In Alaskan towns there are the usual facilities for recreation found in cities in the States; movies, bars, soda fountains, restaurants, pool halls and bowling alleys, and the like. There are a few public libraries and some excellent museums. Even in remote settlements, movies are usually shown once or twice a week.

But Alaska’s best recreation is found in the talk of Alaskans and the out-of-doors. When these can be combined, as on a hunting or fishing trip with one of the Territory’s registered professional guides, there is no better fun anywhere. Alaskans are renowned as tellers of tall tales at the expense of the chechako (tenderfoot).

Don’t accuse an Alaskan of exaggerating when he talks fishing and hunting, however. The size and gaminess of the fish, the variety of sport available to huntsmen, surpass the yarns of the most venerable member of the Liar’s Bench.

Game animals include the numerous caribou, the wild mountain sheep and goat, the giant Alaskan moose, the black, brown, and grizzly bear, the fierce Kodiak meat-eating bear, the gentle Sitka deer. Game birds include a great variety and abundance of duck, geese, and grouse. Among the game fish are huge trout and salmon.

Hunting with the camera instead of the gun is growing in popularity. Alaska offers a magnificent field for photographers and artists.

From EM 20: What Has Alaska to Offer Postwar Pioneers? (1944)