BARANOF BANNER
Sitka, Alaska io$ a copy
April 10 1958
Vol. 1 No. 1
Progress. . .
FIRST BANK OF SITKA
OPENS NEW BUILDING
History of Bank
paces Sitka Progress
The first Bank of Sitka
opened the doors of its new
Building for Business on the
last day of March. An event
which marked another for
ward step in the progress of
this pioneer Sitka banking
institution. Some 500 Sitka
residents attended the open
house.
The growth of any com
munity can often be measur
ed By the growth of its fi
nancial centers and the 19
year history of the First Bank
of Sitka closly paces the
growth of this Island City.
In the fall of 1939 the Ter
ritory granted a Banking
charter under the name of
the First Bank of Sitka and
the bank set up business in
the building where the Rus
sian Bell Gift Shop is cur
rently located, j. J. Conway
was President, Theodore
Kettleson vice president, and
Orval Tapper was cashier
and manager. Assets totaled
$180,000.
By 1942 the first building
had been outgrown and the1
Bank was moved to the Ket
tleson Building with many
improved services as well as
additional space.
Marking a decade of ser
vice and growth a branch
was opened in Pelican in 19
49. This Branch is still in op
eration.
With the starting of con
struction for the pulp mill in
Sitka, plans were laid to con
struct new Bank quarters in
the down town area. A 40 By
90 foot Building of reinforced
concrete was planned with
a second story over half the
length of the structure. Ac
tual construction was begun
last winter. The most mo
dern equipment available
has been included in the
bank with a vault door weigh
ing three tons and protected
by three time locks making
it as fool-proof as any vault
can be.
'Hie new bank building oi
lers iincreased conveniences
including two booths for in
specting the contents of
safety deposit boxes in pri
vacy, five cages for banking
business three paying and
receiving, one savings and
one for note payments. There
is also a new night deposi
tory service and the kink has
its own telephone exchange
to assist in the handling oi
calls.
Many firms worked on the
structure which was built by
jlibert Construction Com
pany and Western Builders.
Duke Mitroviteh did the ele
ctrical work. Harris Plumb
ing had the heating and
plumbing contracts, Chuck
Pearl painted the building
and Gene Brady laid the tile
four. Architects were Foss,
Olsen and Sands of Juneau.
The Seattle First National
Bank designed the layout of
counters and desks.
Banking hours in the new
building will be daily Mon.
through Fri. 10:00 to 3:00
and Fri. evenings from 6:30
to 8:30.
Present bank personel in
clude j. J. Conway, president
Charles Kidd vice president,
Frank Calvin assistant vice
president and Frances John
son cashier. Other employe
es include: George Beacom,
Eunavae Ballou, Leanore
Peterson, Doris Noreen, Lana
Too!e\’, Lois Cornell, Doro
thy Osbakken, Thelma Camp
boll, Helen Patterson, Julie
Boskolfsky and Mary Huff
smith. Pelican branch man
ager is J. IF Sadlicr.
From its small beginnings
the First Bank of Sitka has
out grown two buildings and
its assets have jumped from
the original $180,000 to ap
proximately $4,000,000. Sit
ka’s growth is certainly re
flected by the progress of the
First Bank of Sitka.
Steam Bath Plan
Steam Baths in Sitka seem
to be the subject of much
discussion these days. Not
only the obvious interest in
the fact that there is going
to be one, but over the ques
tion of whether there has
been one or more of the
health baths in the area be
fore some say yes others
say no, and thus it goes.
Enough to say, Sitka is
about to have a Swedish Hock
Steam Bath ami as we go to
press the foundation is al
ready laid and the building
in the beginning stages of
construction. In about one
month the new health center
will be open for business.
Woody Woodman and
Vein Deatherage are part
ners in the new venture
which will offer the tradi
tional rock steam bath plus
massage and vibrating equip
incut for reducing.
Originally from Arizona,
the partners have come to
Sitka with their families
from Anchorage to make
their home on the property
that 1 i< vs about midway be
tween Sitka and the new
Pulp Mill site.
The idea for the Rock
Steam Bath developed from
a desire to build such a struc
ture for private use. So many
people, when they heard
what the Woodman’s were
doing, asked to use the fa
cilities that the Woodman’s
decided to build on a com
mercial scale. The partner
ship with Vein Deatherage
(continued page 8)
things being ns they ore
• • •
The first edition of the
Bara no I Banner is off the
press and is in your hands!
it is not what we planned,
but we set a deadline and we
have met it as best we could
with all the difficulties that
have come up relative to pub
lishing a first issue of a new
paper. We felt that you
would rather have some
thing than postpone pub
lication for another week so
we have printed only eight
pages when we had planned
double that number. We
have printed only enough
for our subscribers plus a few
more of this first issue so
we hope it will become some
thing of a collector's item.
We sincerly trust that the
many advertisers who gave
us copy for this issue will
hear with us until the next
for we have sacrificed adver
tising for reading material
and news.
There are many depart
ments and features for which
we have not had room.the
Church Directory, the Calen
dar of events, the Radio Logs
and a host of other items too
numerous to mention but
the bugs have largely been
worked out and next week
should see us at full page
strength, and with all fea
tures showing! Thank you for
your patience and your
truly wonderful support.
T. Cole Lists Faculty
Changes for Year
Superintendent Cole of the
Sitka Public schools has an
nounced faculty changes for
the corning year. Leaving the
school system are: Elemen
tary School Mrs. Margaret
S ten son, Mrs. Leona Kosch
mann. Miss Elsie Mae Hai
ght. Miss Eleanor Rowe, Miss
Opel Bennett, Mrs. Nina
Johnson, Mrs, Marilyn Hall,
Mr. Frank Hall, Mrs, Bertha
Hamer, Mr. Martin Johnson,
Mr. Donald Wrightup, and
Mr. Carl Stenson. Leaving
from the high school are: Mr.
jack Farr, principal, Mr. Wil
liam Marsh, Mr. George Lem
ke and Mr. Norman GuHick
son.
Hiring for the next school
year is not as yet completed,
Mr. Cole said, hut the follow
ing teachers have been en
gaged: Kindergarten, Miss
Yanderhiden; first grade.
Mrs. Thelma Fenner and
Mrs. Chrisa B. Swanson;
second grade, Mrs. Della
Marquard and Miss Audry
Nielson; third grade, Mrs.
Patsy Holder and Miss Jean
Carlson; fourth grade, Mrs.
Virginia Briant; sixth grade
Mrs. Jessie Dean; seventh,
Mr. Robert Briant tk eighth,
Mrs. Elizabeth Allen.
Principal for the high
school will be Mr. William
Fenner. Mr. Don Holder will
teach social science and P. E.
Mr. James Allen will teach
sciencs, Mr. James Eyre
English and Science. There
are seven more teachers to be
hired for the coming school
year.
The Sitka schools had a
staff of 40 teachers last year
and have increased the fac
ulty to 45 for next.
o • o e
Webb Marine
Expands Services
Stockton W ebb informs the
Banner that as of April 7th,
1958 W ilber Bundy, Jack L.
Graham and Bussell Patch
ing have been associated
with him in the operation of
Webb Marine Sales and Ser
vice. W ebb plans to even
tually turn the entire busi
ness over to them.
All regular services of the
business will be continued
plus the addition of inboard
motor repair and Frogman
services for diving and sal
vage.
Negotiations between Webb
and the voting trio have been
going on since December of
last year and now, in con
sumation, bring to Sitka a
tremendous know-how in ma
line matters.
BUNDY TO BE
SALES MANAGER
W ilber Bundy will be in
charge of retail sales and will
act as sales manager. He is
from Portland, Org. and went
to Oregon State.
Jack Graham has had ex
tensive training in marine
engineering and has spent
five years as a marine equip
ment repairman. Mr. Gra
ham will handle the Home
lite saw part of the business
and has had training with the
Homelite corporation.
Working with inboard mo
Actor Visits Sitka
Will Rogers, Jr. visited
Sitka on Tuesday of this
week as part of a current
tour of the Territory. Famous
son of a famous father, Rod
gers came to the Territory
to play in the Anchorage
Community College pro
duction of “Ah Wilder
ness”.
Visits Memorial
As part of his tour he flew
to Point Barrow and from
there made a pilgrimage to
the monument that has been
erected to the memory of
Will Rogers, Sr. and Wiley
Post who crashed there in
1935.
Nome was on his touring
schedule and while there
last Sunday he officially
started the dog-sled races.
Sitka Tour
Rogers was met at the air
port turn-arouna ny mem
bers of the Jr. Chamber of
Commerce Frank Richards
of the Chamber of Com
merce, Mayor Mitrovitch,
Lawrence Porter of the Mt.
Edgecumbe school, personel
from both radio stations asd
other Sitka residents.
A tight schedule was plan
ned for the visiting actor
which includeda flying trip
to the pulp mill site, a tour
of the Russian Orthodox
Cathedral, Luncheon at Ro
tary and a short but highly
entertaining talk to the Mt.
Edgecumbe students.
The actor, who made a
movie of his father's life,
left Sitka Tuesday at about
five P. M. to return for a
days stay in Juneau where
he will meet with the Go
vernor. He returss to Iris
home in Los Angeles from
Juneau to resume his movie
and TV work.
tor repairs will be Russell
Patching who has also had
overlive years experience. He
and Graham operated West
ern Marine Enterprises at
Clatskanie, Ore.
Morris Leman will con
tinue to be associated with
the business working on out
board equipment.
SALVAGE JOB
IN PROCESS
Patching and Graham are
experienced Frogmen and
are. currently working on a
large salvaging job ^ for
Robert and George Kase.
The Kases were barging a
cat from Craig to Haines and
the barge was swamped in
Karheen Pass in 90 feet of
water. Patching and Graham
were contacted in Clats
kanie and they flew at once
with their equipment to
Ketchikan and from there by
Ellis Air Lines to the site of
the job.
It took them several clays
working with magnets to lo
cate the cat as the exact lo
cation was not known. After
finding the sunken craft they
attached lines and brought
up two light plants and sev
eral outboard motors. Heavy
equipment will be moved in
late this week to raise the 18
ton D-7 Cat.
HOSPITAL STAFF
CHANGES
The Sitka Community
Hospital board recieved and
accepted the resignation of
Mrs. Helen Lemke as hos
pital administrator at its Apr.
7th meeting. Mrs. Lemke
has held the post for the past
year and a half. The board
appointed Mrs. Dorothy
Thomsen to fill the position.
The Lemkes are going
stateside on an extended sum
mer vacation with no set
plans for the fall. They will
be returning to Sitka.
Mayor Mitrovitch, at the
last council meeting re
appointed two of the original
hospital board members,
Lloyd Haines and John
Dolanc.
* • o
scraps from
Father Gander's
notebook
POLITICS
Registration
Cogitation
Nomination
Demonatration
•
Convocation
Indignation
Consteration
Demonstration
Glorification
Osculation
Approbation
Puzzled Nation
It’s that time again. Who
are you voting for? Accord
ing to the notebook we’re to
be spared campaign oratory
locally.
There’s a move afoot to
start a Toastmistresses Club
the gals don’t want the
men to out-talk them.
In the spring a young
man’s fancy lightly turns to
thoughts of Income Tax and
on April 14th the thinking
gets heavy. Done yours?
Short summer wasn't it?