Taylor, Chester O.

These photos were taken by Chester O. Taylor, divisional commander (executive officer) of the Salvation Army work in Alaska from 1945-1947. He was the first U.S. Salvation Army officer to command the operations in Alaska, since heretofore they had been managed by the Canadian office of this organization. When Taylor was appointed to this position in Alaska, he was delighted, since he had lived and worked there both before and immediately after his marriage to Grace Atkins. The Taylor and Atkins families were both from Bellingham, Washington. Chester Taylor's brother was attorney Warren Taylor, who served ten terms in the Alaska Territorial/State Legislature and had made his permanent home in Alaska since he was a young adult. When first sent to Alaska, the Taylors lived in Wrangell, which had been the Salvation Army headquarters, but they soon moved their office to Juneau and established their home there. They also bought a boat they christened "William Booth", which they used to visit the small villages where their operations were located.