Bill Overstreet

In 1942, at the age of 17, he quit school, enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was ordered to serve on the USS Portland, where he was involved in the Aleutian Islands Campaign, going ashore at Adak, and the Battle of the Pips.

[1] While working as a history teacher in Colorado, Overstreet was urged by his sister and a cousin who lived in Juneau to come teach in Alaska.

While taking a sabbatical to advance his own education, Overstreet received his master's degree from the University of Washington.

He managed to do so by switching Alaska from four time zones to one and modernizing the city with the construction of a Centennial Hall and a ski course.

He also participated in two major debates against Bill Atwood, a proud supporter for the moving of the capital, one of which was before the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce.