Celia M. Hunter (1919-2001) committed her life to exploring and protecting Alaska’s rugged wilderness and helped double the size of the American National Park System in the process.
Celia M. Hunter (1919-2001) committed her life to exploring and protecting Alaska’s rugged wilderness and helped double the size of the American National Park System in the process.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, and Ale Tejeda. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
We are offering free ad space on Wonder Media Network shows to organizations working towards social justice. For more information, please email Jenny at pod@wondermedianetwork.com.
Follow Wonder Media Network:
To take the Womanica listener survey, please visit: https://wondermedianetwork.com/survey
Hi! I’m Emily Rudder. I’m one of the editors behind Womanica and the Managing Producer of another Wonder Media Network show called As She Rises. As She Rises is about personalizing the elusive magnitude of climate change through the power of poetry and the stories of climate activists. The second season is out now.
Today I’m so excited to guest this Womanica episode about another Eco Warrior. This month we’re highlighting women fighting for conservation and ecological justice.
Today’s eco warrior committed her life to exploring and protecting Alaska’s rugged wilderness. She helped double the size of the American National Park System in the process.
Let’s talk about Celia M. Hunter.
Celia was born January 13, 1919 in Arlington, Washington. She grew up in a small logging community with modest Quaker values.
But Celia craved adventure. She had a deep admiration for Amelia Earhart, who inspired her to become a pilot — an unconventional role for women at the time. She had her first flight lesson the week she turned 21. Her start to flying was a bit bumpy – she took off under another plane, and nearly died – but Celia was determined. She continued to hone her flying skills, and when World War II arrived, she joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots.
Still, Celia’s travels were limited. She flew newly-constructed planes to shipping ports and training centers, but women were restricted from deliveries anywhere further north than Great Falls, Montana.
Celia wanted to see the untouched Alaskan wilderness so many of her male colleagues spoke about. So she and her good friend, Ginny Wood, planned a trip of their own to Fairbanks, Alaska.
They left from Seattle in a plane they called “Li’l Igloo” due to its lack of heat. When they arrived in Fairbanks 27 days later, they were greeted by temperatures 50 degrees below zero.
The freezing temperatures didn’t scare Celia and Ginny off. They stayed in Alaska for the summer, working as flight attendants for the territory’s first tourist trips to remote places like Kotzebue and Nome.
After that, Celia and Ginny traveled the world. They spent a semester in Sweden, biked around Europe, and hitchhiked across the Atlantic Ocean on a tanker. But beautiful Alaska kept calling them back.
Inspired by the European hut system – which strikes a middle ground between camping and staying in a hotel – and their own work as flight attendants, Celia and Ginny decided to open a tourism business.
Camp Denali opened in 1952 on the then-western border of Denali National Park. Essentially a homestead, the cabins didn’t have electricity or running water, and they were only accessible by small plane or a single, winding road. But the guests weren’t there for luxury – they flocked to Camp Denali for its immersive atmosphere and stunning views.
It became one of the United State’s first ecotourism destinations.
Celia soon met the naturalists Olaus and Mardy Murie, who we talked about earlier this week. Olaus and Mardy had been traveling across the foothills of the Brooks mountain range in Alaska. Inspired by their trip, they wanted to officially protect the territory’s expansive wilderness. So in 1956, Olaus proposed the Arctic National Wildlife Range.
Legislators and conservationists from across the United States were in favor of preserving the area. Alaska’s own officials were not. So in 1960, just a year after Alaska officially gained statehood, Celia formed the Alaskan Conservation Society.
She later said, “Okay, if you don’t want to listen to people from Outside, you better listen to us.”
Celia’s efforts paid off. That same year, in 1960, President Eisenhower created the Wildlife Range. And Celia was reborn as a fierce conservationist.
Celia and the Alaskan Conservation Society, or ACS, fought against a number of invasive proposals. These included a plan to dam the Yukon River – which would have flooded Native villages – and the use of a nuclear bomb to carve a harbor out of the Arctic coast. According to Celia, Alaska avoided what would have been a Chernobyl-level catastrophe.
The ACS went on for 20 years, fighting more dams, removing bounties on wolves, and building walking trails and establishing open spaces across Alaska.
In 1969, Celia was offered a position on the Governing Council of the Wilderness Society. She went on to serve as president and executive director, making her the first woman to head a national environmental organization.
While at the Wilderness Society, Celia helped create the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. It created 10 new national parks and expanded three others. The National Park System doubled in size.
That same year, Celia helped start the Alaska Conservation Foundation, which put funding and manpower behind local environmental efforts. By the late 1990s, they were raising about $4 million a year.
Celia’s commitment to conservation earned her multiple prestigious awards. In 1991, she received the Sierra Club’s highest honor, the John Muir Award. In 1999, she received the Wilderness Society’s highest honor, the Robert Marshall Award. In 2001, the Alaska Conservation Foundation presented both Celia and Ginny with their first ever Lifetime Achievement Award.
Celia fought to protect Alaska’s landscape until the very end of her life. She passed away December 1, 2001 at the age of 82.
Just the night before, she was writing letters to legislators, urging them to vote against proposed oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!