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Seeking Tales Of Unalaska When Crab Was King

Christian Skovly

Were you living in Unalaska in the '70s or '80s? If so, ChristianSkovly is looking for you. The Californian wants to make a book of stories of life in Unalaska during that time.

Skovly came to Unalaska in 2007 and 2008 to work on "Deadliest Catch." While here, he became fascinated with stories of life on the Bering Sea and around town. He grew so interested, he went looking for more tales.

“And I couldn’t find any recorded history back from the '70s and '80s in Dutch Harbor back when crab was king," said Skovly. "So I thought if there was no book about it, I would take on the challenge and write a book myself.”

And he’s look for stories, from everyone.

“I want to talk to the people who may think their life there was insignificant," Skovly said. "The bartenders, the law enforcement people, the people who worked in the hotels, or the processing plant workers. Anybody there that could give a perspective on life on the island during this heyday of the fishing industry.”

As time passes, he does not want these stories to go untold. That’s what happened to his grandfather.

“I think about my grandfather who was a butcher in South Dakota in a small town of about 100 people and no one thought to ask him what he did," Skovly said. "And it makes me sad that I don’t have a record of my grandfather and if I can do that for someone else that would make me happy.”

If you have a story that you want to tell, you can contact Skovly at storiesfromdutch@gmail.com.

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Zoë Sobel reported for KUCB from 2016 until 2019. She returned to KUCB after a year living in Nepal and Malaysia as a Luce Scholar. She then returned to KUCB as a ProPublica reporter August of 2020 through August of 2021.