Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame Established in 2008 - 501(c)(3) Nonprofit

Nomination Form 2018

Nominee’s Name: MaryLou King

Nominee’s Maiden Name: Neville

Nominee’s Address: 1700 Branta Lane, Juneau, AK 99801

Nominee’s Phone Number: 907-789-7540

Nominee’s-mail address: kingfarm@ptialaska.net

Nominee’s Date of Birth: 9/10/1929

Nominee’s Date of Death (if applicable):

During what years did nominee live in Alaska: 1958 to present

For what achievement/contributions is the nominee best known and

for which should she be recognized? Mary Lou King opened the
natural world of Juneau to countless generations of Juneauites and
tourists through her trails work and publications. She has also
continued the traditions of the Native people of Southeast Alaska,
and is helping to bridge between generations of Tlingit people. Mary
Lou is also a tireless conservationist whose advocacy made a
difference in the conservation of southeast Alaska and the nation.
Finally, she is an educator who led a program that has impacted
generations of Juneau students, and students and school systems
statewide. Mary Lou King is one of those rare individuals who have
the vision and clarity to know what is needed by a community and
the determination and energy to carry out her plan. Mary Lou’s
efforts established Sea Week in Juneau, supported it to becoming
the field experience for three generations of Juneau students in
every grade and classroom in the elementary schools, and guided
the expansion of Sea Week to statewide. She published the
definitive Juneau trail guide, created and brushed hiking trails and
established trails at beach access spots throughout the Borough.
She learned and then taught and then wrote about basketry and
Ravenstail Weaving. She led multiple Juneau conservation societies
and is often the first to notify people of a community concern that
needs attention.

Describe the nominee’s achievements which have had significant

impact in 1) Community and/or 2) Alaska and/or 3) National
1)Community and Regional Achievements For over fifty years, Mary
Lou King has followed her love of nature, education, and her
community to benefit those around her. a) Nature & Trails
Mary Lou’s lasting love for nature and, especially the nature of
southeast Alaska, provided her inspiration to make sure that nature
is accessible to all. Three of the trails Mary Lou designed and
brushed out with her family have been improved by those she
mentored, agencies, and are among the favorites of Juneau
residents used year round, every day, rain or shine or snow: the
Outer Point Trail on North Douglas Island, the Auke Lake Trail near
the University, and Kaxidigoowu Hee Dei, Mendenhall River trail
along the shore of the river through the beautiful rain forest. In her
efforts to provide access to Juneau’s out-of-doors to families in the
early 1980’s Mary Lou worked with the City Planning Department
and identified the public access points to beaches. She succeeded in
convincing the city to make the signs labeling these access points
and then she provided the labor to install the signs at the trailheads
and again brush the trails to the beaches so families could use
them. All done with her volunteer efforts. These signs and trails are
in popular use today. Signs were not enough to guide families to
the trails, so Mary Lou wrote a trail guide, 90 Short Walks Around
Juneau. First printed in 1987 in what looked like a school
mimeograph publication with a drawing of the Public Access sign on
the cover, she described the historical significance of the trail,
viewpoints, flowers, berries and other living things she enjoyed in a
folksy style that has proved very popular. She updates and revises
the book every few years and there are now close to 140 trails, but
the title stuck through the all revisions. The guide is now in its
fourth printing and has a more professional look with editing,
professional typeface and a cover photo provided by professional
photographer Mark Kelley. The book has reached the families of
Juneau and tourists. Hearthside Bookstore in Juneau reports that
they sell more copies of this book each year than any other single
book. Packets prepared by employers in town, including Juneau’s
Bartlett Hospital and the University of Alaska Southeast include 90
Short Walks Around Juneau. Mary Lou’s trail work and book have
changed the habits of the people of Juneau, dog walkers, kid
walkers, joggers, old people and families. Juneau is a healthier
community because of Mary Lou’s work and book. b)K-12 Education
As Mary Lou said in an interview with the Juneau Community
Foundation, “If you get children outside, to recognize and learn
about the environment and to appreciate it, that makes us all better
caretakers of the world we live in.” Mary Lou was a teacher by
profession when she came to Alaska during territorial days. When
she moved to Juneau she worked for the territory of Alaska’s
Department of Education serving rural students through their
correspondence program. Thus started her passion for bringing
locally relevant education to Alaskan students. As a parent
volunteer she provided field trips and enrichment, that she saw
Gifted and Talented students receiving, to ALL students in the
classroom, then came Sea Week.
In the early 1970’s parents in Juneau, valuing education about the
local marine environment, maritime industry and history and
culture, started a program called Sea Week. Mary Lou jumped
enthusiastically into this effort and it was not long before she was
leading it. Each winter she would consult tide books to determine
when the lowest tides would be during school hours, locate places
where classes could reach good beaches, coordinate with school bus
drivers to determine where they could turn around and safely
discharge their students, and find agency specialists that could lead
the field trips. By the late 1970’s instructional materials were
developed to help the teachers with instruction in the classroom
and in the field and by 1980, Sea Week was the only adopted and
mandated curriculum in Juneau School District’s elementary schools.
Every class at every school went on a spring field trip then and still
do to this day. Michael Kohan, Seafood Technical Director with
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, is an example of the lasting
effects that Sea Week has had on the life of Juneau students. She
states, “When talking about how I became a woman in seafood and
science, I refer to the unique opportunity growing up in Southeast
Alaska and being immersed in the hands-on education opportunities
like Sea Week. The value of the Sea Week program is not just an
education on the names of intertidal species, but it is an experience.
An experience that links kids to asking questions, learning,
exploring and eventually, like myself, following that intrigue to a
path in science. …. When talking about the connection people in
Alaska have to Alaska seafood, I reference Sea Week and the unique
experience elementary school kids have when growing up in
Southeast Alaska!” Her work in the schools did not end when her
children graduated or Sea Week became institutionalized. She
continued to volunteer in schools including mentoring “many, many
science fair projects.” c) Local History and Culture Mary Lou’s love
of history and Native culture resulted not only in learning difficult
techniques of basket making in cedar bark and spruce roots, but
also in Chilkat weaving techniques. She didn’t take short cuts. She
learned the correct season, soil condition and weather to go out and
‘harvest’ the spruce roots and then prepare them. She taught
novices how to harvest the spruce roots each year. Over the years
she taught classes in basketry and weaving. She used these skills to
contribute in many ways, after the discovery of a 700 year old
Tlingit fish trap in Juneau in 2006, she constructed a model of the
trap and donated it to the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. Today this
exhibit is one of the most popular hands-on exhibits in the museum
and teaches children and the public about all the ways a fish trap
can be made and how it catches fish. According to Kay Parker,
President, Ravenstail Weavers’ Guild, “Her support of the NW Coast
Arts has founded a NW Coast University Art endowment at UASE,
where Mary Lou continues to teach basketry and material
preparation. She publishes education material on several subjects,
like basketry and Ravenstail Weaving, such as the quarterly
“Ravens Tail” newsletter which is in its twenty-fifth year...” Her
interest in local history also includes industry and white settlement.
Jane Lindsey, Director of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum explains,
“Mary Lou King has supported the Juneau-Douglas City Museum’s
history and cultural interpretation for many years. As the author of
the 90 Short Walks, Treadwell Mine Historic Trail Guide, and co-
author of Last Chance Mining Museum & Historical Park, Mary Lou
has worked diligently to encourage historic trail exploration and
preservation. The Museum has carried these booklets in our
giftshop for many years and they are still popular with visitors. …
Mary Lou also has come to the Museum during summer hours and
demonstrated basketry making so visitors can see how they are
made and feel the materials. She has also donated a spruce root
decorated bottle to the Museum collection.” d) Conservation Her
love of the outdoors led Mary Lou through a long history of
advocacy for nature and health. In the early 1970’s she helped
instigate a movement to add separate bike paths to our roads in
Juneau. Those legacy bike paths were established then and have
been expanded since then. She was a founding member of the
Juneau Audubon Society in the 1970’s and has been a member of
the board almost continuously since then. In presenting the Great
Egret Award in 2012, the National Audubon Society noted that,
“Mary Lou King has served over the years as President, Newsletter
Chair, Education Chair, Conservation Chair … and berry picker/
Juneau Audubon jelly maker…” Also a founding member of the Taku
Conservation Society, she was a leader in protecting public access
to Juneau’s beaches as the town expanded. Her interests and
advocacy are still very much present in the community. She is
willing to write letters or comment on important issues that affect
us all. e) Publications Mary Lou understands the power of the pen
and now the digital word. She edited many newsletters in print form
and many of those have now become digital. Most of her
publications are listed above under her areas of contribution, but to
summarize here she was the editor and contributed articles for
decades to both the newsletter of the Juneau Audubon Society and
the Ravenstail Weavers’ Guild. She authored numerous pamphlets
for the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. She wrote 90 Short Walks
around Juneau. 2)Alaska Achievements Much of Mary Lou’s work
locally and regionally have impacted the state as well. Sea Week in
Juneau became the Alaska Sea and River Week program through the
support of the Alaska Sea Grant College Program at the University
of Alaska Fairbanks. The university took her successful program to
the state level. Her work is called out in the first edition of the
seven volume curriculum series, published in 1980 in recognition of
President Carter declaring 1980 as “The Year of the Coast.” It reads,
“Sea Week began in the early 1970’s in Juneau, Alaska. Under the
leadership of Mary Lou King, parents, teachers and agency
personnel started taking elementary school students down to the
sea every spring.” With Mary Lou’s consultation, the Sea Week
guides used in Juneau, were revised to be the Alaska Seas and
Rivers Week guides and saw two revisions of the print editions. The
statewide program has now gone digital and is now revising the
online program to support the national Next Generation Science
Standards and the Alaska Science Standards. All the revisions and
evolution of the program to this millennium have stayed true to
Mary Lou’s vision of education about the place where one lives, by
the people who also live and work in the environment. Her use of
informed parents leading classes on minus-tide walks, rainforest
walks and birds walks with lectures and lessons from US Coast
Guard safety personnel, Alaska Fish and Game Department wildlife
biologists, Fish and Wildlife biologists and NOAA University
oceanographers has remained the model.
Mary Lou’s conservation work has also impacted and been
recognized statewide. The Alaska Conservation Foundation sponsors
a Lifetime Achievement Award. The purpose of this statewide award
is, “To celebrate the accomplishments of remarkable individuals
who have made a difference by devoting significant parts of their
lives to protecting and enhancing Alaska’s natural greatness, and
thanks them for their tireless dedication and advocacy.” This is a
special recognition that has only been awarded in eight years since
the ACF award program began in 1985. Mary Lou, and her husband
Jim King, were jointly awarded this recognition in 2004 for their
contributions to the state of Alaska. Earlier statewide recognition
came from the Alaska Wildlife Federation and Sportsman’s Council,
it and other statewide awards from government and statewide
organizations are listed below under awards.
Mary Lou King has also been recognized twice for her help in
identifying and photographing two new species to the official Alaska
state checklist of birds. The species were the green-backed heron
(August 1983, #407) and the scissor-tailed flycatcher (July 2002,
#469). 3)National Achievements Mary Lou’s conservation work has
had national impact and recognition. In the 1970’s she worked with
the Taku Conservation Society and the Friends of Admiralty to
protect Admiralty Island. In the early years there was a plan that
would have resulted in a sale of timber of much of the island, which
is now a national treasure. Mary Lou joined the effort, wrote letters,
and campaigned for protection, relying on a scientific study about
the impact on the island’s wildlife. The campaign was successful
and the area was protected through the establishment of Admiralty
National Monument in 1978, and then in statute in 1980 in the
Alaska National Interest Lands Claims Act. The Forest Service now
manages the island, which hosts a mine, but also provides the
nation a special natural and cultural area for generations to come.
The National Audubon Society has the Great Egret Award to
recognize “individuals who have made significant long-term
contributions to Audubon and conservation in pursuit of the
Audubon mission.” In recognizing Mary Lou with this award in 2012,
the president of the National Audubon Society, David Yarnold,
noted, “… Mary Lou has contributed a tremendous amount of
volunteer work, as well as many donations of natural history books
… to school libraries. Mary Lou’s leadership, commitment, and
support of the environment in general and in particular as to the
Audubon cause, over the course of decades, has made a real
difference in so many ways.” What label/s best summarize the
nominee’s accomplishments/role (political activist, educator etc.)?
Nature lover, conservationist, educator, mentor, preserver of culture

Education and Training: Bachelors Degree in Secondary Education at

Northwest Missouri State College

Professional/Work History/Community Involvement: Mary Lou

taught high school for six years before moving to Juneau in 1958.
She worked in the Alaska Department of Education in curriculum for
Correspondence School for three years. She married in 1961 and
lived with her husband Jim in Interior Alaska, returning to Juneau in
1964.
Mary Lou approaches each endeavor in a professional manner, but
she gave her life to her community and causes. She volunteered for
just about all her work. She is listed in the Alaska Sea Grant
publications of Alaska Sea and River Week guides as a ‘consultant’
as she was relied on in the same manner as other paid consultants
were, but she refused to be paid. She often gives away her
publications. She is never proprietary about the materials she
developed. They are to enlighten and educate. In 1999 Mary Lou
and Jim King made a legacy contribution to their community by
leaving land from their homestead at the edge of the tide flats to
the Southeast Alaska Landtrust. The early model of Sea Week field
experiences included a strong volunteer component. She nurtured
and empowered many parents and other volunteers to give back
and valued their contributions. She sees the tremendous potential
for accomplishment that exists within the realm of volunteerism.
The section above on her achievements highlights her community
involvement as does the list of awards and honors below. Ever since
Mary Lou Neville arrived in Juneau in 1958, she has shared her love
of nature, education and conservation with the community she
made her home. Her volunteer hours add up to more that a full time
job and every person in Juneau has benefited from the volunteer
work of Mary Lou King. Her life is an example of community
involvement; community involvement has been her life for more
than sixty years. As Mary Lou said when she was working on a
project with Kay Parker, President of the Ravenstail Weaver’s Guild,
“It makes me feel good to make a contribution.”

Honors/Awards Received: “The Great Egret Award,” by the National

Audubon Society, 2012, “In recognition of generous contributions in
preserving the history of the Juneau-Douglas area,” by the
Gastineau Channel Historical Society, 2007, “Lifetime Achievement
Award, “ by the Alaska Conservation Foundation, 2004,
“Appreciation of preservation of the natural legacy of their special
place,” by Southeast Alaska Landtrust, 1999, “Volunteer Service
Recognition,” State of Alaska, Alaska State Museum, Governor Tony
Knowles, 1996, “Conservation Award for Exceptional Service,”
Chevron, 1989, “Citizen Participation Award in Recognition of
Service through Gold and Blue Ribbon Capital City Citizens
Committee,” City and Borough of Juneau, Mayor Fran Ulmer, 1985,
Juneau Community Education Volunteer Award of the Year, Juneau
School District, 1986, Governor’s Volunteer Award of the Year, State
of Alaska, Governor Bill Sheffield, 1986, “Special Commendation for
Valuable Public Service,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, United
States Department of Interior, Washington, DC, 1983, “Conservation
Educator of the Year Award,” Alaska Wildlife Federation and
Sportsman’s Council.

If the nominee has been a role model for other women, provide
specific examples of her influence: Mary Lou is a charismatic person
who can draw one into her projects with her enthusiasm. She drafts
someone, then mentors and teaches them and then they go on to
contribute and to leadership and then she works and helps the next
volunteer. Whether the project is fundraising by manufacturing
dozens of cedar bark animal ornaments, or producing local fruit jam
five batches at a time, or working with City Planning Department
staff, or lobbying the legislature, or advocating in Congress, she
commits herself wholly to the project she is involved in and is a role
model for all.
Mary Lou mentored a whole community to recognize the richness of
our intertidal and natural gifts. Adults who spent their youth in
Juneau often recall their Sea Week experiences a the highlights of
their educational experiences. Lissa Sturdevant, Clinical Nurse
Practioner in charge of implementing Clinical Trials at UCSF
hospital, describes how Sea Week was instrumental in her being a
scientist and a researcher. As Susan Baxter, retired teacher and
former Juneau Sea Week Coordinator said, “Single handedly, Mary
Lou raised Juneau consciousness to the magnificence and
uniqueness of our home. By developing the underlying structure of
the base curriculum, the rotating low tide beach use, the use of
professional agencies to support classroom and field experiences,
she brought environment to the forefront for every child.” On a
personal level, she also helped Susan, “When I took over the
coordination of Juneau’s Sea Week in 1981, Mary Lou never faltered
in her support and her willingness to step in where needed.” Hans
Chester, Tlingit Language & Culture Teacher in Juneau School
District remembers spending time out pulling spruce roots with her
and roasting and splitting the roots at Mary Lou’s home. He
describes her influence on him and his teaching, “Mary Lou is such a
kind and generous lady who is open to learning - perhaps one of the
reasons she was part of the group of Sea Week organizers. Growing
up with Sea Week as a part of our spring time learning was always
exciting for me because it mirrored my experiences outside of
school - we were always going to the beaches or along shorelines
for various reasons - food gathering, playing, picnics, etc. As an
elementary teacher this is a natural opportunity for me to integrate
Tlingit ecological knowledge and language along with the science
curriculum of Sea Week. We also try to go to the beach at different
times of the year to see similarities and differences. I am thankful
for the program, and humbled to know Mary Lou King.” Peggy
Cowan, once Alaska Sea Grant education specialist and long time
superintendent of Juneau School District and North Slope Borough
School District said this, “My first work in Alaska was learning from
Mary Lou about how to teach Alaskan students about the natural
and cultural world around them. I’ve applied what Mary Lou taught
me then in every job I’ve had since. The philosophy of education she
modeled in Sea Week in Juneau and the basic tenets of community
members' involvement in their students’ education have stayed
with me and been promoted by me in every position I’ve held. And
beyond my professional life, Mary Lou was simply a role model for
living and the kind of person to be for me when I started life in
Alaska. That will stay with me always.” As Kay Parker, head of
Ravenstail Weaver’s Guild explains, “Mary Lou has been a role
model for me ever since I met her 30 years ago. We were both part
of a small dedicated group of weavers that wove a Ravenstail Robe
for the Alaska State Museum in Juneau when Ravenstail weaving
was just beginning its resurgence. Her dedication to this art form
and to basketry are obvious to all that know her and always amazes
me. Not only in her practice of these art forms, but also in the joy
of teaching others and creating educational material that will help
beginners. Mary Lou has written a booklet that walks a beginner
through the process of weaving a cedar and spruce root basket. As
a charter member of the Ravenstail Weavers' Guild she was
instrumental in the writing of two booklets, the Ravenstail
Dictionary and Ravenstail Patterns and Projects, which are
invaluable to Ravenstail weavers as well as the publication of a
quarterly newsletter for the Ravenstail Weavers' Guild for the past
28 years. Mary Lou endless energy for weaving and the enjoyment
she gets from sharing the simple pleasure of weaving and her
knowledge of the sense of accomplishment, pride and value this
weaving can bring to a persons life are what inspire me to continue
teaching Ravenstail weaving.
Show up at Mary Lou's on weaving morning and you will be starting
a basket and having the time of your life!” I will end with myself. I
had the great fortune to be a president of Juneau Audubon Society
under Mary Lou’s tutelage. She mentored me and guided me, but
always inspired me to do the work.

Nomination Submitted by: Brenda Wright

Date: 1/16/2018

Your Affiliation/Association to Nominee: (i.e.) friend, colleague,

student, employee, relative, etc. member of the Juneau Audubon
Society board for 17 years, friend, jam/jelly maker, berry picker, and
enthusiastic listener.

Your Mailing Address: 17430 Andreanoff Way, Juneau, AK 99801

Your Telephone: Day 907-789-4656

Your Telephone: Evening 907-789-4656

Your E-mail address: bewright@gci.net

Your Title/Occupation: retired fish biologist/naturalist, assistant

curator

Please include citations of written sources of information about the

nominee you are aware of such as reference books, periodicals,
websites, etc. Interview by the Juneau Community Foundation:
http://juneaucf.org/index.php/king/, Biography at Hearthside
Bookstore: http://www.hearthsidebooks.com/localauthors/214320,
Biography on the Juneau-Douglas City Museum Website:
http://www.juneau.org/parkrec/museum/forms/GCM/readarticle.php?
UID=923&newxtkey=, Her publications are in booklet form and
range from trail hikes, historic walks, weaving, birds, and berries:
“90 Short Walks around Juneau”, “My Favorite Wild Southeast
Alaska Berries and Greens", “Illustrated Instructions for Twined
Spruce Root or Cedar Bark Basket and a Model Spruce Fish Trap”,
“Treadwell Mine Historic Trail, Juneau-Douglas Mining District,
Walking Tour map & Historic Guide”, text Mary Lou King,
“Perseverance Trail, Trail Guide”, coordinated by Mary Lou King and
Paul Emerson, “Birds in Alaska’s south coastal environment, A
workbook and Field Guide”, by James G. King and Mary Lou King.
Eagle Beach State recreation Area brochure (editor and contributor)
Outer Point Trail

Please supply names and contact information of others whom

AKWHOF could interview should the nominee be selected. Peggy
Cowan, cell phone, (907)419-8450, peggycowan@mac.com, Susan
Baxter Susanmbaxter@gmail.com, Kay Parker kfparker@gci.net