Nellie Neal Lawing

Last updated
Nellie Neal Lawing
Nellie lawing.jpg
Nellie Lawing (left), ca. 1915
Born1874
Died1956
Alaska, United States
Nationality American
Other namesAlaska Nellie
Occupation(s)Frontierswoman
Roadhouse operator
Hunter
Postmistress

Nellie Neal Lawing (1874-1956), known as Alaska Nellie, was an Alaskan frontierswoman, roadhouse operator, and hunter. Born in Missouri, Lawing moved to Alaska in 1915 after leaving her first marriage. She worked as a camp cook until the next spring, when she won a government contract to open a roadhouse along the Alaska Railroad. Her first roadhouse was located at Mile 45 of the railroad, an area which she named Grandview; while at the roadhouse, she gained a reputation as a hunter and dog sled musher and became a local hero after saving a mail carrier in a blizzard. [1] She later ran the Kern Creek Roadhouse and a roadhouse in the Hurricane area. While working at the latter roadhouse in 1923, she met then-U.S. President Warren G. Harding, members of his cabinet, and Alaska Governor Scott Bone, who were traveling the railroad to honor its completion. [2]

Nellie Neal and Her Trophies Nellie Neal and Her Trophies.jpg
Nellie Neal and Her Trophies

Lawing became engaged to Kenneth Holden in 1923, but he was killed in an industrial accident before the two could marry. Due to her despair and the decreasing need for railroad roadhouse operators, Lawing retired to the Roosevelt roadhouse on Kenai Lake. She soon received a marriage proposal from Holden's cousin Bill Lawing; the two married and converted the Roosevelt roadhouse to a restaurant and museum. When a post office opened at the site in 1924, it was named Lawing in Nellie's honor; she served as the postmistress for its first nine years of operation. [2]

Nellie opened a wildlife museum in her roadhouse, which she filled with her many hunting trophies. Her collection already filled two railcars when she moved to the roadhouse, and it continued to expand while she lived there; among other prizes, it included three stuffed glacier bears. She also was known to keep pet bear cubs in the museum. [3] Her museum became a major tourist attraction, and she gave lectures on Alaska's wildlife to visitors; some of her more prominent visitors included Will Rogers, Alice Calhoun, and Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nellie Bly</span> American investigative journalist (1864–1922)

Elizabeth Cochran Seaman, better known by her pen name Nellie Bly, was an American journalist, who was widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days in emulation of Jules Verne's fictional character Phileas Fogg, and an exposé in which she worked undercover to report on a mental institution from within. She was a pioneer in her field and launched a new kind of investigative journalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denali National Park and Preserve</span> National park in Alaska, US

Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is an American national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park and contiguous preserve encompass 6,045,153 acres which is larger than the state of New Hampshire. On December 2, 1980, 2,146,580-acre Denali Wilderness was established within the park. Denali's landscape is a mix of forest at the lowest elevations, including deciduous taiga, with tundra at middle elevations, and glaciers, snow, and bare rock at the highest elevations. The longest glacier is the Kahiltna Glacier. Wintertime activities include dog sledding, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling. The park received 594,660 recreational visitors in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurie Holden</span> American actress

Heather Laurie Holden is a Canadian and American actress, producer, and human rights activist. She is best known for her portrayals as Marita Covarrubias in The X-Files (1996–2002), Andrea Harrison in AMC's The Walking Dead, and Amanda Dumfries in The Mist (2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Herron Taft</span> First Lady of the United States from 1909 to 1913

Helen Louise Taft, known as Nellie, was the First Lady of the United States from 1909 to 1913 as the wife of President William Howard Taft. Born to a politically well-connected Ohio family, she took an early interest in political life, deciding at the age of 17 that she wished to become first lady. Herron married Taft in 1886, and she guided him throughout his political career, encouraging him to take actions that would bring him closer to the presidency. Accompanying her husband to the Philippines in 1900, she became a prominent socialite in Manila, contributing to US-Philippines relations. After her husband was appointed Secretary of War, she played a significant role in convincing him to run for president in the 1908 presidential election and making the necessary connections to ensure his success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annie Montague Alexander</span> American paleontologist, zoologist and philanthropist

Annie Montague Alexander was an explorer, naturalist, paleontological collector, and philanthropist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nellie Cashman</span> American gold prospector

Ellen Cashman was an Irish nurse, restaurateur, businesswoman and philanthropist in Arizona, Alaska, British Columbia and Yukon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kodiak bear</span> Largest subspecies of Brown Bears/Grizzly Bears

The Kodiak bear, also known as the Kodiak brown bear, sometimes the Alaskan brown bear, inhabits the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. It is one of the largest recognized subspecies or population of the brown bear, and one of the two largest bears alive today, the other being the polar bear. They are also considered by some to be a population of grizzly bears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terri Irwin</span> American-Australian zoologist (born 1964)

Terri Raines Irwin is an American-Australian conservationist, television personality, author and zookeeper who is the owner of Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland. She is the widow of Steve Irwin.

The Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. state of Montana on the Missouri River. The refuge surrounds Fort Peck Reservoir and is 915,814 acres (3,706.17 km2) in size. It is the second-largest National Wildlife Refuge in the lower 48 states of the United States, and the largest in Montana. Created in 1936, it was originally called the Fort Peck Game Range. It was renamed in 1963 after Montana artist Charles M. Russell, a famous painter of the American West. In 1976, the "range" was made a "refuge".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celia M. Hunter</span> American environmentalist (1919–2001)

Celia Hunter was an American environmentalist and conservationist. She was conferred the highest award by the Sierra Club, The John Muir Award, in 1991. She was presented the highest award by the Wilderness Society, The Robert Marshall Award, in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nellie Grant</span> Daughter of President U.S. Grant (1855–1922)

Ellen Wrenshall Grant was the third child and only daughter of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and First Lady Julia Grant. At the age of 16, Nellie was sent abroad to England by President Grant, and was received by Queen Victoria. As a teenager growing up in the White House, she attracted much attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora Payne Whitney</span> American artist and socialite

Flora Payne Whitney, also known as Flora Whitney Miller, was an American artist and socialite, art collector, and patron of the arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rika's Landing Roadhouse</span> United States historic place

Rika's Landing Roadhouse, also known as Rika's Landing Site or the McCarty Roadhouse, is a roadhouse located at a historically important crossing of the Tanana River, in the Southeast Fairbanks Area, Alaska, United States. It is off mile 274.5 of the Richardson Highway in Big Delta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonie von Meusebach–Zesch</span> Pioneer female dentist (1882–1944)

Leonie von Meusebach–Zesch was an American early 20th-century pioneer female dentist who practiced in Texas, Alaska, Arizona and California. She is also known as Leonie von Zesch or Leonie Zesch. She was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaska Nellie's Homestead</span> Historic house in Alaska, United States

Alaska Nellie's Homestead, located at Mile 23 of the Seward Highway in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, is the former homestead of Nellie Neal Lawing. Neal Lawing had migrated to Alaska in 1915 and ran a number of roadhouses for the Alaska Railroad before settling at the Roosevelt roadhouse on Kenai Lake in 1923, where she built her homestead. She planned to marry Kenneth Holden after settling, but he died in an industrial accident before their marriage; his cousin Billie Lawing then proposed to her, and the two married. A post office opened in the area in 1924; Nellie was the first postmistress, and the post office was named Lawing in her honor.

Fair chase is a term used by hunters to describe an ethical approach to hunting big game animals. North America's oldest wildlife conservation group, the Boone and Crockett Club, defines "fair chase" as requiring the targeted game animal to be wild and free-ranging. "Wild" refers to an animal that is naturally bred and lives freely in nature. "Free-ranging" means an animal that is not restrained by traps or artificial barriers, so it has a fair chance of successfully escaping from the hunt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center</span> History museum in Maryland, U.S.

The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center is a visitors' center and history museum located on the grounds of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park in Church Creek, Maryland, in the United States. The state park is surrounded by the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, whose north side is bordered by the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park. Jointly created and managed by the National Park Service and Maryland Park Service, the visitor center opened on March 10, 2017.

USFS <i>Eider</i> Ship of the United States Bureau of Fisheries

USFS Eider was an American motor schooner in commission in the fleet of the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1919 to 1940 and, as US FWS Eider, in the fleet of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1942 and again in the late 1940s. She ran a passenger-cargo service between Unalaska and the Pribilof Islands, and also carried passengers, supplies, and provisions to destinations on the mainland of the Territory of Alaska and in the Aleutian Islands. She occasionally supported research activities in Alaskan waters and the North Pacific Ocean, and she conducted patrols to protect Alaskan fisheries and marine mammals. In 1924, she provided logistical support to the first aerial circumnavigation of the world.

<i>The Girl Puzzle</i> Public sculpture on Roosevelt Island in New York City, U.S.

The Girl Puzzle Monument honoring activist and journalist Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman, pen name Nellie Bly (1864-1922), is a public sculptural installation by American artist Amanda Matthews, CEO/Partner of Prometheus Art Bronze Foundry and Metal Fabrication. The installation is located on the northern tip of Roosevelt Island in Lighthouse Park in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The location is significant because of its proximity to the remains of the old Blackwell Island Asylum - The Octagon is the last remnant of the original building where Nellie Bly went undercover as a patient while working as a reporter at the New York World. Nellie Bly wrote of the mistreatment of patients at the asylum in a series of articles and then in 1887 had them compiled into a book, Ten Days in a Mad-House.

References

  1. Hegener, Helen (August 24, 2014). "Alaska Nellie lived a life to remember, deserves an epitaph to match". Alaska Dispatch News . Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Conner, Jacques L. (May 8, 1974). "Alaska Nellie's Homestead". National Park Service . Retrieved March 13, 2016. Accompanied by photos.
  3. "Alaska Nellie". LitSite Alaska. University of Alaska Anchorage . Retrieved March 13, 2016.