\
and The ARROWHEAD PRESS
Member of The Associated Preu
10c a Copy
NUMBER 217
VOLUME XVI
Monday, October 17, 1955
Young Modrell found offer
many join search on Sunday
lad,12,spends
twenty-four hours
alone in woods
Tired, wet and hungry —
but otherwise unharmed by
beisg on ihis own lor over twen
ty-four hours in the rugged
Deep Inlet area — John Mo
drelil, 12, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Modrell of Mt. Edge
cuimlbe was found by a search
plane at two o’clock yester
day afternoon on the beach at
Redoubt.
In the plane and, incident
ly making their last swing
over that area for the day,
were pilot Dick Pherson, Dave
Gangel and Cecil McClain.
Two earlier search flights in
the same vicinity had proved
fruitless earlier in the day..
In company with his father,
and John Ballard, young Mo-:
drell was hunting Saturday!
morning back of Sandy Cove.;
The three separated momen-* i
tarily to look ait a different,:
area for deer; when the two
men returned in a few minutes
John had disappeared.
He later related he had got
ten turned around while hunt
ing and wandered over past
Three Fingers Bay over to Re
doubt, where he made for the
beach. The lad slept under a
•log at night and did not panic
but remained on the beach
where he could be spotted by
searchers.
Mr. Modrell had stayed on
the beach near Sandy Cove all
night, while Mr. Ballard came
into i.own at 11 p. m. Satur
day to notify Cecil McClain,
head of the Sitka Sportsmen’s
Association search and rescue,
unit. Response from residents
V eatchcomblng
• We’ll see tonight if my
heard mill win a prize — if hav
injg people make fun of it means
anything — I should win in all
clasiifications.
• Friday I looked in my “khri
stool” ball and picked four
teams to be defeated — well I
did pretty good only one team
crossed me up and won. So the
Ol’ Predictor will rest upon his
bed of thorns with a .750 aver
age and listen to the predic-,
tions of someone else. It’s 100
per cent or we quit — so we
quit. Except to state we* are
sure Oregon will take OSC:
Washington ditto WSC: and
Stanford will win the Farm
game, this
• That w
ierday and darned good
start for future years. Too bad
Alaska Day can’t come in the
middle of, say, August — like
the King’s birthday.
• ' See you all at the Ball to
night at the Armory.
year.
-H
as some parade yes
of Sitka and Mt. Edgeeumbe to
the search icall was immediate
McClain stated, and most grat
ifying to the Sportsman’s Assn
Participating dn the search
were: Bill Peters on the Paul
ine. who set up radio contact
with Sitfa; the 'boa: Round
out, owned (by Mark Jacobs.
Sr. and operated by his 90ns;
Guy Bdglgess on the Mohawk,
who also maintained radio
contact; the boat Rambler skip
pered by Dick Perry, wiho re
maining in Sitka also kept ra
dio cont act; and many others.
A Coast Guard plane from An
nette joined the search and
Len Peterson of the Sitka Cold
Storage Company set up head
quarters in hia office with
their radio facilities.
In addition a number of vol
untteers from both the island
and Sitka went out as ground
parties to search the area;
Paul Edwards took out a group
an the boat Ronny and Keith,
Snowden also used his boat to
:ransponi searchers. The Sitka ‘
aolice and fire departments al
io cooperated.
“All in all,” said Mr. Mc
Clain. “this was the best or
ganized and coordinated rescue
and search effort yet conduct
ed in Sitka and the Sitka
Sportsmens AjS^n/ washes to
thank everyone who aided.”
Wilson talks to
Elsenhower on
defense costs
DENVER (/P) Secretary of
delfense Wilson told President
Eisenhower today military ex
penses for the next fiscal year
may run slightly higher than
the $34,500,000,000 estimated j
for expenditure this fiscal year
Wilson told a news confer
ence after a 25-minute meet
ing with the president and Adm
Arthur W. Radford, chairman
of the joint chiefs of staff, that
he (Wilson) looks for a defense
budget) for the year starting
July 1 at about the 34 billion.
500 million dolars figure and
an armed force level o-f about
2,850,009 persons which is sub
stantially the total force at this
time.
wison saia eitner coma go
up a traction but it will be some
time before totals can be work
ed out.
Meanwhile, the president ap
proved the appointment of Lt.
Gen. Randolph Pate to succeed
Gen. Lemuel Sheperd as com
mandant of the Marine Corps
when the lat er retires at the
end of the year.
The president also agreed,
Wilson said, with his choice of
a successor to Donald Quarles
as assistant secretary of de
fense for research and develop
ment. Quarles is now secretary
of the air force. Wilson would
not disclose Quarles’ successor
but said he hoped to announce
it before the week is over.
Wison said he was pleased
to find the president “making
such rapid strides in his recov
I ery and in such good spirits.”
Two witnesses say
door was marked
at hospital
JUNEAU (IP) Two witnesses
in the $68,700 personal injury
suit against the City of Sitka
and the National Board of Pres
byterian Missions testified that
! plaintiff Charles Tuengel had
been directed correctly to the
room of a patient whose hair
he had been called ito cut.
Mrs. Dorothy Srein, the nur
se on duty Nov. 17. 1951 when
Tuengel was injured in a fall
at the city-owned hospital tes
tified she directed Tuengel to
the “third door on the left”
and that Tuenigel repeated the
instructons. Tuengel. an unem
ployed barber, last week testi
fied he had been directed to
he “last door on the left” and
was severely injured when he
mistakenly oponed the door to
the basement and fell down a
flight of stairs.
Leslie Yaw, who was super
intendent of the Sheldon Jack
son School at the time of the
accident, said he was told by
Alex Cresa. the patient who
needed the haircut, that Cresa
fyad overheard the nurse direct
Tuengel to the “third door on
the left.”
Both Yaw, who is now' super
intendent olf the Sitka Pioneers
Home, and Mrs. Srein. testified
that the door opening to the
basement stairs, was marked
with a sign reading “basement”
Tuengel earlier had said the
door was not marked. Both
Yaw and Mrs. Srein also testi
fied the 'hallway had been light
ed.
Judge Hodge this morning de
nied a motion Iby the Mission
Board requesting that it be ex
cused as a defendant in the
case. Plaintiff rested his case
Friday and today’s testimony
was by witnesses for the de
fense.
---
Children win many
prizes at opening
of Alaska Day
' First use of the new multi
purpose room of the Sitka
, grade school was by several
hundred members of the com
miunity who filled it to the brim
I for the opening day of the cur
rent Alaska Day Festival. To
night adult and teen-age cos
tumes and beards will be judlg
td at the National Guard arm
ory at 10* and 11 p. m. during
! the Ball this evening.
Children’s day was the order
of business Sunday, with the
program opening with an ad
dress of welcome by George
Beacom. president of Alaska
Day Festival, Inc., followed by
an entertaining magician’s ap
pearance.
Then prizes were awarded
in the childrens’ and family
group categories as follows:
. Period Costume:
Girl: 1st Phyllis Sing, 2nd,
Sandra Vaughn; 3rd Mary Ann
' James.
Boy: 1st Jim Black; 2nd Stan
Morris; 3rd Jackie Farr.
Couiple: 1st Morey and Bon
[ (continued on page four)
'Heavy rains unindate East
coast; millions in damages
Three day battle
of elements leaves
38 known dead
by The Associated Press
A three day bati.le of the
elements eight miles high rain
ed death and property destruc
tion of many millions on six
northeastern states over the
weekend.
The toll of persons known or
presumed dead rose do 38.
The sun broke through lead
en clouds in New York City
and other areas today and the
GOP prospects
talk of nation
over weekend
by The Associated Press
Prospects for the Republican
presidential nomination figur
ed in political italk yesterday
as Democrats continued to ham
mer at what they say are the
bad form policies of the Eisen
hower administration.
And “advice” to (both parties
came from chairman Joseph L.
Rauh Jr. of Americans ifor De
mocratic Action (ADA), a pol
itical action group espousing
new deal and “fair deal” prin
ciples. Rauh told a New Jersey
state ADA convention:
Republicans should “drop”
vice president Nixon as a 1956
presidential possibility because
Rauh said, the independent vo
ter will “never swallow him,”
and:
Democrats should remember
they are !the "party off liberal
ism and compromise and timid
ity have never won eletions
for them in the past, any more
than they will in 1956.”
Nixon’s name cropped up in
New York with the arrival of
California’s Gov. Goodwin J.
Knight for a stries of speeches
a.t GOP meetings. Knight had
been criticized by Nixon sup
porters in California for his ar
nounced plans to lead the
states big delegation to the Re
publican national! convention
next year as a nominal candi
date foj president, even if that
pitted him against a Nixon
pledged slate.
Knight said: Tm not a can
didate for president” even if
President Eisenhower doesn’t
seek reelection, and “Nixon is
all right with me if he’s nom
inated. It depends on what the
president’s wishes are.”
Asked about reports that he
opposed Nixon, Knight said the
governor traditionally heads
California’s delegation to the
national convention and “I want
to keep the delegation open and
free.”
New York’s Republican Atty
Gen. Jacob K. Javits said it
would be “logical” to assume
his state’s GOP delegation to
the convention would offer for
mer Gov, Thomas E. Dewey as
(continued on page four;
t
New York weather bureau said
the worst .was over.
From his sickbed in Denver,
President Eisenhower issued
assurances 6f aid to the storm
stricken sectors. Val Peterson,
director oil civil defense, board
ed an army plane to inspect
the flooded areas and report
back to the president.
Army, •navy, coast guard, ci
vil defense units, police and
firemen toiled throughout the
weekend in rescue and salvage
efforts, but their work is far
from done.
The American Red Cross said
about 6,900 families have been
aLfected in the storm areas —
3 200 in Connecticut, 1,500 each
in New York and New Jersey
and 700 in Pennsylvania.
Dozen of bridges and roads
were washed out, rail transpor
tat ion is snarled or suspended,
power lines are down, and strug
glipg citizens in many com
munities face the danger of
contaminated drinking water.
The three days of rainfall
ranged from 3.75 inches in
Nerw York City to more than
11 inches in Danbury, Conn.
This compares with a high of
17 indbes in some areas during
hurricane Diane last Aug. 18-19
Officials said deaths and pro
perty damage would be far be
low that caused by Diane.
That hurricane produced flash
floods which caught commun
ities unprepared. In the latest
storm, residents had time to
make preparations which sav
ed lives and property. Disaster
teams, tested by Diane, swung
into immediate action this
time.
Hardest hit in the current
catastrophe was rich Fairfield
Couni.y in Connecticut, a com
muter area of New York City.
Forthy eight towns in the region
1 and in western communities
south of Waterbury. felt the
j brunt of the ravaging flood wa
ters. (Most of these areas had
been spared toy hurricane Dia
ne’s punch which ripped up o
ther Connecticut cities and
towns.
The storm blew up in the vi
cinity of Cape Hatteras, N. C.,
Friday morning. By night it
had centered over the New
York metrapalitan area.
There it paused, pinned down
by a high pressure center over
! northern New England. As a re
t suit, there has been a continu
| ous feed of rain-bearing south
easterly winds over the north
! eaSIt.
! The weather bureau likened
the situation to a grim football
game with the deffense (high
‘pressure area) refusing to bud
! ge gelfore the offense (low pres
j sure system).
I - I
Marine (forecast fi*aml Mon
day to Tuesday.
) Outside waters Dixon En- '
tr ance to Yakut at southwester
ly winds 15 to 25 irvph becom
ing southerly tonight
Cloudy, occasional showsro,