What makes you a Sourdough? (Fairbanks, Nome: construction, live, club)

[Arktikos]

A recent community storytelling event stimulates this question.

Is it born and/or raised, one winter, many years or what?

I'm a 50 yr. resident, so will go with that.

[AKStafford]

When you came to Alaska, but now you ain't got no dough and you're sour about it.

I was always told you had to pee in the Yukon River to qualify. I spent my first 14 years in Southeast Alaska, so that made it more difficult. The last 20 years has been here in Southcentral. I've been in Fairbanks at 60 below and 90 above. I've never hit a moose, but I've dipnetted salmon. I've got every dividend ever issues and I'm a Club 49 member with Alaska Air. I've traveled on the Alaska Marine Highway, the Alaska Railroad and flow on a beaver more times than I can count. I've worked in the fishing industry, the logging industry, the tourism industry and now construction. I think I count...

[riceme]

I voted "other" because I definitely have met some people who have lived here for 10-20 years that I would not consider sourdoughs. In fact, I know a father and son that are 3rd and 4th generation Alaskans who I would not consider sourdoughs. Ehh, the dad? Maybe. The son? No.

"Other" could entail a whole lot of different things, but you can't just lay around in front of the idiot box with your Toyo cranked up for 20 years and magically become a sourdough.

[riceme]

I've been told the same... gotta pee in the Yukon. I was going to go on a girls-only trip down the Yukon with 1stimestar this summer, but I couldn't take time off after back to back Chicken & Kantishna trips. Next summer!

[Re3iRtH]

Originally Posted by AKStafford

When you came to Alaska, but now you ain't got no dough and you're sour about it.

I was always told you had to pee in the Yukon River to qualify. I spent my first 14 years in Southeast Alaska, so that made it more difficult. The last 20 years has been here in Southcentral. I've been in Fairbanks at 60 below and 90 above. I've never hit a moose, but I've dipnetted salmon. I've got every dividend ever issues and I'm a Club 49 member with Alaska Air. I've traveled on the Alaska Marine Highway, the Alaska Railroad and flow on a beaver more times than I can count. I've worked in the fishing industry, the logging industry, the tourism industry and now construction. I think I count...

When was the last time it was actually 60 below? And curious, will we ever see less than -50 in our lifetime.

[stiffnecked]

A sourdough is one whose gone sour on the country and doesn't have enough dough to leave. So they stay. Thus the moniker sourdough.

[Metlakatla]

I always thought of a "sourdough" as a certain type of person, usually an older guy, who came up for mining or other fairly solitary pursuit and who has developed a crusty personality type as a result of little social contact. That's closer to the original definition -- those who came up to mine were called sourdoughs because they were the first to bring sourdough starter here. I don't think there's many original sourdoughs left.

[akpls]

Originally Posted by Re3iRtH

When was the last time it was actually 60 below? And curious, will we ever see less than -50 in our lifetime.

How about January 2009. See Post #9:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/fairb...s-weather.html

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by Re3iRtH

And curious, will we ever see less than -50 in our lifetime.

Unless you die fairly quickly, yes.

[stiffnecked]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I always thought of a "sourdough" as a certain type of person, usually an older guy, who came up for mining or other fairly solitary pursuit and who has developed a crusty personality type as a result of little social contact. That's closer to the original definition -- those who came up to mine were called sourdoughs because they were the first to bring sourdough starter here. I don't think there's many original sourdoughs left.

I think you're probably right. My example came from an old miner I met in Nome when I first came to Alaska in 1983. He'd try to help me fine tune my beach mining operation. I saw him sitting on a bench outside The Board of Trade Saloon on a Saturday afternoon talking to a few other old bearded guys.

I stopped to chat and he introduced me to his buddies. They started giving me a bit of a hard time about trying to mine on the beach. That's when he said "Don't mind them they've just gone sour on the country and ain't got enough dough to go home." Funny thing is every summer when I went back for the next 4 years they were still there.