Somebody's Taking Pictures

squirrel. You Fated yellow boxes in various loose reels of 16 millimeter film lay in a corner of Joe Mendo's warehouse for many years They had been left in the shuffle and confusion of living a busy life in the late 1970s Joe casually pointed out these home movies from the 50s and 60s to cliff baits who immediately became interested in their contents

They discussed them periodically, but it wasn't until 1980 that Joe gathered the films and gave them the cliff for viewing After sampling one reel the value of the movies was obvious The brittle and spoiled films were then transferred to videotape Joe agreed to narrate them for kyuk But his untimely death prevented this from occurring This past year with the help of Alice Mendola Corey Flint off and cliff baits began working on this project After it got underway Corey unexpectedly moved to his new position in Anchorage Cliff and I John McDonald have brought the project to completion Unfortunately, we can now enjoy viewing these unique scenes from the past as we listen to the unrehearsed comments of Alice Mendola with Nick and Edith Asherpack For most of us history is something that happened a long time ago before our parents were born

It's something you can read about in a textbook or hear about in an old story We tend to forget that history is being made all the time We make history that people around us make it Some of us recorded often without realizing what we're doing We recorded in letters, photographs, even in home movies and recently videotapes In fact, in many ways history isn't a formal thing at all Every record we make, everything we save provides an informal glimpse into our lives and our times Joe Mendola was a man who made his life in an area as remote and different from his childhood home as any year likely to find He came to the Kuskakum River as a young man, made a lasting marriage and lasting friendships Built several businesses and contributed his part to the progress of the region

In his own way, he became part of the history of the area and in his own way he recorded it Joe Mendola was a man with a hearty enthusiasm for the life of the Delta and the people who lived here He was also an amateur movie maker and throughout the fifties and the early sixties He recorded the life around him on film, in Oscarville, in Bethel and on the land and waters nearby This is his glimpse of Delta history Joe Mendola was born in Niagara Falls, New York in 1923 He was raised and educated there, but when World War II began he entered the army and spent the war years in a tank out fit in northern Africa and Italy When the war ended, Joe moved to Arizona It wasn't long though before he and a friend decided to venture the distance to Anchorage, Alaska He eventually found his way to Niac, a gold mining operation about 80 miles from Bethel Here he met Alice Samuelson, they married and after three seasons they came to Bethel

They ran the coffee cup restaurant, he quants it by the river The Mendolas acquired the trading post in Oscarville in 1953 They moved there and operated a store which was a museum of goods Joe began earning his reputation as a bush pilot and for being surrounded by kids In Oscarville, Joe ran the movie house, a popular attraction He sponsored dog races and he became very active in this unique community Oscarville was a busy place when Joe and Alice Mendola took over the trading post in 1953 The spring break-up brought with it a great surge of activity and visitors from as far away as Nunavac Island The dog team was still the major mode of winter transportation, but the spring thaw made the season's last trip by dog team A risky one at best Oh, well that's an Oscarville Oh, well, yes before break-up Oh that's fell too stiff

Oooh, oh, don't look like it I can do here, probably the last trip, except for the dogs Oh, break up that like, break up, oh, scary at us, girl. Oh, okay. Come back, come back. Soon after the river was cleared of ice, the first visitors arrived, as many as a dozen boats from Nunavac Island, laden with trade goods. There's a new new vectors coming into Asco is slow. Bringing a sea loyal, walrus chunks.

All kinds of stuff. Good, good. Graz is to make best at Asco. Yeah. I'm sorry, I'll ask you a few. They don't purchase all of them, using it for a steep path, would they? Yeah. The whole time. There's still a class, huh? No more. That's an old picture, huh? Yeah. 19, uh, something. 19, two, just, huh? No. No. 19, 55, something. Sorry, something. There's a developments, mother eating chunks of walrus, so it's hungry for that. Yeah. Yeah. Crunchy. There's a love tag being thrown up over, and a beach.

You see that love tag, uh, sauce, you know. I mean, but like, I, uh, fuck up. That is, it is, you know, that little guy. He can sometimes throw books from, uh, McCoy. That's only the Nick from Asco. Well, originally from Asco, it's not here anymore. Come on. Oh, scared. Yeah. You see, you see, I'm just this older picture of it. Oh, yeah. Oh, there they are. Full of sea love. Oh, no. You see that cliff? See that books? Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's Mr. Amos. Charlie, Sally. There's a little book. Mm-hmm. I think no. In the 1990s, we go down and buy their own, and then we buy the bulk of them. And they start by way and sound to whoever. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, I mean, you talk. They go as far as squished, sometimes truly exactly as they don't settle their way down around here. In those days, too, the people of Kipnook and Shaforna had extensive fish camps not far from Oscarville. Whole families and dogs on the river for a summer of fishing.

This is the one thing. When they started hiring, can we work with some fish when they quit coming up to fish? Not because they're good. Do you know? Some friends with people. Let's get these fish on the river. Then pull those eggs up and seas to cushion. Remember the 66. In 1997 it was 24 years old. I was like 40.

Summer was time for building, too, and the fish camp became an improvised boatyard. Kidnakers, safamakers, they're building, one of them is building a big boat near fish camp. They're below not the first camp. The trading posted Oscarville was busy all summer, selling fuel and general merchandise to people from up and down the river. There's Max Stevens. He used to be our man Friday at Oscarville. There was time for fun, too, and even a visit from relatives from the lower 48. Oh, there's two sister Mary. And there's Nancy, her daughters and the boys. They're both married. Oh, come on. Yeah.

Somebody made a bus box, I like. Oh, who's that, General? Yeah, that's... I like that, kids, mother. And then, oh, yeah, I don't know if you're... The researcher has three. Yeah, he was happy in building a barge. Nancy. Two or two. Oh, yeah, I like it. Oh, God, Baba. Oh, I believe it. There was time for socializing as well, and a steady stream of visits between Oscarville and Napasquiac just across the river. It was at Napasquiac that Joe Mendoley recorded this wedding party.

Oh, there's bright in the pool. It's at Christ and Alina. Clark. Nice and warm. They're best. Not in the sun and mosquitoes. There's... There's... There's me. I'm happy to see you. I'm happy to see you. I'm happy to see you. You're coming out of church. I'm happy to see you. I'm happy to see you. Oh, yeah. Oh, it's in the national country. What?

Now, there are other ones who could go to their home for feast. Who's that heller? Yeah. By the middle of the summer, it was time for a break from the trading post. Time to head for the Tundra Lakes and an important subsistence event, the annual Duck Drive. It was, yeah, they're getting ready to go. They have to lift up their motor to get all that grass out of there.

At that time, they used to pour each all of those. In America. Yeah. In America. Yeah. In America. That's right now. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This is, yeah. And the July 31st. Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, one came, you went to a good Shimando and another. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Sure, they're all there.

Oh, they're bad. Now they call them together. They're meant to be right. Let me just keep, sorry. We killed. Yeah, they've cut their own otherwise they don't have supper. That, that's okay. Okay. Oops, that's fine.

Oh, good. Oh, yummy, yummy, yummy. Oh, my good. Oh, yeah. Just stay awake night and come home next day. Another seasonal activity that was as much as social event as a subsistence necessity was the Fall Moose Hunt. Joe often traveled to Holy Cross on the Yukon River to Hunt Moose with friends. Oh, look at that. Bye. Okay. Okay.

In 1963, Joe and Alice returned to Bethel where they ran the Bethel Trading Post. This was back when the town actually did experience spring flooding. Water, water, everywhere. There's Ruby Star. Oh, look at the king's house. Oh, this is temporary.

Yeah. They didn't have cameras. These two frees them in tears. Well, this was checked out on the side of the movie. I have a fish one time, yeah, that took better. Oh, yeah. Oh, that's sad. Our big boat supplier coming in from Seattle.

Joe sold the store in Bethel to Anika in 1967 and he went into business on his own. He served a city councilman and from 1976 to 1978 he was post commander of the VFW in Bethel. He was instrumental in getting the present VFW facilities built. During the 1980s, the mandolas divided their time between Bethel, Arizona and Hawaii. In Bethel, they enjoyed their home and their friends, buried picking and fishing. In Arizona, Joe became interested in horseback riding. He spent time there with other Bethel residents such as Chuck Pemsgard. He was a very patriotic man. This was clear to anyone who knew him. Ironically, Joe Mandela died on Veterans Day in 1982 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are those people on the Delta who will remember his charm, his love of animals, and surely his pickup truck full of kids from around town. His life and his films are a treasured addition to Delta history. Yeah, thanks for watching. Thank you, Joe.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.