Tjernagel, Clarence J.

At the age of 19, Clarence J. Tjernagel became the first teacher to conduct formal public school classes in Marys Igloo (also known as Igloo) opening a school in 1906. He also taught in Teller, was a miner, did construction work and managed one of the Lomen Bros. stores. Tjernagel stayed in this region until around 1909 and came back to the Aleutians during World War II as a freight handler for the U.S. Army. His uncle, H.M. Tjernagel, was a pastor and missionary at the Lutheran Mission in Mary's Igloo from about 1900 to 1913. Clarence Tjernagel died at age 92 in Mt. Vernon, WA. Mary's Igloo was a mining camp on the Seward Peninsula, 40 miles southeast of Teller and 80 miles north of Nome. First settled in 1899, it served as a distribution point for goods going to the gold fields in the Kougarok (or Kugruk) Mining District.

From the description of Clarence J. Tjernagel photograph collection [graphic], 1906-1909. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 56553825

First teacher to conduct formal public school classes at Marys Igloo on the Seward Peninsula, 1906-1907; he also taught at Teller, 1908-1909.

From the description of Journal and collected manuscripts of Clarence J. Tjernagel, 1906-1969. (Alaska State Library). WorldCat record id: 42928661