MAI URAL HISTORY SOCIETY
ORGANIZED IN HOMER
The following article by
Jim Scott, president of the
Homer Society of Natural His
tory, describes the purpose
of the group and a brief ex
planation of -some of the
fields of study that will be
covered by the manbers.
"For many years Alaska has
enjoyed a position of promin
ence in several scientific
fields, and has been subject
ed to much study. 'Material
of great interest has been
gathered, yet there -is an
abundance to be : gathered.
Alaska is unique to the stu
dent, scientist, and lay peo
ple alike, as it is by and
large unmodified. Only here
may diverse natural phenomena
be observed, unaffected and
untouched, waiting for those
to idiom the simple question
"WHY?" must be answered. The
Cook Inlet-Kachemak JJay reg
ion is an area of great in
terest and in this region
there is an abundance of ma
terial available for those
interested in the Natural
Sciences, and History of the
area. A good question would
be, 'Who is not interested?
"In spite of studies en
tered into by the Govemroexrt
and various schools- and in
dividuals, much material
gathered in many fields of
interest, is not generally
available to many people.Much
of the local history was nev
er recorded, as a result much
has been lost. There is no
place or agency to which we
can turn, that has correlated
and cataloged the diverse
Natural History of this area#
"It is felt by many resi
dents that by establishing a
Netural History Society, we
could work toward the accumu
lation and preservation of
much material, and while do
ing so, contribute a good
deal toward the cultural and
material development of Rom
er#
"A Natural History Society
dedicated to cultural ad
vancement of its members and
the community, would be an
invaluable local asset# Such
a Society' would pursue its
diverse interest# Material
gathered would be classified
and cataloged fen? the benefit
of students, schools, col-,
leges, individual scientists
and scientific groups# Such
a Society would attract vis
itations of scientists and
scientific groups pursuing
subject material locally
available. Such a Society
would stimulate interest in
tba region and particularly
Homer, as a point of outfitt
ing and an operations base#
Such a Society could contrib
ute greatly to the acquisi
tion of, and preservation of,
artifacts and antiquities of
the area. One could go on,
but it is readily seen that
sfleh a Society would be a
community asset, of interest
to the whole coranunity, of
benefit to the whole commun
ity. Through broad partici-.
pation in such a program it
is readily seen that Homer
would enjoy a decided cultur
al and material lift.'.
"Undoubtedly there * are
many other subjects of great
er or lesser interest that
could be pursued by a member
ship, however the following
may find the broadest inter
est, and there is an abun
dance of local material to
work, with, namely:
”1. Archaeology is the
science dealing with the man
ner -in which ancient man liv
ed. The task of archaeology
is twofold: '* - '
a* The recovery of things
used by the" anc lent s
b. To determine the mean
ing and/orrelationships of
such findings.
Archaeologists 'are con
stantly - gathering, di gging
- and interpreting.
"2. Anthropology is the
science of man’s development,
distribution and progress.
ks generally classified this
science covers physical and
social anth ropology, Social
anthropology ho doubt offers
the broadest interests as it
is mainly concerned with
man’s habits, habitat, lan
guage* religion, arts, etc.
”3. Biology is one of the
oldest sciences. It deals
with the living things and
everything about them. Biol
ogy is divided into two main
studie s, namely zoology and
botany. Zoology deals with
the study of animal and bot
any with plant life.
”4. Geology is the sci
ence which deals with the
structure and history of the
earth* It is a diverse sci
ence, and we have all been
exposed to the rock hound*
"5* Paleontology is the
science dealing with fossil
and is closely tied into ge
ology*
"6. Ornithology is the
branch of zoology which
treats of birds* Birdwatch
ing is increasing in appeal
and popularity, i*e., the
National Jludubon Society,etc*
KENAI TEACHERS TO MEET
The Kenai Peninsula Teach
ers’ Association will meet in
Homer on Saturday, March 19,
according . to John Spencer*
The Homer P-TA will serve
lunch to the group, and will
use the proceeds to help in
stall the large oil range in
the school cafeteria*
IE ITER TO THE EDITOR
February 25, 1955
Homer News
Homer, Alaska
Dear Mr. Raver:
Will you kindly change our
address to read:
3007 Arno N.E*
Albuquerque, N* Mex*
instead of:
Box 811
Tijeras, N* Mex#
We surely enjoy the "News”
and look forward to receiving
it each week, even though it
is three weeks late*
Thanking you, we are
Cordially yours,
The 0’Hearns
• - J* C. 0*Hearn
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