EXCERPT FROM MY ESSAY ON THE JESSE LEE HOME WHILE IT WAS STILL IN UNALASKA WITH EMPHASIS ON PETER GOULD. The Jesse Lee Home was founded by the Methodist Church in 1890 on the island of Unalaska. Unalaska is located on the Shumagin Islands, so named from a Russian sailor who was a member of one of the first voyages to the islands. In Alaska’s history the Home is known as a place where several famous Native boys grew up to be influential members of Alaska society. Benny Benson, for instance, was responsible for designing the first Alaska flag. The Home occupied this location on Unalaska and was an active farm (although always struggling) until 1925 when it was moved to Seward. Although this particular orphanage and school was run and subsidized by the Methodists, they were not first missionaries to the Aleutian Chain. It can be recalled that the first missionaries on the islands had been sent out by Russia and spread the word of their form of Christianity from the Russian “Greek” Orthodox Church. One of the best known Russian Orthodox priests was Ivan Veniaminov who genuinely cared about the indigenous communities of the Aleutians until he traveled down to Sitka in 1833, among the Tlingit. Veniaminov codified the Aleut language, using the Cyrillic alphabet, and also fostered and preserved many of the Unangan arts and crafts that had been lost due to the death of artisans during the early Russian fur trading era. When Russian enslavement and disease had taken a toll on the population the Russian church came forward to help fill the social void that had been created and the remaining Unangan populations embraced the Church. This factor played a major role in the subsequent Aleut culture. As this story progresses, it will be noted that Gordon Gould was ecumenical in his outlook. He had great respect for Ivan Veniaminov. In his booklet concerning “Christian Action in Alaska” he describes Father Veniaminov as “…a man of piety…whose concern for his fellow men was sincere…It is said that when he preached, the hunter forgot his traps, the fisherman forgot his nets, the women forgot their cooking and the little children forgot to cry.”# Later missionaries from many different faiths joined the call to go to Alaska to preach to the indigenous throngs of “Alaskans.” When Sheldon Jackson rose to prominence as a missionary for the Presbyterian Church and also as the director of Alaska education, he split Alaska into mission districts. He ignored the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church as foreign religions, but because the Methodist mission already had a foothold and history on the Aleutian Chain he authorized that the entire Chain be under the Methodist Church system. This legacy lives on today and down the line is also part of the inherited story of Alaska Pacific University. The Methodist Mission and Churches The Christian church sect of Methodism had its beginnings in the European missionary movement. The first two centers of activity were in England and America. John Wesley, the founder, was imbued with the spirit of evangelism and in helping his fellow man. This quest to serve was a major element of Methodism, and permeated the activities. Native Americans have always been the target of these good intentions by those who wanted to mediate the government‘s insensitive or negligent treatment of the first Americans. The answer had been the creation of reservations (fenced land jails), enforced removals, and other methods to clear lands for the settlers in the American spirit of Manifest Destiny. The Methodist preachers and circuit riders were part of the westward movement across to the West, and Alaska appeared to be one more frontier to conquer. Several of these missionaries were responsible for translating Native languages into English as they slowly brought indigenous villages to an understanding of the American way. For Alaska however the situation was unique for at no time were there Indian wars, treaties, or reservations. As time went on this would not only make the missionary story in Alaska distinctive, but would also effect the use and ownership of land for all interested parties, including the government. Integral to the understanding of Methodism, especially in terms of Alaska and the university system were the roots: philosophical and practical traditions. Methodism has ethical behavior at its core and this trait is not to be self-serving but rather to raise the general well being of humankind across the world. Methodism is also ecumenical by definition, showing respect for other Christian denominations as well as other belief systems that do not fall into this category, but do have the same principles. Gordon Gould always stressed the Judaea-Christian foundations of the eventual Alaska Methodist University and this outward view permeated every aspect of the heart of the university, even into its initial (and current) curriculum, later to be enriched by subsequent administrators. For Alaska, indigenous Methodism had its roots in a young Tsimshian man named Clah from the Fort Simpson Methodist Church. Clah trekked up the northern waterways to a small Stikine (Tlingit) village and later called Fort Wrangel# after the military entered Alaska. This village was near the current border of Alaska and Canada. Although he was from the Anglican Methodist church located in British Columbia, he fell into favor with the Presbyterian missionaries in the area, who consisted of Amanda McFarland and S. Hall Young, the so-called mushing parson. Both were responsible for setting up the first mission schools in southeast Alaska, which would be the forerunner of the Sitka Industrial Training School and later renamed the Sheldon Jackson High School (historic summary to follow in a later chapter). In 1876, Clah had gone up to Wrangell on errands, especially to find fresh timber in the bountiful Tongass Forest, and somehow ended up building the foundation for the Native-oriented and Presbyterian missionary system in Alaska. Clah was also known by the English name of Philip McKay and history has noted that he was the first Native preacher in the region and held his sermons in both the Native tongue and English until his early death, possibly from tuberculosis#. Clah wrote back to the Canadian Methodist Church that he had found “heathens” among the Tlingit who were afraid of the white man’s power. He instructed the Native congregations to take heed of the White Man’s God and no harm would follow them. “We held services on the Sabbath Day and decided to remain…trying to lead the Stikines and Hydas living here to the truth.”# By 1896, the Methodist Church had a foothold in Alaska.# Yet, the central Methodist church administration was hesitant to send missionaries to this unknown area; something Gordon Gould would later admonish the Methodist Church about in terms of the successful proselytizing of Alaska adherents. Eventually the Women’s Home Missionary Society organized their support both materially and spiritually for the Alaska mission, which was thought of as an exotic location and only for the daring and devout. The first missionaries to the Aleutian Chain, John and Ethelda Carr, were sent to the Unga Island in 1886 and this was also in conjunction with the increasing Presbyterian movement of Sheldon Jackson, who was moving his base outward from southeast Alaska. Jackson would later be the first agent of education in Alaska as well, influencing the early origins of the Alaska educational system. The first Methodist Church in Alaska was built in an unlikely location, Dyea (near Skagway) in 1897 during the era of gold fever and the apex of the Klondike Gold Rush. Reverend Carl Larson was the minister to the miners, especially those who spoke in one of the Scandinavian languages. Larson was able to expand his ministry from there to Douglas, Juneau and Skagway, which were the main towns of the growing Alaskan territory.# After this point Methodist Churches were built in every region of Alaska, often in conjunction with other complementary faiths. Anchorage, a city of relative late beginnings did not have their first parish until 1944 and then it was only a log cabin. Additions were made to the original structure and later renamed: Baxter Memorial Methodist Church, occupying a location very near the current site of Alaska Pacific University.# It would seem the Methodist Church drew together diligent, if not overly enthusiastic preachers to spread their word. “We were taken from good churches and fine congregations and sent to the picket line where there is not much of either, but no man has shirked, and no one has complained.”# Larry Hayden, AMU and Methodist Church historian, relates that education was always a foremost goal of the church.# Often the Methodist missionaries and those of other denominations set up schools as part of their ministry. It was these schools that Sheldon Jackson sought to organize after becoming General Agent of Education in 1890, after the passing of the Organic Act. Conceivably. it is instrumental in this account to make note of what Gordon Gould considered the role of the Methodist Church, especially in terms of Alaska. He believed that “the business of the church is to establish itself in the community, to help people make adjustments to changing conditions, to help youth secure an education and preparation for a new day.”# Then and only at that time could the Methodist Church humbly claim any success. The same sense of community was to carry him far in Alaska when he was trying to meet his financial goals and gather moral support for his endeavor. First and foremost Gould crusaded for education with an understanding the world was moving quickly to new levels and an education was a way to adapt to the changing circumstances as his ancestors had done so many years back. The theme of Methodism and education have gone hand in hand from the beginning. The Methodists had set up a number of missions and schools across America. In the start up of these institutions, it was clear that the educational outlook must encompass the whole person and Gordon Gould stressed this philosophy throughout his campaigning and even into his eventual role in development. AMU historian, Larry Hayden, describes that “The mission of Methodism through its founding of institutions of higher learning has been to integrate faith and learning, knowledge and service in order that the whole person and the whole world might be transformed…” Methodism and the belief structure of the dominant culture were not the most important forces, however, in that the university’s philosophy was set in place to follow intercultural communication and intellectual freedom in order to explore the vast universe.# It was this same philosophy of ecumenism and multi-cultural ethic that was imbued in Gordon Gould as he followed his course from assigned parishes and followed new responsibilities within the Methodist hierarchal structure. In the 1950s when Gordon Gould was explaining the Methodist Church’s position in higher education, he looked in retrospection to the legacy created by the church and its leaders across the nation. Methodists had already established churches, missions, and schools in several frontier areas. There was something special about such a setting that could bring the modernity of the current era and yet maintain a certain air of untainted nature as the playground for the scholar. Gould carried that understanding on his personal mission; it was not a burden, but a gift. He was encouraged by the Methodist Church even to the far reaches of Alaska, already dubbed the last frontier. From a historical perspective, the missionaries brought their own culture with them and believed they had the proper answers to life within their creed. In their zealousness they also brought the English language, Western dress, and an adherence to a lifestyle and social system that was created in Europe and not in the Alaska environment. The result was that many aspects of Alaska indigenous traditions were wiped out for this new dominant culture#, especially when other factors had already brought on the loss of social and political stability. The demise of cultural ways was later mourned by the first people of Alaska, but in recent times there has been a rebirth of the ancient foundations from a time before the first Europeans. This rebirth, often called the Cultural Renaissance, honors the primordial traditions while understanding the realities of the modern world. There is sometimes a fine line between acculturation and assimilation in any cross-cultural episode, and also the observer must not discount the borrowing that goes between two diverse people. Cultures that remain static ring their own death knell. Often the missionaries and other early arrivals are “blamed” for the downfall of Alaska Native culture. In some respects this was true, but there were other mediating factors besides the rigid demands of conforming. Another impact that was influenced by the missionaries can be termed: compassion. The church affiliates were able to counter enslavement and the spread of disease, and hence ameliorate the worst abuses that came on the tails of the explorers, entrepreneurs, and fur traders, who had ventured forth to gain fame and glory in this frontier land, regardless of the cost to the first inhabitants of the Great Land. The Lessons Learned at the Jesse Lee Home The Methodists, and especially the Women’s societies, provided for several projects in Alaska and one was a home for boys and later girls were allowed to enroll. One of these homes was called the Jesse Lee Home on the island of Unalaska, off from the Shumagin Islands, as has briefly been mentioned in the introduction to this narrative. In the late 1800s the Home was started by John Tuck, who had to leave shortly after the Home was built. One of the teachers, Agnes Sowle returned home briefly to marry Dr. Albert Newhall and then both returned to Unalaska. These are the Newhalls that Gordon Gould speaks of with affection in his tales and episodes. Perhaps if the Newhalls had not taken an interest in his early education his life might have gone a different way, but fortune had a hand in the procession of events. Albert Newhall was a man of many trades which is exactly what the home needed since it was always in need of repair as it continued to brace against the natural elements.; later he would become the superintendent and responsible for the curriculum (which was quite complex).# When Gordon Gould was in attendance and for a long time past, this was also the only Protestant mission on the islands.# In the Jesse Lee Home the young boys were taught the “practical arts” such as arithmetic, their letters, and the Bible. It sheltered youth who had be torn by epidemics and other troubles, and provided a haven for the orphans from communities that could no longer take care of them. The school was a function of the best principles of the Methodist woman’s society, but also prevailed with the belief that all things Native must be shunned and the teachers and directors were inspired to teach the young boys to be productive members of the contemporary society brought by the newcomers. This was for their own good so it was thought. In addition to the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic the children learned “useful skills” in order to be contenders in this budding industrial age. There were those in American society who thought the indigenous and hence backward societies could not learn advanced philosophies, literature, history, science or other subjects of this nature, although the Newhalls did not subscribe to that thought.# Yet a dichotomy existed in that the young man or woman must be prepared to take their place and earn their own way in American economic system. Farming was the one subject that all missionaries and their respective Boards seemed to emphasize in their pamphelets and master plans. This attempt at progress, in any form, did not take into consideration that the Alaskan environment lent itself best to fishing and not farming. The Jesse Lee Home did have a few cows and chickens, but the farming concept was limited, especially with the lack of machinery and other technological implements. It was with irony then that Peter Gordon Gould finally left this Methodist enclave to go back east and work on a farm. But before his sojourn to the eastern farm where his life would inevitably change forever, he had early experiences in the art of raising funds for the necessities of life - a talent that would prove valuable in the future. When the Home was in dire straits, the boys would compose heartfelt appeals for clothing and other items for living. In “A Fisherman’s Son“, Gould’s autobiographical piece about his early childhood, he related how Dr. Newhall called the boys together to write a letter to the Woman’s societies back east requesting that the people might “kindly look in your closets and attics and send us clothing…”# The boys were always surprised when ships came in and unloaded cargo with heaps of mismatched and patched clothing. They did not mind the hand me downs - it was like every holiday wrapped up in one when the barrels came in. Imagine their surprise one day when the shipment included twelve formal suits of clothing with top hats. Even as a young man, Gordon was deeply philosophical about life and his fellow humankind. In this realm, he developed four basic laws of life while still under the auspices of the mission school. He would later call these the lessons he learned at the Jesse Lee Home and clutch them throughout his life.# The first rule was that you must be obedient to the law (of society and the Bible), for only with laws can we all live an orderly and equity filled life. This was the structure of life. Next a model citizen must acquire the basics of dependability, faithfulness, and trustworthiness. This does not mean that Gordon was the model child. He was the discoverer of his own mischief from time to time as he tells us in his story with a delightful twist#, but even at a very early age he was acquiring a solid character and the knowledge of a moral right, a pervasive ethic for life. A third lesson was comprised in the truism that one must be resourceful and not wait for someone else to bail you out of troubles. It also meant that one was responsible for their own destiny. One could blame others for their bad days but that would do nothing to relieve the situation. It might have, perhaps, been the “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” way of thinking. Finally, a rule that he would come to hold dear was the concept of stewardship; that is to take care of the land, waterways, and fellow human beings. That was a responsibility of each person in a society. These early philosophical understandings would guide his life, especially in the harsher times, and also come to be the foundations of the first private liberal arts university in Alaska.# Peter Gordon Gould did not realize that when he boarded the Dora for the Jesse Lee Home that it would be the last time he ever saw his mother. She had sent him to the home, believing this was his only hope for him to grow up to be a “good man“. She had known that many years ago the Methodist missionaries had ventured to Unga Island with their message of a better life and a mother wants the best for her child, perhaps sensing even at the tender age of six how few alternatives existed. Gordon (preferred name) Gould took to life in the mission school and prided himself on being one of its exemplar students, although he did entertain fantasies about what life might be like beyond the limits of the island. After seven years at the home and at the age of thirteen, he was given his opportunity to explore these far reaching worlds. Dr. Newhall called his most promising students together to talk about securing an education after the mission school. Gordon’s ears were attentive to this message. There was a possibility of working on a farm and at the same time earning an education. With wanderlust in his heart and the spiritual foundation from the Jesse Lee Home, he set off on the Dora once again and another chapter of his life was about to be written. He left the Home with a natural trepidation for the journey and the wonder of what fate might bring his way. He writes, “as the boat sailed out of the harbor passing the Jesse Lee Home, I felt that I was leaving a most precious Island of joyous security for a land totally unknown…”# Chapter Two A Young Man Defines his Journey “Alaska, giant of the north, the great country, one of the most exciting frontiers for Christian action in the world. What a frontier it is. It is astir with activity. It is enlivened with an expectancy of a greater tomorrow.” the words of Peter Gordon Gould, explaining his awe, hope, and dream of Alaska. # Peter Gordon Gould understood that he was a foreign boy from a foreign land. He knew that others would think less of him because of his Native heritage and also, because of their lack of understanding of those who might be different than themselves, a universal theme. He recalled when he was aboard the Dora, overhearing other passengers calling him “cute“, but also adding in their appraisal that not much could be expected of “these Alaskans.” For that moment and others of like nature, he felt like Exhibit A in a freak show.# But in retrospect, that was the way of the world in those early 1900s and sadly, not all has changed in the modern day. He was prepared to encounter this bias. What he did not expect was modern technology including electricity, which fascinated him, but he was a fast study of all things new and uncommon. Gordon liked farm work and being outside, and he especially enjoyed attending Sunday services at the Methodist Church where the tenets of Christianity were much like what he had come to know back at the mission school. As a boy of imagination, he wondered where this life might carry him and even pictured that the Church would ask for his service, although at times he entertained the notion of being a banker - high ideals for a boy from Alaska. He knew the key. All this was possible with this allusive goal called: education. Much to the chagrined mind, his employer belittled formal education and told him he did not need schooling to be a farmer, only a strong back. Perhaps, we can say thank you for whatever destiny guided him for he did not believe the words of this farmer while scheming for his eventual escape at the soonest moment possible, even though it would be delayed. While (unknown to him) he would never see his mother again, her words were engraved in his memory and her early letters never left him.# In one letter she expressed the hope that he might grow up to be a preacher.# He thought about this idea, but it did not settle in his mind fully for awhile. Yet, his restless being was striving for answers. After much thought and prayer, in December 1916, he made a commitment to the church and that would be his resolve for the rest of his life. He would serve the church and beyond. If his desire to be a minister was to come to fulfillment, the young man had to have more than faith and conviction, he had to be backed by a recognized education, and this concept was reinforced within him time and time again. The farm became only a stepping stone to his next challenge, but he did not realize that he would meet with such difficulty. When he tried to leave the farm to pursue these promising horizons, the owner of the farmer claimed he had papers to keep Gordon until he was of legal age, but not unlike men of a greater passion Gordon eventually would escape these humble beginnings to seek his calling. His trip would not be a romantic escapade but rather a series of dangerous maneuvers along the rail lines and through one-horse depots , but he believed his commitment would keep him strong. This plan was his ultimate rendezvous with destiny, but only in the beginning ...
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 22:22:53 +0000
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