May 1, 1958
104: a copy
Vol. 1 No. 4
This Week 'Round
the World
(by REX KING)
/mm
The news of the week
might very well he covered
by reprinting last week’s col
umns with a lew changes of
dates and tenses. A revolting
sameness spells stalemate &
perhaps a marking of time
in the world’s halls, palaces
and cloak-rooms where news
is made.
People are much more in
teresting this week in the
news they made.
As a child gypsies were
forever an intriguing race &
no amount of propaganda
ever quite succeeded in re
moving a love of gyspy ways
and lore.
Relatively small in num
bers in the western world,
there are over a million gyp
sies scattered all over the
globe. Europe knows them
well and their abilities as
traders have made this their
basic living.
Last week the ruler of one
of the largest and wealth
iest of the European tribes
died in the Italian town of
I .endinara. Prior to her
death her people gathered
from all over Europe to pay
their last homage.
Queen Nella Rossetto was
65. Born in Spain, she laid
seen great changes come
about for her people. At her
death gypsies had become
dealers in second hand cars,
a normal switch from the
days when they were traders
of horses.
Following a period of
mourning, the tribe will
choose a new roller.
Seemingly as undef eatable
in matters of health as he
was in war, Sir Winston
(Churchill entered the histor
ic House of Commons for the
first time in four months. Re
peated Illness had kept him
from his seat. The former
Queen’s first minister seems
as indestructable as the
phrases he introduced into
the English language.
From China to Canada to
Sitka China will, we are
sure, not pause to remember
her Canada may not mark
her passing, but Sitka does
and here is her story..
CHINA MARY
Funeral services were con
ducted Tuesday afternoon by
Father Mac L. MacElmecl
for Mrs. Mary Johnson, bet
ter known to Alaskans as
China Mary.
Mrs. Johsson has been a re
sident of the Pioneer Home
in recent months.
China Mary lived in South
eastern Alaska for 63 years
ol her life am had liecome
very much a pa of its color
ful and eventb history.
BORN IN CH A
When ask 1 about her
place of birt and how she
came to Alaska she once
said, “I was born on a sam
pan on one of the rivers of
China. I come from a family
of travelers/’
Her first job involved
gathering the tiny eggs of the
*silk moth, watching the
hatching process and feed
ing the moths mulberry leav
es. When this season was
over she and her family gath
ered oranges and fished. Her
working life began when she
was six years old and China
Mary never stopped work
ing.
^ EARNS FOR AMERICA
W hen China Mary was
nine years of age she revolt
ed from the life she knew and
ran away from home and,
working hard and for long
hours, had, by the time she
was thirteen, saved enough
money to come to the west
< rn world. Her great dream
was to get to America. How
ever, she could get immigra
tion papers only to Canada,
but not to the states. Thus
she arrived in Vancouver, It.
C.
MEETS HUSBAND
While working in Vancou
ver she met a Chinese gen
tleman who operated a res
taurant in Sitka and they
were married. China Mary
had her wish and was able
as his wife to enter the U. S.
as an imigrant. It was in
that Sitka restaurant that a
customer first called her
China Mary and the name
has stuck ever since.
Few people knew the his
tory of Sitka from the turn of
the century as well as China
Mary. To her restaurant
work she added the task 01
midwife remembering that
babies were born by candle
light and that she never lost
a baby or a mother.
After the death ol her
husband, China Mary did
housework by the day car
ing for her two daughters as
best she could. She married
again and with her new? hus
band, closed the restaurant
and went into mining. China
\ 1 ary pros pected, s 1 love I ed
ore, cooked and generally
did a man’s work.
DAIRY FARM STARTED
In 1911 the pioneering
couple started the first dairy
farm in Sitka at Sawmill
Creek and after struggling
for a few years sold it out.
China Mary then became the
first woman troller in the
area. She remembered fish
ing for King salmon, pulling
them in In hand and hitting
them over the head with a
potato masher!
m me earn zu s sue ana
her husband opened a h>\
farm which didn’t do very
well. Then they both worked
with commercial fishing.
Of Alaska, China Mary
said’1 this is my home and
my country, and 1 love it. It
has treated me well!
Old Sitkans mourn the pas
sing of China Mary for they
knew and respected her for
the friendly, honest and kind
b' person she always was.
But perhaps th.ey mourn
more the passing of a facet
of the life of this area which
she so well represented.
(Ed. Note: W e are indebted
to friends and to the Alaska
Sportsman for much of this
material)
« o « <•
Power Failure
Slows City
Sitka and the area were
without electric power for
slightly over eight hours yes
terday. The problems invol
ved are not completely solv
ed at press time, but power
has been restored by dint of
a tremendous amount of la
bor on the part of the public
utilities crew.
The original failure was
due to a break down in the
new submarine ea le e ni
ne eling Mt. E Ige u n :E to
Sitka. At the tin* of the cut
over from the old to the new
ea le, the old one was work
ing and it was thought that
it would carry the power
load until repairs could lie
made. The old cable, how
ever, failed also. Temporary
repairs were made in it a- d
than one of the newer trans
formers at the Island began
to act up.
For a while it threatened
to shake loose from its
foundations and it was ne
eessan to turn if off. An old
one was then put in opera
tion a id together with city
ppwer sources, electriety
was restored.
All of this took time and
the city virtually came to a
halt. The Sid hopes to be
able to isolate the trouble in
the submarine cable quickly
as well as repair the trans
former. Meanwhile power is
available and, though on a
make shift basis, should lid
adequate until repairs are
made.
« * « #
City Office
to Move
The City office will be
moved Monday morning
from the present site of the
Public Utilities office to quar
tors over the File Hall. The
area formerly occupied by
area' formally occupied by
\ir. and Mrs Harrv Sulser
Sr,.
Involved the move are
Mrs. Margaret l ederoll, city
clerk and Fred Sloan, city
engiseer.
O
Gov. Entertains
S.J. Seniors
The senior class at the Shel
don school took their tradi
tional Senior Sneak over the
past week-end. This annual
event involving members of
the graduating class means
that the students cut classes
on an undisclosed date and
take a trip.
This year the trip took the
class 'membership to Juneau
where they visited the cap
ital and were guests at the
Governors mansion. The
Governor and his wife enter
tained the young people and
served them refreshments.
Mr. and Mrs. Florie Lek
atiof and Miss Ann Owens
took the trip with the stu
dents as chaperons. Mr. Lek
anof is senior class advisor
and Miss Owens is in the
girl’s dorm.
O ft O &
Call for Bids
Plans lor construed m of a
$359,000 rational fisheries
u search laboratory at Alike
bay, near Juneau, were an
nounced today by (iov. Mike
Stepovicb.
The two storv structure,
planned by the Bureau ol
Commercial Fisheries ol the
Fish and \\ ildlite Service,
will house laboratories and
offices for the 45 research
and statistical employes in
the Juneau area,
Bids will be calk'd this
summer and completion of
the facility is scheduled for
late 1959.
Included in the building
will be laboratories for both
fresh and marine fish, a
chemistry labroatory for wa
ter analysis, and library fac
ilities.
Site for the laboratory is
at 12 mile on the (ilaeier
Highway where three acres
of land have been secured.
The site is close to good sup
plies of clean sea wafer and
fresh water for experimental
purposes.
Preliminary plans for the
laboratory were drawn up
b\ Finn A. Forrest, Juneau
architect and were approved
b\ the Directors of the Bur
eau of Fisheries.
( lose up view of the Plaque commemorating the part
the 9th Infantry played in the transfer of Alaska from
Russia to the U. S,
View of the new platform and flag pole given by the 9th
Infantry to the City of Sitka. Fred Sloan designed the
monument.
Music Festival
Pleases Capacity
Crowd
'Hie 1958 Local Music Fes
tival was held at Mt. Edge,
in the bandshell last Sat.
evening and a capacity au
dience tilled the area to over
flow ing.
Participating in the annual
Music Festival event were
Sheldon Jackson, Sitka High
School and the Mt. Edge
combe Boarding School,
latch school sent both a
choir or chorus and a band
to the event.
For those who may have
heard the festival on pre
\ ions years, the evening
must have been a most
pleasurable one both to the
eye and the ear.
\lt. Edgeeumbe boasts the
only bandsliell in Alaska &
the massed hands in their
colorful uniforms and glit
tering instruments made for
quite a spectacle in the
gleaming white shell. Gift of
the Lions Club, the shell
makes the difference be
tween a good performance
and one that would be mus
ically lost and distorted were
it offered in the vastness of
the hanger without the
acoustical benefits of the
shell.
SITKA-1 II OPENS
The Festival began with a
rousing opener by the Sitka
High School band offering
a trio of numbers. Mark
Knoll was featured as piano
soloist. Floyd Clay directed.
(iron ) two of the evening
saw the Mt. Edgeeumbe ad
vanced chorus under the di
rection of Ruth YVolverton
sing four numbers. The Y\ il
liams “Let There Be Music
with young David Lawrence
(eon’t on Page 8)
MINE SWEEPERS VISIT
Four Canadian Mineswecp
ers paid a good will visit to
Sitka on Wednesday & their
< r- ’w s spilled over the town
viewing the sights & buying
som orders.
Th four trim ships tied up
at tli * Mt. Edgeeumbe main
dock making an impressive
formation behind the Coast
Guard cutter Sorrel.
sc raps from
Father Gander's
notebook
Love is as itch
That has no match....
Down deep inside
Where one cannot scratch!
The power failure of yes
terday messed things up gen
erally. Shows how depen
dent we are on the kilowatts.
Pity the poor man who was
stuck between floors at the
Cathedral apartments. An
other lady said she didn’t
mind she was defrosting
her icebox anyway!
Friend of mine complain
ing about routine chores
about the house pulled out
a classic “Housekeeping
sure can get pretty daily!”
We’ve founded a new or
ganization, membership of
one SPSBO (try pronounc
ing it) Society for the Protec
lion of Shoreboat Operators
First order of business., the
Alaska Coastal Piper Cub
that had the wing clipping
job done on it, (to say noth
ing of having its tail put out
ol joint) was not so ungently
handled by either a shore
boat or a shoreboat operator.
Twas a freight boat with a
motor that conked out at the
just wrong time. Nobody's
fault Too Bad We’re sad
Boat unhurt Plane fixed O
K? Membership fee in SPS
BO? Tell the boys you’re
sorry you thought they tri
ed to land on the Coastal
float instead of the proper
one. if you did.
Happy to discover we
have a green thumb.have
n’t been home to check on
things lately, been sort of
glued to this desk. Those
beautiful expensive Idaho
potatoes we planted in the
storage bin have grown into
a jungle that finally popped
the door of said bin open
last night!
Whose armchair are you
going to take your vacation
in this year?
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