Delta News Web Article

The Delta News Web, which serves the communities of Delta Junction, Big Delta and the surrounding area in northeastern Alaska, at the junction of the Richardson Highway and the Alaska Highway, features an article about four roadhouses in that part of the state, with historic photos of Rika’s Landing, Sullivan’s Roadhouse, the Black Rapids Roadhouse and Yost’s Roadhouse.

The article quotes a 1944 booklet by the U.S. Department of the Interior: “Alaska roadhouses are functional necessities to travel through country populated sparsely or not at all. They are inns or taverns…. providing food and shelter for the traveler…. they often serve as trading posts…. sources of supply for pack trains, prospectors, and trappers…. and are post offices as well as general stores, often linking enough functions to become real communities in themselves.”

Also: “The roadhouse tales span the territory of Alaska, and include first-hand accounts of early travelers along the trails.”

Alaskan Roadhouses: Shelter, Food and Lodging Along Alaska’s Roads and Trails, by Helen Hegener, published in October, 2015 by Northern Light Media. 284 pages, over 125 black/white photographs, 6″ x 9″ format. $24.95 plus $5.00 shipping and handling from Northern Light Media.

Available at Amazon, eBay, and your local independent bookstores.

Postal orders can be mailed to Northern Light Media, Post Office Box 870515, Wasilla, Alaska 99687-0515.