The 1937 explosion is the second deadliest mining disaster in Alaska history, and 20 years later another explosion at the Jonesville Mine northeast of Palmer killed five workers.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: In the first three parts of this story, William Dempsey, who confessed to killing two Alaskans in 1919, escaped from prison in Washington in 1940, alarming the Alaskan who had convicted and sentenced him to death. Part Four describes Dempsey’s first murder and the ways in which he later attempted to change his version of events.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: In the first three parts of this story, William Dempsey, who confessed to killing two Alaskans in 1919, escaped from prison in Washington in 1940, alarming the Alaskan who had convicted and sentenced him to death. Part Four describes Dempsey’s first murder and the ways in which he later attempted to change his version of events.