<NN> Cannery Store
“As a child I have memories of the smell of the cannery…a sense of home, like the smell of the cookhouse when you are walking by, or the smell of Devona’s baking. The smell of the store, the perfumes of all the detergents and the smell of the spring merchandise that came in. The smell of the boats in the covered warehouse, the carpenters smell of fresh cut wood. The cedar plank boats Steven Alaniz, someone who just lived in sawdust.
These are fantastic memories. To me, the cannery is a living organism because it came to life, it thrived and it would lay dormant for a little while…it was a cycle that I have been a part of throughout my life.”
Brad Angasan | Cannery Worker
Courtesy of Western Washington University | Western Libraries Heritage Resources | Center for Pacific Northwest Studies | Alaska Packers Association Collection
Proceeds SUPPORT OUR EXHIBIT
<NN> Cannery Store sales will be considered a tax deductible donation. All proceeds will go toward development of the MugUp exhibition at the Alaska State Museum in 2021. Proceeds will be received and disbursed to the NN Cannery History project through the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust EIN #31-1721762
Canneries have provided necessary services, merchandise and retail items to fisherman, cannery workers and the year round residents of local villages. Traditional inventory would range from rain gear and coffee to clothing and grubstakes. In addition to providing the essentials the Alaska Packers Association also frequently brought in seasonal items such as Christmas stockings that would be made available during the winter and extended credit to their dedicated local fisherman against the catch of the upcoming season. Cannery stores like the one that operated at NN offered essentials that would have otherwise been largely unavailable because of the remote locations of the canneries in the Bristol Bay region.
All proceeds from the <NN> Cannery Store will support the development of the NN Cannery History Project MugUp Exhibition at the Alaska State Museum in 2021. Please email us at info@nncanneryproject.com for more information about our merchandise or with questions about about to make a donation to support our effort to share the oft-forgotten stories of canneries, workers and culture in Alaska.
