A true adven­ture, first recorded for fam­ily, now in reply to requests, in book form.

A Knuck­le­head in 1920s Alaska — At age eighty-eight, William (Bill) Collins recorded his adven­tures as a young man of nineteen who trav­eled to Alaska to earn money for col­lege. In the 1920s he found adven­ture, but not much money, work­ing in the rail­road yards, in mines, as a pearl diver (dish­washer), and any­thing else between.

Dur­ing three sum­mers and one win­ter, Bill sur­vived hunger, earth­quake, stomp­ing cari­bou, and ici­cle frost. He learned about stopes, sluice boxes, pow­der smoke, and the Fes­ti­val of the Mid­night Sun. He found friends who would face a bear for him and ene­mies eager to knife him. Bill had one lucky day and more than a few really bad days.

This is the story of Norma’s dad before she ever knew him. In his own words, he was a true knucklehead.

Comments:     “An interesting account of a young man trying to overcome the many obstacles he encountered while traveling in the young state of Alaska in the 1920s. He survived because he got a few lucky breaks, which he used to his advantage.

“The author goes into great detail, which gives the reader a true picture of what life was like in the wilderness of Alaska. It’s appropriate for the general reader. Truly a historic and informative piece.” Amazon Review

“Bill’s real life adventure working in 1920’s Alaska is not only really funny and surprisingly fresh, it takes you back to a time that most of us can’t even imagine living – without modern conveniences. Bill lives up to the title of ‘Knucklehead’ as he improvises his way in and out of situations in his own special way. A real family friendly book for all ages! Plus historically valuable for remembering Bill’s generation and what it took to survive Alaska some thirty-five years before it became a U.S. State.”      Amazon Review

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