More History

Background information: Secretary of State Seward bought Alaska from Russia in 1867, 50 years before Dad was born. It became a state when Dad was 42.

"I am 86 years old. I was once a member of the legislature of the state of Alaska."
(note--Dad has never lived outside of Texas)

"When America finally made Alaska a state, I got elected as Governor. That was true of me."

"I was a member of the House of Romanov. I was one of the last of the Romanovs. That's what I did."

"I learned to speak English back then, but I spoke with an English accent. In Russia, they teach you to speak English at an early age so you won't have a Russian accent. That is true of me."

"I was glad to be a member of the state of Alaska. Alaska was too far away for the Emperor to rule from Moscow. So he sold it to the United States. That's what we did."

"The Czar sold Alaska to America. Now it is the biggest state, bigger than Texas."

"When Alaska was sold to the US, I became an American citizen. That is true of me."

"After I became a US citizen, I was elected to the legislature of the state of Alaska. Then I was elected governor. That was true me."

This went on for about 2 hours. When my husband was putting Dad to bed, he asked Dad what his last name was. Dad answered correctly, thought a minute, then told my husband, "You must be the member of the House of Romanov."

Five minutes later, Dad forgot this conversation and went back to being the last of the Romanovs.