Lydia Fohn-Hansen: The Midwesterner Who Brought Home Economics to Alaska

Lydia Fohn-Hansen, a Home Economics Teacher from the Midwest, became Alaska’s first recipient of the USDA’s Superior Service Award in 1957.  Fohn-Hansen’s early career prepared her for her time in Alaska. She reflected, “A teacher in a small college must be versatile and adaptable, and it seemed to me that everything I had ever learned came in handy.”

Fohn-Hansen received a Bachelor of Science in 1919 and a Master’s in Home Economics in 1922.  She taught college level Home Economics courses for three years at Iowa State. 

In 1925, Charles Bunnell, President of Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines, queried Iowa State if they had any Home Economics teachers willing to come to Alaska. Fohn-Hansen answered the call. After a quick, informal interview with Bunnell, Fohn-Hansen received the position.

During her tenure in Alaska, Fohn-Hansen not only taught college classes, but was also director for the Extension Service, helping improve nutrition for Alaskans throughout the territory. Fohn-Hansen noted, “My work takes me to all parts of Alaska not too inaccessible, and I travel mainly by boat. However sometimes I travel by train, auto, or airplane.” 

Fohn-Hansen observed during her travels that, “The greatest need of the largest number of homemakers seems to lie in the realm of food management. We spent five million dollars a year for food that could be produced in Alaska – meat, dairy products, potatoes, vegetables, eggs.” Increasing Alaskan self-sufficiency in food production became a mission for her.

In addition to nutrition, Fohn-Hansen also attempted to find ways to help homemakers earn money. She observed, “The use of leisure time is a problem of some importance up here. Homes are small; home production of food is limited to a short season; jobs outside the home are limited and community activities are not well organized. The average housewife has, therefore, considerable time which may be wasted on worthless reading and extensive social entertaining, or it may be used to convert available materials into objects which will add to the comforts and attractions of the home.” 

Fohn-Hansen had learned to weave from her Norwegian mother on the family loom growing up and she taught weaving to countless homemakers around Alaska, many of whom were able to sell the rugs they made for additional income for their families.

Fohn Hansen benefited the Matanuska Colonists with her expertise in 1935 (the Matanuska Colony Project was an FDR “New Deal” project that brought up 202 families from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan and resettled them in what became Palmer, Alaska). Ironically a Midwesterner, Fohn-Hansen would be teaching Midwestern Matanuska Colonists how to become self-sufficient Alaskans. 

The Matanuska Valley Pioneer reported, “The yarn arrived during her absence, Mrs. Fohn-Hansen reports, and all interested in knitting are asked to drop in at her tent.” 

Colonists had a ready resource of knowledge with Fohn Hansen as one Matanuska Colonist from Wisconsin, Maragaret Miller, remembered: 

“Mrs. Lydia Fohn-Hansen, home economic agent from the University of Alaska, taught classes in cooking, crafts, food processing, and home decorating. I’d seen a good many home economics teachers that I thought were fine, but I never came into contact with anyone of Fohn-Hansen’s ability before. She could do anything, everything that could possibly be filed under the heading of home economics and do it efficiently, and all of her ideas were so practical. She even helped us with leather work, such as purses and gloves, to sell for tourist trade, so we could have a little extra money.”

“Mrs. Fohn-Hansen assisted in organizing a home-makers group, and she was instrumental in opening a tourist shop in the community center selling handicrafts. Her expertise extended to all aspects of home economics and even into landscaping and farm management. When wives were feeling despondent over the house plans forced on colonists by the Corporation, she sketched out suggested changes and encouraged experimentation with design variations. She helped can salmon and berries, put out a home-makers bulletin periodically, and was generally there during a period when everyone needed help and encouragement.”

When reflecting on Fohn-Hansen’s work it is easy to see how she received the USDA’s highest award. Fohn-Hansen improved nutrition and markets for Alaskan homemakers and lent a big hand in helping the Matanuska Colonists get on their feet during their first year in Alaska in 1935.

Further Reading:

Lydia Fohn-Hansen, “Such Is Life in the Arctic! A Home Economists Work in Alaska,” The Iowa Homemaker, 01/01/1933, 1; 8.

“Mrs. Fohn-Hansen Returns from Homer,” Matanuska Valley Pioneer 10/03/1935, p.5

Ray Bonnell, A Creek, a Hill & a Forty The Early Years of Alaska’s Matanuska Colony, Seen Through A Colonist’s Letters Home – Margaret Miller’s Story (Fairbanks: Pingo Press, 2024), 68.

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