Threads of Gold
Women of the Alaskan Gold Rush

My mother used to say, 'you must howl with the wolves when you are with the wolves,' and so I made the best of things up there. Many times my heart did bump. I was so frightened but I pretended I was just the bravest thing in the world, and I got through it all right. And now as an old woman, if I were young instead with no one to depend on me, I would certainly go back to that Yukon country and prospect and make myself independently rich.
Anna DeGraf

Threads of Gold explores the wide range of experiences of both Alaska Native and pioneer women during the Alaska-Klondike gold rush era. Women played many important roles in the dramatic development of the north which was a result of the gold rush.

Women were willing to risk life changes in order to seek new opportunities for themselves and their children. Single and married, American and immigrants, black and white, they came to look for gold in the ground and in businesses providing supplies, meals, and entertainment for the miners.

Discovery City on Otter Creek was built in a couple of months. Men hauled in logs, lumber, and windows to make a row of stores and boardwalks. Many women took advantage of these new towns, including these two women who started a café, bakery, and lodging business.

  thanks to plep