Parallel Destinies by Judy Ferguson

Parallel Destinies is the North's history in a microcosm. By portraying John and Rika, key figures of early Alaska, the North's development may be more clearly understood. Through one hundred, beautifully-rendered, archival photographs, and the appealing lay-out of the well-researched text, the story is easy reading. Rika's Roadhouse, a lodge built at Big Delta in 1914, was the hub of civilization between Fairbanks and the Canadian border between 1904 and 1942. John Hajdukovich, a Yugoslavian, and the builder of Rika's, was the law, a trader and the life support system to the Natives of the Upper Tanana River. Hajdukovich was the force behind the Tetlin Reserve and was also at that time the Interior's most competent big game guide. Sparking the Interior's infrastructure, and numerous businesses, Hajdukovich was a father of today's Tanana River Valley economy.