The story of E. Lyman Graves: a dispassionate exploration of a hard luck Harry who also happened to be my grandpa

Gwen S. (Wendy) Uzzell
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:46:12 PDT

This story follows the life of E. Lyman Graves for a quarter of a century and connects his personal story to social change during that time. At the very beginning of the 1930's LymanGraves had a pioneering vision and he yearned to seek his personal fate in the frontier of the Territory of Alaska. This time period reflects the pressures on Lyman related to The Great Depression, World War II, and federal influence in the economics of individuals in the Territory of Alaska. Lyman wrote a two page timeline as a retrospective of his life around 1955, titled "Twenty-five Years of Progress", and defined his efforts as "success" or "failure." Through the use of family story, personal, historical and public document research, this work is an exploration of Lyman's challenges. Authorial reflection as Lyman's granddaughter reveals understanding that is acquired through this process. Through the use of Lyman's personal story the reader will have a new understanding of how an individual is influenced not just by their own decisions, but also by events outside of their ability to control.