SEWARD’S
All-'Weather
SEAPORT
Is Alaska e
Greatest Asset
Seward Seaport Record
Vol. VI. No. 4
SEWARD. ALASKA. FRIDAY, JULY 15, 1949
Price 10 Cents
Homesites On
Highway To Be
Available Soon
Anthony Dean, chief of the en
gineering division of the Forest
Service in Washington, D. C., is
in Seward this week with Charles
G. Burdick, of Juneau, assistant
regional forester, and John Brill
hart. regional lands officer.
A survey is being made for the
purpose of setting aside a large
number of lots for business and
homesites. Practically all of them
will be less than five acres. The
lots are to be in the vicinity of
Girdwood, Indian and Bird. The
policy is to make the lots smaller
so that more people may take ad
vantage of the land available.
About four weeks will be neces
sary for the survey.
Max Reger, forester at the sta
tion at Lowing, said this, is the
last leg of Dean's visit through
the Territory before he returns to
Washington. D. C.
NAVY COMMAND AT
ADAK CHANGES
Captain George H. Hamilton,
USN. reported at Adak July 6 for
duty as Commander of the Naval
Operating Base. He relieves Com
mander Thomas O. Murray who has
orders to report to the Bureau of
Aeronautics, Washington. DC.
Captain Hamilton, whose last
duty was in the Office of the Chief
of Naval Operations, will also as
sume duty as Commanding Officer
of the Naval Communication Sta
tion and the Naval Station.
As Commander, Naval Operating
Base. Captain Hamilton is also as
signed duty as Commander Search
and Rescue for the Adak Zone.
HOPE FAVORABLE REPORT
ON PUBLIC WORKS BILL
Strong efforts are being made to
have the Senate Public Works
Committee report favorably the
Alaska public works bill. Testi
mony in behalf of the measure
was given some weeks ago by
many Alaska officials, including
several mayors, who came to Wash
ington especially to present com
munity needs. There is some talk
that a special subcommittee might
be named to travel to Alaska to
look into the situaion, which means
there would be no action at this
session. It is known, however, that
some senators on the committee
would prefer to act on the bill now
on the basis of the testimony
which has been presented.
Early in the winter the Budget
Bureau sent a request to Congress
for $2,000,000 for the first year's op
erations of the bill. Of course, no
action will be taken on the ap
propriation request until the au
thorization bill becomes law.
SALMON TRAP ABOLITION
There has been no further report
on plans announced earlier for a
trip to Alaska by the Merchant
Marine and Fisheries subcommit
tee which conducted hearings on
the proposal to eliminate salmon
traps in Alaska. Despite Delegate
Bartlett’s strong objections against
further delay after the referendum
vote last fall against the trap, the
committee failed to act on the
referendum bill. The chairman an
nounced action would be taken
next winter either to report the bill
out or kill it, but only after fur
ther hearings had been held in
Alaska. '
LAND FOR BOY SCOUTS
Under the provisions of another
of Delegate Bartlett’s bills which
has been signed into law by Presi
dent Truman, title to 240 acres of
land between Anchorage and Pal
mer’ is transferred to the Alaska
Council of Boy Scouts. The* land
will be put to use for recreational
purposes.
Carl R. Carlson,' superintendent
of schools in Seward, has returned
from a visit in the States.
VA Attorney Visits
Gateway City
Harold F. Dawes, chief attorney
for the Veterans Administration in
Juneau, arrived in Seward aboard
the SS Baranof and expects to he
in Seward for several days on busi
ness for the Veterans Administra
tion.
Dawes, who at one time pub
lished the Wrangell Sentinel, is a
veteran of the first World War.
He is a thirty-year member of the
American Legion and in 1921 was
department commander.
Farewell Party and
Reception at Church
The Rev. G. Edward Knight of
Seward, superintendent of Meth
odist Missions in Alaska, will give
his report to the mission confer
ence in Anchorage, and on Tuesday
will attend a farewell party in his
honor here.
There will be a pot luck dinner
and reception at which many dis
tinguished guests will be present.
Among them will be Bishop Gerald
Kennedy, Dr. Earl Brown, exec
utive secretary of the Division of
Home Missions, and Mrs. Brown,
Dr. Ezra Cox, associate to Dr.
j Brown, and Mrs. Cox. the Rev.
| James Geiser, president of the
Board of Missions of the Erie Con
ference, Dr. John O Cross, execu
tive secretary of the Board of Edu
cation, and the Rev. P. Gordon
Gould, director of Methodist work
in Alaska.
All friends and interested persons
who wish to attend the potluck
dinner are asked to contact either
Mrs. Arreta Howell or Mrs. Irwin
Metcalf to make reservations. The
reception will follow the dinner
and the public is invited.
I c ■ --
City Beautiful Award
To Father Borbeck
The Rev. Martin F. Borbeck, pas
tor of Sacred Heart Catholic
Church, was awarded the City
l Beautiful award this week, which
j consists of five dollars in trade at
i Werner’s Market.
The award was given on the
basis of the greatly improved ap
pearance of the church property.
A new coat of paint and general
repair work on the quonset, which
is used for the parish hall, and the
greatly improved appearance of the
adjoining church property on Sixth
Avenue are a real asset to the
appearance.
The new home of Art Brooks on
Seventh Avenue was considered as
another of the most improved
places in town. Brooks has added
a new porch to the house and put
in large picture window's. This, to
gether with a new paint job, has
made the old army building one
of the nicest looking houses in
town.
The union hall of the dockside
union and carpenter's union is re
ceiving a new coat of paint which
tends to brighten up the entire
neighborhood.
Dr. and Mrs. Horace Pope of
Juneau, are registered at the New
Seward Hotel. Dr. Pope was at the
Seward Sanatorium for several
months last winter doing dental
work for the patients there. He
is a member of the staff of the
Alaska Department of Health.
When the conversation got to
trout fishing aboard the Baranof
Thursday evening, a remark was
made that the largest trout caught
around here this year was 23 inches
long. Captain Joseph Ramsauer of
the Baranof took exception to this
statement. He has caught a 24M>
inch trout.
J. R. Agee, Judge of the Superior
Court in Los Angeles, and Mrs.
Agee arrived in Seward Thursday
on the SS Baranof. Mrs. Agee is
a fishing enthusiast and they are
going out on the Russian River
for a week or two.
Solons Express
Great Interest
In Local Works
Four senators of the Committee
on Public Works have written let
ters to the City of Seward to thank
officials for their cooperation and
interest in the Public Works pro
gram currently before Congress.
The letters are from Senators
Dennis Chavez, chairman. New
Mexico, John Sparkman, Alabama,
Arthur W. Watkins, Utah, and
Harry P. Cain of Washington.
The bill before the senate com
mittee S.855, is entitled “A bill to
authorize a program of useful pub
lic works for the development of
the Territory of Alaska.” In the
hearings a number of statements
from Territorial and Interior de
partment officials were submitted.
The committee report carries a
financial report of the City of
Seward for the previous year. Al
though the city had remained
pretty well within its budget, the
report shows that the city has
grown so fast that ordinary reve
nue from taxes will be insufficient
to provide sufficient utilities and
public services for the rapidly
mounting population for a very
long time.
Public works of a permanent
nature are proposed in the bill
now before congressional commit
tees and would provide water sup
ply, power, hospitals, schools, har
bor facilities, paving and side
walks, roads, telephone services
and projects of a like nature.
McNUTTS MAKE FLYING
VISIT HERE
W. L. McNutt of the Anchorage
Fire. Department and his son Rav
mon flew into Seward from An
chorage Thursday morning. They
remained overnight with friends
and departed for Anchorage in
their two-place plane Friday morn
ing.
The younger McNutt arrived
in Anchorage last week from San
Antonio, Texas, making the trip
in 42 hours flying time.
MABEL WERNER HOME
AFTER STATESIDE TRIP
Mrs. Mabel Werner returned to
Seward this week after an ex
tended visit with relatives in the
States.
Mrs. Werner flew to Kansas City
to visit her daughter, the former
Barbara Werner and now Mrs.
Milton H. Luce, Jr.
She visited a second daughter, Mrs.
Jack Downey of Sacramento, Calif.
Mrs. Downey, who is known to
Sewardites as Betty Werner, now
has four children. Her father-in
law is Senator Downey of Calif.
Mrs. Werner also visited two
sisters in Seattle and found time
to renew acquaintances in Everett,
where the Werners lived for many
years before coming to Alaska.
BAKER. OREGON MAYOR
VISITS IN SEWARD
Mr. and Mrs. M. McKin of Baker,
Oregon, were in Seward this week
as guests of Mr. and Mrs. Harry
Southard. They arrived on the SS
Alaska and after. leaving Seward
proceeded to Anchorage and Port
Nellie Juan. They will return to
Seward to board ship July 21.
Mr. McKin is mayor of Baker,
the home town of Mr. and Mrs.
C. J .Grabb. who were here a short
time ago. Mrs. Grabb is the sister
of Mrs. Southard.
HELP!
Due to the unprecedented de
mand for the July 5 edition of the
Seaport Record all copies except
file copies were completely sqld
out. Some contestants in the races
and many visitors are still asking
for that paper. The Record would
be very grateful to any one who
would turn in copies they no
longer need so that we may accom
modate our customers.
Commissioner Finds
Old Record Books
In going through old records in
the Commissioner’s office, acting
Commissioner Mrs. Anna B. South
ard brought to light a number of
old record books of the Sunrise
and Cleveland mining districts.
Some of the records go back as
far as 188G and show that at one
time the town of Sunrise was the
recording district of the Kenai
Peninsula. The ghost town of Sun
rise- once had a population of 3,000
and now has not an inhabitant.
The record books show a great
deal of the history of this area.
One entry concerns that of water
rights to D. C. Brownelll.
11,000 DP's Due To
Arrive in U. S.
Washington — Thirteen IRO
chartered United States Army
transports will leave Bremerhaven,
Germany, during July to carry a
total of 11,547 DP's to the United
States, the U. N. Internationa] Re
fugee Organization (IRO) an
nounced here.
The new monthly record coin
cides with the start of the second
year of shinping operations under
the U. S. Displaced Persons Act of
1948. Individual immigration plus
mass airlifts brought the grand
total leaving for the United States
during the first year of the Act’s
effectiveness to 44,549.
Of the vessels sailing from Bre
merhaven in July and due to ar
, rive in United States ports be
! tween July 15 and August 14.
eight are bound for New York, four
for Boston and one for New
Orleans.
Lutheran Ladies Plan
Future Program
I
! At its first evening meeting the
Lutheran Ladies Aid Society made
plans for a bake sale to be held
July 30 at Osbo's Electrical Supply
and an annual bazaar for early
November. On the afternoon of
July 27 there will be a sewing bee
for all members in the church
parlors to further the work for
the bazaar.
At the business meeting it was
disclosed that new pastel pottery
dishes had been purchased, as well
as glassware, flatware, and three
dozen folding chairs.
The devotional session used the
theme “Battles to be Fought in
Christian Life.” with Mrs. Robert
Elhard, Mrs. Gus Johnson and Mrs.
Clarence Larsen having parts and
Mrs. Marvin Viale singing a solo.
Hostesses for the evening were
Mrs. Albert Baumberger and Mrs.
Clarence Larsen. Refreshments
were served buffet style from a
lace covered table centered with
crystal vases of shasta daisies and
lighted candles. The rooms were
decorated with native lupin, col
umbine and ivy vines.
HEALTH & WELFARE WORKERS
ROUTINE VISIT TO HOPE
Mrs. Tom Bie, Public Health
Nurse, and Mrs.1 Eugene Lanier,
Welfare agdnt in Seward, went
to Hope on a routine visit for
their departments this week.
They were accompanied by Miss
Alice Hussey, Occupational Thera
pist at the Seward Sanatorium.
Quite a number of houses are now 1
vacant in Hope, they reported.
Art McKeough reports that the j
past week has been the busiest |
one for the Seward Cleaners in all j
the time he has been in Seward. .
Art says they’ve been working I
harder than ever before and still !
cannot catch up with the work j
being brought in.
Leroy Borders of Mullen. Nebras
ka, is visiting his relatives, the
Delmar Zentmire family. Borders
graduated from high i school this
year. He plans to remain here and
work for a year before going to
college.
Seward Makes
Strong Bid For
New College
Seward businessmen, together
with the board of the Seward Me
morial Church, are making a strong
bid to have the new Methodist
college located here. In a joint
resolution by the Chamber of Com
merce and the church board, the
most telling arguments in favor
of Seward have been listed.
The resolution, which is to be
presented to the Conference of
Methodist Missions in Anchorage,
states frankly that Seward wants
the college here because it would
be a great asset to the community.
Among advantages listed were
Seward’s accessibility by sea. air,
and highway (to be completed in
1951) to all parts of the Territory.
The fact that the Methodist
Church conducts the Jesse Lee
Home, the Seward General Hos
pital and the Seward Sanatorium,
would provide an excellent nu
cleus for expansion. Another ar
gument incorporated in the resolu
tion is that the Jesse Lee Home
has 160 acres north of the town
of Seward, and the belief that the
additional land in the vicinity
could be acquired.
A good, pure water supply exists
here and the weather is compara
tively mild for this part of the
world. Native timber is available
and transportation of supplies and
building materials would be cut to
a minimum at this seaport location.
The fact that Seward is a small
i stable community would be con
i dusive to better supervision of stu
dents in personal activities, and
there would be employment oppor
tunities for students. Adequate
medical and surgical facilities
would be available through the
church.
The Kenai Peninsula offers the
greatest opportunity for fine recre
ation. and within a short distance
from Seward such sports as fish
ing. hunting, boating, skiing, pros
pecting, hiking, photography and
i mountain climbing can be enjoyed.
I Seward is famous for its natural
scenery -and it is strategically lo
cated since it is about midway be
tween the University of Alaska at
Fairbanks and Southeastern Alas
ka, where students often migrate
to stateside colleges.
The joint resolution stated that
both organizations will stand ready
to assist in any way possible in
achievement of success for the
college.
navy annual expedition •
TO POINT BARROW
Eleven Navy ships are scheduled
to leave Seattle during the latter
part of July on the sixth and larg
est annual Navy* expedition —
known officially as BAREX —
to deliver supplies to the Navy
Petroleum Reserve No. 4 at Point
Barrow and Barter Island on the
Arctic coast. A total of approxi
mately 45,000 tons of cargos will be
delivered to these points as well
as to Air Force. Coast and Geodetic
Survey, Civil Aeronautics, Weather
Bureau, and Indian Service organi
zations in that area.
The expedition sailed from San
Diego for loading operations at
Port Hueneme. Point Molate (San
Francisco) and Seattle in June and
is due at Point Barrow August 3
wheje unloading operations will be
accomplished on an “around-the
clock” basis. In addition to the ac
companying ice-breaker the USS
Burton Island, the ships include
the USS George Clymer, attack
transport and flagship of the ex
pedition commander; USS Union,
USS Seminole and USS Oberon,
attack cargo ships; USS Achenar
attack transport: the LSTs 1123,
1110, 1126. 1146 and the fleet oiler
USS Neches.
The 1949 expedition is under the
command of Captain R. M. Scruggs,
USN.