For a blast from the past I thought I'd share these photos that I scanned as slides for Wayne Biessel the ranger for Kodiak State Parks - including Abercrombie. It seems we've come a long way from just the late 1970's. Back in the day people lived out at Abercrombie and it was a rocking party spot.
This was true of many of the old WWII structures everywhere around town. During the king crab days housing was short so people lived where they could. Bunkers were a great place to fix up as an apartment - usually a bunch of guys would share space and cooking duties. I gather it was not until the late 1970s possibly early 1980s that the Coast Guard kicked everybody out of the old elephant bunkers in Swampy Acres. Today they are all locked up tight.
Abercrombie was no different. Somebody probably lived in that bus. People camped out there and then commuted to town to work in the canneries.
Abercrombie was also quite the party spot. Legend has it that each senoir class tried to fill a particular bunker with beer cans. To this day, some of those former Kodiak High senoirs are still proud of how much their class filled the bunker up.
Today Abercrombie is a much tidier place. The trails are maintained and people visit daily to walk their dogs and commune with nature. Only the ranger and his family live there year round. In the summer people picnic and swim in the lake. While occasionally a few wild-eyed 'senoirs' still do make their presence known, the park is a tranquil place. It has come a long way in 25 years. Patrick
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