Remembering a late Alaska historian

JUNEAU (AP) - Patricia Ann Roppel arrived in Ketchikan as a newlywed home economics teacher in 1959, the same year Alaska became a state - and she was quickly captivated by its history. Canneries, fishing, old mill sites, mining; for decades she, husband Frank Roppel, and, later, their children, John and Cindy, explored Southeast Alaska's beaches and its forests, looking for pieces of the past.

The first historical place the couple found together, Frank said, was an old mining mill site.

"That sparked her interest. She just kept digging and digging in it, and started gathering information on t...