SEWARD’S
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SEAPORT
Is Alaska's
Greatest Asset
THE ONLY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD THAT GIVES A HOOT ABOUT SEWARD. ALASKA
Vol. VII. No. 18
SEWARD, ALASKA, FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 1950
Price 10 cents
$7,590,000 Asked For Road
Work On Kenai Peninsula
President Truman has asked ,
Congress for $7,500,000 for re
habilitation and widening of the
Turnagain Arm Hoad link from
Seward to Mile 58, according to
a telegram received yesterday
from Del. E. L. Bartlett to May
or Eugene Lanier.
The telegram read:
"President has requested im
mediate appropriation seven and
half million dollars for recon- ^
struction road from Seward to
Mile fifty-eight. Understand ad
ministration intends next year
request additional appropriation
for surfacing road from Seward
to Anchorage.”
The present road from Seward
to Mile 58 on the Seward-Hope
road is old construction and
narrow.
A budget message yesterday
said that engineering surveys
on 20 miles of the new stretch
had been completed and con
tracts for construction can be
let soon.
December 1, 19al. is the date I
set for final completion on the
entire highway from Seward to!
Anchorage. Funds for recon
struction of the old stretch were
not included in this year’s bud
get because of lack of engineer
ing surveys at that time.
Max Reger Resigns
Forest Service
Max V. Reger, division super
visor for the U.S. Forest Service,!
is leaving Sept. 5 with his family
for the Outside. Mr. Reger has
resigned his position and plans
to relocate in private industry. I
Reger arrived in Seward four
years ago to become assistant to
Virgil Heath, former supervisor.
When Heath transferred to the
Department of Interior in May,
1948, Reger was promoted to
supervisor. He is a forestry grad
uate of Michigan State College
and served as a combat para
trooper in the Pacific in World
War II. Before moving head
quarters to Kenai Lake. Reger
was vice-commander of the local
VFW Post.
Many developments occurred
during Reger’s administration.
Five new forest development
roads and one large bridge were
constructed. Nearly 150 new
homesites and summer homes
were surveyed and opened to the
public.
Approximately one million
board feet of National Forest
stumpage has been sold by
Reger's office to local sawmills
in the last two years. This year
the Forest Service constructed
a new shelter cabin at Lower
Russian Lake and began rebuild
ing the Russian Lakes Trail with
the aid of a “Beetle,” small gas
tractor designed for trail use.
Mr. and Mrs. Reger and
daughters, Betty and Nancy, will
drive down the Alaska Highway
in their new car. They plan to
visit Banff, Glacier, Yellowstone
and Grand Teton parks and drive
leisurely through Colorado and
Arkansas before returning to
their family home town of Park
ersburg, West Virginia.
Roman A. Schwartz, formerly
forest ranger at Craig, Alaska,
will succeed Reger as supervisor.
COMMUNION SERVICE AT
LUTHERAN CHURCH
Communion will be observed
at the regular Sunday morning
worship service at the Seward
Lutheran Church, on Sunday,
Sept. 3. This is a regularly
scheduled service at the local
Lutheran Church, taking place
the first Sunday of each month.
MARRIED REGISTRANTS
IN LINE FOR INDUCTION
John L. McCormick, Terri
torial Director of Selective Serv
ice, announced that effective im
mediately, any previous state
ments issued regarding the in
duction of married registrants
are not now in effect, and are
superceded by the following.
The responsibility rests with
each registrant's local board
whether the registrant's classifi
cation should be reopened and
considered anew if the registrant
reports a marriage after he is
classified in Class 1-A, or reports
such marriage after he has re
ceived his Armed Forces Physi
cal Examination, or after he is
ordered to report for induction.
If the local board is of the
opinion that his marriage would
not justify a change in the regis
trant's classification, then they
have the power to refuse to re
open the case, and induct the
registrant when his age group is
called.
Navy Flies Supplies
To Deserted Family
A Navy plane based at Ko
diak delivered food and cloth
ing last week to a native father
and six motherless children, iso
lated in a deserted village on
the Alaska Peninsula.
Pete Boskoffskv. postmaster
at Kanatak, where he has lived
for the past 16 years and which
has a normal population of 40,
says his troubles started two
months ago. First his wife died,
then all the other villagers left
for the commercial fishing sea
son. and finally the mail boat
failed to arrive with essential
supplies. Unable to signal pass
ing ships and planes; for two
months he and his family have
had nothing to eat but fish.
Recently the Alaska Native
Service at Juneau learned that
the mail boat had made no west
ward runs from Seward since
June. The Coast Guard was in
formed and requested to investi
gate conditions at Kanatak. The
request was relayed to the Naval
Air Station at Kodiak, and a
plane was dispatched imme
diately.
When the Navjc pilot returned
to Kodiak with news of Pete
Boskoffsky’s plight, naval per
sonnel donated food, money,
clothing, candy and cigarettes.
These supplies were flowr, back
to Kanatak. The Alaska Native
Service plans to extend further
aid to the needy family. In the
meantime, the Navy will look
after Pete and his children.
ARMY REC CENTER WILL
CONDUCT HUNTING TRIPS
The Seward Army Recreation
Center contemplates entertain
ing a limited number of hunters
during the current hunting sea
son.
All activities in the hunting
line will be closely supervised.
No party of hunters will consist
of more than three actual hunt
ers and in the case of non-resi
dent hunters, they will be ac
companied by a registered Alas
ka guide.
All fish and game laws will
be strictly observed and all
game taken will be packed out
for proper usage.
Miss Anne Oftelic of Thief
River Falls, Minn., arrived in
Seward Aug. 10 and has taken
a practical nursing position at
the Seward Sanatorium. Miss
Oftelic has had much experience
at practical nursing and lately
was located in Los Angeles.
Local Nimrods Take
To Brush fer Opening
Of Big Game Season
Hunting season on the Kenai
Peninsula is in full swing with
the Sept. 1 opening on moose,
goat, brown and grizzly bear,
and many Seward hunters are
already out in the brush after
moose. Seasons, as defined by
the current Alaska Game Com
mission Regulations, as applied
to the Kenai Peninsula, are as
follows:
Moose:
Bulls (except yearlings and
calves). On the Kenai Peninsula
(except on the Kenai Moose
Range closed area), September 1
to September 30. Limit, 1 a year.
Mountain Goat:
(Except kids.) West of longi
tude 138 degrees West, (but not
in the Sheep Mountain and Day
Harbor areas), September 1 to
October 31. Limit, 1 a season.
(Day Harbor area consists of all
the drainage into the west side
of Day Harbor on the Kenai
Peninsula from Ellsworth Gla
cier to Talus Bay. Closed on
goat).
Sheep: No open season.
Bear:
(Large brown and grizzly.) In
the Territory, but not in the
Thayer Mountain or Park Creek
areas, September 1 to June 20.
Limit, on the Kodiak-Afognak
Island group. 1 a year. Else
where in the Territory, 2 a year.
• • •
Moose Pass News
A dance was held by the
Moose Pass Sportsmans Club
the 19th. There were square
dances as well as the usual
dances. Mr. Def Robbins of Sew
ard did some fancy calling for
the square dances and Mr. Bill
Waite of Cooper Landing took
over for the circle two steps.
The hometown orchestra as al
ways gave out with very dance
able music and the music box
was used for some pieces.
There was a fire at the Wolf
Trail Lodge early Sunday, the
20th. Most of Moose Pass went
down to see what they could
do to help. The Forest Service
: took down their fire truck and
I in a short time the blaze was
! under control. Fortunately the
, house was not damaged but the
I barn was a total loss.
Miss Anna Martin, on the
staff of the Seward General
Hospital, has been spending
several days at Moose Pass. Pre
vious to hd^ stay in Moose Pass
she went to Seattle by boat.
There was a canasta party
at the home of Mrs. Fov Jones
at Mile 29 on Au£. 24th. Cake
and coffee were served at the
close of the afternoon, besides
, th° nuts, candv and other favors
i which the guests munched on
I through the afternoon. Those
! nresent worn Mrs. Max Foster.
Mrs. T. I*. Wolf, Mrs. Ed Estes,
Mrs. Dyer. Mrs. Hort Teague,
Mrs. Bud Hurst, Mrs. Jim Caw
thorn. Mrs. Wavne Racine and
Mrs. Glenn Miller.
Mrs. Bob Wolf was taken to
the hospital early the 23rd. She
is reported to be getting along
lust fine and will be home in
the near future.
BARANOF TO SAIL FROM
SEATTLE SEPT. 4
The sailing time of the Alaska
| Steamship Company steamer
Baranof has been changed from
11 a.m. Saturday, September 2,
to 6 p.m., Monday, Sentembzer 4
because of a damaged propeller
blade sustained in heavy wea
ther on the Gulf of Alaska, H. N.
Peterson, general traffic man
ager of the company, said Thurs
day.
The Baranof is due to arrive
in Seattle Saturday morning in
stead of Thursday as scheduled.
Immediate repair or replacement
of the propeller blade will be
undertaken, it was pointed out.
Changes In Social Security
Grant Increased Payments
Here is what happened to old
age and survivors insurance in
the Territory of Alaska this week
when President Truman signed
the 1950 amendments to the So
cial Security Act.
All monthly insurance checks
now being paid to the 1375 social
security beneficiaries in Alaska
will be raised substantially, be
ginning with the September
checks, according to James G.
Browne, manager of the Juneau
Field Office of the Social Se
curity Administration. Browne
explained that these automatic
increases, for September, are
scheduled to reach local bene
ficiaries during the first week
of October. Increases will range
from about 50 per cent to about
100 per cent. For example, the
average primary benefit of ap
proximately $26 per month for a
retired worker will be increased
to about §46. A widow with two
children who had been receiving
S55 a month will now receive
about $110 altogether.
Under the new increases, total
payments for September are
estimated to be about S47.710, or
an immediate increase of some
$21,460 monthly in insurance
benefits to this area.
More Earnings Allowed.
Under the new law the amount
of earnings which a beneficiary
may make in a month, and still
accept his insurance payment
for that month, is raised from
$14.99 to $50. This applies to
beneficiaries under age 75, and
for earnings in a job covered by
social security. After attaining
age 75, a beneficiary may have
any amount of earnings and still
accept his insurance checks.
Employees of nonprofit chari
table, religious, and educational
institutions will come under so
cial security only if the employer
chooses and if two-thirds of the
employees express a wish to par
ticipate. Employees of State and
local governments may have so
cial security coverage on an op
tional basis but the State gov
ernment must take the initiative
if it chooses to participate.
Many Mow Eligible.
Browne pointed out that any
individual now age 65 or more
who has at least six “quarters
! of coverage” may be immedi
j ately eligible for monthly bene
fit payments. Many aged persons
may now claim benefits even
though they have not been em
j ployed long enough to qualify
under the former requirements.
Browne said that this would af
fect a considerable number of
| aged persons in this area who
I had once filed claims for social
j security benefits but had not at
| that time been able to qualify,
i The social security office in Ju
; neau has been reviewing records
j for several weeks to screen as
! many as possible of these per
j sons and will send letters noti
fying them that benefits may
j now be payable if the claim is
renewed.
Other persons not yet age 65
I —those now 63 and over—will
also only need six quarters of
coverage—roughly a year and a
half of employment in work cov
ered by social security—to be
insured upon reaching age 65
and retiring. A sliding scale re
quires longer employment for
those reaching age 65 after 1953,
but in no case will a person be
required to have more than ten
years of employment under so
cial security in order for bene
fits to be payable.
It is possible for newly-covered
workers to become insured for
survivors benefits in as little
time as a year and a half under !
another provision of the law. I
Still Exceptions.
otiil excepted from social se
curity coverage are farm opera
tors, ministers and members of
religious orders, and certain
self-employed professional peo
ple.
A new type of payment is
m o t h e r s' insurance benefits.
These are monthly payments
to a mother who has in her
care a child entitled to monthly
insurance benefits. Separation
or divorce from the wage earner
does not prevent the mother's
receipt of monthly benefits, pro
vided the wage earner was fur
nishing the greater part of her
support. This changes the former
law which did not permit pay
ment to wives who were di
vorced, and did not permit pay
ment to the wife of a retired
wage earner until she reached
65. If she has children under 18,
she may now receive benefits
when her husband retires, even
if she is under 65.
Dependents Receive Mere.
The amount of the benefit
paid to dependent parents (in
cases where the parent was de
pendent on a deceased worker
and where no widow or child
can be entitled to benefits) was
raised from half the worker's
benefit to three-fourths. The
monthly benefit for the first
child, in the case of a deceased
wage earner, was also raised
from half to three-fourths of the
worker's benefits.
The benefits will continue to
be paid for in the same way—
by payroll taxes on the workers
and employers involved — but
since self-employed as well as
employed persons are now cov
ered, a new way of collecting
part of the taxes was called for.
Self-employed persons will re
port their annual earnings and
pay their special social security
I tax (2V4 per cent to start with)
I when they make their income
[ tax returns at the end of each
year.
Self Employed Pay.
Self-employed people, who
are in effect both employee and
employer, will pay 2V4 per cent
through 1953. 3 per cent until
the end of 1959, 3% per cent
until the end of 1964, 4V£ per
cent until the end of 1969. and
4% per cent thereafter, on the
first S3,600 of net self-employ
ment income per year.
The new law gives wage cre
dits of $160 per month toward
old-age and survivors benefits
for military service in World
War II. These wages are to be
used in computing all monthly
benefits payable on the basis
of veterans’ wage records after
1949, whether the veteran died
in service or after discharge,
and regardless of whether pen
sion or compensation is paid by
the Veterans Administration.
Included in the social security
program for the first time, and
under special conditions, are
household workers regularly em
ployed in private homes. House
| hold workers, including maids,
cooks, laundresses, practical
nurses, gardeners, chauffeurs,
etc., will receive credit only for
their cash wages, and will not
be covered by the law at all un
less they are employed 24 days
or more and their cash wages
are at least $50 in the calendar
quarter.
CHURCH CLUB TO HOLD
BAKE SALE
A bake sale, offering some of
the finest in home made pastries
and breads, will be held by
the Women’s Society of Chris
tian Service. The sale will begin
at 11 a.m. Saturday, September
9. at McMullen’s.