Morning for Sokroshera Chapter Twenty-One: Addendum

By Timothy Smith, 2020

Morning for Sokroshera Chapter 21

Tim’s novel of Russian America (Kodiak Island area)

Click the Logo Above To Return to the Chapters Page

To Find Out More About Tanignak.com, Click HERE

To Visit My “About Me” Page, Click HERE

To Return to Tanignak “Home,” Click the Logo Below:

Guide to the Novel’s People and Places, Real and Imaginary

A Few of the Fictional Places:

Unuaq Ingriq (pronounced OOH – noo – ack  IN – grick) — “Morning Mountain” or “Mountain of the Morning” in Afognak Alutiiq (Sugpiak), the original name of Sokroshera Island.

Sokroshera Island, (pronounced soak – row – SHARE – uh) — A fictional island with pieces borrowed from Woody and Long Islands near Kodiak, and Spruce Island. The island is roughly three miles long and a mile and a half wide. Sokroshera derives from the combination of the Russian words for “treasure” and “cave,” as explained in chapter one. The original name of the island is the Sugpiak words for “morning mountain” or “mountain of the morning,” as explained in the first and last chapters.

Pacific Endeavor Seafoods — an entirely fictional cannery, part owned by investors in Louisiana. It is partly upgraded for salmon canning using the original 1915 Marmot Bay Fisheries Corp. herring plant, but is in shutdown mode when the story begins. It is a blend of the Ouzinkie Packing Co. cannery and the Alaska Packers Assoc. cannery in Larsen Bay, with bits and pieces of other old canneries around Kodiak Island. “Pacific Endeavor” refers to the fact that two former soldiers from Fort Sheplen returned to run a peaceful business on the island. This cannery occupies the northeastern half of the cove.

Fort Rufus Cullen Sheplen — a fort on the north two-thirds of the island that was partially completed during World War II and abandoned before war’s end. The various features of this fort are major parts of the plot, including several underground facilities, a ‘jeep trail’ road system, and various abandoned buildings. It has all the best features of Fort Smith and Fort Tidball, real World War II coastal battery facilities built near Kodiak.

A Few of the Fictional Characters:

Evgeni Teplov (pronounced ev – GAY – nee   TEP – lawv) — The leader of a rebellion in Russian America in the late 1830’s, with Unuaq Ingriq Island as its headquarters.

Stepan Selivanov (pronounced step – ON   sell – ee – VON – off) — Teplov’s right hand man, Alaska-born, half Native, trained as a stonemason, who wants desperately to impress his boss. The ancestor of the current Selivanoff family in the village.

The Monk, Father Zakhar (pronounced ZAK – ahr) — Sent to the island by the Russian Orthodox Church with a shipment of church treasures to start a church and Native training center on Unuaq Ingriq Island as a way to continue Father Herman’s work after his death.

Owen Faltrip (pronounced FALL – trip) — a New Jersey native with a German name who was stationed at the fort during World War II, but subsequently came back to the island in the early 1950’s to help run the cannery. He is part owner in Pacific Endeavor Seafoods, and has a personal connection to the village. The local kids call Mr. Faltrip “Fat Lip” behind his back, and see him as a grouchy old man.

Laura and Will Rezoff (pronounced REE – soff) — A young couple that are the only full-time employees of the shut-down Pacific Endeavor Seafoods in Sokroshera Cove. Laura runs the post office and store, and Will is the head machinist, who also keeps the electricity and the water working for the village.

Jeffrey Hansen — A Bureau of Indian Affairs schoolteacher who has developed a drinking problem after the death of his wife, Jeffrey Hansen leaves Arizona to take a job as the only schoolteacher in Sokroshera Cove Grade School, bringing his young son with him.

Judson Jeffrey Hansen — The main character of the novel is the twelve-year old son of the schoolteacher, a very observant and inquisitive young 7th grader who takes on the nickname “Jay-Jay” given him by a local resident in Sokroshera Cove. His dad most often calls him “Jud.” His thoughts, expressed as complete sentences instead of just impressions (for the readers’ benefit), serve as important narration for the story.

Serafina Ann Lindseth  — Serafina is called “Sandy Ann” after a beach incident when she was a young child. She is a talkative and occasionally disruptive, yet easily embarrassed 6th grader who agrees to show young Judson Hansen around town and in the process becomes his first friend in the village. She names him “Jay-Jay” and tends to give other people nicknames as well.

Herman Rezoff — 6th grade son of Laura and Will Rezoff. He is quiet, sometimes moody, but knows a lot about local history, especially about Fort Sheplen, and becomes one of Judson’s closest friends.

Brother Toma (Thomas McCraith) — A former drifter who converted to Christianity through the ministry of Father John and the Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco (which are both real). Brother Toma comes to Sokroshera Cove on a mission from his Bishop to look for evidence of the missing Monk from the 1830’s.

Chapter

Twenty-One:

Guide to the Novel’s People and Places, Real and Imaginary

Download Chapter Twenty-One: Appendix  in .PDF Format