No Place Like ... Nome

Congregation Sukkot Shalom Photo by Riva Frank

They're right!

Go to Alaska -- to the monarch of the north -- and you'll be changed forever. If anything, you will realize what a large and wondrous a country is this nation of ours!

We may forget that Alaska is the largest state in area in the Union -- 3,200 square miles in area, but ranking 49th in population, with about 600,000 residents.

The remote state capital of Juneau lies 2,852 miles from New York. Hundreds and hundreds of synagogues in the "Big Apple," but only one Jewish house of worship in the Alaskan capital serving several hundred Jews out of 5,000 in the state. Southeast Alaska's only synagogue is Congregation Sukkat Shalom.

A 10-minute ride from downtown Juneau across the bridge to Douglas Island, a residential area, brings the traveler to this one- story, wooden synagogue on a small plot of land. Readers may recognize the street name, Cordova, the city in Spain, once the home of Maimonides.

American Jews played an important role in the region's transformation from Russian-owned Alaska to American territory in 1867. Jews reorganized the Alaska Company, which dominated the fur trade, an important industry that supplied the needs of the residents. Religious services were held as early as 1868 in what was and still is "The Last Frontier."

Where to go for ice? Mendenhall Photo by Riva Frank

The Juneau area includes the Tongass National Forest, scenic mountains and the Icefield, which surrounds the downtown. Incidentally, the city is landlocked, and can only be reached by plane or boat.

Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska with about half of the state's population; Fairbanks is second, Juneau, third. And then there's Nome, described as "Alaska's oldest continuous first-class city."

Like much in Alaska, the city owes its beginnings to the discovery of gold in 1880 by two prospectors, Joseph Juneau and Richard T. Harris. Their discovery sparked a gold rush.

Officially named for Joseph Juneau in 1882, the town replaced Sitka as Alaska's capital, though the government was not moved to Juneau until 1906.

Fish Tails
Fishing is important here, and the salmon come in five varieties: king, silver, salt, chinuck and pink.

The town is always busy, especially in the season when the cruise ships drop off more than 1 million passengers, who come and sail Alaska's Gulf Coast. Our particular cruise on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner included stops at Vancouver Island, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka and Seward, the latter port a few hours of a train ride from Anchorage, the state's economic center.

Visit the Alaska State Museum in Juneau to learn that Alaska is one-fifth of the contiguous 48 states in mass, and learn to appreciate the varied ecosystems, from the frigid Arctic to the temperate rainforest of the Southeast. It's interesting to observe the copy of the $ 7.2 million check signed over to the Russians for this huge land, many parts of which are still uncharted.

Native costumes dress up a visit; Photo by Riva Frank

No state tax, no sales tax and no school tax in Alaska, although Juneau has a 5 percent city tax. Salmon and halibut fishing, mining and tourism pay the bills.

Lying at the foot of steep mountains, 13 miles northwest of Juneau, is Mendenhall Glacier, a tongue of ice stretching 12 miles from the Juneau Icefield to Mendenhall Lake.

Note: "Wild black bears use this area, so remain on the trails, yield right of way to bears and do not approach, chase, feed or run from bears," say the welcome sheets.

Sailing though Tracy Arm is a must-see attraction; it's one of the world's great fjords. A few days later, the M/S Mariner took us up to the very edge of Hubbard Glacier.

Stop at the Visitor's Center (at Mendenhall), where you can watch the 12-minute movie, "Magnificent Mendenhall." There's no doubt that then, you will realize why Alaska is referred to as "The Great Land."