Nolan Center Nuggets

NOLAN CENTER NUGGETS

Highlighting items in our museum collection and its unique history.

V. Ushanoff Painting

In the 1980's, artist Vladimir Ushanoff produced a series of paintings depicting the Wrangell area at different points in time. This particular painting is based on a picture taken by photographer Eadweard Muybridge in the mid-19th century, showing the Stikine Tlingit village of the time. Muybridge was a famed early photographer, commissioned by the U.S. Army in 1868 to photograph parts of the recently acquired territory of Alaska.

Another work by Mr. Ushanoff in the museum's collection depicts the Russian-era Fort St. Dionysius. The two works were donated to the museum by Mr. Ushanoff in 1984, and the painting of Fort St. Dionysius is currently on display in our atrium.

Wrangell License Plate - 1931

A license plate issued by the City of Wrangell during the Alaska Territory days. Prior to centralization, cities and towns throughout the Alaska Territory would issue local license plates, managed by local police or city government. This practice would fall out of favor in the late 1930s and early 1940s, when increasing numbers of vehicles on the road led to motor vehicle registration being handled at the level of the Territorial government.

This object was donated by Ray McKibben, who also donated several other historical license plates issued by both the Territory and State of Alaska.

Vimy Pilgrimage Commemorative Medal

A well-worn silvered-metal medallion, embossed with "Vimy Pilgrimage." The medals were struck for roughly 6,000 Canadians who traveled to France in 1936 to see King Edward VIII unveil the Canadian National Vimy Memorial near the Vimy Ridge. The 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge was contested primarily by the four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force: roughly 3600 Canadian soldiers were killed and 7000 wounded over the course of the three-day offensive. The battle remains in Canada's national mythos as a particular moment of national unity and civic duty.

This medallion was donated to the museum by Olga Norris.

ANS Grand President Sash and Cap

A cap and sash worn by the Grand President of the Alaska Native Sisterhood, a statewide organization of Native women which was active in the Alaska civil rights struggle.

These objects were donated to the museum by Dawn Hutchinson Stevens.

Petroglyph
An ancient petroglyph from an unidentified site some distance out Zimovia Highway. Removed in the early 20th century for use as a tourist exhibit in the curio shop of R.W. "Mac" McKibben. White paint follows the outline of the actual petroglyph design: it appears to be a distorted human face, or perhaps a mountain range with lakes at the foot, or something else entirely. The white paint was added by R.W. McKibben, while the meaning of the symbolism is lost to us.

This object was donated by Marlene Summerfield.

Formline Carving - "The Moon"
A modern Tlingit carving, depicting the Moon stylized as a face. Carved by artist Bart Churchill in 2007, the piece is carved into yellow cedar board, and inlaid with abalone eyes.
This object was purchased by the Wrangell Museum in 2007.

"Logger" carving
A sculpture of a mustachioed lumberjack wearing a hard hat carved from a solid slab of red cedar. Purchased from a local souvenir store in the 1980s by Keene Kohrt, and donated to the museum in 2016.