A grouping of materials collected by Captain Kenneth M. Dodson (1907-1999), an American who visited Pitcairn Island aboard the military supply ship Cape Flattery in 1942 and later corresponded with several residents of the island. Dodson was the author of the bestselling novel Away All Boats (Little, Brown, 1954), which was based on his experiences in World War II in the Pacific and was made into a film in 1956. According to Dodson's account, the Cape Flattery anchored off Pitcairn on August 28, 1942, and unloaded donations of "staple foods (sugar, flour, canned milk for the young children), also kerosene for their lamps, nails, rope, and some ten thousand board feet of lumber I had saved for them from the dunnage securing the ammunition we unloaded at Numea, New Caledonia." He was given lunch at the home of Mrs. Stella Young. He evidently remembered her fondly, and in 1955 he initiated a correspondence with her and her family that would last for at least the next two years. The archive includes 15 letters (most with original stamped envelopes; c. 7500 words in all) written to Dodson and his wife by Young or her family members, in which they discuss the pleasures and drawbacks of their isolated lives, fishing methods and equipment, a visit from National Geographic photographer and diver Luis Marden, and the rescue of a castaway from a neighboring island, among other subjects. One letter addresses the location of artifacts from the Bounty: "The Bounty's rudder is now in the Fiji museum, but I can tell you we folks got a good slice of it before we let the thing go…I have a nice slip of the rudder here somewhere too, also a piece of the copper. Our home we are living in is part of Thursdays Octobers Christians home and there are several Bounty copper nails in yet…..I guess you have heard that the Bounty Bible was returned again after being in America for all these years. It now stands in our new church building….I think there is the Bounty's anvil and forge in America some where, the people gave to Capt Johnson for his kindness to us." The archive also includes 31negatives of b/w photographs taken by Dodson on Pitcairn or the Cape Flattery in 1942, 17 of which are accompanied by recent 4 x 6 prints. They include several shots of island residents salvaging timber and other supplies brought by the visitors; buildings on the island; sailors on board the ship, and what appear to be relics from the Bounty. Also included are two letters to Dodson from other Americans who were friendly with Pitcairn Islander, photographs sent to Dodson by the Young/Clark family; and miscellaneous ephemera, postcards, and other souvenir items. Taken together, this collection documents an unusual and poignant friendship forged from a single day's visit in 1942 and provides much interesting detail of life on this remote and storied island. Complete inventory available upon request. (Item #18168)