and he always made himself available for interviews when he was in town. One time he arrived at night in Barrow after attending the funeral of a fellow congressman in Washington D.C. He looked tired and I asked him if he’d prefer to do our scheduled interview the next morning instead. He seemed appreciative of the offer. We met the following morning at Fran Tate’s restaurant. It was then that I had the chance to observe how very polite and considerate he was with the waitress Tess. He treated her with the same amount of respect that he gave high ranking officials. He looked her in the eye and expressed appreciation for a coffee refill. It was not flirtatious or patronizing or put-on but respectful. I may not have agreed with his views on many things but that day I gained a great respect for the character of the man.
When I moved back to Kansas I was very surprised to discover that most places aren’t able to offer the health care to natives that Alaska does. It was quite a shock and it was because Kansas, and the rest of the country, didn’t have an “Uncle Ted.””
-Diana
“Although I rarely agreed with Ted Stevens politically, and never voted for him, I had a great deal of respect for the man. He always placed the interests of Alaska ahead of everything else. I also believe the legal problems he dealt with at the end of his career were substantially overblown. Thanks to Senator Stevens, my son had a priceless experience as an intern in Washington DC and for that our family has been very grateful.”
-Steve, Wasilla
“I was raised on Adak and met Senator and Ann Stevens several times.
My sister graduated in 1977 and Senator Stevens was the guest speaker at her graduation at Bob Reeve High School in May 1977. During his speech he talked about the need for a natural gas pipeline to be built in Alaska by Alaskans. I listen intently to his speech and have followed this issue ever since, even while living in Barrow, and Anchorage. He got me interested following the issues that matter to Alaskans.
During my trip to Washington DC in July 2005 with my family, I reminder Senator Stevens about his speech and he was surprised and pleased. We then talked about what a wonderful placed Adak was.
Perhaps the most thrilling event during my trip to DC was the fact that Senator Stevens even as busy as he was, took the time to talk to my children, especially my daughter who has special needs. They held a ten minute conversation about No Child Left Behind. My daughter told Senator Stevens that when she turned 18 she was going to vote for him. He laughed and said he needed all the votes from the old and the young. He took a personal interest in my daughter and made her feel important. She will always remember that.  He later sent the flag that had flown over the capitol building during our visit.It is in a flag box on display in my house.
I hope that all future generations of Alaskans will understand and truly appreciate all that Senator Ted Stevens has done for their betterment.”
–Teresa, Anchorage
PARTICIPATE:
- Post your comment before, during or after the live broadcast (comments may be read on air)
- Send e-mail to talk [at] aprn [dot] org (comments may be read on air)
- Call 550-8422 in Anchorage or 1-800-478-8255 during the live broadcast
LIVE Broadcast: Thursday, August 12. 2010 at 10:00 a.m. on APRN stations statewide
