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Alaska: Treasured Pieces from the Last Frontier

america 250 podcast Jul 31, 2025

Have you ever wondered if the family traditions you treasure most might have stories you've never heard? What if something as simple as Sunday morning pancakes carried within it a connection to gold rush miners, missionaries, and moments that shaped your family's journey in ways you never imagined?

That's exactly what happened when my neighbor Jay Marquiss sat down for breakfast at a Southern Utah ranch house and discovered that his cherished sourdough starter wasn't just a family recipe. It was a 130-year-old living piece of history that had been waiting decades to reveal its secrets.

A Breakfast That Changed Everything

"They got it from me."

Four simple words that completely transformed how Jay understood his family's Sunday morning tradition. Picture this: Jay's up early at the Hale family ranch house in southern Utah, mixing his famous sourdough pancakes like he's done for decades. Pat Bryan, a former missionary and family friend, wanders into the kitchen and asks about the starter. When Jay mentions he got it from his parents, Pat drops a bombshell that connects their families across time, geography, and the most unlikely circumstances.

"I was literally blown away that this connection had happened from back in 1959 when he was first there."

The Whole Story

🎧 Listen to Jay's full story about his Alaskan heritage and the incredible sourdough discovery:

Prefer audio only? Click here to listen on your favorite podcast app.

🌟 In this episode, you'll discover:

How Jay's third-generation Alaskan family ended up in Utah (spoiler: it involved a wife who experienced one Alaskan winter)
The serendipitous meeting that revealed a 130-year connection hiding in plain sight
Why Jay's sourdough starter has a "genealogy" that traces back to (at least) 1897 gold miners
How this discovery transformed a simple family tradition into something much more meaningful
The beautiful way Jay now shares this legacy with young missionaries and his own grandchildren
Stories of true Alaskan adventure, including getting stranded on a mountain after shooting a moose

The Power of One Story

There's something magical about discovering that what you thought was just a family recipe is actually a living piece of history. Jay's sourdough starter has been passed down through gold miners who treasured it like gold itself, missionaries who carried it thousands of miles, and families who've kept it alive through decades of Sunday mornings.

But here's what moves me most about Jay's story: once he learned the history, he didn't just keep it to himself. He began sharing it (along with the starter and the story) with young missionaries, creating new traditions that honor both past and present. Those sister missionaries now carry pieces of Alaska's gold rush era into their own families, complete with the story of how it all connects. (And after this interview, so do I.) 😁

"It's sweet to me that that tradition is kind of carrying on with somebody that's not even a family member."

Your Story

Think about the traditions in your family that seem simple on the surface. That recipe card covered in flour stains. The Christmas ornament that's been repaired too many times to count. The watch or piece of jewelry that gets passed down. What stories might be hiding in plain sight, waiting for the right conversation to reveal their deeper significance?

Story Seeds 🌱

Plant these conversation starters and watch your family stories grow.

For Grandparents: What family recipes or traditions did you learn from your parents? Do you know how they originally came to our family?
For Parents/Older Relatives: Are there any family traditions we still follow that you remember doing as a child? What do you remember about how those traditions started?
For Extended Family: Have you ever had a moment where you discovered an unexpected connection to someone from your past? What was that experience like?
For Anyone: What's something you do regularly (cooking, hobbies, routines) that connects you to your childhood or your family's history?

Story Sparks 🔑

Unlock your family's hidden stories with these research techniques.

Document Family Recipes with Stories: Don't just save the recipe. Record details. Who taught it to you? When do you make it? Are there any family memories associated with it? Add the story to the profile of the person who originated the tradition.
Research Historical Context: If your family has traditions or items from specific time periods (like Jay's 1897 gold rush connection), research what was happening in that location during that era. Just hearing Jay’s story sent me down a rabbit hole of research into “Alaska Sourdoughs.”
Interview Extended Networks: Don't limit family history conversations to blood relatives. Like Jay's connection through the Hale family, some of your most meaningful family stories might come through friends, neighbors, or community connections who shared experiences with your ancestors. Then, use Ancestry Pro Tools to put the people (and the stories!) into a Network in your tree.

Jay's story reminds us that our most precious family treasures aren't always stored in attics or displayed on mantels. Sometimes they're living, breathing parts of our daily routines. Sourdough starters that need daily feeding, traditions that require weekly participation, stories that grow richer each time they're shared.

The next time you're following a family tradition, ask yourself: What story might be hiding here, waiting for the right moment to reveal itself?

Ready to discover more unexpected family connections like Jay's? Subscribe to Stories That Live In Us wherever you get your podcasts. And if this episode inspired you to look deeper into your own family traditions, please leave us a rating and review—it helps other story seekers find us.