SEWARD’S
All-cWeatkec
SEAPORT
Is Alaska’s
Greatest Asset
Seward Seaport Record
Formerly The Seward Polaris Sr Kenai Peninsula-Aleutian Chain News
Vol. V, No. 69
SEWARI), ALASKA, TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 1049
Price 10 Cents
$23,090 Taxes
Overdue City
Takes Action
At Monday evening's council
meeting it was revealed that
' $23,000 in taxes are overdue, and
the city has set a deadline of
March 15, 1949, for payment. •
After that date the necessary
legal action will be taken to re
cover the amounts due. If the total
sum were to be collected, the city
would be well out of the red, and
its immediate financial troubles
would be over.
Of the $76,000 due in taxes this
past year $53,000 has been paid
into the city coffers to date. The
remaining $23,000 represents taxes
which are delinquent for this year
in addition to amounts due for
some years back.
On the whole, collections have
been better this year than in the
past, it was stated.
The program of the council is to
enforce collection of all taxes,
whether they be on real or per
sonal property, juke boxes, or
sales tax. Those who have not paid
up by March 15 will be summoned
into court.
Three Weeks of Hard
Railroading for ARR
Three weeks of rigorous railroad
operating conditions’were climated
last week when the mercury fell
to new lows on the north end of
the line, the Alaska Railroad Op
erating Department reported.
Julius, 10 miles south of Nenana,
reported a cool 48 degrees below
zero on Feb. 17.
The Broad Pass area also set a
few records for this year. Hono
lulu and Hurricane both had 95
inch blankets of snow which is
the deepest total depth at any
stations along the Railroad.
A 27-mile-an-hour wind had
piled up drifts along the line, hut
did not stop trains. The Railroad’s
second rotary plow kept ahead of
the passenger trains to keep them
in action. The ARR’s first rotary
is stationed at Portage.
Moose are still a problem these
days, but although many are still
spotted, particularly in the stretch
from Wasilla to Curry, they don’t
seem to drift down to the tracks
as often as they used to. Fields
containing up to 15 moose are
frequently observed.
Eight Railroad Bridge and Build
ing gangs are still out at various
points on the line doing repair and
maintenance work—come snow,
frigid weather, or moose.
SS ALASKA TO MAKE SPECIAL
CALL AT SITKA
The return voyage of the SS
Alaska which is scheduled to leave
Seward March 4, takes the ship di
rectly to Sitka, making a special
call to pick up the party of 38
legislators who have been in Sitka
. for their bi-annual inspection of
the Pioneer Home. The party will
go to Juneau, from which city they
travelled to Sitka aboard the SS
Denali.
LEGION AUXILIARY TO HAVE
SOCIAL MARCH 2
The American Legion Auxiliary
is inviting all old members and
eligible members (wives, daugh
ters and sisters of Legionnaires) to
attend a social at the Legion Club,
Wednesday, March 2. The social
will begin at approximately 9:30
p.m. Luncheon will be served.
Bid Deadline For
School Addition
Monday, Mar. 15
At a special meeting Monday
evening the City Council adopted
a resolution to accept a contract
with Culbertson & Olson, bond un
derwriters of Detroit, to bond the
city for the amount of $125,000.
The contract went into effect
Tuesday, March 1, 1949, with the
fifst semi-annual interest payment
due in September of 1949, and the
first payment on the principal due
in March, 1950.
In the discussion which attend
ed the passing of the resolution it
was made known that the present
sales tax would bring enough to
cover the first interest payment
and the first $12,000 payment in
March, 1950.
The school budget for the next
year will be larger than ever be
fore. according to School Superin
tendant Carl Carlson. It will be
necessary to have one additional
teacher next year, he said, and the
legislature has increased all teach
ers’ salaries.
The only objection to starting
the building of an addition to the
school imediately was placed by
Dr. R. O. Sellers, who said that
many prices are dropping and that
it is probable the cost of building
will drop considerably by the end
of the year.
The invitation to bid on the con
struction of the 5-room addition to
the school has been published,
with the deadline on bids set for
March 14. The bids will be opened
and read on March 15.
Walton League
Endorses Film
| The Seward chapter of the Izaac
! Walton League has gone on record
[ as endorsing the color motion pic
ture, Alaska Wildlife, to he shown
March 4 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the
1 high school auditorium.
The 16mm film, produced by
Cecil E. Rhode, was many years in
the making, and is said to be the
finest wildlife picture ever filmed
in the Territory.
Members of the Izaac Walton
League who have not signed the
charter are reminded that they
may do so at the Kenai Electric
Shop, where the document is
available for signatures.
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER
The Rev. G. E. Knight announced
that all churches in Seward are
invited to participate in a "World
Day of Prayer,” Fridv, March 4.
There will be services at 6:30
p.m. at tf^e Seward Sanatorium,
and at 8:00 p.m. at the Seward
Memorial Church.
Traditionally, the Rev. Knight
said, on the first Friday of Lent,
Christians the world around unite
in prayer for home and foreign
missions.
BAKE SALE AND MERCHANTS'
LUNCH MARCH 5
The Ladies of the Seward Me
morial Church will hold a bake
sale and merchants’ lunch in the
church basement Saturday, March
5, beginning at 11 a.m.
Clam chowder will be the spe-j
cialty of the lunch and other hot
dishes, salads, and a choice of
desserts will be served.
Oscar Dahl was honored by a*
surprise party last Friday evening*
on the occasion of his birthday. A
smorgasbord dinner was served
to eight guests at the Dahl apart
ment, after which the guests were
taken out for an evening of1
dancing. 1
/
Abolish Dep’t
Of Interior
Says Hoover
The Hoover Commission has rec
ommended that the Interior De
partment, as such, be abolished
and the present departmental
agencies be reorganized and re
grouped. The report is contained
in one of the so-called “Task
Force” recommendations on the re
organization of the executive
branch of the Federal Government.
The recommendations suggest
that a Forest and Range Service
be established consolidating the
present Forest Service of the De
partment of Agriculture with the
forest and range management
functions of the Bureau of Land
Management; the Fish and Wild
life Service be divided into two
units, a Fisheries Service and a
Wildlife Service, transfer to the
Bureau of Mines certain related ac
tivities from other federal agen
cies; reestablish the General I,and
Office (now the Bureau of Land
Management) as a record-keeping
and title-holding agency for public
lands; consolidate the functions of
the Reclamation Bureau, the river
development functions of the Corps
of Engineers and other water de
velopment services into one unit’
all to become part of a new De
| partment of Natural Resources to
I include in addition the Geological
; Survey and the National Park
j Service.
Shipping News
Walter W. Sipprell, general agent
for the Alaska Steamship Com
pany. announces that in addition
to the regularly scheduled passen
ger sailings of his company, that
the following freighters are sched
uled from Seattle on the dates
noted: SS Chief Washakie, March
8, calling at Ketchikan, Valdez and
Cordova: MV Terminal Knot,
March 18th, calling at Ketchikan,
Petersburg, Port Bailey, Seward
and Valdez. The MV Coastal Mon
arch will sail about the end of
March for Alaska Peninsula ports.
The SS Abigail Adams is in port
discharging cargo for Seward and
the railbelt and expects to return
to Seattle about Thursday.
The John Cropper arriver in Sew- j
arc! at 5:30 Monday morning.
CATHOLIC CHURCH TO HOLD
BINGO PARTY
Plans for the entertainment pro
gram and bingo party to be given
by the Sacred Heart Catholic
Church, March 17, are near com
pletion, it was announced Monday
by the pastor, the Rev. Martin
Borbeck, S.J.
At the party a Bendix automatic
laundry drier will be given away.
The $229.95 drier is now on display
in the window of the Kenai Elec
tric Shop, and may be examined
at any time during business hours.
The program to take place prior
to the bingo party will feature
Irish music in keeping with the
celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.
and other entertaining numbers to
be announced later.
It is expected that the coming
party will surpass all other parties
given by this church for entertain
ment value, although they have al
ways been well received in the
past.
Troy Bogard, city clerk, is in
Seward General Hospital suffering
with influenza. Mr. Bogard expects
to be back at his desk in a few
days.
Heating System
In Sc nol Plans
Says Architect
Architect’s plans and estimates
for the new five-room addition to
the Seward Public School include
the heating system. This fact was
verified by architect Manley of
Anchorage Tuesday in a telephone
conversation with Mayor Gene
Lanier.
The question had been brought
up at Monday evening’s city coun
cil meeting. Some of the council
men and other citizens had said i‘
• s ttieir impression the heating
system was included in neither the
plans nor the estimate of cost.
Manley stated that he had re
ceived his fees for drawing up the
plans, and he could not have re
ceived payment if the plans were
not complete and approved. I
The plans include not only the
heating system for the new addi
tion. but also- a tie-in with the
present system in the school.
The architect told Mayor Lanier
that he would write a letter to the
City of Seward with the necessary |
information on the subject, and
that in the near future he would |
come to Seward for a consultation.
McKinley Is Spot for
Konfeymooners
It. doesn’t resemble Niagara
Falls, but McKinley National Park
has become the Railbelt’s favorite
spot for honeymooners.
McKinley Hotel Manager Gene
McGee this week consulted his re
cords and furnished a few statis
tics. His verdict was that McKinley
Hotel averages about two honey
mooning couples a week.
“I can usually spot them as they
come into the hotel,” he said with
out explaining. He registers them
in one of the bridal rooms.
McGee has a standing order of
procedure then. He conducts the
couple on a tour of the hotel to
point out its facilities and then
takes them to the bar and offers
them a drink for luck and a long
life.
Weather at the Park these days
is often sharp and cold, but crys
tal clear. There’s a well-kept skat
ing rink and the hardier skaterN
have been out in weather down
to 30 below. The rink is only a
few steps from the side entrance
of the hotel. A toboggan run back
of the hotel is popular and cross
country skiiers have cut trails
down to Riley Creek.
J he hotel offers bus tours, con
ducted by "Dutch" Ras, to the
Park headquarters two miles away.
In summer guests can drive 89
miles along a good road westward
through the Park and into the
Kantishna mining area.
McKinley National Park’s 3,030
square miles make it the nation’s
second largest national park. It's
home for 35 different types of
mammals, and at least 80 birds,
including the elusive surfbird, but
it's a rare honeymooning couple
that go looking for surfbirds.
It was a boy for James and
Wilma Kirkpatrick at Seward Gen
eral Hospital. Monday, Feb. 28, at
8:25 a.m. The young man is James
Bruce and weighed eight pounds,
six ounces. The whole family is do
ing well, including the uncles and
grandmothers.
John and Creo Ives were honored
at the meeting of the Eastern Star
chapter Monday evening, Feb. 28,
and congratulated on their 25th
wedding anniversary. They were
married on February 29, 1924.
M. Lanning Of
Early Pioneer
Days Passes
Seward is saddened by the loss
of Martin Bredor Lanning, colorful
pioneer of the lusty goldrush and
dogteam days of Alaska, who
passed away at 5:15 p.m., Satur
day, Feb. 26, at the Seward Gen
eral Hospital.
He came to Alaska in the early
1900’s and engaged in freighting
for the big mining companies at
Nome.
In the year 1909, Lanning came
to Seward and worked as foreman
for the Alaska Road Commission
under Antone Eiele from 1910 till
1916. He worked on the building of
the Moose Pass highway, in the
Sunrise area and Knik. He was
familia'r with the terrain over
which the new Seward-Anchorage
highway from Mile 58 to Anchor
age will traverse.
In the winters from 1914 to 1917,
Lanning carried the United States
mail by dogsled from Seward to
Iditarod. He followed the railroad
to Mile 52, which was the end of
the railroad in those days. From
there he followed the present route
of the railroad to Knik and thence
to Iditarod, passing through the
present site of Anchorage. He saw
the beginnings of the city of An
chorage.
He was a long time member of
the Seward Volunteer Fire Depart
ment and held the positions of
both fire chief and police chief
during the 1920's. During the late
war he worked for the Army
Transport Service, and then as a
guard at the Federal jail in Sew
ard until his last illness.
In police work Lanning pos
sessed two outstanding qualities:
He was absolutely fearless, and he
never forgot a face. His remark
able memory helped in identifying
criminals attempting to enter or
leave the Territory through the
Port of Seward.
Fearlees Peace Officer
He had many opportunities to
demonstrate his fearlessness. Once
a man was terrorizing the people
in a restaurant with a gun. Lan
ning walked in and took a seat be
side the man. and after talking to
him for a few minutes he persuad
ed the gunman to walk up the
street with him. At the corner, the
man turned his gun over to Lan
ning.
Once he saved a little girl from
a man who had lured her into the
bushes. He took special interest in
protection of children at all times.
Those who knew him as a rug
ged. hardboiled policeman were
often surprised to see a small child
hanging onto each hand when he
went down to meet the ships or
trains looking for suspicious char
acters. In his off-duty hours he
found himself much in demand as
a baby sitter.
He was also famous for his kind
ness to his dog team. In the early
days, many a child had its first
dogsled ride with Martin when he
came to Seward.
Martin Bredor Lanning was born
March 4. 1884, in the state of Min
nesota. He returned to the States
last fall to visit relatives, who still
live in the Mid-West. They are his
sister, Mrs. Frank Benton of Hill
City, S.D.; Spencer Lanning of
Sioux City, la.; and Gillman Lan
ning of Jamestown, N.D., and
many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services have been ar
ranged for 2:00 p.m., Wednesday,
March 2, at St. Peter’s Episco
pal Church in Seward.