Haunted Lineage note: While local legend suggests a man died shoveling snow, legal and historical records confirm a different tragedy. On May 5, 1980, Jack Roy Atwater, a partner in the family business that owned the complex, was on the roof to replace shingles—not shovel snow. The building had recently been moved to within ten feet of a 7,200-volt power line, creating a hidden hazard. While working, Jack contacted the live wire and an EMT dining nearby was forced to use a wooden garden rake to pry Jack’s hand from the high-voltage current.
Contrary to the “instant death” myth often found in ghost stories, Jack survived the initial shock but succumbed to his injuries in the hospital several days later. The “Jack” of the Birchwood Saloon is firmly rooted in this documented 1980 accident. Over the decades, the specific details of the building’s relocation and the roof maintenance evolved into the “snow shoveling” folklore seen in paranormal databases today.
Legal case (primary evidence)
Alaska Supreme Court opinion (full text):
Atwater v. Matanuska Elec. Ass’n, Inc., 727 P.2d 774 (Alaska 1986)
https://law.justia.com/cases/alaska/supreme-court/1986/s-890-1.html
Plain‑language case brief / summary (same case, secondary but useful):
https://www.studicata.com/summaries/supreme-court-of-alaska/atwater-v-matanuska-electric-association-inc-1986-59z14m/
Public record / burial evidence
Valley Memorial Park Cemetery transcription (lists “Jack Roy Atwater – 1954 – 13 May 1980”):
https://akgenweb.whalen-family.org/AKMatanuska/records/cemvalleymemorial.html
Alternate Valley Memorial Park burial index (variant transcription as “Atwood, Jack Roy – 5/13/1980,” same cemetery):
http://www.usgwtombstones.org/alaska/buttecemetery.html
