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John Honea

H78-187
John Honea was born in 1911 at Kokrines, Alaska, a now-abandoned village 27 miles upriver from Ruby. He passed away on March 16, 1996. His father, John McGuire, was an Irishman who died in 1912, when John was just a year old. His mother was Polly Nohunolno, a native of Kokrines. John Honea was raised by Mary Dean and Billy Honea, until they separated in 1923. At the age of twelve, John Honea was on his own. Early on, he cut firewood, herded reindeer, helped the miners, and worked with dog-team mail haulers. He had to teach himself to hunt, trap, and fish for a living. He married his wife, Lorraine, in 1936.

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1) The place where he grew up and his employment history.
birthplace\ Ruby\ birthdate\ employment -- history\ job -- mining camp\ marriage\ fishing\ trapping\ wife\ Novi River\ job -- army\ oil -- hauling\ parents\ future -- death\ adoption -- half-sister\ Honea, Bill -- adopted father\ army\ childhood -- independence\ wood -- cutting\ wood -- selling\ reindeer herding\ herd -- location\ Kokrines\ reindeer -- herd\ reindeer -- number of\ Johnson, Jim\ boats -- type of\ boats -- row boats\ boats -- canoes\ dog teams\ fishing -- Whiskey Creek\ Derrick, Ben -- mail contractor\ job -- wages\ dogs -- care of\ Alaska Roads Commission -- dog team\ dogs -- number of\ fish camp -- summer\ Ruby\ boarding -- dogs\ Ruby -- population of\ Long Creek\ elders -- drowning accident\ drowning -- story of\ shelter -- type of\ tents\ Natives -- population\ population -- size\ sawmill\ shelter -- building of\ shelter -- type of\ materials -- type of\ materials -- transportation of\ insulation -- lack of\ lumber -- type of\ trees -- use of\\ boats -- building of\ sawdust -- insulation|

2) The people, the employment opportunities, and types of businesses in the early days of Ruby.
Ruby -- businesses\ tin shop\ grocery store\ hardware store\ stove\ products -- types of\ carpenters\ welders\ traffic -- river based\ boats -- type of\ river boats\ stern wheelers\ boat fuel -- wood\ wood -- cutting\ boat -- steamships\ wood -- sale of\ wood -- price of\ job -- mining camp\ wood cutting -- mining camp\ cords -- quantity of\ saw -- manual\ chain saw -- lack of\ saws -- type of\ saw -- swede\ saw -- cross-cut\ teamwork\ wood cutting -- skills\ trapping -- background\ experience\ elders -- learning from\ trapping -- knowledge of|

3) The economic importance of the fur trade and dog teams in the past, and how progress has lessened their economic role.
fur -- prices of\ fur -- types of\ red fox\ silver fox\ fur -- profitable\ trapping -- changes in\ war-time -- effects of\ fur --beaver\ fur -- sale of\ transportation -- dog teams\ trap-line -- access to\ snowmachines -- opinion of\ dog team -- trapping\ dog team -- caring for\ marriage -- date\ marriage -- length of\ daughter\ Big Eddy\ residence -- length of\ wife\ fish camp -- summer\ fishing -- commercial\ mail delivery -- dog teams\ fish -- drying of\ fish -- income\ dry fish -- dog food\ airplane --effect of\ fish\ sales -- decline of\ fish -- subsistence\ fish wheel\ fish -- sale of\ regulations -- effects of\ daughter -- dog racing\ dogs -- training\ trapping -- winter\ snowmachine\ machine\ hunting|

 
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