Aunt Phil's Trunk
Irish-born Eva McGown was known throughout Alaska as the "Hostess of Fairbanks."
Known as the "Hostess of Fairbanks," Eva McGown dedicated her life to helping newcomers find shelter when housing shortages were the order of the day – particularly during World War II. Her empathy may have been due to her firsthand knowledge about the hardships and loneliness travelers faced on their quest to reach Alaska.
Born Eva Montgomery in Northern Ireland in 1883, she had been communicating via letters with New York born Arthur Louis McGown, part-owner of the Model Café in the Golden Heart City. She left her job as a choir director in Belfast to marry McGown, who was 10 years her senior.
The determined Irish woman left her homeland 111 years ago this month and endured a transatlantic crossing to New York, on what she later described as "a filthy ship," rode a train to Seattle, sailed by steamer to Valdez, and then traveled via horse-drawn sleighs and sleds pulled by dog teams to reach her goal. The 31-year-old later said she was treated with respect by the "rough and tough men on the trail" who provided her with hot bricks for her feet and wrapped her in furs.
Five weeks later, she arrived in Fairbanks on February 26, 1914. She married Arthur that evening. She later told Reader's Digest she wondered if she was "dreaming awake. Where am I? And what am I doing? It was so different from my little green island home."
But she had no doubts about her decision to travel 4,000 miles to be with her new husband.
"I loved him well," she said. "For him, I left all I had known."
The happy marriage was short lived, however, as doctors diagnosed her husband with bone cancer after five years. He became an invalid until his death in 1930.
Struggling financially, the widow paid the bills by selling the café and taking odd jobs. To cope with her loneliness, she comforted other lonely women, visited patients in the hospital, and played the organ at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. Soon she became involved in most aspects of Fairbanks' social life.
When the influx of soldiers, Alaska highway workers, and all their families flooded into the territory during World War II, the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce hired her at $75 per month (almost $1,700 in 2025 dollars) to run a housing office to find temporary quarters for them.
Eva was the right person for the job. Her friendly and outgoing manner evolved into a one-woman housing and greeting service that found temporary beds in churches, theaters and even the local prison. She was recognized in 1953 when territorial governor B. Frank Heintzleman proclaimed her honorary hostess for all of Alaska. It's estimated that she helped more than 50,000 people, including students and visitors, with a kind word, sound advice, a job tip, or small loans from her own pocket. She frequently was spotted at community events, weddings and funerals and was a tireless servant for her adopted home.
Tragically, Eva lost her life at age 88 when she and three others died in a fire at the Nordale Hotel in 1972, a few months after the University of Alaska Fairbanks had dedicated a music room to honor her and her love of music.
She is buried in Clay Street Cemetery next to her beloved Arthur.
But her legacy lives on in Fairbanks. A stained-glass window made from more than 500 pieces showing Eva playing the organ for the choir graces St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. The cabin she and Arthur shared now is a part of Pioneer Park. And a street near the Noel Wien Library bears her name.
This column features tidbits found while researching Alaska's colorful past for Aunt Phil's Trunk, a five-book Alaska history series written by Laurel Downing Bill and her late aunt, Phyllis Downing Carlson. The books are available at bookstores and gift shops throughout Alaska, as well as online at http://www.auntphilstrunk.com.
