(200 Items)
This collection contains one-of-a-kind footage taken mostly on home or personal cameras of a wide variety of town events and activities from the late 1970s and early 1980s. These were boom years for Valdez as property taxes from the Alyeska Pipeline Marine Terminal began to flow into City of Valdez coffers. Numerous buildings were constructed including the library, schools, civic center, and city hall. Events include building dedication ceremonies, 4th of July celebrations, and Gold Rush Days activities. Perhaps the most valuable of these tapes is a set of twenty oral histories recorded during the 1980 “Old Town Reunion”. The collection consists of a wide range of formats, from 35mm film, to VHS and Beta max videotape, to audio cassette and DVDs. Also notable within the collection are a set of Owen Meals’ home movies covering the late 1920s to early 1960s, compiled into the DVD “Owen’s Old Town,” available for purchase through the museum’s gift shop.