Communncatioii
From Old-Timer
* Oakland 1, Calif.,
Editor Nome Nugget,
Nome, Alaska.
Dear Sir:
An item in “The Alaska Week
ly” of recent date leads me to ad
dress a letter to your paper.
The “Nome Nugget” seems an
v old friend as 1 read it through my
Nome days before I left for the
States in 1910. Then later during
my days on Schutcotsk Peninsula
in Russia it came to me at odd
times as a bulletin in condensed
form in 1921 to 1923.
My story “Siberian Sojourn,” as
yet unpublished, covering those
three years mentions receipt of
papers from Nome which were
very much appreciated at my iso
Rited trading post at Seniavore,
Siberia.
Since the abandonment of my
trading post 1 have put in a
rather unadventurous life here in
Oakland.
In a recent copy of The Alaska
Weekly, mention was made of the
fact that a commemorative stamp
had been issued to the Nome post
office for this 50th anniversary
year of the days of *99.
It brings to my mind my arrival
in Nome on about July 25 in '99.
An Englishman Jack Reed, an
* Australian Gus Wheeler and my
self left St. Michael on July 15 to
make our way around the coast to
Nome. Upon our arrival at Unala
kleet some three days later we
found Miner Bruce’s schooner
“Casko” about ready to sail for
Nome. The Casko noted as having
once been part of Robert Louis
Stevenson’s blongings had been
dismantling the quarters of a sur
veying party which had been do
ing some preliminary surveying
* for a railroad from Unalakleet to
Kaltag.
Ltpon the abandonment of the
railroad project the spring of ’99.
Miner Bruce dismantled the win
ter quarters of the surveying
I party and moved the lumber and
(Other stuff to the “Casko.”
The captain of the Casko talked
us into making the trip to Nome
! with him if we would help to get
his camp ashore. The lack of
stevedoring facilities made out job
a tough one as we had to tow our
raft ashore, an all night’s tough
job.
Then we came ashore in Gus
Wheeler’s Peterboro canoe from
the Casko about July 25, which
would make just about 50 years of
elapsed time.
I recall early day posting of
letters from Rat River on the
Mackenzie side in which Jack Bell
and Jack Sheady carried mail to
Dawson from Rat River in which
the charge was $1.00 a letter. They
took the mail without stamps, I
never learned if they were stamp
ed at Dawson or they went Out
side without stamps. Probably
mail was collected at destination.
This was in ’98.
I recall sending mail out from
Nome by a musher we called the
Flying Dutchman whom, as I re
member carried mail to St. Mi
chael, thence by little used trails
through the lower Yukon, the Kus
kokwim to eventually reach Ili
amna Bay on the southern Alaska
coast.
Memories of those long gone
days return to us old-timers in
fleeting memories of the hard old
days, but nevertheless the good
old days of our very tough youth.
I read in the “Alaska Weekly”
of old-timers some of whom I re
call: Wallace Porter of Haycock,
Tony Polet, two Jones Boys, Dan
and Charlie, Carl Rvlander who
just passed away in Haycock.
I would like a copy of your
present day “Nugget” to compare
as I remember the "Nugget Bulle
tin” which I received in Siberia
in 1922 and 1923.
With memories of far off ad
venturous years. I am
Yours truly,
W. H. “Bill" Parson,
We Buy Anything and Ship Anywhere
— write to —
Arctic Trails
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General Delivery, FAIRBANKS
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COCKTAIL - DINING
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DANCING PLEASURE
Johnnie Owen, hostess Phyllis Pugh pianist
“Open Nightly from Eight till Late"
Million In Jewels j
From Aga Khan j
Robbers Nab Half
CANNES, France </P)—'The Aga
Khan’s wife said Wednesday that
four bandits robbed her and her
husband of jewels and money
worth $450,000.
The theft occurred at noon as
the Aga Khan and the Begum,
with a maid and a chauffeur, left
their Riviera villa here en route
to Deauville to visit their son, the
Aly, and daughter-in-law Rita
Hayworth.
The Begum said four shabbily
dressed men, speaking with Span
ish or Italian accent and carrying
tommy guns, got away with one 25
carat diamond worth 25,000,030
francs.
The man, who had been waiting
j in a black automobile, approached
the car, holding their guns men
acingly nad said:
“Keep quiet. Don’t make any
noise. Hand over those bags and
there won’t be "any trouble.”
“We gave them three large hand
>, bags that were in the car,” said i
the Begum, whose husband is one
! of the world's richest men.
She said the bags contained
their passports and plane tickets
for Deauville and she didn’t know
whether she and her husband
would go to Deauville now.
The Begum said that she and
! her husband were offering five
million francs to any one who
would identify the bandits.
She said the bandits didn’t take
less costly jewelry she was wear
ing.
I -
LE CANNET, France, </P) —
Thousands of police yesterday
combed southern France for the
four bandits who stole a fortune
in jewels from the Aga Khan and
his wife.
Roadblocks were thrown up
from Mentone on the Italian bor
der all along the Riviera— play
I ground of the world’s wealthy—
to the sprawling port of Marseille,
known as a criminal hideout.
Hundreds of cars were stopped.
But no tiace has been found of the
robbers who Wednesday held up
the Aga Khan and the Begum out
side their villa here and grabbed
about a half million dollars in
jewels and 200,OOP francs <$fi00>
in cash.
Police guards around the man
sions of the rich have been dou
bled.
_
Convict Chooses
Death Cell For j
Quietness
CHICAGO, </Pi—James Morelli,
who is scheduled to die in the
electric chair Aug. 12, is occupy
ing a cell in death row at the Cook
County jail—at his own request—
so his final nights of sleep will
not be disturbed.
The 22-year-old “mad dog” kil
ler was removed to on? of the four
cells adjoining the death chamber
\ after he had complained of too
much noise by other prisoners.
“The guys in the cells around
me snore like rusty buzz saws
with the teeth missing,” Morelli
told ^warden Chester Fordnev.
“How about giving me some quiet
for the time I’ve got left?”
Fordnev suggested the death cell,
where doomed men customarily
are held for only about eight
hours before death.
“Fine. Fine." Morelli said. “I’m
not the scary kind, and I’ll bet
it’ll be quiet down there in the
basement.”
Committee OK's |
ACS Appropriation
WASHINGTON, </P) — Legisla
tion authorizing a $7,668,000 mili
tary communications system for
Alaska was approved unanimous
ly by the House aimed services
committee.
The bill, introduced by Delegate
Bartlett of Alaska, has been en
dorsed by secretary of defense
Johnson and the budget bureau.
It would cover communications
for all three services. Among pro
jects authorized are;
Bethel $20,000 Cape Fanshaw
$175,000; Juneau $233,340; Kotze
bue $30,000; Nome $289,000; Pe
tersburg $74,000; Point Agassiz
$175,000; Ketchikan $157,000; and
Seattle $436,500.
The bill is not connected with
the $613,000 military construction
“Pauper" Dies:
Leaving $50,000
SEATTLE, (A3) — A man who
lived in a dilapidated shack, ate
only stale bread and potatoes and
all, his broker said, because he
wanted to save for security, died
Friday leaving an estimated $50,
000.
For more than 20 years Fred
Willson, about 75, lived the life of
a pauper. He collected wood from
the ship canal and sold it to his
neighbors.
"He apparently was just saving
for security,” said Raymond C.
Punnett, his investment broker.
Willson is survived by a bro
ther in California.
bill recently approved by the
committee but shelved until next
year.
SERVICE BARBER SHOP
SHINE AND BATHS
JACK LENCER
Watchmaker
Box 625 Nome, Alaska
- “ /m?
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