The Beatles in Alaska

The Beatles were not able to make it to Japan on  June 27, 1966.    According to a ground service agent at the Anchorage International Airport, the Beatles' plane was scheduled to land in Anchorage, Alaska at 1:45 p.m. for their plane to refuel.      It wasn't a hurricane named Kit that stopped their plane from continuing, but a problem with the plane's hydraulics system.    It wasn't a difficult repair, but the Beatles' plane couldn't take off again because it would have landed in Japan after the country's curfew.     And so Brian Epstein had to figure out what to do while the Beatles sat on their plane for a few hours.

By that time, radio stations in Anchorage started to announce that the Beatles were at the airport.   So by the time the Beatles' emerged, fans were at the airport ready to see them get on a chartered  bus.

A huge amount of fans started to follow the bus to the Anchorage Westward Hotel, where they would spend the rest of their time.    The guys were a little ticked off and very bored.    They ordered in hamburgers and  George goofed off with a Polaroid camera.

Meanwhile up to 500 fans were outside of the hotel singing "We love you Beatles" and other songs.  Some tried to get very creative in their ways to get the Beatles' attention.

Because it was during the time when it remains daylight for 24 hours in Alaska, the girls did not leave and the curfew was not strongly enforced because the fans weren't doing any damage.

Face to Face with John Lennon -- an e-book review

The e-book that I am reviewing this evening is called Face to Face with John Lennon by Mary Jane Dougherty.    First of all, calling it a "book" isn't accurate.   It is more like an article.   It is only 13 pages long, and I read it in less than 15 minutes.

Just because it is very short doesn't mean that it isn't worth your time. This is the story of Mary, who, in 1966, was a huge Beatles fan living in Anchorage, Alaska. John Lennon was her favorite Beatle, and she never thought she would get the chance to see him in person—that is, until June 28, 1966.

On that date, the Beatles were supposed to fly to Japan for their concerts in Tokyo.   They were scheduled to stop over in Anchorage to refuel, but something went wrong.  Either it had to do with a storm named Kit in the Pacific, or something on their airplane needed to be fixed.  Either way, the Beatles and their crew were not going to be able to leave Alaska until the next day. So they moved into the  Anchorage Westward Hotel for the next nine hours.

Some pretty bored Beatles wait in the hotel room with Brian

That is where Mary's story picks up. Her sister hears about the Beatles being in town and informs her Beatle-crazed sister.  Mary goes to the hotel and, along with 500 fans, stares up at the top floor in shock that the Beatles were up there!

When it is time for the Beatles to leave and get back on their airplane, Mary gets an idea and ends up next to the Beatles' bus, seeing John Lennon (and the others). I won't say the exact details of how this happens because you really need to read the story for yourself.    

However, the one thing that stood out about her story that I never thought about was that in late June in Alaska, they experience the summer solstice, where it is daylight for almost 24 hours.  So when the Beatles were leaving for the airport after midnight, it was still light outside, and tons of fans were still mulling around. Typically, the fans thinned out by that time of night, but it didn't FEEL like night, so they stuck around.   

the guys on that bus that Mary saw them on in Alaska.  Photo by Robert Whitaker 

"Face to Face with John Lennon" is available as an e-book only, and it costs 99 cents on Amazon.    

  The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon, where you can purchase this book.  I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

https://amzn.to/49Z1S3q