Alaska pioneer teacher Crystal Brilliant Snow Jenne

Alaska’s history abounds in stories about lionhearted pioneers who were also chalkboard champions. One such teacher was Crystal Brilliant Snow Jenne.

Crystal Jenne was born on May 30, 1884, in Sonora, California. In 1887, when only three years old, she emigrated to the Alaska Territory with her parents, who worked as a troupe of actors who entertained Alaska’s gold miners.

For a number of years, Crystal’s mother tutored her, but the child was ten years old before she was enrolled in school for the first time. She attended an Alaskan mission school, where she learned “singing, praying, and knitting.” When the family moved to Juneau, Crystal was sixteen. Despite her age, she was placed in a fifth grade class. Being behind in formal education did not stop Crystal from achieving,  however. She graduated from Juneau High School in 1905 at the age of twenty-one, the only member of her class.

Following her high school graduation, Crystal enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in music. She also earned a teaching certificate. After her college graduation, Crystal taught in Paso Robles, California. From 1907 to 1908, Crystal taught school in Douglas, Alaska. A talented musician, Crystal performed creekside concerts for gold miners in the Alaska and Yukon Territories when she was not in the classroom.

Always thirsty for knowledge, the venturesome teacher attended the Spencerian Commercial School in Cleveland, Ohio, where she studied business and shorthand. Following her graduation from business school, Crystal returned to Alaska, where she continued her career in education, teaching in Skagway, Sitka, and the Mendenhall Valley, and also at her alma mater, Juneau High School.

In 1916, Crystal married Dr. Charles Percival Jenne, a Juneau dentist, and the couple had three children. Even after she started her family, Crystal continued to teach and give concerts. In 1923, she performed her mother’s composition, Alaska and the U.S.A., for President Warren G. Harding and First Lady Florence Harding, during their visit to Juneau.

Charles Jenne passed away in 1938. The next year, Crystal published a volume of historical poetry. Meanwhile, she pursued community activities, participating in church choirs, running a flower shop, and continuing with her teaching career. In 1940, this remarkable educator was elected to the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket. She was the first woman to run for representative in the Alaska Legislature. She served several terms representing the First District of Southeast Alaska.

During her lifetime, Crystal was a member of the Alaska Federation of Women’s Clubs, the Democratic Women’s Club, the Juneau Women’s Club, and the National Business and Professional Women’s Club. She passed away on June 5, 1969, at the Sitka Pioneer Home.