Progress . . .
MT. EDGECUMBE PLAYS VITAL
PaRT IN ISLAND EMPIRE LIFE,
INTEREST AND ECONOMY
City Within A City
Unique In Many Ways
The Sitka Area can boast
of many unique features both
modern and historical that
make it one ol Alaska’s most
unusual communities. Not the
least of these is located at Mt.
Kdgeeumbe, a Federal med
ical educational installation
located on four ol the many
scenic islands which shelter
the Island City of Sitka Irom
the rolling waters of the Pa
cific.
The total story of Mt. F.d
geeumbe is randy told and
too few people art* aware of
the tremendous activity that
takes place on these 253.75
acres of government owned
land or the multitude of ser
vices offered there to the na
tive residents of the Terri
tory.
These Islands themselves
have known many changes
from the time when they were
home and garden for the Th
lingit natives of the area. In
turn faponski Island was a
coaling station, faponski and
Harbor Islands a U. S Naval
base, its < hareoal and Alice
islands the U. S. Army’s Fort
Mav Since |nly 1, 1955, when
Congo'S' ,earned the tune
t ion of hospital and medical
<are of. all Indians in the U.
S. and its posessions and of
the natives of \laska to the
l N Public I lealth Service,
the latter s nrwh created
Division ol Native Health,
established the Alaska Native
Health Service as the op
era line; agency ol Nit. Edge
* imi!to. I In academic pro
‘.jams ol (lie islands are
mider tin* control of the
Bureau ol Indian affairs.
In IB IB when the* naval Base
and Fort Ha\ wt ie transfer
red to the 1 )cpaitment ol the
Interior, the installation was
named \ 11. Fdgecurnbe after
th»‘ 3,167 loot extinct volcano
located on Kru/ot Island 15
miles west ol (aponski. Cap
tain Janies Cook first sighted
the rape and mountain on
'day I Vt 7S and named them
< ape ,Edgecombe and \lt.
Edgecombe because of their
resemblance to the harbor of
Plymouth, England. Had the
discovering explorer been
Japanese instead ol English
the name might well have
been Nit. Fujiyama tor the
two mountains are remark
ably similar.
in 1950, the Bureau of In
dian flairs lidded a new live
storv hospital unit to the con
verted army and navy hos
pitals. Current allotments
authorize a capacity of 310
hospital beds ol which 230
are toi tuberculosis, 50 for
general medical and surgical
and 60 lor pediatric orthope
dic care.
The word ‘Native in Alaska
riders to (he Aleut Vthahaska
Tinneh, Eskimo, Haida,
Thlingit N Esimpsean groups
much as the term Indian’ re
fers to the aborigines of con
tinental Cnited States thus
the Alaskan natives are the
primary beneficiaries of the
hospital and school. Both ac
cept natives from areas which
do not provide comparable
services, TB eases are re
ceived from all over the ter
ritory and students, over any
given period of time, repre
sent most of the villages and
towns of the Territory.
Except for the new 400
bed hospital in Anchorage,
Mt. Edgecombe offers the
only comprehensive! service
of its type in Alaska. The Out
patient Clinic handles as
many as 1400 visits a month.
Blood and Bout* Banks are
operated in eonjtmotion with
the hospital surgery program.
There is a completely mod
ern brace shop connected
with the orthopedic section,
the only one in the entire
Terrritory.
Complete dental facilities
are offered by the Dental
Clinic which also maintains
the only fully equipped den
tal lab in Alaska. 'The Mt.
Edgeeumbe school conducts
vocational courses for Den
tal Assistants and Dental
Technicians.
The Boarding School it
sell is one of the most un
usual teaturcs ot the instal
lation. Having an authorized
enrollment of 650 students,
the school otters educational
facilities from the eight grade
through high school. Voca
tional courses of many types
arc* ottered and the school is
accredited By the* Northwest
Association of Secondary
Schools which gives the stu
dents opportunity for college
preparatory courses. The
school staff also provides in
struction to nearly 125 ortho
pedic1 and convalescent tuber
eulosis pat ients in 11 ice hos
regular academic classes.
Complete vocational train
ing courses are offered in car
pentry, airplane mechanics,
mill and cabinet making,
cooking and commercial bus
utility and diesel engine,
home economics, baking,
mess courses as well as the
aeeademie classes.
One of flu* important and
too little* known features of
tile school is the Practical
Nursing school, now entirely
under the Department of
Public Health, which offers
students the finest training in
the field available.
Hie school has many and
varied recreational facilities
such as weekly movies, spe
cial dances and gymnasium
facilities of the best. The
school takes part in the ath
letic contest and music fes
tivals! with other schools in
die Territory. The boys gym
is the largest in Southeastern
Alaska and contains the only
bandshell in the Territory.
Residents on the* Island
are, besides the 050 students
79 educational stall members
340 patients and ISO medical
and 9 CAA employees and
families or a total of over
1,800 people, the popula
tion of a good sized town.
Nit. Edgecombe* provides
many services not available
from private sources includ
ing a 2§54telephooe system
with connected dial service
to Sitka, a volunteer tiro de
partment, a centra! food scr
vice and its own admimstra
tivc office, There is also a
600 foot deep water dock
for ocean vessels and a sea
plane ramp used by govern
ment and commercial planes.
A million—dollar steam tur
bine power and heating plant
furnishes electricity for all
of Mt. Kdgecumbe and, .it
present, for most of Sitka.
The VS. Coast Guard
liases a vessel for the Sitka
area at the Mt. Edgecombe
dock for the maintaining of
navigational aids and for re
scue work. The CAA also
operates a 21 hour daily air
navigation and weather re;-,
porting service w hich is con
trolled from Mt. Kdgecumbe.
A 500 — toot navigable
ocean channel separates Mt.
Kdgecumbe from Sitka over
which plies, on regular sched
iiles, a fleet of boats taking
hosts of passengers on their
business or social trips be
tween tin* two closely linked
communities. The shore
boats probably arc the only
transportation facilities that
still charge only a niekle a
trip for the enjoyable ride.
Mt. Kdgecumbe, which
brings together the cultures
of Alaska and blends them
for mental stimulation and
growth and heals them when
they art* ill, is as unkpie as
the beautiful setting in which
it is located. Mt. Kdgecumbe
an important part of those
institutions which shape the
destiny ol the Terr it on
we of the Bara not Banner
salute you1
o a o o
^ ^ dfc.Jfc Jfc .JhA idfci,.mi,I
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Fast Quality Work
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B & W & Color
Neill Andersen's
Tin* new live story hospital at Ml. I'd geennibe showing tin* Orthopedic wing in the
foreground. The hospital houses tin* TB San. outpatient h u medical and surgical
sections, dental clinic, occupational therapy department, ex-ray and a host of other
services.
CffHdren in 11 m Shi i'o to school < aeh dn\ so that their education does not suitor
because ul hospitalization. Special!} trained teachers work with these students.
A very modern operating room is maintained at the hos ntal equipted with all the
latest I.u■ i11f i< i. Specialists f rom tht* states and the best sin aeons .give of their tal
ents in these rooms.