Discoveries by Nellie E. Robertson Author's Note

This novel weaves a fictional story around many of the events I experienced or witnessed in Dillingham, Alaska from April 1978 through May 1982. The descriptions and explanations of the town and its inhabitants are my perception during those years. Some of the occurrences have been telescoped to make a better story.

Although the characters are figments of my imagination, some are based on actual persons still living in Dillingham.

I went back to bush Alaska in 2003 to revisit those places I had come to know after an absence of 21 years. The dock and cold storage mentioned in the story are now gone, the number of roads has increased a great deal and many have been blacktopped. The gravel runway at the airport has given way to a cement one and there are more airlines serving the area.

The number of fishing boats resting from the fishing season has at least trebled although the salmon runs decreased over the years.

The main character is not the author but there’s a lot of me in her. I’ll leave it to the reader to determine what traits and feelings to ascribe to the fictional protagonish or the real person.

Nellie E. Robertson