Ernie called the State Historian in Fairbanks from the Anchorage airport. After introducing himself, he requested an appointment tomorrow morning late. She said, “That would be okay. My schedule is open until 2:00pm. What could I help you with?”
Ernie said, “About 15 years ago on Lake Iliamna, in the late fall, there was a boating accident during a storm. It took the life of a Captain by the name of Boyd and a young Russian boy. The young boy had kept a journal. Someone discovered it on the Captain’s body after the ice melted in the spring. We understand that they forwarded the journal to your office. The person sending it to you felt it might have historical significance for the Lake Iliamna region. I would like if possible, to read the journal and photocopy portions of it.”
The Historian continued, “Right off hand I don’t know where the journal might be. We get a lot of material sent in every week. There are stacks of it that we have yet to process. Our annual budget is minuscule. Though, we do keep a record of the material we receive and what the disposition of that material is. I will review the history and try and locate the journal before you arrive.”
“Thank you. We should be there by 11:00am.”
The taxi took them to the Alaska Historical Society building and let them off. They entered and let the reception desk know that they had an appointment with the State Historian. The receptionist said, “Welcome. May I have your names?”
Ernie answered, “My name is Ernie Donald, and this is Jeff Roberts.”
“Please have a seat. I will let her know you are here.”
The State Historian came out of her office to greet Ernie and Jeff. She was middle aged yet a very fit woman with a look of someone who has spent a great deal of time outdoors. She said, “Come into my office so we can talk.”
As they made themselves comfortable, she said, “We had a hard time finding the journal. It was in the log dated some 15 years ago, but there was no notation on its disposition. My staff looked through the various Lake Iliamna archives with no success. This morning I was speaking to one of my colleagues about the missing journal. He mentioned that someone was doing research on the impact of the war on Alaska concentrating on the ferrying of lend-lease planes by women pilots. That person had a translated copy of the journal and had compiled notes from it. The original document, which I am still trying to locate, was written in Russian. The person doing the research said he could spare it for a few days but would like to get it back after that to continue his work.”
Ernie said, “That would be great. We should only need it for a few hours.”
“There is a special room that researchers use. Follow me, and I will get you setup there. One of my staff will bring you the journal. Take as much time as you need. If you have pages to copy, let the desk know which pages and they will copy them for you. There will be a slight charge for the copying. Also, since it is an archived document we will need your signature that the copied information will be used for research only and not for commercial purposes.”
Ernie said, “That’s fine.”
They entered a quiet room similar to what one would find in any public library. Shortly thereafter, they were handed the journal. They first made a quick scan of the contents. Then they started a detailed reading page by page. They stopped when there was a question, and they discussed possible answers. Usually, the answer was found a few pages later. After an hour of reading, they reached the last entries in the journal; made mid-morning the day Captain Boyd and the young boy left for Kokhanok.
As they read and re-read those last few pages, they began to feel what the Captain and the young boy had gone through. They felt the fear, the hope, the fear, the hope. Each time they read those pages they lived vicariously through the experience.
The last few pages mentioned that they were still an hour out... The engine died... A clogged fuel line... The Captain repaired the fuel line... Got the engine restarted... Lost two hours in the process... Felt the brunt of the storm... The Captain put out the sea anchor to provide some stability... Then nothing… The journal just stopped abruptly.
Many questions came to mind. How did the end come? Were they swamped? Did they hit something? We know how the Captain ended up, but what about the boy? Many questions—but no answers.
They had all the pages copied since the young boy left Vladivostok hoping something in those pages might provide a clue.
What they knew for sure was that this young boy was remarkable and brave. That what he had gone through was almost too much to ask for someone his age. They knew that the young boy had helped the Captain get past the loss of his son and his wife. That he had helped him understand that there were people that needed and depended on him.
Before Ernie and Jeff left for the Fairbanks airport, they stopped by the Historian’s office to return the journal and thank her for her help. She asked, “Was the journal helpful?”
Ernie responded, “It helped us a lot to understand the situation, but it did not provide an answer to what happened to the missing young boy. It is still a mystery.”
“If I can be of any further help in your effort please call me here at the Historical Society at any time.”
The taxi they had called pulled up, and they headed to the airport to catch their flight back to Seattle. On the way to the airport, Jeff said, “The mystery of the young boy will have to remain a mystery, at least for the time being!”