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SF.WARD’S
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Tmilnrial Libiury
Seward Seaport Record
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Vol V, N«> 76
SKWAItli M.A'KA, FRIDAY, MARCH 25. lf»4P
_____ i_
I'l if, | it
Heavy Snow
Downs Phono,
Power Lines
More than KM) telephones wen*
thrown out of service Wednesday
evening w hen n 2300-volt power
line fell across a phone cable. The
break in the power line was caused
by a heavy fall of wet snow which
clung to the wires.
While the city-owned Seward
Electric System suffered no shut
down in power output as a result
of the broken line, a number of
residences had burned-out appli
ances and fuse boxes.
The telephone company has been
working incessantly to put all tele
phones back in operation, but it is
expected that a few days will
elapse before the work on all
phones is completed.
The main difficulty is tracing
the damaged equipment to the
point of trouble. The cables con
tain around 200 separate wires and
each must be checked to the phone
connection before it can be placed
back in service.
Part of the switchboard was
burned out at the telephone ex
change and it was reported that
the operator received a shock from
the high current.
A number of telephone subscrib
ers reported that their phones had
sparks and flames shooting from
them immediately after the power
line struck the cable.
Forest Service Says
No Highway
Funds For Seward
The Forest Service has no plans
for improving the Seward end of
the highway to Anchorage this
year.
This information was conveyed
in a letter from the Forest Service
in Washington, D. C., which Mayor
Lanier received this week. The
Idtter, dated March 16, as quoted'
below, tells the whole story.
“Secretary Brannan has sent to
us your letter of March
“We agree fully with you that
the roads on the Chugach Forest
should be improved to a standard
consistent with the connecting
highways on the Kenai Peninsula.
The importance of this is so ob
vious that we have no doubts
about the work being done within
a reasonable time. However, there
does not appar to be any possible
way to finance this out of Forest
Highway funds in the ’49 season.
“If Forest Highway appropria
tions amount to the full $20 million
annually authorized in the Federal
Aid Highway Act of 1948, Alaska’s
share according to law would be
$1,500,000. The Public Roards Ad
ministration has recently estim
ated the cost of,the reconstruction
of the roads in which you are in
terested at approximately $10,000
000. These roads are, as you point
out, primarily for through public
travel. One reasonable possibility,
therefore, for financing this work
may be found in the use of Feder
al Aid and Territory funds if Fed
eral Aid for highways is extended
to Alaska. Bills have been intro
uced in Congress for this purpose.
It will be automatically accom
plished if and when Alaska be
comes a state.
“In the meantime, plans for
gbing ahead ywith some of the
work are being held up until the
(Turn to Page 4)
Steamship Company
Esplains New
Permit System
In order to rut down ewc**N‘iv«*
wharfage and trucking ro*t» at Its
terminal at pier 42 in Seattle ttn*
Alaska Steamship Company lias
instituted a new permit system of
hooking freight on its vessels In
a general letter to all shippers the
steamship explains this system
and its proeeduros in relation to
individual shippers.
Four classifications have been
made to insure a minimum of time
lost and to make sure the freight
is shipped on the vessel desig
nated.
Should Have Permit Number
1. Concerns making occasional
shipments but not having own fa
cilities for delivery: These shippers
should secure Shipping Permit
number from the permit desk for
each shipment. This may be ob
tained by phone. Shipping clerks
should be prepared to give us the
names of consignee, general de
scription, approximate weight and
measuremnt of shipmnt. They will
be given permit number, name of
vessel, and dates on which the
freight may be delivered. Snipping
permit number should be put on
bill of lading. They should then
turn the shipments over to their
drayage company along with the
above information. Drayage com
pany can then arrange with permit
desk for delivery time.
2. Shippers who use their own
equipment for delivery: These
shippers will be given both per
mit and delivery time at once.
• Shipping clerks should be perpared
to give permit desk name of con
signee, destination, approxitnale
weight and measurement of ship
ments. In the case of several small
shipments to various consignees at
one port, a permit will be issued
to cover the aggregate amount to
that port. Shipments of ten tons
or over, to one consignee, however,
will have to be covered by individ
ual permit.
Must Hove Shipping Information
3. Drayage companies hauling
for various shippers: It is suggest
ed that drayage companies should
not undertake delivery to our ter
, minal until shipper has first Se
: cured shipping permit number and
other necessary shipping informa
tion. Dispatchers can then call our
permit desk and by supplying per
j mit number and vessel can be as
: signed a mutually convenient time
for delivery.
! 4. Motor freight carriers bring
ing shipments from out of town
(Turn to Page 4)
Large Crowd Attends
C. of C. Banquet
Sixty of his friends attended the
banquet in honor of Charles A.
Sheldon. The occasion was to hon
or Sheldon for his long and faith
ful service to the City of Seward
as postmaster.
After the group had enjoyed a
fine chicken and spaghetti dinner,
Leon Urbach took over the duty of
toastmaster in his usual enter
taining manner.
Speakers for the occasion were
W. W. Sipprell, general agent for
the Alaska Steamship Company in
Seward; W. C. Erwin, manager of
the Standard Oil Company at Sew
ard; Mrs. Charles Lechner of the
Seward Machine Shop, and Cap
tain Joseph Ramsauer of the SS
Baranof.
Mr. Sheldon was given a piece of
luggage as a token of gratitude for
his excellent and faithful service
as postmaster.
No Signs of
Break-up of
Nenana Ice
NENANA Chinook winds blew
a breath of spring into tin* Tanana
River Valley this week, but the
most famous 12 feet in Alaska
were still encased in about 40
inches of solid ice.
Predictions here on when the ice
Will go out still mention late April
or early May most frequently, ac
cording to F. W. (Slim) Avery,
Nenana old-timer and manager of
the famed ice pool, Avery says
that this year will set a record for
number of tickets sold, even top
ping last year’s 197,073 tickets. So
many guesses will cut down the
chances of anyone carrying off the
whole melon by himself,
j Letters poured in seeking infor
mation. They are sly sometimes,
, but often written with typical Al
askan bluntness. They want to
know the inside story on when’s
the iee going out One wag in Ne
nana says: “Tell 'em in the spring."
! Actually, of course, the local
1 people haven't any crystal ball anl
have been notoriously bad guess
| ers, judging by their past records.
' In the earlv da vs, Nenana folks
j twice won a share of the( pool, but
1 not since, Avery pointed out.
The tripod, about 12 feet square,
is 100 yards out from the south
bank of the Tanana River. Avery
paced the distance himself. The
j heavy wooden pole or mast is
! firmly braced and an elaborate
j system of a trench, braced poles
I and sunken deadmen makes the
tripod solid as a rock,
j The watchman will soon begin a
constant vigil from a hut located
along the banks of the Tanana.
Avery was a watchmn last year.
The tripod isn't rigged up yet to
the tower with wires. When the
ice breaks up and sends the tri
pod toppling, the wire jerks loose
a guillotine-knife on the tower.
This, in turn, cuts a rope and stops
the recorder clock. It's about as
fool-proof as ingenuity can make
| it.
As soon as the ice goes out, the
siren sounds and the ice pool man
ager grabs the clock and trundles
it over to the office on Nenana’s
main street. There it is'placed
tenderly in a big safe so that any
skeptic can read it an' weep.
Anchorage led ticket sales last
year with 91,002 sold. That’s an
average of five per capita. This
year Alaska’s biggest city has ord
ered 110,000 tickets.
REBEKAH CARD PARTY AND
DANCE SATURDAY
The seward Rebekah Lodge will
give a bridge and pinochle party
Saturday evening, March 26, at
The I.O.O.F. Hall. There will also
be dancing for “teen-agers”, and
others not wishing to play cards.
Refreshments will be served. Tick
ets are on sale for one dollar. Mrs.
Tom Osbo is chairman of the com
mittee in charge of the party.
NEW PASTOR ARRIVES FOR
M.E. 'KENAI PARISH
The Rev. Richard Kellogg, newly
appointed pastor of the Kenai
Methodist parish, arrived Thursday ■
on the SS Baranof. His parish will j
include Hope arid Moose Pass. He
comes from Sioux City, Iowa, but!
has worked recently in New Hamp
shire.
P-T>5 To Show
Educational
Films To Parents
At ;i t|M*cial meeting of th<- I’ TA
on March Ml l at K p m. 4n th ■ ,*>m
nnftium of the <h<>nl building three
films will Im* shtmn. Tin mcetin.'
lias arranged because of i<
quests from several of the parent
who were not able to attend the
lii' t meeting and who wish to se •
the films that were shown at that (
time.
It has long been realized that the
school alone is not ns effective in
its teaching without the coopera
tion and interest of the parents.
This request for an opportunity fo: j
the parents to share the burden ofj
some of the teaching of the chil- j
(iron is proof of community interest
and willingness to take their share
of the responsibility in the training
of their youth.
Human Growth
The film “Human Growth" is an
educational film which creates an
instructional atmosphere that per
mits the facts of hum#h sex to be
discussed without embarrassment or
tension. The film achieves three
cardinal objectives: a. it demon
strato.s for parents how sex educa
tion can be handled smoothly, in
telligently and in a socially accept
able manner in school and in the
home; b. it provides the classroom
teacher scientific with instruction
al aids for presenting the biologi
cal facts; and c. it presents scien
tific information accurately. The
film is planned primarily for class
room use in grades six to nine. It
has been endorsed by the National
Congress of Parents and Teachers
and has been widely used by
P-TA's throughout the country. j
The School That Learned To Eat
The second film that is to be
shown is “The School that Learned
to Eat,” produced by the University
of Georgia and General Mills. The
film tells the story of a school that
learned to eat by working and
playing together. It illustrates pre
planning activities of the school
and community workers; mobiliza
tion of community resources; close
cooperation between home and
school, classroom activities. It
shows how a community-school
program brought about improve
, ment in conditions that lead to
better health and nutrition for the
entire community.
The third film is "The Emotional
Needs of Children,” produced in
j svver some of the questions that
parents as well as teachers often
ask.
Every parent in Seward who is
earnestly interested in the educa
tion and welfare of the children
should .take this opportunity to bet
ter inform themselves of recent
developments in education so that
they can fully cooperate with the
school in better teaching for the
children.
FIREMEN ANSWER TWO CALLS
The Seward Volunteer Fire De
partment answered two calls this
week after a long period of rest.
Wednesday evening the firemen
were called to put out a smalfr fire '
caused by a short circuit in the
lighting system of the Palace Cafe.
A chimney fire in one of the flues
of the building occupied by
Moody’s and the Army Mess Hall ,
was the cause of the second call.
By the time the Fire Department
arrived, however, the fire had
burned itself out and it was im
possible to find which of the chim
neys had been burning. No dam
age was done in either fire.
Pass Memorialy
Delegates To
Stop at Juueau
Won! ha been rwoivcd that the
memorial for rehabilitation of tie
Seward-Portagc feet ion of The
Alaska Railroad has been passed
by the Territorial legislature.
It will now go directly to Con
gress.
Two Seward delegates, Ross B.
Mann and Ray James, are expect
ed to leave for Washington Satur
day or Sunday with a stop at Ju
neau on their schedule. At the
capital city they will have a con
ference with Territorial officials.
It was Rep. Clarence P. Keating
who introduced the memorial in
the legislature. Mayor Eugene N.
Lanier was in receipt of a telegram
from Governor Gruening Thursday
recommending that Keating follow
the memorial through Congress.
Wednesday afternoon some mem
bers of the City Council and some
members of the Chamber of Com
merce executive board met in the
city council chambers for an in
formal meetipg to review the situ
ation in the face of the telegram
from Delegate E. L. Bartlett which
quoted Director Davis of the Divi
sion of Territories as saying that
no delegates were needed in Wash
ington at the time.
It was made clear that the tele-'
gram was addressed to an indi
vidual and not the City of Seward;
therefore it was not official.
The wire was dated March 18.
at which time the memorial had
not been passed and there actually
was no official need for delegates
at that moment. With the passage
of the memorial, however, the pic
ture has changed, and aJl possible
information will be needed when
the document goes before Congres
sional committees.
P-TA To Have Bake
Sale April 2
The Parent-Teacher Association
is assisting its school children in
raising money for new chairs.
These chairs are to be used for
seating purposes at school pro
grams in the gymnasium. The bake
sale will take place at the Sew
ard Trading Company at 10:00
a.m. Saturday morning April 2.
Total membership of parents
and teachers together number only
51, but all parents will be request
ed to make donations for the bake
sale. They will receive notices
from the Association.
This is the first fund raising
function the Association has had
this year, and it is hoped that the
amount raised will be sufficient to
fulfill the needs of the school chil
dren. The one hundred chairs now
on order should be a very welcome
addition, considering the kind of
seating the children and their
audiences have to cope with now.
The Parent-Teacher Association
remainds the public that this is a
school project and will benefit the
whole in comfort and safety. They
hope the public will cooperate to
make their April 2 bake sale a
success.
BRENNERS RETURN TO
HOPE AFTER VACATION
Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Brenner of
Hope have returned from a five
week vacation in Seattle, Salt
Lake City, Kansas City, Denver,
and Tulsa. They flew out with
their son, Ed Brenner.
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