On this day in 1913, Alaskan missionary Hudson Stuck lead the first successful ascent of Mt. McKinley, the highest peak on the American continent (20,320 feet). The first person to actually set foot on McKinley’s south peak was Walter Harper, one of Stuck’s three companions on the climb. A national park was established at Mount McKinley in 1917 and expanded in 1980. It was renamed Denali National Park and Preserve, and covers 6 million acres, an area larger than Massachusetts.
Ree Nancarrow of Denali Park, Alaska, made this quilt, titled “Arctic Lava” in 1994. It is part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress “Quilts and Quiltmaking in American: 1978-1996” exhibit. It was winner in the Lands’ End All-American Quilt Contest.
View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view.
Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-successful-ascent-of-mt-mckinley
Posted by Amy E. Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org