Angelo Hoelscher (Angivran)

Angelo Hoelscher was born on April 10, 1910, in Hooper Bay. Father Fox married him and Maggie, but he doesn't know when.

The houses they used to live in were made out of mud on the outside, and the inside was made with wood; the windows were made out of seal intestines, but in the winter time they changed the window to ice.

They used to travel by dog sled to St. Michael to trade. It took them about eight days to go there. Along the way they stopped to visit in other villages. He used to go up there sometimes with Mr. Napoleon's father and Evan. His own father used to be a clerk at the Alaska Commercial store at Saint Michael. Napoleon clerked at Paimiut and Evan at Tununak. Their sleds carried red and white fox furs. He used to travel by dogsled to Tununak to get goods for the store in St. Michael. He stayed two nights at Qissunaq (Kashunak) before he went on to Tununak. The store used to pay him $120.00 for the round trip. But he quit working at that a long time ago. Then he went home to Qissunaq where his wife was.

He traveled a lot in those days during the summer too. He went two times clear to St. Michael by large row boat. They had no kickers then. Four people rowed the boats and the captain steered and oared at the stern. He was young in those days. He also went by row boat up to Mountain Village and Pilot Station. And once he traveled over to Bethel. It took them about 13 days to row to Bethel, and about nine days to return home; they were almost wintered in that year because of the ice. He went many places with his wife too before they had kids.

interview by Eleanor Tomaganuk