Some people say crude oil is the most important substance in Alaska's history.
Perhaps so, but me, I say it's canned milk, and the story is downright romantic. Long before the oil pipeline snaked across the state, folks were flying cases of milk into remote places like Shaktooiik and Point Hope. When yearly supplies dwindled, delivered yearly by the good ship North Star by way of the Bering Sea, the bush pilot came to the rescue. He could fly anything anywhere, although it might take a few days till the weather cleared. Of course, powdered milk was an easier product to deal with than canned, although even today oldtimers wince, recalling what a horrible concoction it was before World War II helped develop an improved beverage for the civilian consumer's table.