Carrie Mary McLain (January 26, 1895, in

Astoria, New York Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast, a ...

– 1973 in Palmer, Alaska) was an American writer and teacher known for her histories and memorabilia of Alaska.

Biography

Caroline “Carrie” Mary Stipek was born in New York on January 26, 1895, to Kristiny Stipek (née Varousove) and Vaslov William Stipek. She had three sisters, Barbara, Anne and Helen, and brother Frank. In 1897, her father left New York for Alaska to join the Klondike gold rush. He returned to his New York family twice over the next eight years but with the death of his wife in 1905, he moved his five children to be with him in Nome, Alaska. There, Carrie attended Nome high school and graduated as salutatorian in the seven-student class of 1913. When she completed additional schooling in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

, she began teaching in

Teller Teller or telling may refer to: People * Teller (surname) * Teller (magician), one half of the duo Penn & Teller Places * Teller, Alaska, United States ** Teller Airport * Teller County, Colorado, United States Other uses * 5006 Teller, a minor ...

and Haycock, Alaska. In Teller, she met a prospector, Arthur McLain, and after marrying, the couple moved to Nome where they raised four children. Carrie worked briefly as a welfare agent there and in 1943 became Nome's first woman city clerk. She remained at that job for the next 14 years. McLain published two books: ''Gold Rush Nome'' and ''Pioneer Teacher''. She died in the Palmer Pioneers Home on May 30, 1973, and was buried in Nome.Alaska Digital Archives, Carrie McLain Papers.
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Legacy

A community museum in Nome was named in McLain's honor. McLain's papers and photographs are held in the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections,

Elmer E. Rasmuson Library The Elmer E. Rasmuson Library (often referred to as Rasmuson Library) is the largest research library in the U.S. state of Alaska, housing just over one million volumes. Located on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, it is named in honor o ...

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for cla ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLain, Carrie 1895 births 1973 deaths Schoolteachers from Alaska People from Astoria, Queens People from Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska People from Nome, Alaska Writers from Alaska 20th-century American educators Educators from New York City 20th-century American women educators

Biography

Legacy

See also

References