If you don’t know the name Bob DeArmond, you don’t know Juneau history.
DeArmond was one of the founders of the Gastineau Channel Historical Society and wrote prolifically about local history. Now, his son William has released a revised and updated version of one of Bob’s most popular books, “Southeast Alaska Names on the Chart and How They Got There,” sometimes called “Names on the Chart.”
“When he did the original, he didn’t have access to the Internet, and I was able to clarify and fix up obscure spellings of English estates and Army and Navy people of the 18th century,” William said by phone.
The updated version was released in September and is the third release of “Names on the Chart” since it was originally published in 1989.
Intended to be kept in a backpack or a boat’s pilothouse, it remains the definitive explanation for names like Point Retreat and Meyers Chuck.
De Armond (William spells his last name with a space, though his father did not) said the newest version includes new additions urged by readers and some corrections to fix errors in previous editions. This edition is the first to provide the history behind all of Southeast Alaska’s manned lighthouses, he said by example.
The book used to be a best-seller in the gift shops aboard ferries, and it remains popular at local bookstores. In Juneau, Hearthside Books carries it. In Sitka, it’s Old Harbor Books. In Ketchikan, Parnassus Books ordered 250 copies, De Armond said.
Updating the book took about two years and involved many historical society members, he said. Because the printing plates of the original versions were lost, the book had to be reproduced by scanning old printed copies, then editing and rewriting the result. Some of the illustrations from the 27-year-old original were recovered in the same way and reprinted.
De Armond isn’t stopping with “Names on the Chart,” either. His current project involves updating his father’s work from the 1950s, “Some Names Around Juneau.”
That work will be serialized in the next three issues of the historical society’s newsletter before becoming more widely available.
To learn more about the historical society or to become a member, visit the Juneau-Douglas City Museum and pick up a brochure.
* Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct full names of the books referenced: “Southeast Alaska Names on the Chart and How They Got There,” not “Names on the Coast,” and “Some Names Around Juneau,” not “Names Around Juneau.” Also, William De Armond spells his name with a space and lives in Juneau, not Ketchikan.
