Rose’s World-Famous Bar and Grill has been an institution in Pelican since Rose Miller opened it in 1973. At the time, the remote Chichagof Island community had a population of a little under 200 people.
“She had a party every holiday for everyone in town — she had wedding parties, divorce parties, welcome parties, and good riddance parties.”
Jessie Natkong is one of Miller’s 11 children. She said the whole town looked forward to her mom’s “Third of July” parties, where Miller would slow-roast meat for days over a spit, and to the softball game the next day.
“The adults would have the softball game, and she would put a case of beer and a bottle of tequila on every base,” Natkong said. “And when the tide came in, it’d be up past almost our knees, and we’d still be running in the water, playing softball.”
Every Easter, Miller hosted an Easter egg hunt for the children – and later, one for the adults.
“The adults in the bar would go outside, and we’d close the blinds, hide eggs all over the yard that would say hug the bartender, kiss the bartender, hug your neighbor, kiss your neighbor, ring the bell,” Natkong said.
Miller kept the bar open seven days a week, including Christmas Day – a special feat in a community where even the grocery store cut its hours in winter. And it served as a haven for residents and visitors, including fishermen who stopped in Pelican to sell fish to the local processor. In a 2008 interview with KCAW, Miller said she often hosted dinners for fishermen down on their luck.
“There’s so many people that can’t afford to go to the bars, and during the fishing season, I had a big dinner party for all the fishermen that didn’t do so good — they lost their gear, or they didn’t catch anything, or Fish & Game confiscated their fish or whatever,” Miller said.
Miller served on the school board and with the volunteer fire department. Natkong said she also hosted Sunday School – and drew in people of all ages.
“It used to be just the little ones that came, and then they were all coming in, and the older kids wanted to see what was going on at Rosie’s house, so they all started coming,” Natkong said. “And then the high school kids started coming and the parents were like, what are all those kids doing at Rosie’s house? So the parents started coming down.”
Rhoda Jensen grew up alongside Miller’s children. She remembered feeling inspired watching Rose run a successful business while raising her children.
“I don’t think it was very common to have women truly own businesses, and so that was kind of neat to see,” Jensen said. “And not only that, they were Native women.”
In 2008, Rose’s Bar and Grill won the Alaska Small Business of the Year award, aided by letters from supporters like Senator Ted Stevens. Miller ran the bar until 2015, when she sold it and moved to Juneau. The bar still operates, under new owners. But in 42 years behind the bar, Jensen said Miller provided a safe space – for children, unlucky fishermen, and everyone in between.
“She gave us all space to just be,” Jensen said. “When you go to Pelican, once you walk through into her area, we’re all the same.”
Miller passed away on June 23, 2024 in Juneau.
