The End of The Road

Episode 2


Climbing The Cold Mountain Path: In Conversation With Tom Kizzia, Part Two

November 12, 2021

In this episode, Tom Kizzia takes us into the 1983 shootings in McCarthy that killed six of the town’s 22 residents. He focuses on Amy Ashenden, a lesser known victim of the shootings. We continue our conversation with author, Tom Kizzia, discussing his new book titled, Cold Mountain Path: The Ghost Town Decades of McCarthy-Kennecott, Alaska. In his book, Tom preserves the  “Lost Years” of 1938-1983, and creates an opportunity to talk about these stories and how they impact the community. In our interview with Tom about his book, two themes emerged: how we approach and process the past (Part One), and in this episode we tie it together with reflections from Tom on Amy Ashenden’s life journey and her discoveries of impermanence.

Photo: Jeremy Pataky

In this Episode

  • Tom Kizzia: Discusses Amy Ashendens life journey, and tells us about the early days of the Wrangell Mountains Center.

  • Jon Erdman: Interviewer, Producer, and Wrangell Mountains Center Executive Director

  • Michelle McAfee: Co-host, script writer, audio editor/engineer

  • Peter Bradley: audio editor

  • Erin McKinstry: logistical support, coordination

  • David Jacobs-Strain: Audio Mastering

 

Tom Kizzia Podcast Preview

 

Special thanks to the Alaska State Council on the Arts for their generous grant, making Season Two of this podcast possible!

Get your copy of

Cold Mountain Path: The Ghost Town Decades of McCarthy-Kennecott, Alaska (2021)

Published by Porphyry Press located in McCarthy, AK

Tom reporting for the Anchorage Daily News, 1983

Tom on the Kennecott mill building

Music Attribution

Nothing Like Home by Philip Peter Dudley Panton (PRS)
https://www.neosounds.com/royalty-free-music/styles/folk License:https://www.nothinglikehome_#License_85339-MTR-128114

Over The Barren Plains by Eric Haddad (BMI)
https://www.neosounds.com/royalty-free-music/styles/folk
License: http://OverTheBarrenPlains_License_85347-MTR-128129.pdf

Highway Man by Jeremy Sherman (PRS)
https://www.neosounds.com/royalty-free-music/styles/folk
License: http://HighwayMan_License_85344-MTR-128125.pdf

Wind In The Rushes by Jeremy Sherman (PRS)
https://www.neosounds.com/royalty-free-music/styles/folk
License: http://WindInTheRushes_License_85342-MTR-128117.pdf