Processing crabs in Alaska

ROGER LEE HALL click white subtitles to change pages

Processing crabs in Alaska

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I always wanted to spend a winter in Alaska.

Mt. Ballyhoo

Jack London named this beautiful mountain. This photo was taken from my bayside dormatory window. The outstanding views just added to the most interesting adventure.

Russian Orthodox Church

Doug Palmer, a crab processor I met during my ten-day ride home on the Omnisea processing vessel, took this photo in the summer of 1999 when he worked as a biologist. Doug retired from the U.S. State Dept. and is now in Uzbekistan heading a health program for women and children. He earned $6 an hour processing. His present job pays $100,000 a year. You can see he didn't take the crab processing job for the money. Neither did I!

My last great boss,

Isaac del Rio!

The big crab he's holding reminds me of the last principal I had at Cope M.S. The UniSea Company had a well-organized staff. The facilities and food were great! The 1300 employees from all over the world enhanced this great experience.

Me in Unalaska

Dutch Harbor was a most interesting place. UniSea, the company I worked for, was owned by the Japanese. In June, of 1942, the Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor, historical WWII sites remain. The native Aleuts were relocated to mainland Alaska. Many died in poor living conditions, and others chose not to return to Unalaska. I'm standing by the monument for those who did not return. Only a few miles of roads were available for travel, which made hiking a fine way to get around and see things.