For years the sign mounted next to the S.S. Nenana in Pioneer Park displayed the wrong name until the Friends of S.S. Nenana contacted the maker of the sign, Hardluck Studios Custom Signs & Design, to correct it.
The S.S. Nenana is literally the “Last Lady of the River,” who plied the Tanana and Yukon Rivers. At one period in Alaskan history, over 300 flat-bottomed sternwheelers were navigating on the Yukon River and its tributaries. Only one remains in Alaska, the Steamer Nenana.
The wooden-hulled, western river-style steam sternwheel passenger/cargo boat Nenana is the only large wooden-hulled sternwheeler not only left in Alaska but left in the U.S. She is a living museum of history that must be preserved for perpetuity.
The Friends of S.S. Nenana are honored to have been able to pay to have the sign changed to reflect the correct name and importance of this National Historic Landmark. The Friends of SS Nenana are dedicated to restoring and preserving the S.S. Nenana.
Thank you to Hardluck Studios Custom Signs & Design for doing such a beautiful job and Pioneer Park manager Lee Williams for assisting us in removing and remounting the sign.
The Friends of S.S. Nenana Inc. is a non-profit organization whose fiscal sponsor is the North Star Community Foundation. Donations can be made online to support the restoration of the S.S. Nenana at
https://www.nscfundalaska.org/
Checks can be mailed to Friends of SS Nenana P.O. Box 72876 Fairbanks, 99707
Website: https://friendsofssnenana.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/friendsofssnenana
