The Strutz girls were like that--popular, successful, from a really
good family. Wally Hickel, on the other hand, arrived in Anchorage from Kansas in
1940 with all of 37 cents in his pocket. His family was in insurance,
but he left Kansas to pursue his passion in boxing. That led him to
California, and when it didn't work out, Wally booked a ticket in
steerage on a vessel headed to Alaska. He replenished his bank account
by winning a $125 purse at a boxing tournament conducted during Fur
Rondy, the Anchorage winter carnival. Wally married a local girl,
Jannice Cannon, who went to school with Ermalee.
Keywords matched
steerage