Alaskans will gather Nov. 12 at the Captain Cook Hotel at 3 p.m. to share stories and remember the life of the late Vic Fischer. The event will be available online for those who can’t make it in person, said Jane Angvik, his widow.

At the family’s request, Gov. Mike Dunleavy held off on ordering that state flags be lowered in honor of Fischer, who played a major role in helping create the State of Alaska. The plan may change, but right now the idea is to lower the flags on Nov. 12-13.

The photo above, taken by my daughter Aileen, requires some explanation.

“How many Alaskans do you need to help change Vic Fischer’s flat tire?” she wrote on Facebook four years ago. “Just ask John McKay, Dermot Cole, Gunnar Knapp and Charles Wohlforth.”

Gunnar said he was extremely honored to be in the photo. “However, as will surprise no one who knows me, I contributed absolutely nothing to the changing of the tire.”

You’ll note that Charles is handling the lug nuts, while the helpful lawyer and the reporter are standing by with the economist, contributing good advice.

Beyond the camera’s range there were others who “helped,” namely Michael Carey and Terrence Cole.

The flat tire conference on April 29, 2019 followed a gathering at the University of Alaska Anchorage Bookstore to mark the publication of “The Big Wild Soul of Terrence Cole,” a book honoring my brother’s work. Carey served as referee during our presentation as Terrence and I talked about politics, newspapers and Alaska history.

Vic was a great supporter of my brother’s and we were thrilled to have him in attendance that day and enjoyed his participation in the Q&A. We were not thrilled to discover his flat tire in the UAA parking lot after the event, but the weather was nice and the company was good, while Charles worked.

My brother had become good friends with Vic while working on the “Creating Alaska” series, a project Terrence had dreamed up to preserve the stories of those who helped make Alaska the 49th state.

The University of Alaska—thanks to Mark Hamilton, Karen Perdue, Brian Rogers and others—supported the effort more than 20 years ago to compile and document the origins of the state, preserving the voices of those who led the way, while there was still time.

My brother did extensive interviews with all the key people who were still alive, including Jack Coghill, Vic, George Rogers, Jay Hammond, Wally Hickel, Tom Stewart, George Sundborg, Katie Hurley and Maynard Longborg.

With Vic’s passing at 99, the key players are all gone now, though we are left with a priceless record that will allow future generations to hear directly from those who helped create the state.

Helping write the Alaska Constitution was “a highlight of my life,” Vic told Terrence. He said nothing in his decades of public involvement could come close.

“In the Constitutional Convention those who had been in the legislature took off their hats, their legislative hats, they became different people. They became part of a group rather than factions. When the republic was formed you know there was real concern about factions and fractions and parties and so on. Well that has become part of our existence that we have parties, we have factions and they’re at each other and they are trying to get ahead of the other side. In the Constitutional Convention you are not trying to get ahead of anybody. You’re not trying to – you’re not thinking for the next election. You’re just creating something in common,” Fischer said.

RIP Vic Fischer