Meet Mike and Mary Jane: Preserving Anchorage Memories

Meet the authors of this Anchorage Memories website, Mike and Mary Jane Dougherty—two longtime Anchorage kids turned storytellers who built the site from lived experience, not secondhand research.

This Anchorage Memories page shows why Mike and Mary Jane ring true for longtime locals: they grew up here, remember the same places, and built the site from memories they actually lived.

The stories here back that up with specifics, from school days and family life to the 1964 earthquake and Mike’s early TV work.

This is where the site’s stories connect to the people behind them.

If this page brings back a memory of your own, you can share your Anchorage memory with Mike and Mary Jane directly.

Meet Mike and Mary Jane:
The Story Behind Anchorage Memories

If you grew up in Anchorage in the 1950s, 60s, or 70s, you already know how fast a place can change—and how powerful it is to find someone else who remembers the same streets, schools, and stores.

That's why we created Anchorage Memories: a home for stories, photos, and videos about growing up in Anchorage, Alaska.

We're Mike and Mary Jane, and we grew up here.

Anchorage isn't just a topic we're curious about—it's the place that raised us. 

Anchorage Memories is where we collect, share, and preserve the moments that locals and former locals still carry with them, whether you live in town today or you've been away for a long time.

Our Anchorage Story
(and why this site exists)

Like a lot of people connected to Anchorage, we know that the smallest details bring it all back: a landmark on 4th Avenue, a familiar local restaurant, or the before-and-after of events like the 1964 earthquake that changed our town forever.

Over time, we realized those memories don't just belong in our heads—they belong in a place where other people can find them, add to them, and feel that same spark of memory.

Anchorage Memories began as a way to share what we remember and what we have saved.

It grew into something better: a community of people who send us notes like “I thought I was the only one who remembered that,” and “You brought back a part of my life I hadn't thought of in years.”

That's the best part of this website—watching one person's photo or story unlock someone else's memories.

What You'll Find on Anchorage Memories

This site is built for people who remember Anchorage—and for anyone who wants to understand it better. Here you'll find it:

Stories about growing up in Anchorage (especially from the 1950s through the 1970s)

Photos, and videos of local places, everyday life, and big changes (like the 1964 earthquake)

Reader memories and contributions (some funny, some moving, some surprisingly detailed)

Posts that connect personal stories to the places and events that shaped our town.

Occasional special projects and collections that pull the best memories into one place.

Why People Trust What We Share

This site is personal for us, but we also take it seriously.

We write and publish carefully, we value accuracy, and we care about honoring people's memories—not polishing them into something they are not.

A few things visitors often mention after spending time here:

— The details feel real, because they are—this is a lived connection to Anchorage.

— The stories sound human, not like a brochure.

— The community aspect matters: people recognize their own experiences in someone else's words.

(If you've left us a note or message over the years—thank you. Those messages are a big part of why we keep going.)

Mary Jane and our Children,
Nikki and Chris,
Enjoying Winter in Spenard

Mike and Mary Jane both went to school in Anchorage, enjoyed movies at the 4th Avenue Theater, listened to “The Coke Show” (Mike worked on it with Ron Moore), and enjoyed burgers at the Arctic Roadrunner. Plus, both Mike and Mary Jane are 1964 Good Friday earthquake survivors.

Mike Behind the Camera
at KTVA Channel 11
in the McKinley Building
in Downtown Anchorage, 1965

Mike's career in television and motion picture production all began when he became an intern working on Anchorage's teen TV dance program, The Varsity Show, on KTVA channel 11.

If you'd like a fuller version of Mike's Anchorage journey, take a look at his story from childhood to a career in television.

Mary Jane, Nikki, and Chris
Enjoying Cook Inlet

Join the Anchorage Memories Club
(two free editions every month)

If you'd like the easiest way to keep up with new stories, we invite you to join the Anchorage Memories Club.

When you join, you'll receive two free editions each month that you can:

— Read, at your own pace

— Listen to, with Mike and Mary Jane narrating the stories

It's a simple way to stay connected to Anchorage—whether you're nearby, or you're remembering it from far away.