Fishing and Magicomedy in Alaska
Contributed by Curtis Nickerson the Magician
MAT-SU - In 1973, during the Vietnam War, I was given the option of being stationed in Alaska or Vietnam. My Sergeant boss had a friend at the base where assignments were made, and he gave me the choice between Eielson or JBER. Being someone who enjoyed trout fishing, I had hoped for an assignment in Montana or other stateside bases with great fishing spots, but ended up in the desert near Tucson, Arizona.
When I arrived in Alaska in May of 1973, it was a completely different world. As a non-resident, the only place I could hunt was on the airbase, which extended almost 80 miles eastward to the Charlie River. I spent many weekends that first summer exploring the dirt roads in my used 4-wheel drive scout, and even encountered a porcupine while hunting for black bears near a tree with claw marks.
One of the most famous fly fishermen in the mid-twentieth century was Lee Wulff, who was born in Valdez, Alaska in 1905. He was known for advocating for ethical fishing standards such as "catch and release" and for creating the Wulff flies, one of which was the Royal Coachmen - a popular dry fly used by many fishermen.
Years later, on a vacation in upstate New York, I stayed at a Rockefeller family resort on the upper Beaverkill river. While not catching anything on the hotel's private river frontage, I was directed to fish the water just above which belonged to the Joan Wulff fly fishing school. Joan, Lee Wulff's widow, was a champion fly fisherwoman and they both lived near the river in the 1920s. It was then that I caught a nice rainbow on a wet fly.
My father introduced me to fly fishing for the first time in 1964 on the main Beaverkill river in upstate New York. On that May day, a species of large white mayflies were hatching, attracting the trout to the surface. Luckily, I had a white miller pattern and managed to hook a nice brown trout, but had trouble coordinating hauling in the line with one hand while pulling the rod back and grabbing the net with the other. Despite the line getting tangled in a tree, it was still a memorable fishing experience.
I inherited shares in Dick's Sporting Goods from my mother's acquaintance, Dick Stack. His son, Edward Stack, expanded the business to over 700 stores. I suggested they acquire Sportsman's Warehouse in Alaska and was pleased to see Edward Stack funding a girls' hockey team in Anchorage during a presentation. They won the national championship with the company's possible travel arrangement.
In the early 1960s, I started buying magic props in Binghamton and performed a magic act during two vacations. People still fondly remember those tricks. I moved my belongings, including props and a menagerie of animals, from Fairbanks using a U-Haul. I had taken a break from performing to read Dickens books, cut firewood, and care for my pets.
One day, I went to Meta Rose Square, where the mall owner, Harold, was intrigued by the cocktail glasses I was purchasing for a trick. He hired me for my first valley show at the mall on Halloween. The audience was young children, and a theatrical company in Anchorage built two sections of stage for the show.
I was surprised to find a group of young children seated around my stage in Anchorage. A local theatrical company had built two sections of stage over two feet high for me. I went on to perform at birthday parties, schools like Iditarod, restaurants, and banquet halls at Lake Lucille Inn.
One year, I got the opportunity to use the big Dante Water Fountain finale, but the original equipment and costumes had deteriorated. Luckily, Nick Rugerrio, the builder for the Old Blackstone shows, made a new setup for me. I performed a couple of shows in Anchorage with my new wife, the last of which was at the gym of Nikiski high school. However, it was too much effort for the money, so I didn't pursue an inquiry from Wasilla Middle, which was not far away.
In 1992, I started the state's first Doordash-like service called Alaska Delivery Service, and due to exclusive commission contracts with dozens of restaurants, I was tied up 7 nights a week for 14 years. Although it wasn’t very busy, I managed to save money by printing and mailing menu books once in a while. My day job was as a Laidlaw school bus driver, and later, I worked outdoors at the airport in Anchorage, which was so easy that I commuted for 20 years.
After retiring this summer, I received a call for an adult birthday party in Anchorage this September, and I was glad to answer. I performed some of my old tricks from 1972, which were appreciated by magicians who weren't necessarily focused on impressing their peers with originality or difficult manipulations. The audience seemed to enjoy the show.