A part of a unbroken weekly series on Alaska historical past by native historian David Reamer. Have a query about Anchorage or Alaska historical past or an thought for a future article? Go to the shape on the backside of this story.
On April 1, 1974, Oliver “Porky” Bickar and a band of merry pranksters flew smoke bombs, diesel oil, a gallon of Sterno, rags and 70 kerosene-soaked tires to the summit of Mount Edgecumbe at Sitka. He lit them on fireplace and painted out “April Fools” in 50-foot letters. To these not in on the joke, it appeared as if the dormant volcano was erupting. Bickar known as it “Porky’s Rising,” as on the customized jacket made to commemorate the occasion. It’s one among Alaska’s best legends. Nonetheless, it’s not the one volcano hoax in Alaska historical past. The second best volcano hoax in Alaska historical past is much less well-known, not part of Alaskan lore in the identical approach as Bickar’s epic prank, however it’s a enjoyable yarn all the identical.
The second best volcano hoax started on March 13, 1957. Harry Groom, a geology professor at what’s now the College of Alaska Fairbanks, and Pete Russell, a sophomore geology scholar, had been enduring a irritating day. Mount Vsevidof, a volcanic peak on Umnak Island, was smoking, and the Navy dispatched a aircraft to analyze. Groom and Russell wished in on this motion and believed that they had secured seats on the flight. That afternoon, their participation was abruptly canceled after which reconfirmed. And with one final telephone name, it was off once more for good.
One other scholar noticed their somber faces and requested what occurred. Groom and Russell exchanged glances and silently shared the identical thought. In that second, an settlement was made with out saying a phrase. It was time for just a little enjoyable and a giant lie. They advised the opposite scholar {that a} peak within the Brooks Vary had erupted, not a volcano within the Aleutians however one within the vary stretching throughout Alaska north of Fairbanks. As described within the 1957 college yearbook, the height was “bursting over with lava.” The conspirators satisfied the third man to hitch them in a determined flight to analyze the volcano.
The guffawing geologists quickly let their sufferer in on the joke, however Russell had a thought. Why not “blow this factor up,” take it to a different stage? So, they started a whispering marketing campaign. Pupil by scholar, they spun a story. Per the Polar Star campus newspaper account, “Phrase reached the College of Alaska campus of geologic disturbances concentrated closely within the Brooks Mountain Vary. Wien Airways bush pilots pinpointed the difficulty spot. It was Stony Mountain, buried deep inside the inaccessible ridges of the wildest mountain vary within the wild north, and it was coming aside on the seams. Not, as mountain are need to do, on the high, however on the seams.” In some variations, one of many gashes was a half-mile lengthy.
Coincidentally sufficient, this was the identical month when alcohol was banned on campus. College students protested by digging a grave and filling it with a lot of conveniently obtainable empty bottles. A mock ceremony was held, full with a concrete gravestone adorned with a plate declaring: “Right here Lies Custom 1957.” The gravestone was recovered and have become the Custom Stone, the centerpiece of many extra campus shenanigans.
The volcano story advanced because it swam by means of campus and returned to its originators. Groom and Russell had been now a part of a crew chosen from the college’s best, prepping to go to the positioning. Some expedition members must danger their lives and parachute all the way down to the bottom to gather lava samples and take measurements. Russell right here added one other key spin to the hoax. They wanted volunteers, Russell mentioned, and anybody who signed on would obtain $50 (roughly $600 in 2025 {dollars}) plus an excused absence from class. In recognition of their bravery and doable sacrifice, jumpers would obtain $100.
The rumors ultimately unfold off campus. Late that night, one more scholar known as a neighborhood radio station: “Are you aware something concerning the reported eruptions within the Brooks Vary?” They replied, “To this point, that report is unconfirmed,” however added, “There have been different phone calls about it.” Different frantic calls shook grocery and service provider retailer proprietors off the bed as anxious people sought provisions.
It was a largely sleepless evening on campus. Regardless of the realities of geography, the ambiance was stricken with apocalyptic fears, or hilarity if you happen to knew the reality of the matter. Relying on who you requested, the Seward Peninsula was now sinking into the ocean. The younger males and younger ladies parted that night for his or her respective dorms. Kisses and guarantees and certainly nothing extra had been exchanged. The order was for the boys to satisfy at 5:30 a.m. within the Eielson Constructing, suitably attired for Armageddon. One of many girls exclaimed, “I’m wondering if that is the tip of the world that’s coming.”
Lots of the lights stayed on. The ladies, locked inside Hess Corridor, puzzled what the subsequent day would carry. In the meantime, somebody obtained 12 sticks of dynamite. This was the Fifties, in any case, a barely totally different period when it comes to security requirements, in a mining space, and at a faculty with a heavy mining focus. The perpetrators blasted the dynamite off School Highway, simply audible all through campus. Faces appeared in home windows. “There’s lava flowing by means of the streets!” shouted one girl. “No! What concerning the issues I haven’t completed but,” exclaimed one other.
A collection of latest occasions fueled the tensions. In addition to the precise smoking volcano within the Aleutians, two totally different earthquakes had woken space residents lower than every week earlier. On March 9, an earthquake centered round Denali was strongly felt in Fairbanks shortly after 4 a.m. About 20 minutes later, one other earthquake occurred, this one originating from the Aleutians, within the Andreanof Islands. The next tsunami from the latter quake hit Hawaii, flooding dozens of properties. Two folks died whereas attempting to doc the wave from an airplane. This was the type of earth-moving information examine city within the days main as much as the hoax.
The volunteers started shuffling into Eielson at 4:48. They lined the slender hallway, all of their heaviest coats, dragging baggage of substances and provides. A lot of them had been armed. Once more, these had been the scholars not in on the gag. They talked quietly, like troopers earlier than a battle, about what they’d do after they returned and the way they’d spend these 50 bucks. Oh, what a very good time they’d have if and provided that they made it again. The jumpers, like elite troops, fashioned a huddle aside from the remaining.
They waited. No leaders arrived, no Groom or Russell or army commanders or pilots. A name got here by means of, vehicles had been delayed however on their approach. No vehicles got here. Greater than an hour after the deadline, folks had been turning into discouraged. The conclusion was sluggish. At 7:23, the primary members of the group started to depart, sheepishly at first after which more and more irritated. There was no eruption, no cash, however undoubtedly courses as ordinary.
From the campus paper, “Males started to trickle away. There was anger of their voices, there have been tears in some eyes. The final telephone name got here by means of; There was no volcano . . . there was no disaster . . . there was no world to avoid wasting . . . there was no $50/day. Their leaders had abandoned them. The solar didn’t come up. It was snowing. There was nothing left—nothing however one other day.”
