SEWARD’S
All-'Weathec
SEAPORT
Is Alaska’s
Greatest Asset
Seward SeaporFRecord
Territorial Library 4.50
Vol. VI, No. 17
SEWARD, ALASKA, TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 1949
Price 10 Cents
Expect Suicide
Verdict In
Welch Death
A coroners jury will be called
lor Wednesday to investigate the
cause of the death of Walker P.
(Brownie) Welch, 249 Adams St„
found dead in his home Monday
afternoon. He had been shot in the
head.
From the nature of the wound
and the position of the .22 calibre
rifle clutched in his hand it is prob
able that a verdict of suicide will
be returned at the inquest.*
Found by a friend shortly before
5:00 Monday afternoon, an exami
nation by Dr. R. O. Sellers, acting
coroner, set the time of death from
12 to 16 hours previously. Local
authorities have established the
fact thqt he was alive as late as
9:30 p.m. Sunday.
His wife, Laverne Welch, has
been notified of his death. Welch
was known to have been in a de
spondent condition since Mrs.
Welch and their baby departed for
Kuna, Idaho, recently.
Born Feb. 20, 1910. he was 39
years old at the time of his death.
Known by the nickname Brownie,
Welch lived in Seward for a num
ber of years and became well
known and popular.
MILITARY REDUCTION
IN PERSONNEL
Alaska will not be affected by
the dismissal of 135,000 civilian em
ployes from the Army, Navy and
Air Force and return w lE.'GVt ... :
serve officers to inactive duty in
the economy program announced
by the Secretary of Defense Louis
Johnson.
The dismissals, which have al
ready staited, will reduce the Navy
civilian personnel by 76.000, the
Army by 41.000 and the Air Force
by 18,000.
A total of 50 installations will
be closed and many others will be
reduced in force throughout the
United States, Hawaii, ijr the Far
East, in the Caribbean and in
Europe.
• •
Back To School
Miss Ruth Anderson, who has
spent the past two months in Sew
ard assisting Rev. and Mrs. Malcom
with the Assembly of God church
work, left by plane for Waxahachie,
Texas, to resume her position as
head of the commercial department
at Southwestern Bible Academy.
While here she made many
friends who are looking forward to
her return in June at which time
she plans to make Seward her
permanent home and assist the
Malcoms with their growing
church.
Miss Anderson took charge of
the services while Rev. and Mrs.
Malcom and daughter Tanya Rose
attended the Assembly of God
youth camp at Mile 143, north of
Anchorage.
The camp was attended by a
large group of young people. Mrs.
Malcom was one of the speakers.
The Malcoms also conducted a
revival meeting at Valdez before
their return.
Mrs. L. V. Ray and Mrs. Martine
Johansen were out the highway
to Mile 58 Sunday and were con
ducted by automobile over a por
tion of the highway link being
constructed from Mile 58 to Anch
orage. Like many other residents
who have seen the new four lane
highway with broad sweeping
curves and gentle slopes, they de
scribed it as beautiful.
Work On School Is
Near Completion;
Architect Approves
Plastering of the inside walls of
the $125,000 addition to the Seward
School was being completed Tues
day and the building will be ready
for use shortly after school opens, j
Architect Francis B. Mayer, mem
ber of the Anchorage firm of Man
ley and Mayer, was in Seward Mon
day to make an inspection of
plumbing and wiring before the
plastering could be finished. Mayer
stated that all phases of the work
were well done and that on the
whole the work is more than sat
isfactory.
While the job will be completed
a good month ahead of the October j
15 deadline the addition will not
be ready until a few days after ;
school starts. The reason the job I
has not been completed before (
this was that money from the bond ,
issue was so slow in arriving. This I
made it impossible to have suffi- \
cient material on hand for finish- ]
ing. Part of- the mill work was \
expected to arrive on a ship this 1
Tuesday.
IOWA MAN TO TEACH
SCHOOL HERE
Since the publication of the
faculty list for the coming school
year, Mr. Robert Swenson has been
added to the teaching staff of the ;
Seward Public Schools. Mr. Swen
son will teach shop and high school i
science.
Mr. Swenson is a graduate of
Iowa State College, class of 1949.
with a major in industrial educa
tion. He comes to Seward highh*
recommended by his institution.
45-TON LATHE ON WAY TO
ALASKA FOR A-R.R.
The largest lathe yet to move
to Alaska—a 45-ton giant—was
scheduled to be loaded aboard the
Alaska Steamship Company steam
er Chief Washakie August 26 for
shipment to The Alaska Railroad
at Anchorage.
According to Mr. M. T. Hughes,
the railroad master mechanic, this
lathe will be installed in the new
shops being constructed under tiie
railroad's rehabilitation program,
and which he describes as “sec
; ond to none in the States.”
The giant lathe is manufactured
by Wm. Sellers & Co. of Philadel
phia, Pa. It will be used to turn
railroad car wheels and journals.
In addition to the lathe, the Chief
Washakie was to load a 120-ton
diesel locomotive for The Alaska
Railroad. These are the largest
items of a full cargo this vessel is
carrying on her trip from Seattle.
The vessel was to leave Seattle
Aug. 27, and call at Whittier, Val
dez and Seward.
----—
Little Linda Sue arrived Monday,
August 29, at Seward General Hos
pital to live with her parents Mr.
and Mrs. Perry Stockton. Linda Sue
weighed 8 lb. 9 oz. upon arrival
and promises to keep her Mother
and Dad pretty busy for the next
few years.
Mrs. Stockton is the former
Edona Myers, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Dick Myers of Seward.
J. R. Heay, formerly of this city,
arrived yesterday aboard the ST
boat 413 to discharge about seven
tons of electrical equipment for the
CAA at Anchorage. The boat is
enroute from Kodiak to Juneau
and services VHF stations along
the way.
Mrs. Luella M. Skinner of Seward
was a recent visitor to Delegate
E. L. Bartlett’s office while visiting
in Washington.
$15,000 Paid
PHA By Vets’
Housing Mon.
Two checks for a little over
$15,000 were turned over to Warren
Morgens, attorney for the Public
Housing Administration, Monday
afternoon by the city of Seward.
The amount has been laying in
the Bank of Seward for some time.
Mayor Lanier said, waiting for the
housing administration to collect
it. The total covers two payments
for the years 1947-48 and 1948-49
and brings the account to a current
status. This does not come out of
city funds and has been available
in the housing project account
since the audit last spring.
Housing for Seward
Morgens is attorney for the Se
attle field office of the Public
Housing Administration, and at the
present time is making a survey
of the Territory.
Four cities in Alaska are getting
practically all the public housing,
with Anchorage taking the lion's
share, he said, but there is no
reason why Seward should not be
included in the program if there
is a need for low rent housing
here.
As in all such projects, it would
be necessary for the city to show
that there is actually a need for
such a housing program. Figures
to support its argument would be
necessary. •
The number of people, in the
lower income b’acket would have
to-be given. In 'he .Seattle area the
figure is anything below S200 per
month, but probably is somewhat
higher for Alaska.
Local estimates have given a
figure as high as 100 dwelling
units needed to replace substandaTd
housing and provide sufficient
housing for families looking for
homes in Seward.
Bob Gardner Polio
Victim in Washington I
Robert J. Gardner, 30 years old,
head athletic coach at Overtake 1
School, Bellevue, Washington,
husband of the former Irene Reen- !
strom of Seward, died August 221
in Harbcrview Hospital of polio- j
myelitis.
Mr. Gardner came to Seward
during the war when he was sta- I
tioned in the Aleutians as an ath- j
letic director in the Navy. He met ;
Miss Reenstrom at that time and I
they were married shortly after the I
war.
For tbe past three years he has
been active in many youth acti
vities in Bellevue and was popular
as athletic instructor and coach at
the Overlake High School. He
broke down his health by over
work this summer by working
nights at a Seattle produce com
pany and spent his afternoons dig
ging out a foundation for a larger
dressing room at the school.
He was taken to the hospital in
the morning and died in the after
noon of August 22. His last re
quest was for the boys in whose
interest he had worked so hard. He
asked that instead of sending flow
ers, that friends would send the
money to a fund for the team, to
help out some of the boys who
were having a hard time.
A Bob Gardner Memorial Fund
has been started in Bellevue to set
up a scholarship in his name and
to help out the boys who find it
difficult to raise the money neces
sary for uniforms and equipment
while playing on the basketball
and football teams.
Famous Tenor To
Give Concert tfere
September 9
The Women's Society of Chris
tian Service of the Seward Meth
odist Church has announced a con
cert in the Church on Friday, Sept.
9. The singer is to be Harold E.
Weaver, tenor, teacher of singing
and choral director from Chicago,
recently arrived in Fairbanks to
open vocal studios.
Mr. Weaver has studied at Juil
liard School of Music in New York
City and worked under such noted
masters as Bernard Taylor, Giacinto
Gorno, Ellmer Zoller and Albert
Englestrom. also of New York. He
was formerly a member of the well
known New York Singing Teachers
Association.
During the war he was tenor in
a concert and operatic quartet un
der the auspices of the USO Camp
Shows, Inc., New York. The quartet
sang for the.members of the armed
forces throughout New Guinea, Ad
miralties, Philippines, North China,
India and Casablanca.
For the past two years, Mr. Wea
ver has sung in oratorio and con
cert throughout the midwest and
Chicago; taught singing and con- !
ducted various choral ensembles.
LARCENY TRIAL HERE
TUESDAY AFTERNOON
There was to be a hearing in the
U. S. Commissioner’s court at 3:00
p.m. Tuesday afternoon in the case
of B. B Williams, charged with lar- |
ceny Williams was picked up at •
Kenai and returned to Seward for
the hearing. He is charged with
removing furnishings from a h >u.-e
rented from Dewey C. Bunc .
Shipping News . . .
The Alaska Steamship Company
has the new winter schedule ready
for release and it will show all
passenger ships making two day
calls at the port of Seward. The
steamship company expects to be
hauling more freight than in past
years on passenger ships to Sew
ard. An attempt will be made to
limit stops in Southeastern towns j
to two hours.
The Lucidor arrived Monday at j
about 4:30 p.m. and the Diamond '
Cement was due here sometime i
Tuesday. • j
Ships enroute from Seattle at 1
the present time are t lie Chief |
Washakie and the Square Sinnet. 1
The Harold Whitehead expects to
leave Seattle Sept. 7.
The Coastwise Line freighter
Joel C. Harris is due to leave Port
land Sept. 1 and arrive here early
in the month.
FAREWELL LUNCHEON BY
SEWARD WOMAN'S CLUB
About twenty members of the!
Seward Woman’s Club met at the j
Marathon Cafe for a luncheon in ,
honor of Mrs. Doris Keidser, past
secretary, and Mrs. Gertrude
Knight, who are leaving Seward
early next month.
Mrs. Mildred Kirkpatrick, presi
dent, presided as hostess and pre
sented gifts on behalf of the club.
VARNELL FAMILY RETURNS
FROM RUGGED ISLAND
Mr. and Mrs. Logan Varnell and
family returned Sunday afternoon
from ftugged Island where they
had spent a week camping. The
Varnells are old timers in Alaska
so the rugged weather last week
on the island did not interfere too
much with their pleasure.
Fuzzy, the family’s much trav
eled black Persian cat, accompa
nied them on the trip and, as a
memento presented them with five
beautiful kittens. Fuzzy is rugged,
too, and doesn’t mind the weather.
Glascoe Made
Kenai District
Mgr. Of ATEC
Wm. M. Maxey, president of the
Alaska Telephone Engineering Co.,
arrived in Seward yesterday and.
made the announcement that L. L.
Glascoe has been appointed gen
eral manager for ATEC in the
Kenai Peninsula area.
The area under Glascoe’s super
vision will include, the towns of
Homer and Seldovia as well as
Seward. Glascoe has been de
scribed by Maxey as one of the
country’s foremost telephone men,
especially where construction and
maintenance of the outdoor plant
is concerned.
Formerly with the CAA in the
Territory, Glascoe became familiar
with the local telephone system
when he was appointed by the
court to take over the receiver
ship of the Seward Light and
Power Company last spring.
Expedites Shipment's
Maxey was accompanied by
Elton B. Jones, Seattle attorney
lor the company. Alter leaving
Seward, Maxey will go to Seattle
for ten days to expedite shipment
of materials ordered for the phone
system here. Five hundred desk
phones have been ordered and
work is underway to give Seward
a satisfactory phone service before
winter sets in.
Former Seward t«urse
Married in Anchorage
Miss Joanne Hoy, well known
when a staff member of Seward
General Hospital last year, and Mr.
Glenn R. Miller, also well known
jn Seward, were married in a color
ful ceremony at All Saint's Episco
pal Church in Anchorgae on Au
gust 24 th.
The bride wore a light blue suit
with navy biue accessories and a
corsage of white orchids. Mrs.
Richard Jones, matron of honor,
wore a gray suit with black acces
sories and a corsage of pink roses.
Mr. and Mrs. Miller will live in
Moose Pass where Mr. Miller is
stationed as lineman for the Alaska
Railroad.
F OURTH OF JULY COMMITTEE
ADOPTS CONSTITUTION
The 4th of July Committee met
Sunday night at the Legion Club
and adopted the constitution as
drawn up by officers of the com
mittee.
Articles of incorporation are be
ing preps^rj which will establish
this organization as a lawful non
profit organization.
This committee is made up of
representatives of other local or
ganizations which participated in
the celebration this year. These
organizations are asked to con
tinue in active membership and
any citizens interested in promot
ing the Marathon Race and muni
cipal celebration are invited to join
the committee in its plans through
out the year.
Anyone having snapshots and
photographs taken in Seward in
past years, especially rare photo*
graphs, is asked to contact Pat
Bogan, president of the committee
the Seaport Record or any membef
of the committee. It is not neces*
sary to have the film or negative*
If the picture is plain it can be
rephotographed. The committee ig
planning to compile a pictorial his- '
tory of the race and also needs ad
vertising material. There must be
many pictures tucked away among
private collections which could be
used.
LABOR DAY DANCE -
CHILDREN'S PARTY WITH FREE ROLLER SKATING
2 to 4 P.M. — Ice Cream, Hot Dogs, Pop—FREE
Sept. 5 - Civic Center
Dance and Children's Party is Being Sponsored by
Seward Locals 39 and 1-82, I.L.W.U.