Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
These scenes at the Nakat Packing Corporation A&P [Alaska and Pacific] Waterfall Cannery in southeast Alaska were filmed between 1937 and 1945. A boat called “Superior” approaches the cannery, men push fish onto a conveyor, men and women work inside the cannery, cans are filled and stacked and placed into steamers, men move cans and load boxes onto a ship for transport to the Lower 48 United States. Filmmaker Eigil Buschmann (1886-1963) was a prominent figure in the salmon cannery industry in southeast Alaska during the early 20th century. His father Peter Thams Buschmann (1849-1903) founded the town of Petersburg, Alaska, in the late 1890s after immigrating to the area from Norway. According to a January 1955 article in “Pacific Fisherman,” Eigil was general superintendent of Nakat Packing Corporation from the time of the company’s formation in 1922 until his retirement in 1954. Per the film's donor, Eigil purchased his first movie camera in about 1923 and began filming scenes of the fishing industry, particularly at Hidden Inlet, Union Bay and Waterfall, all within about 60 miles of Ketchikan, Alaska (Color/B&W/Silent/16mm film).
These clips are from AAF-23385 of the Eigil Buschmann Collection held by the Alaska Film Archives, a unit of the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives Department in the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The Alaska Film Archives appreciates your support. Your donation in any amount will help us continue important preservation work. Please visit the “About” section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help today. Thank you! For more information please contact the Alaska Film Archives.
These scenes at the Nakat Packing Corporation A&P [Alaska and Pacific] Waterfall Cannery in southeast Alaska were filmed between 1937 and 1945. A boat called “Superior” approaches the cannery, men push fish onto a conveyor, men and women work inside the cannery, cans are filled and stacked and placed into steamers, men move cans and load boxes onto a ship for transport to the Lower 48 United States. Filmmaker Eigil Buschmann (1886-1963) was a prominent figure in the salmon cannery industry in southeast Alaska during the early 20th century. His father Peter Thams Buschmann (1849-1903) founded the town of Petersburg, Alaska, in the late 1890s after immigrating to the area from Norway. According to a January 1955 article in “Pacific Fisherman,” Eigil was general superintendent of Nakat Packing Corporation from the time of the company’s formation in 1922 until his retirement in 1954. Per the film's donor, Eigil purchased his first movie camera in about 1923 and began filming scenes of the fishing industry, particularly at Hidden Inlet, Union Bay and Waterfall, all within about 60 miles of Ketchikan, Alaska (Color/B&W/Silent/16mm film).
These clips are from AAF-23385 of the Eigil Buschmann Collection held by the Alaska Film Archives, a unit of the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives Department in the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The Alaska Film Archives appreciates your support. Your donation in any amount will help us continue important preservation work. Please visit the “About” section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help today. Thank you! For more information please contact the Alaska Film Archives.
