50 Years' Growth
With Kenai Peninsula
Roads and Highways
(Continued from Page 1)
road construction program in
the national forests and shortly
thereafter the Bureau of Public
Roads began work on the Sew
ard-Kenai Lake, Moose Pass
Hope, and Cooper Landing
Russian River roads. The pro
gress made up to the time that
World War II broke out is sum
marized as follows:
Cooper Landing Russian
Completed
River, 6'i> miles
Hope-Palmer Creek,
12 miles .
Seward-Kenai Lake,
17Vii miles
Moose Pass-Hope,
45 miles
Snow River-Moose Pass,
12»miles .
Cooper Landing-Mile 33,
13 Vi: miles built by CCC
and the Forest Service
1921
1923
1924 I
1928 |
1938
1938
A considerable portion of the
above work was done under tiie
supervision of the late Holland
C. Ingram, BPR engineer, who
was well known in Seward.
110 Miles Open in 1938
By 1938 it was possible to
drive a car from Seward to
Hope, a distance of 75 miles, or
from Seward to Russian River,
a distance of 53 miles. Approxi
mately 110 miles of road on the
Kenai Peninsula were open to
travel by Seward motorists at
that time.
in the early days road build
ing was done principally by
hand labor methods using sho
vels, hand drills, and hand push
ed mine cars. Teams were sel
dom used in Alaska due to the
high cost of feeding horses. The
roads were usually built by sta
tion contract with small groups
of men contracting to build the
road between certain limits de
fined by the engineers’ stations.
The roads were narrow and per
mitted only one-way traffic but
were adequate to serve the light
traffic of those days. By 1934
improved road construction ma
chinery was coming into general
use and the roads were being
built wider and straighter.
During World War II there
was Title or no road construction
done on the Peninsula. Work
was resumed in 1946 when the
Alaska Road Commission start
ed construction of a road from
the end of the forest highway
at the Russian River westerly
toward the Cook Inlet towns of
Kenai and Homer. The Kenai
road was opened to traffic in
1948 while construction pro
ceeded south toward Homer.
Late in 1949 the road to Homer
was opened to traffic thus in
creasing the mileage of roads
on the Peninsula to a total ef
235 miles. This mileage does
not include the Johnson Pass
road which fell into disuse years
ago and is not travellable at
present.
In 1948 road construction in
Alaska was greatly expanded
and work on Kenai Peninsula
roads was accelerated with the
start of construction on the
Seward-Anchorage (Turnagain
Arm) road. In order to better
care for the increased volume
of work the Bureau of Public
Roads established a Division
office at Juneau under H. A.
Stoddart and a District office
in Seward under B. M. French.
Seward-Anchorage in 1951
The Seward-Anchorage road
from Mile 58 around Turnagain
Arm to Anchorage is being con
structed through the cooperative
efforts of the BPR, the Alaska
Railroad, and the Alaska Road
Commission. This 72 mile sec
tion of road is being built to
modern standards of highway
construction and is expected to
be completed and opened to
traffic in 1951. Seward motor
ists will then have a continuous
road connection with the States
for the first time. This day will
be an important one in the his
tory of Seward and the Kenai
Peninsula. It will have come as
the result of the labor of thou
sands of men and the expendi
ture of many millions of dollars
during a period of nearly half
a century.
Ben Franton, school teacher
at Moose Pass, was in town Mon
day. George Adney was in from
Hope.
Nobby Club, Sea
Hawks Win Final
Doubleheader
In what is likely the final
doubleheader for city league
basketball this season, the Sea
Hawks walloped the Dellorns
and the Nobby Club garnered
another victory over the Boost
ers. The Sea Hawk reserves held
the DeHorns on an even keel
for the first half. The varsity
in the game during part of the
second half opened a pass:ng
attack that split the score asun
der. During the lime that »
varsity was playing, the De
Horns did not make a single
field goal. The Nobby Club
Booster game was well played
and enjoyed by all.
The city league has turned
out some fine basketball this
year. Friendly competitive spirit
was high throughout the season.
It is commonly understood that
the primary object of city teams
was to provide game experience
and to help improve the Seward
High boys. The players of city
teams have done a very good
job and have enjoyed partici
Sea Hawks Play Last
Local Game Tonight
Seward school authorities
have received no word to the
contrary—so the big game goes
on tonight. The Paimer Moose
are scheduled to arrive in Sew
ard on tlie regular tram.
The preliminary will get un
derway at 7:30 and will be over
oy 8:u0. Giving the boys time
to warm up, tans can expect
the lipou' to tane place at about
3:15.
Seward's starting five will be
the regulars: Center Don Steele,
Forwards Antril Suydam and
Stan Anderson, Guards Ray
Anderson and Dick Deigh.
Win or lose, the Sea Hawk?
can be depended upon to put up
a battle lor victory.
This game is the last inter
school game scheduled in Sew
ard. Next Tuesday the Sea
Hawks travel to Anchorage and
to Palmer to meet both these
schools and will play Fairbanks
at Anchorage.
nation in the king of sports.
The gratitude of the Sea Hawks
is not lacking.
Rendezvous Queen
Candidate Here
For Potlatch
A large delegation of Anchor
age residents are expected to
flock aboard the Seward train
Friday, along with Princess
Aurora Marjorie Gropp, rail
road queen candidate for thp
Fur Rendezvous celebration, to
attend the Kenai Peninsula
Potlatch.
Miss Gropp and her atten
dants, Miss Marry Farrell and
Miss Iris Wofford, are to be met
at the train at Seward by Mayor
Eugene Lanier.
The arrival of the Princess
is to be followed by a long list
of festivities where the petite,
hazel-eyed brunette will reign
as guest of honor. The Anchor
age delegation will accompany
the Princess to the Ross Mann
home fox' a cocktail party which
is to be followed by a banquet
under the direction of Tom
Jones, railroad agent at Seward.
Next the Princess and her
two lovely escorts plan a visit
to tiic Hobby Show at the Civic
Center. Highlight of the evening
is a public railroad employes
sponsored party and dance at
the Nobby Club. An informal
reception is planned at this
event to give Seward residents
an opportunity to meet Princess
Aurora.
The delegation is scheduled
to leave Seward Saturday morn
ing.
“No, madam,” said the cleric
at the drug store soda fountain,
“I’m not a pharmacist; I’m a
fizzician.”
Dave Patterson, Mgr.
Extends a
HEARTY WELCOME
TO SEWARDITES
They're greater in power—higher in compression —a
Standout in styling—dreams to drive—and now there's
a Buick beauty for 1950 to fit practically any budget
No, we just couldn't hold back the
whole big Buick line for 1950.
They’re too good-looking—too much fun
to drive—too jam-packed with stepped-up,
higher-compression, ready-to-ramble
power—to be kept under cover.
So maybe you've already seen some
1950 Buicks on the highway.
Maybe you’ve noticed the extra “git up
and travel” they have—glimpsed the wide,
curving windshields (one piece in most
models)—noted, approvingly, that the
typical Buick taper is now found in all
Buick fenders.
M ay be you’ve even heard some things...
That there are more than a dozen-and-a
half models to choose from. That there
are three power plants in the Buick line
— all of higher compression, all stepped
up in power.
That all models are big and roomy inside
—some rear seats are better than a foot
wider than before!—yet in every instance,
shorter over-all, so easier to handle, park
and garage.
Above all, maybe you’ve heard of
exciting news on price...
That Dynaflow Drive, for instance —
standard on Roadmaster models, op
tional on all others—now costs
20% less than on 1949 models.
POWER NEWS WITH
A REAL PUNCH!
Here's just one part of Buick's three-way
power story for_ 1950 — the brand-new
F-263 valve-in-head straight-eight. Pack
ing a wallop that makes the SUPER a stand
out performer of the season, here is still
higher compression and still greater power
in no greater over
an size, tou ii get
this new engine on
all SUPER models,
in 124 hp with Syn
chro-Mesh trans
mission, 128 hp with
Dynaflow Drive.*
* Standard on ROADMASTER.
optional at extm coat on SUPER and SPECIAL models.
That in the full line—Special, Super and
Roadmaster series—there is a Buick to
fit practically every budget above the very
lowest!
Pictured above is the 1950 Super 4-door
Sedan, one of the new Buick body types
for 1950. At your Buick dealer’s are more
actual models, the whole story on others.
Hadn’t you better see him—right now—
and see if you, too, don’t find Buick “top
choice for 1950”?
LOTS Of LUGGAGI SPACI, plus a high-fashion roar-end treatment, graces
the Buick tourback Sedan models for 1950. This Is the Ro ADM ASTER, and
above is the SUPER version of this much-wanted 4-door, 6-passenger Sedan.
Phono your BUICK doalor for a domonrtratioa -Rlyh t Moor!
When better automobile* are built BUMCH will build them
'— *-*- — Tun• in HENRY J. TAYLOR, ABC Network, •very Monday nvning.
Hamilton’s Garage
Phone Madison 66
Seward, Alaska