Your Dependable Community Newspaper
July 21, 1955
Alaska Historical
library t. museum
;-;30X 2051
,tunaau, la**a
Vol# 6, No« 6
nr
a
SURVEY PARTY , OIL MEN VISIT
• At*
A geological survey team headed by
Dr. Farrell Barnes of Menlo Park., Cal
ifornia spent two days in the Homer
district this W8ek studying the coal
deposits. Accompanying Dr.. Barnes were
Dr* Roland w. Brown and Dr. Ruth
Schmidt, both of Washington, D. C. and
Henry Bender of Fairbanks*
The party arrived Sunday night after
making several stops along the hi Away
to look at the beach bluffs. They ikft
Homer Wednesday morning for the Mat an
uska Valley.
Dr. Barnes stated that he had made
his first trip to ^omer to study the
coal deposits in 1946. He returned
every summer for the next five years
and again in 1954 when he made a study
of the Deep Creek area. He hopes to
have the manuscript ready for a bulle
tin covering the Homer coal district
by the end of this year, he said*
Dr. Brown, whose specialty is col
lecting fossils from coal deposits,
displayed a piece of slate containing
a fossilized hydrangea leaf as well as
a small fossilized branch of a conifer
ous tree which he said now existed only
in China. The finding of the plant
fossils indicated, he said, that Alaska
once enjoyed a much warmer climate than
now exists.
Homer was visited briefly Monday by
a group of distinguished visitors in
cluding General Faroes H. Doolittle,
’forld War II hero and vice president of
the Shell Oil Co. The ten passengers
of the Wien-Ala ska Airlines plaie that
arrived Monday afternoon from King Sal
mon had been inspecting Shell Oil land
and fishing in the King Salmon and Wide
Bay regions. Included in the group-in
* addition to Doolittle were S. F. Bowlby
Shell Oil vice president; Maj. Gen.
George R. Aoheson, commander, Alaska
Air Command; Col. *aul Batty', AAC air
craft division chief; Elmer Rasmuson,
president of National Bank of Alaska,
Noel Wien, president of the airlines;
L. R. Newfarmer, Pacific coast area
manager of'exploration; Charles Barnes,
area exploration manager; V. ,r. Finch,
•Shell division exploration manager and
Belwyn Eddy, western division marketing
manager.
Upon their arrival at the airport
they were picked up by Ralph Cowles and
taken to the Shell camp near anchor
River. Rasmuson, however, stayed in
Homer to meet with Russ Cronin of the
Bank of Homer.
The party, with the exception of
Newfarmer and Finch returned to Anchor
age Monday evening.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MEETING
Members of the Chamber of Commerce
approved the recommendation of theJ^L
rectors Monday to 3et the annual dues
at a flat -520 for ©11 members. The fee
had been- $25 for business memberships
and $15 for non-business memberships.
Cecil Wyant, president of the Kache
aak Bay Farmer’s Association, was the
first speaker of the new Chamber pro
gram that ’will see a different member
addressing the group each weex.
Tftrant explained the activities of
the association which now has 40 mem
bers, he said# The co-operative is
acting only as a consumer’s group at
the present time, he stated, however it
Was set up to act as both a consumers
and producers co-op. Last year the
assmbers purchased between 18 and 19
thousand dollars worth of feed through
the parent organization, the president
#aid, and added that any profit made
by the co-op is returned to the patrons
m a percentage basis according to
their patronage# <Jr
Non-partisan in nature,the co-op al
io acts as a political pressure group,
^Tvant said, as they work for the bet
terment. of farming conditions in the
. Territory# 4$,
To join the association it is nec
essary to .be a farmer and local farmers
may join by buying stock at >5 a share#
The president said that the co-op
Is planning to go into the machinery
business# Marketing of local produce
was not planned for t^e near future by
the association because of a lack of
Interest#
During a question and answer period
Whioh followed Rant’s talk, it was
ho ted that the association does not
have a warehouse and uses the local
public dock as temporary storage space
until orders can be picked up by mem
bers, and thA the co-op pays no taxes*
These points were brought out after
’jyant had indicated that because of the
association prices had been leveled*
Yule Kilcher told of the activities
of the Pox River Cattlemen's Associa
tion in obtaining a grazing . lease on
20,000 acres of land in the Pox River
region*
The aim of the association, he said,
is to further the breeding, marketing
and inspection of beef cattle# One
breed will be ohosen and raised ty all
of the stockmen*
Rancher-members of the association
include the Palls Cj^ek Hanoh of Rain
water and Xunz, the’ A* A* Mattox Ranch
and Kilcher's Ranch at McNeil Canfon*
Rainwater is president of the assoc
iation and Kunz is the vice-president,
secretary and treasurer*
In other Chamber business, • Mary
High suggested that the local body ap
proach the national Chamber to see if
improvements couldn't be mado in ship
ping to Alaska* The natter will be
discussed by the directors*
PLAN ADDITION
The Inlgt Trading Post is preparing
to placo a 16 x 20 Butler building be
side the present installation to give
additional room for merchandise, ac
cording to George Bishop, store oraw*
'.then the now addition is oaapletc&,
the heavy hardware and electrical items
will >e moved from the present store
spardo» i
A letter from Delegate Bartlett was
received this week by the Chamber of
Commerce stating that the Interior De
partment has definitely decided to use
funds appropriated by Cpngress for the
Alaska Read Commission for this year to
start paving the Sterling Highway* The
decision was made to defer paving work
on the Alaska Highway so that the Ster
ling job and other construction pro
grams could go forward* Bartlett wrote*
Carl Shoiin, local ARC foreman* said
that he had not received any definite
information on paving, plana for the
highway*
PATROLMAN HERE
Mr* and Mre* Edwin %rtin and three
boys arrived in H©mer last Thursday
evening to make their home here. Mr*
Martin is a patrolman with the Terri
torial Higiway Patrol o^d will be work
ing this end of the Peninsula*
• Before coming to Homer Martin was
stationed in the Anchorage area as a
sergeant* % took a demotion to take
the Homor appointment*
The Martins 'have purchased the Jira?!
Sherry residence and have been busy*
during the past week getting moved in
to tfreir new quarters.
ALASKA CHROME
A orow of IS men is now working for
the Alaska Chrome Corporation at Red
Mountain across the Bay, according to
C* A* Sherman, corporation representa-'
tive who came through Homer Monday on
his way back to Anchorage. u
Alaska Chrome is operating the old
"Chrome Queen" mine and has a new shaft *
into the mountain*
Sherman pointed out that*the miners,
headed by Gail Dunkelberg, are all from
the Anaconda Copper company mines of
Butte, Montana, and are working on a
contract basis.!
It is expected . that work will con
tinue until September with the first
barge load of ore, approximately 1200
tons, to be shipped out later this
month. A season total of r 5000 tons
is expected, Sherman stated.' The ore
is shipped to Portland and then by rail
on to Grants Pass where it is stockpile
ed*
Earlier this year $40,000 worth of
mining equipment was barged to the
mine and considerable work accomplished
on buildings and dock, according to
Sherman.
Sherman was accompanied by a Or../
Hoagland, Oregon state geologist, who
has been at the mine setting up a lab*
oratory so that the dre can be analyzed
at the site. Dr. Hoagland returned to
Portland Monday.
WEATHER
High , Low
July 14 4 •-'* 55 49
July 15 *54 .44
July 16 * * 57 ' 46
July 17 58 39
July 18 ■ 56 38
July 19 63 44
July 80 65 44