Tag Archives: Alaskan Teachers

Alaskan teacher Etta Schureman Jones was a WWII prisoner of war

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Etta Schureman Jones

Alaskan teacher Etta Schureman Jones, with her husband, C. Foster Jones. Durin WWII, Foster was killed by the Japanese, and became Etta was a Prisoner of War. Photo Credit: Mary Breu

There are times when extraordinary circumstances of history present already gutsy teachers with unexpected challenges. This is certainly true of the intrepid Etta Schureman Jones, an elementary school teacher and trained nurse originally from Vineland, New Jersey.

Etta Schureman was over forty years old when she and her sister, Marie, ventured into Alaska Territory to teach Native American students in primitive rural schools. After one year, Marie  returned to the Lower 48, but Etta, who had met the love of her life and married, settled permanently in Alaska. The picture here is the happy couple on their wedding day.

Eighteen years later, Etta and her beloved husband, C. Foster Jones, were working together  in the remote Aleutian island of Attu when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Empire of Japan on December, 7, 1941, “a day that will live in infamy.” The couple and their students were slated to be evacuated by the US Navy, but before that could be accomplished, the island was invaded by Japanese troops.

Although the couple were in their sixties, Japanese soldiers killed Foster and removed Etta to an internment camp in Japan, where she was incarcerated with a small group of Australian nurses who were also prisoners of war. The Attuan natives, about three dozen of them, were also taken to Japan, with the apparent intention of assimilating them into the Japanese population. Although Etta was rescued by American troops after the war, and she and the surviving Attuans were eventually repatriated after the war, Etta never saw her students or their families again.

I have included a chapter about this intrepid teacher and her intriguing tale of survival in my book, Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and their Deeds of Valor, available at amazon at this link: Chalkboard Heroes. Also, Etta’s story is told brilliantly by Mary Breu in her book Last Letters from Attu: The True Story of Etta Jones: Alaska Pioneer and Japanese POW.  A fascinating read, to be sure. You can find this book, also at amazon, at the following link: Last Letters from Attu.

Music teacher Lorene Cuthberton Harrison: An Alaskan Territory pioneer

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Lorene Cuthberton Harrison was a pioneering music teacher and singer in Alaska Territory. Photo Credit: Alaska History

I love to share stories of courageous teachers who have earned a name for themselves as intrepid pioneers. One such teacher is Lorene Cuthberton Harrison, a music teacher and singer who ventured to Alaska while it was still a territory.

Lorene Cuthberton was born in March 7, 1905, in Sterling, Kansas. After her high school graduation in 1922, she enrolled in Sterling College in Kansas, where she majored in Home Economics. She earned her Bachelor’s degree and her teaching certificate in 1928. She was 23 years old.

The same year she graduated, this pioneering lady traveled to Alaska Territory, where she became the first music teacher in Anchorage schools. She also taught courses in home economics, general science, and geography. When she arrived, Anchorage had only 2,500 residents and the high school had only six teachers. Her salary was $180 a month, compared to the $60 per month that her friends were paid as teachers in Kansas.

Two years after her arrival, the pioneer educator married Jack Harrison, a local railroad engineer. The couple had two daughters. While raising her children, Lorene continued to teach music and theater. She also continued to sing for others, performing at private and public events such as weddings and funerals. When World War II erupted, Lorene worked for the United Service Organizations (USO).

After her beloved husband passed away in 1968, Lorene opened her own boutique which she called Hat Box. The store sold clothing and hats that she personally designed. The former teacher ran her store for 30 years. She also launched herself into various cultural activities in Anchorage. She organized the United Choir of All Faiths, which was the forerunner of the Anchorage Community Chorus; she served as the first president of the Anchorage Concert Association; she was on the founding boards of the Anchorage Arts Council, the Anchorage Civic Opera, and the Anchorage Little Theatre, and she served as the director of the First Presbyterian Church Choir for 29 years.

This amazing Chalkboard Champion passed away at the age of 100 in 2005 in Anchorage, Alaska, and was interred in the pioneer tract of the Anchorage Memorial Park. In 2009, Lorene Harrison was inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame. You can read more about this intrepid lady at the link AlaskaHistory.org. You can also purchase Mostly Music: The Biography of Alaskan Cultural Pioneer Lorene Harrison, which can be found on amazon.com.

Alaska names Catherine Walker as the 2024 State Teacher of the Year

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Science teacher Catherine Walker of Anchorage, Alaska, has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Anchorage School District

Our nation’s students are fortunate to have such dedicated and capable teachers in the classroom. One of these is high school science and career technology educator Catherine Walker of Anchorage, Alaska. She has been named the 2024 Teacher of the Year for her state.

Catherine teaches oceanography, marine biology, unmanned aviation science, and Project Lead the Way engineering essentials to students in grades nine through 12 at Dimond High School in Anchorage. She has taught there since 2006. In addition to instructing her courses, she also sponsors the Battle of the Books, the Gender Sexuality Alliance, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ocean Guardian, and the National Ocean Science Bowl clubs. And as if all that were not enough, she also teaches courses for educators new to science at Prince William Sound College.

Alaska is not the only place where Catherine put her knowledge of the environment into practice. She also served in the Peace Corps in Mali from 2002-2004 as a Natural Resource Management Volunteer.

Catherine earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. She earned her Master’s degree in Teaching from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. In addition, she completed the Semester in Environmental Science at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. In 2019, she earned her National Geographic Educator Certification and attended the National Geographic Education Summit in Washington, DC. Furthermore, she is a 2023 Earthwatch Project Kindle Fellow and a 2023 Lindblad National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow. 

Her selection as Alaska’s Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition Catherine has received. In 2023, she was honored with the Alaska Marine Science Outreach Award, the National Science Teaching Association’s Shell Science Teaching Award, and the Alaska Oil and Gas Association Teacher Grant. In 2015, she garnered a Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST). She has also won the Eleanor B. Schick Award for Environmental Excellence from Brandeis University. Furthermore, she is a member of the Pacific Ocean Educators Network and a board member for the Alaska Society for Technology in Education. 

Long-time Alaska educator Joe Montgomery was also a veteran and legislator

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Long-time educator Joe Montgomery of Anchorage, Alaska, also served his country in WWII and two terms in the state House of Representatives. Photo credit: Pubic Domain

Many excellent educators prove themselves successful in the political arena. Joe Montgomery of Anchorage, Alaska, was a fine example of this. This teacher served his community as a member of his state’s House of Representatives.

Joe was born on Jan. 28, 1918 in Floydada, Texas. As a young man, he  had already survived the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. He’d dug sweet potatoes and peanuts, worked in the cotton and hay fields, milked cows, rode horses, and completed daily chores on the old farm.

After his graduation from Floydada High School in 1936, Joe earned his degree at Colorado State University in 1941. After his graduation, he traveled to San Francisco, where he took a job loading freight, earning the princely sum of $1.35 per hour. Then he decided to venture north to Alaska.

Once he arrived in Anchorage, Joe answered a newspaper advertisement asking for qualified individuals to apply for a teaching position. With winter coming on, he secured room and board for $60.00 a month at Mrs. Erickson’s boarding house. There he met his future wife, Ebba. Later, two daughters were born to the couple.

When World War II broke out in Dec., 1941, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Joe enlisted in the Army Air Force and was selected for flight training. Over the four years of his military career, he flew a total of 35 missions as a B-17 pilot. He was discharged as a First Lieutenant in 1945. Once he returned from the war, Joe operated a successful businessman. For three years he owned a Chrysler Auto Agency, and then he returned to the classroom.

After a number of years in the classroom, Joe also served as a counselor, a principal, and finally as the Superintendent of Anchorage Public Schools, a position he held for seven years. He retired from the teaching profession in 1977, after serving a total of 32 years as an educator.

In 1980, Jose was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives on the Republican ticket. He served there from 1980 to 1984. He was also a member of the Alaska State Board of Education, the Alaska Parole board, the Beverage Control Board, the Pioneers of Alaska, and other civic organizations.

Joe passed away from natural causes on Oct. 5, 2013, in Anchorage. He was 95 years old.

 

Governor Michael Dunleavy of Alaska was once a history teacher

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Former high school History teacher Michael Dunleavy currently serves as the Governor of the state of Alaska. Photo Credit: The Hill

Many excellent educators also go on to successful careers in politics. One example of this is Michael Dunleavy, a history teacher from Juneau, Alaska, who currently serves as the Governor of the state.

Michael was born on May 5, 1961, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Once he graduated from Scranton Central High School in 1979, he enrolled at Misericordia University, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in History in 1983. He completed the requirements for his Master’s degree in Education and his teaching credential from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, in 1991.

Michael was working at a logging camp on Prince Wales Island in southeast Alaska when he accepted a position to teach within the Arctic Circle in the northwest part of the state. He invested nearly 20 years there working as a teacher, principal, and school superintendent. He also served a stint as the Director of K-12 Outreach through the University of Alaska Statewide. And he is the former Program Manager of the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project.

While working in the north, Michael married Rose Newlin, a Native American of Inupiaq heritage who was born and raised in the small community of Noorvik in Alaska’s Kabuk River Valley. In fact, the population there is only 700 people. Together, the couple have three children.

In 2004, Michael and his family relocated to Wasilla, where he founded an educational consulting firm and worked on several statewide educational projects. He also served on the the School Board for Matanuska-Susitna Borough, including a two-year stint as the organization’s president.

In 2012, Michael was elected to the Alaska State Senate on the Republican ticket, and served there from 2013 to 2018. While in the Senate, he served on the committees for  Education; Judiciary; Transportation; and Finance. He also served as the Chair of the Educational Transition Team, and he was member of the Subcommittees for Education and Early Development; Fish and Game; Administration; and Law.

Next, Michael was elected the Governor of Alaska in 2018. In 2022 he was re-elected to the office, and he continues to serve in that role. During his terms, he has placed focus on effective pandemic response, fiscal responsibility, crime prevention, and the energy issues that are particular to the state.