Hank Nuwer Alaska Yarns
My Travel Blog
By Alaska’s Columnist of the Year
Welcome. Enjoy the official story clearinghouse of Alaska author Hank Nuwer with photos by Malgorzata (Gosia) Nuwer. Scroll down to very bottom of this main page for archived stories.
Bio: University of Alaska (Fairbanks) adjunct professor Hank Nuwer
Awards: 2025 Hoosier State Press Association first-place winner for commentary, 2023 and 2024 Alaska Press Club (APC) First-Place Columnist of the Year, and 2022 Ohio SPJ First-Place Columnist of the Year.
Gosia Nuwer photographs Alaska and its wildlife. She and Hank reside in Fairbanks, Alaska, with 20 acres in remote Alaska, and a vacation cabin in Poland.
Gosia and her husband in 2025 contributed an article on Alaska back-road trips for Phi Kappa Phi’s Forum Magazine.
Contact Prof. Hank Nuwer at Hjnuwer@Alaska.edu
Know someone who has fought hazing in student groups, the military or sports? Nominate him/her/them here for a Hank Nuwer Antihazing Hero Award at Hazing Prevention Network.
Hazing Culture podcast
HANK NUWER & HAZING CULTURE Writer and author of several books including Hazing: Destroying Young Lives, Hank Nuwer, discusses the various forms that hazing can take, why he started tracking data of deaths and injuries, a history of tragic incidents, the functions...
You think Frank Lloyd Wright started out like this?
By Hank Nuwer Whether by blood or by marriage, I have been cursed all my life with family that make nice things with no effort. I, on the other hand, grew up artistically challenged. I became aware of this deficiency in the second grade. One summer I labored in...
Take me for a ride in your car-car
By Hank Nuwer My wife Gosia’s dream to ride at top speed in a stockcar will come true next month. That’s her birthday gift from me. 10 years ago, I seized my own stockcar opportunity on the Lucas track in Clermont, Ind. “Dear Hank. Congratulations. Drivetech...
Putting on a poopy face at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park in Cross Creek, Fla.
By Hank Nuwer “You sure put on a poopy face when something doesn’t go your way,” my wife Gosia said to me. I walked with dejection beside her as we headed toward the parking lot of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park in Cross Creek, Fla. “It’s not a poopy...
The agony of loss: Out-of-control wildfires
By Hank Nuwer In May of 1972 in Northern New Mexico, I earned my fire-fighter card from the Forest Service. The training at Hermit’s Peak mountain was unpaid. The fire fighters worked us trainees hard. I was in good condition, easily completing all tests. I recall the...
An Icy Reception in Fairbanks
I enjoyed Scott Shaffer’s “A Look Back” article last week as he recalled the Randolph County (Indiana) severe blizzard of Jan. 17, 1978. He highlighted the unselfish determination of Union City’s fire chief and crew who partnered with local snowmobilers to haul grub...
Ohio’s recalled license plate
If you watch The Simpsons, you know Homer Simpson’s shout after a flub-beyond-repair is “D’oh.” Well, no doubt you heard that the new Ohio state license plate crashed and burned upon liftoff. True, the new plate was gorgeous, depicting a nice sunny background and an...
Who was worthless as gum on a boot?
By Hank Nuwer Fred Brown fought the law. Guess who won? Today’s story starts in 1887. Richard (Dick) Beers, 14, was known in Greenville for juggling balls with the skill of a circus performer. Dick was worthless as gum on a boot heel. He had a mouth as foul as his...
The Tragic Columbus, Ohio Penitentiary Fire: 322 dead after a candle ignites rags
By Hank Nuwer The Greenville Democrat said James J. (J.J.) Webster looked too dignified to be a criminal. “Rather did he appear as a bank clerk,” the paper said. Tall and dark, Webster wore spectacles and a brown business suit at his trial. The prosecution named him...