Caldwell, Frank, 1867-

In 1905 Frank and Brownie Caldwell of Indianapolis, Indiana traveled to Alaska and the Yukon on their honeymoon. On this trip, Mr. Caldwell was an "advance man-lecture manager" for Reverend John P.D. John, a Methodist minister who wanted to bring religion to the gold camps. Frank later presented a lecture and travelogue series, in partnership with Eli Smith, with lantern slides created by Brownie Caldwell. See: The Birth of a Book by Fenton Caldwell, contained in the Guide to Frank and Brownie Caldwell Photograph Collection, 1905 PCA 249. Frank Caldwell was the author of the novel "Wolf the storm leader," published in 1934 by Dodd, Mead, & Co. Told in the voice of the dog, this book recounts the life and adventures of Wolf, the leader of Eli Smith's well traveled team sled dog team.

In 1905, Frank and Brownie Caldwell of Indianapolis, Indiana, traveled to Alaska and the Yukon on their honeymoon gathering stories, photographs and information for a travelogue series. They traveled from Ketchikan to Juneau, Sitka, Skagway, and the White Pass Route, by river steamer to the Yukon, Circle City and Nome and told their story in extensive newspaper accounts and travelogue slide and lecture series. In 1907, Frank Caldwell teamed up with Eli Smith, an Alaskan mail carrier who mushed his dog team 8,000 miles from Nome to Washington, D.C., winning a $10,000.00 wager. Afterwards, Caldwell wrote and published "WOLF THE STORM LEADER," based on Eli Smith and his lead dog. Frank Caldwell died in El Dorado, Kansas, Oct. 6, 1938, at age 71.