Isadore "Ike" Bayles

Isadore "Ike" Bayles (February 20, 1876 - May 31, 1956) was an Alaskan businessman and considered one of the founding fathers of Anchorage.

Early life

Isadore Bayles was born in Libau, Courland (Latvia) in 1876. He was the youngest of six children born to the Rabbi Ephraim Bayles & Ete Rashe Friedman and the brother of Sam Bayles. Isadore lived with his family in Kovno, Lithuania until he left for America in 1891 at the age of 15.

The Klondike gold rush

Ike Bayles ended up in the Pacific Northwest, possibly because his older brother Sam, who he had not seen since they were in Lithuania, was living in Spokane. In the 1890's Ike was living in Victoria, British Columbia & possibly Seattle. In the summer of 1897, word reached Seattle about gold being discovered in the Klondike River in the Yukon territory of Canada. This lead to the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-98. Being very business savvy, Ike decided to travel to the Yukon and set up a business selling supplies to miners. In 1898, Ike left for the Klondike. He travelled by boat up the coast of British Columbia arriving in Skagway. From there, he travelled the Chilkoot Trail to Carcross, where he almost died from pneumonia. After resting in Carcross, Ike continued north until he reached Dawson City in the spring of 1899. Ike set up his business in Dawson City selling supplies to the more than 40,000 people that had now reached the area. In 1905, after 6 years of business, Ike decided to move to Fairbanks, Alaska.

Life in Alaska

Ike Bayles arrived in Fairbanks in 1905 to follow another gold rush that had broken out a few years earlier. He set up a clothing business there. In 1909, the Jewish residents of Fairbanks organized themselves into a congregation. They chose the name "Chevra Bikur Cholim, which means "society for visiting the sick." Chevra Bikur Cholim was active in philanthropic works as well as planning Jewish fesitivals and ceremonies. Ike Bayless was elected President of Chevra Bikur Cholim in 1909.

After becoming President, Ike travelled to New York City to purchase a complete set of books, as well as the Sefar Torah, so the congregation could properly conduct the Jewish services. While in New York, Ike met and married a 17 year old Russian Jew named Beatrice Swartz. Ike then returned to Fairbanks where he awaited the shipment of books which arrived in September of 1909. On September 12, 1909, the Jewish community of Fairbanks held a celebration at Eagle Hall to welcome the Sefar Torah and the rest of the books that had arrived from New York.

In 1910, another gold rush started in Iditarod. Ike Bayles left Fairbanks to follow the 10,000 miners in what would be the last great gold rush. Ike met up with his brother, Sam Bayles (who had also followed the gold rush to Nome, Alaska in 1900) and they opened the Bayles Clothing Company with locations in Iditarod and Discovery, Alaska. In Iditarod, Ike was Chairman of the Fire Committee, City Councilman, a member of the Street Committee and the Law & Order Committee. Ike was also a marshal at the first annual Iditarod Sweepstakes Race on January 11, 1911. It was around this time that Beatrice, Ike's wife, gave birth to their first daughter Edith. In 1912, Ike left Iditarod and possibly went back to Fairbanks. He then traveled to Illinois for a short time where his second daughter Dorothy was born in 1912 or 1913.

Businesses in Anchorage

Ike traveled back to Alaska in 1914 and ended up at Ship Creek Landing, which would later become Anchorage. The Alaska Railroad had just been established and the area of Ship Creek Landing was designated at it's headquarters. At this time, Ship Creek Landing was just a tent city. The population quickly grew to over 2,000 people & Ike saw more potential for business opportunities. On June 5, 1915, Ike published his first newspaper in Alaska called the "Cook Inlet Pioneer". A month later, the first sale of town lots took place & the town began. The U.S. Post Office had just named the area "Anchorage", but that name didn't catch on until the next year. On May 24, 1916, Ike renamed his newspaper the "Anchorage Daily Times & Cook Inlet Pioneer." Then on May 29, 1917, it became the Anchorage Times. It was Alaska's first Newspaper. Ike ended up selling the newspaper to Robert Atwood in 1935. The Anchorage Times became Alaska's biggest newspaper. The Anchorage Daily News, founded in 1948, eventually became more popular and forced the Anchorage Times out of business in 1992.

Around the same time that Ike started the Anchorage Times, he opened a clothing store on 4th street with his business partner. The store was called "Jaffe & Bayles Leading Clothier." After many years, he eventually bought out his partner & renamed the store "I. Bayles Clothier." The building remained on 4th street until it was destroyed on March 27, 1964 during the Good Friday Earthquake. Ike was also elected to the first city assembly of Anchorage during this time. During the 1920's to the 1940's, Ike traveled back and forth from Seattle to Alaska while his clothing store remained in business. He eventually closed his business and retired in San Francisco.

Ike Bayles died on May 31, 1956 in San Francisco from cirrhosis of the liver and heart failure. He is buried in Colma, California.