Homesteads on Fort Richardson, Alaska - The USARAK Home Page ...

One day he went out into the woods to cut a tree down and forgot to bring the axhome. His father, unbeknownst to him had picked up the ax and brought it backwith him that afternoon. Later that evening, he asked his son where the ax was, andEdwin replied that he must’ve left it in the woods. So he was sent out to find it inthe dark, with a lantern made from a candle and a one pound coffee can. Edwinremembers scaring himself with an overactive imagination, “every moose and bearwas out to get me!” he said. Of course he didn’t find the ax in the woods and wenthome empty-handed – where his father said, here it was all along.The Meiers had a house in town, on F Street, which they rented out while living onthe homestead. When the government acquired the homestead, they moved back tothat house. Edwin continued playing in bands on the weekends and eventually starteda printing shop from his house. He passed away in 1996. Bertha Meier died in1984.Edwin Meier Jr. is still living in Alaska today. He served in the National Guard inthe early 1950s, and remembers training on Fort Richardson where the homesteadused to be. The cabin had been totally destroyed by artillery fire. It was probablyused for target practice. Only one wall was left standing. 96Figure 20. Edwin Meier Jr. age three.First snowfall on homestead, October1939. From collection of EdwinMeier Jr.Figure 21. Meier cabin in winter. From collection of Edwin Meier Jr.Victor and Elizabeth OgrenVictor and Elizabeth Ogren filed for homestead entry in 1938. They built a 12’ x 12’log cabin on the property. They relinquished the claim for $380 in 1941. No otherinformation about the couple could be found.96Edwin Meier Jr., personal interview, 10 July 2000.40<strong>Homesteads</strong> on Fort RichardsonAlaska