1955-1956 Roland Stock

1955-1956 Roland Stock

Anchorage

Roland Henry “Dick” Stock was born in Warren, Michigan, on January 7, 1889, the son of John and Julia Brinker Stock. He graduated as a civil engineer from the University of Michigan in 1913, taught at the local high school in Michigan City for a year until joining the U.S. Interior Department Reclamation Service in Montana.

In Montana he met and married Nellie Ruth Magnusen on September 6, 1916. Their first child, Dorothy, was born in 1917 shortly before Roland reported for duty as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Building bridges, roads and housing in France were all part of his wartime and post wartime assignments. He resigned from service in 1922 and formed his first construction company shortly after.

A second daughter, Marguerite Louise, was born in October 1921 while Roland and Nellie were housed at Schofield Barracks on Oahu, Hawaiian Islands with the Corps of Engineers.

A third child, Roland David Stock, was born August 11, 1925 in Aberdeen, Washington while Roland was a superintendent on various construction jobs in the area.

Coming from the West Coast the spring of 1929, the Stocks’ first Alaskan venture was a 5 ½ mile road and bridge job on Afognak Island and the Kenai River Bridge and a mile of road. Throughout the 30’s most of his work was in southeast Alaska (Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, Skagway, even Hoonah). R.H. Stock’s first acquaintance with Anchorage and the Matanuska Valley was as low bidder in 1938 to pave the main street of Anchorage with concrete and asphalt. It will be remembered by many Pioneers that from A to L on Fourth Avenue was the only paved street in Anchorage until the late 1940’s.

In 1939 Stock was elected National Executive Committeeman of The American Legion, representing Alaska with the National Organization. This was in the days before air travel, making trips to Washington D.C. meetings a lengthy undertaking. He was proud to take a small part in the formulation of an American Legion resolution that became the forerunner of the G.I. Bill of Rights. He served as national Executive Committeeman until 1948 when he resigned to run for Delegate to Congress on the Republican ticket.

When the military moved into Alaska in 1940, housing conditions were primitive at best. Tents, mud, mosquitoes, snow and cold made life miserable and there were no place for families of servicemen. A group of Army officers and NCO’s asked assistance of Roland Stock in securing adequate housing for military families. Stock was able to build a modern addition of 50 homes near Denali School and 9th Avenue to fill the need. The addition remains today near the downtown area.

In 1948 Stock organized the Alaska Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America and served two years as the organization’s first president.

In the early 1950’s Territorial Governor Frank Heinzelman appointed R. H. Stock to the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska. During those years, securing funding for adequate housing for students was Stock’s particular goal.

During the early years in Alaska, Nell lived in many primitive surrounds, on construction jobs, in rooming houses and cabins with no amenities. When the children reached school age, the family lived part of the time in Seattle with many Alaskan intervals. The Stocks purchased the Andresen home at 1006 G Street and lived there a number of years. The home is on the corner just south of what is now the Delaney Park Strip but at that time was more or less on the edge of town.

Nell and Roland retired to Laguna Beach, California and later Leisure World at Laguna Hills. They continued to make frequent trips to Alaska, traveling all over the world as well. Roland Henry Stock passed away on December 1, 1976 at the age 86 and Nellie Ruth Magnusen Stock in 1991 at age 98.
Roland Henry “Dick” Stock 1955-1956

Roland Henry “Dick” Stock was born in Warren, Michigan, on January 7, 1889, the son of John and Julia Brinker Stock. He graduated as a civil engineer from the University of Michigan in 1913, taught at the local high school in Michigan City for a year until joining the U.S. Interior Department Reclamation Service in Montana.

In Montana he met and married Nellie Ruth Magnusen on September 6, 1916. Their first child, Dorothy, was born in 1917 shortly before Roland reported for duty as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Building bridges, roads and housing in France were all part of his wartime and post wartime assignments. He resigned from service in 1922 and formed his first construction company shortly after.

A second daughter, Marguerite Louise, was born in October 1921 while Roland and Nellie were housed at Schofield Barracks on Oahu, Hawaiian Islands with the Corps of Engineers.

A third child, Roland David Stock, was born August 11, 1925 in Aberdeen, Washington while Roland was a superintendent on various construction jobs in the area.

Coming from the West Coast the spring of 1929, the Stocks’ first Alaskan venture was a 5 ½ mile road and bridge job on Afognak Island and the Kenai River Bridge and a mile of road. Throughout the 30’s most of his work was in southeast Alaska (Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, Skagway, even Hoonah). R.H. Stock’s first acquaintance with Anchorage and the Matanuska Valley was as low bidder in 1938 to pave the main street of Anchorage with concrete and asphalt. It will be remembered by many Pioneers that from A to L on Fourth Avenue was the only paved street in Anchorage until the late 1940’s.

In 1939 Stock was elected National Executive Committeeman of The American Legion, representing Alaska with the National Organization. This was in the days before air travel, making trips to Washington D.C. meetings a lengthy undertaking. He was proud to take a small part in the formulation of an American Legion resolution that became the forerunner of the G.I. Bill of Rights. He served as national Executive Committeeman until 1948 when he resigned to run for Delegate to Congress on the Republican ticket.

When the military moved into Alaska in 194?, housing conditions were primitive at best. Tents, mud, mosquitoes, snow and cold made life miserable and there were no place for families of servicemen. A group of Army officers and NCO’s asked assistance of Roland Stock in securing adequate housing for military families. Stock was able to build a modern addition of 50 homes near Denali School and 9th Avenue to fill the need. The addition remains today near the downtown area.

In 1948 Stock organized the Alaska Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America and served two years as the organization’s first president.

In the early 1950’s Territorial Governor Frank Heinzelman appointed R. H. Stock to the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska. During those years, securing funding for adequate housing for students was Stock’s particular goal.

During the early years in Alaska, Nell lived in many primitive surrounds, on construction jobs, in rooming houses and cabins with no amenities. When the children reached school age, the family lived part of the time in Seattle with many Alaskan intervals. The Stocks purchased the Andresen home at 1006 G Street and lived there a number of years. The home is on the corner just south of what is now the Delaney Park Strip but at that time was more or less on the edge of town.

Nell and Roland retired to Laguna Beach, California and later Leisure World at Laguna Hills. They continued to make frequent trips to Alaska, traveling all over the world as well. Roland Henry Stock passed away on December 1, 1976 at the age 86 and Nellie Ruth Magnusen Stock in 1991 at age 98.