Exhibit Tab

Stitched

Quilt and textile lovers in Valdez will take delight in the Valdez Museum’s new exhibit for 2018, titled Stitched, featuring the textile work of former resident Maria Shell. Shell’s artworks provide a contemporary twist on traditional quilting through her playful use of color, pattern and repetition. Visitors will be exposed to the breadth and depth…

Owen Meals

Valdez has a long transportation history. Since it was founded over a hundred years ago, it has served as a hub for road, sea, and air travel. Valdez pioneer, Owen Meals, is responsible for bringing flight to Valdez. Meals came to Alaska with his family in 1903 – the same year that the Wright brothers…

Dr. Von Gunther and his Malt Blossom Tonic

In 1898, Valdez was a gold rush tent city. The streets were muddy and lined with canvas wall tents where people lived and ran businesses. In May of 1898, Valdez’s first doctor arrived in town. His name was Dr. Andrew Von Gunther and came to Valdez with his wife, Lena. The couple, originally from Germany,…

Health Care in Early Valdez

Health care is a central service that Valdez has always tried to provide for residents. Over the years, health care has been provided here in a variety of ways. Valdez was established in 1898 as a gold rush tent city and rapidly grew into a bustling turn-of-the-century American city. While the first rush into Valdez…

Health Care Dilemma of 1950’s

In the 1950’s, Valdez was a small community of about 500 people at the end of the gravel Richardson Highway. Access to reliable health care had been a problem since the Episcopal Church’s Hospital of the Good Samaritan closed in the 1940s. In a period of just about a decade, over 5 doctors came and…