On tonight’s episode of The Last Alaskans, the late Bob Harte is remembered in a poignant way by his ex-wife Nancy, plus his adorable granddaughter Carmella, and his daughter Talicia.
Together they visit his trapping cabin where he spent many years with his dogs and watching and observing from a special chair he made.
Nancy takes us on an emotional recollection as she talks about Bob and how their lives were touched, the memories of the remote cabin strong as photos of Talicia are seen decorating the walls. Talicia brings her baby Carmella inside with her mom to see the remnants of a past life of her father who came to Alaska in the 1970s.
A posted notice shown in our exclusive clip reads. “This cabin is permitted for year-round use to Robert Harte and his family by the US Fish and Wildlife Service artic National Wildlife Refuge”
“Oh! Your mama used to sleep right over here. All looks pretty much the same. I think he kept it that way,” recalls Nancy who seems at peace with Bob’s passing from cancer.
She adds, “Oh my goodness oh my goodness…lots of memories… there’s their school table right there, an eating table. Yeah oh…okay… oh there’s a chair Bob made…right here by the window. Bob [was] just sitting right here looking out, going to all the time so you can see what’s up in the dog yard and see if something’s coming.”
The camera pans through the small space as we see evidence of Bob’s personal effects, including where he hung meat from the rafters and even where he hung out his socks to dry after a wash.
Nancy says, “This cabin for Bob was home. It’s where he came to many many years ago before I even met him.”
“He established his home here [and] he loved it here,” Nancy says. “He and his dogs were here… he’s a part of this whole area. It’s not an ownership ‘his,’ [but] he’s a part of it [and] he’s just a living entity with the land, with everything here. So it was his life. It was his joy, his delight and where he found peace and happiness was [right] here… it was Bob.”
Originally from New Jersey, Bob Harte died in the summer of 2017 up in Fairbanks, Alaska. Harte, who had cancer, was just 66. The last episode has dealt with his passing and has been an emotional rollercoaster for fans and his old friend Heimo Korth who trapped with Bob in the 1970s.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce Bob Harte has passed away,” Discovery said in a press statement. “He was a beloved member of the Discovery family, and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”
In a previous episode, Heimo Korth previously shared his recollections of his time with Bob in their youth.
“March of 1976 that’s when I first met Bob,” Korth recalled. “And Bob came in a couple of days… after I got into town there were seven of us trappers there, and we all loved hunting and trapping and so we had that in common…and what Bob is the first to go from him, you know, the first to die.”
“Now that Bob’s passed on and there’s not gonna be a pilot flying up here and say, ‘no no I saw Bob’s down there or I saw his plane there… it’s, you know, kind of a void down, there… [it’s] pretty sad.”
The Last Alaskans airs on Sundays at 10/9c on the Discovery Channel. Watch live or catch up on the Discovery Go app.
The Last Alaskans is so compelling for me to watch. I was also sad to hear that Bob Harte passed away at the young age of 60 some years. It’s so uplifting to hear about a man who was so in love living the life he so embraced! Many fond memories of him will live forever.