SEWARD’S
All-^Weathec
SEAPORT
Is Alaska's
Greatest Asset
-
and Museum
Seward Seaport Record
THE ONLY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD THAT GIVES A HOOT ABOUT SEWARD. ALASKA
Vol. VII, No. 26
SEWARD, ALASKA, FRIDAY, SEPT. 29, 1950
Price 10 cents
Bud Brown Injured As Four
Men, Three Planes Crack-up
Bud Brown of the Alaska Shop
suffered a broken arm in a mis
hap that damaged three planes,
stranding five local hunters in
the Skilak area this week.
The story is somewhat in
volved, but as we got it, it be
gins with Gentry Shuster and
Dr. J. H. Shelton, grubbing out
a landing strip on an unnamed
lake in the Skilak area, which
is considered good moose coun
try.
Shelton and Oliver Amend
later flew in to the place in the
doctor's plane for a few days
hunting and got a moose, but in
the take-off with the meat the
plane hit an obstruction, damag
ing the landing gear and pro
peller.
They somehow got back into
town (probably by hitch-hiking
another plane) and picked up
two other planes and help with
parts to repair the damaged ship
and bring out the moose. Everitt
Skinner and Bud Brown in
Brown’s new Piper Pacer and
Dr. Shelton with Fred DeLaney
in a borrowed plane flew back to
the area. The first plane was
repaired and Skinner brought it
back to town with the under
standing that the other two were
to follow.
Although they did not arrive
for two days Skinner apparent
ly thought nothing of it, as the
men might have decided to do
more hunting. On Wednesday,
however, William Renfrew, an
Anchorage attorney, flying over
the area on his way to Seward,
saw one plane on its back, an
other apparently damaged and
a man with a bandaged arm.
Vern Trakowski, Alaska Scen
ic Air Service, immediately took
off but could not land his Sea
bee in the small place. He
dropped a message to the men
then contacted the 10th Rescue
Squadron at Anchorage. A heli
copter was sent in, which re
moved the men to Skilak Lake
where they were picked up by
Renfrew and Trakowski and
brought in to Seward. Brown
spent the night in the hospital
but had received no serious in
juries other than a broken arm.
The two small planes had piled
up attempting a take-off in the
cramped area. Brown is consid
ered an expert pilot and Dr.
Shelton has been flying a couple
of years, but the secluded lake
does not offer adequate landing
and take-off space.
The other two men concerned
were Casey Cobban and Frank
Lewis, who were hunting on
Harvey Lake and waiting for
Brown to bring them in with
their kill. Only a small float
plane can get in to them, and as
there are practically none left
in Seward, arrangements are be
ing made to send in after them.
It is known that they have their
moose, so will not starve while
waiting.
JUNIOR WOMEN ENJOY
SOCIAL MEETING
Mrs. Elsie Whitmore, with
Mrs. Georgia Gordon as co
hostess, entertained the Junior
Women’s Club at their first so
cial of the season last Tuesday
evening. Members and guests
enjoyed an evening of bingo and
social games, followed by a deli
cious lunch.
Miss Marian Davenport, who
has been nursing at Seward San
atorium for the summer, is leav
ing Sunday for the Outside and
a position near Los Angeles.
Miss Davenport says that she
has enjoyed her stay here. She
likes the place and the people
and hopes to return.
Bush Piiot Hess
First Mishap
Gentry Shuster, said by many
to be the best bush pilot in
Alaska, had his first mishap
late yesterday in Resurrection
Canyon.
Coming in from Hank Pal
lage’s cabin on Cooper Lake
with Frank DeLoughery and
a moose, both engines in the
Widgeon failed and he was
forced to set the plane down in
the tree tops.
Neither man was injured and
the plane was only slightly
damaged, although at the first
survey it seems impossible to
salvage the plane because of its
remote position.
“The engines went out, one
very soon after the other,” Mr.
DeLoughery said. “Shuster turn
ed to me with a little smile and
said, ‘Well, we have to find a
place to land.’ I was pretty
scared but Gentry seemed so
calm about it, although he was
concentrating on watching the
ground, that I soon felt better,
too. He set that plane down in
some low trees so quietly and
easily that there was no more
of a jar than the stopping of
an elevator.”
The two men set out imme
diately after the accident to
walk to town, hoping to make
1 ihe 12 miles before a passing
flyer could spot the downed
plane and send word to town,
| causing worry to their wives,
i (Turn to Page 4)
Bartlett Honored At
Dinner Tonight
Delegate E. L. (Bob) Bartlett
is due in Seward on the after
noon plane. The Democratic
Club will entertain him at a din
ner tonight at the Methodist
Church at 6:15 o'clock. This din
ner is open to the public and all
who wish to meet Mr. Bartlett
and hear his talk.
Mr. Bartlett's speech will be
recorded for broadcast over
KIBH at 9:30 tonight for those
who can not hear him person
ally.
Several other Democratic can
didates for Territorial offices
will be here tonight also and
have scheduled talks over the
radio beginning at 10:30.
Shipping News . . .
The SS Alaska w’ill leave Se
attle at 11:00 a.m. Sunday and
is scheduled to arrive in Seward
next Saturday, Oct. 7.
The freighter Coastal Ramb
ler will depart from Bellingham
Saturday evening, arriving in
Seward about 8 days later.
POLICE CLAMP DOWN ON
SPEEDING IN SCHOOL ZONE
Local police are clamping
down on all drivers exceeding
the 12-mile per hour limit in
the school zone, according to
Chief Green.
The speed limit must be ob
served on Saturday and Sunday
as well as school days, warns
Green, as many children play
on the school ground during the
week ends.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cole
and Mr. and Mrs. Park Smith
celebrated their fourth wedding
anniversaries this week. Al
though both couples were mar
ried the same day, they did not
celebrate together, as neither
party knew of the other’s anni
versary.
$615 in Four Hours
Kickoff For
Boy Scout Fund Drive
The kick-off breakfast for the
annual Boy Scout Fund Cam
paign was held this morning at
8 o'clock in the Kenai Cafe.
Paul Nelson, chairman of the
local committee for the Seward
Lions Club, sponsors of the cam
paign, appointed five teams from
among those present to collect
around town. The five groups
were composed of Paul Nelson
and Gunnard Engebreth, who is
visiting here; Earl Bloomer and
Dexter Bacon; Gene Butler and
Don Lowell; Don Wilson and
Rev. Paul Irwin; Harry Smith
and R. J. Baumgartner. The
groups reported at the Lions
Club luncheon at noon with
$615. The campaign will go on
for the next week.
The budget for the Alaska
! Council, Boy Scouts of America,
was set at $41,000. Seward has
two troops, one sponsored by the
American Legion Post No. 5
with Stan Niegemann as Scout
master and one sponsored by
the Methodist Church including
Jesse Lee Home with Lee Hop
kins as Scoutmaster. A troop of
about 40 Cub Scouts is spon
sored by the Parent-Teachers
j Association with Dan Rose as
leader.
Senator Engebreth and Elwyn
Swetmann are members of the
Executive Board of the Alaska
Council, the governing body of
the movement in the Territory.
The membership of the two
i troops and the cub pack in Sew
i ard is upwards of 80 boys this
j past year. The Cubs have their
j uniforms but there has been
| some delay in filling the orders
for uniforms for the older boys.
The Scouts took their place
in parades on Armed Forces
Day and on the 4th of July.
They also were responsible in
a large part for the successful
clean-up campaign of the city
streets and alleys early in the
year.
GRAVESIDE SERVICES FOR
R. L. HATCHER
Robert Lee Hatcher, miner
and prospector for 44 years,
died September 24 in Seward
General Hospital at the age oi
83. is to be buried Sunday in
the Seward cemetery.
Mr. Hatcher, who has been
in Alaska more than 35 years,
was born in Montegue County,
Texas, June 24, 1867. Very little
is known about him here except
that he prospected and mined
at Willow Creek for several
years, and at Palmer Creek and
Gilpatrick Mountain on the
Kenai Peninsula. He has not
been active since 1941. He was
found in his cabin on Ptarmigan
Creek last Friday by John Jona
son, suffering from complete
paralysis of the left side and un
able to talk. Jonason brought
him to the hospital where he
died Monday.
U. S. commissioner soutnarci
contacted the last known address
of his wife at Evanston, 111., but
received a message from Clarks
ville, Ark., to the effect that she
is hospitalized and unable to
give information,
j It is thought that he had a
daughter but her whereabouts
are unknown. Mr. Hatcher will
! be buried Sunday with grave
: side services conducted by Rev.
| J. L. Dean.
NOBBY CLUB RENOVATED
Another beautiful front has
been added to Fourth Avenue.
The Nobby Club has been com
pletely renovated and redecorat
ed, with a front and entrance
that is as quietly rich looking
as the name implies. It was de
signed by Mr. and Mrs. Harold
Jacobs, who operate the club.
Pacific Coast Longshoremen
Vote For Ten Cent Pay Hike
!_
I Labor Shortage
Hampers Loading
j Longshore gang shortages in
i Pacific Coast ports are seriously
j hampering loading operations,
disrupting sailing schedules and
skyrocketing costs due to the ab
normal detention to vessels, D.
E. Skinner, vice president and
general manager of the Alaska
Steamship Company, said this
week.
This problem first hit Puget
Sound and has since spread
throughout the Coast.
“When we don’t know how
many gangs ordered will be re
ceived, it's impossible to accur
ately set sailing times,” Skinner
said. “We fully appreciate the
difficulties the resulting vessel
delays are causing Alaskans and
we feel they are entitled to
know the reason why. We are
greatly concerned over this situ
ation and are anxious to get re
lief.
“During a 9-day period alone,
September 18 to 26 inclusive,”
Skinner stated, “of 90 gangs or
dered we got 21—less than one
fourth of those required to prop
erly service our operations. That
means over four times the nor
mal loading time and thousands
of dollars loss per vessel.”.
The costs of maintaining Alas
ka Line ships in commission
range from about $1,500 to $4,
200 a day.
The longshore situation has
I been bad for some time, but re
| cently became acute due to the
j (Turn to Page 4)
Engebreth Says,
"More Gas Tax"
“Forty-eight per cent of ' the
Territorial gasoline tax is raised
in the Third Division, but only
one quarter of it is spent on this
division,” stated Senator Gun
nard M. Engebreth in a radio
talk Thursday night. “Seward
j is entitled to much more than
! has ever been spent here, either
on the Small Boat Harbor or on
the highway.”
Engebreth also said that al
; though the fish-trap referendum
two years ago was overwhelm
ingly in favor of abolishing the
traps, nothing has been done
about it to this day. He pledged
himself to work for the best in
terests of all the fishermen and
residents of the Third Division
if re-elected to the Territorial
Senate. He was president of the
Senate at the last legislature,
j Mr. Engebreth has been visit
ing in Seward for the past three
days and spoke to the people
over Station KIBH at 7 o’clock
I last night.
j five one-year-olds
CELEBRATE BIRTHDAY
September 27 was a red letter
day for five families in Seward
and vicinity when the stork
visited them simultaneously last
year. This year Mrs. Frank
Cooper of Seward gave a birth
day party for her own little
daughter. Karen Louise, and the
four other little folks who ar
rived at the same time in Seward
General Hospital. ■
Bobby Nestor of Kenai, Mi
chael Lee of Soldotna, Gilbert
Olsted, Jr. and Janet Reed of
Seward were all honored at the
birthday party.
Seven mothers and 12 chil
dren enjoyed the ice cream,
cake, balloons and toys at the
unique gathering Wednesday
afternoon. i
The Pacific Maritime Associa
tion and the International Long
shoremen’s and Warehousemen’s
Union reached tentative agree
ment last week on an increase
of five point forty-nine per cent
of the existing basic straight
time longshore wage rate, or
when translated into cents per
[ hour, amounts to 10 cents per
| hour.
Subject to ratification by both
membership groups the new
wage rate will cover an esti
mated 1,000 longshoremen and
related employees in all Pacific
Coast ports from Canada to
Mexico.
The increase will bring the
longshoremen’s straight time
wage rate to $1.92 per hour for
a six hour day, and a five day
work week. Overtime pay at the
rate of $2.88 per hour will be
paid for all time in excess of
six hours a day and for all
work after 5:00 p.m. and before
8:00 a.m. The overtime rate
also applies for all work per
formed on Saturdays, Sundays
and holidays.
A PMA spokesman said this
increase was granted on the
| basis of increased cost of living
since the last wage review, Sep
! tember 1949, to the present time,
and in anticipation of a further
i increase in the cost of living.
: The increase is to become effec
tive as of 12:01 a.m. September
! 30. 1950.
| A PMA spokesman stated that
; the wage increase was granted
! with the recognition that it will
' increase cargo handling costs
j by at least 82.000,000.00 per
year. This cost increase can
only be offset by stability in
labor relations: increased pro
duction; and an increase in reve
nues, he said.
Negotiating committees for
union and management will
unanimously recommend the
tentative agreement to respec
tive memberships for ratifica
tion.
HUNTERS ASKED TO PICK
THEIR MOOSE CAREFULLY
Carlos Carson, enforcement
agent for the Fish and Wildlife
j Service, reminds last minute
| hunters that the big bull moose,
i particularly those low down in
i the valleys, are definitely not fit
: to eat now, as it is the rutting
| season. He asks that hunters
! look their quary over pretty
well before shooting so as not
to kill animals that are no good
for meat.
He also states that several
moose have been shot and the
! carcasses left to rot, with very
! little or no meat removed. The
; Izaak Walton League has posted
a $50 reward for information
leading to the arrest and convic
tion of persons responsible for
such wasteful hunting. Any in
formation of this kind turned in
to the enforcement agent is
strictly confidential, and the in
former will not be named, ac
cording to Mr. Carson.
TWO BABY MOOSE ARE
SHIPPED TO CORDOVA
Two baby moose, rftale and fe
male, which were raised on a
bottle at Cooper Landing by
Mrs. Frank Towle, have been
shipped to Cordova by the Fish
and Wildlife Service. There are
no moose in that area and it is
hoped that by planting them
there a few seasons will build
up a herd.
The youngest calf, named
Kenai, is still on the bottle,
which was sent along with her
in the crate. Skipper, her future
mate, is a big fellow already
weaned.