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THE ONLY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD THAT GIVES A HOOT ABOUT SEWARD. ALASKA
Vol. VI, No. 68
SEWARD, ALASKA, FRIDAY, FEB. 24, 1950
Price 10 Cents
1950 Census Begins Apr. 1;
Call For Enumerators
The year 1950 indicates to all
people the year during which
the 17th Decennial Census will
be taken throughout the entire
United States, Alaska and Ha
waii. For the purpose of taking
a complete census of Alaska,
three Divisional offices have
been opened in Juneau, Anchor
age and Fairbanks, with a Ter
ritorial Office headquarters in
Juneau. It is the responsibility
of the Divisional office in An
chorage to cover the entire
Third Division..
The enumeration of popula
tion, housing, and agriculture
will begin on or about April 1st
throughout Seward and the sur
rounding areas. Population enu
meration will consist of the
name, race, sex, age, employ
ment and occupation, schooling
and income of each person liv
ing in the household. Housing
enumeration will consist of the
type, condition, value, facilities,
and equipment of units. Agricul
ture enumeration will consist
of the location, the acres owned
or rented, the products and live
stock raised, facilities and equip
ment present, persons employed,
and expenditures connected
with the operation of each farm.
There are 81 enumeration dis
tricts in the Third Division
which will be enumerated by
approximately 40 enumerators
under the supervision of 3 crew
leaders. There will be one crew
leader chosen from the Seward
area, who will be in charge of
enumerators throughout Seward
and the surrounding districts.
Approximately 10 enumerators
will be chosen from Seward and
the surrounding area.
Applications will be received
at the Divisional Office in An
chorage for the position of crew
leader any time between now
and March 5th. Applicants will
be notified when they will be
interviewed and upon accept
ance, wtfl begin training some
time prior to March 10th. This
training will consist of five days
at the Divisional Office. The
duties of the crewleader will
be the close supervision of all
enumerators assigned to his dis
trict, therefore necessitating con
siderable travel throughout the
area. Crew leaders will be al
lowed per diem while in travel
status when actually performing
official duties.
All applications for enumera
tors will be accetped at the Di
visional office any time between
now and March 13th. Enumera
tors will be appointed and train
ed soon after the appointment
of the crew leader within the
area.
Piece-price enumerators will
be paid at the following rates:
12 cents per person; 15 cents
per infant card; 10 cents per
dwelling unit; and 50 cents per
farm. Enumerators assigned the
hourly rate will be paid at the
rate of $1.50 per hour and while
in travel status will be paid an
additional $8.60 per diem. Five
cents per mile will be paid all
enumerators using their private
ly ownpd automobiles while ac
tually performing official duties.
Applicants for crew leaders
and enumerators must be citi
zens of the United States be
tween the ages of 25 and 45,
however, exceptions may be
made to accept persons between
the ages of 21 and 65. They
must have graduated from high
school or have had equivalent
education or experience. They
must be in sound physical con
dition and their character must
be above reproach. Retired gov
ernment employees including
military officers, Territorial or
local government employees or
officers, law enforcement offi
cers, tax collectors and assessors
may not be appointed. Veterans
preference and fair employment
practice will be considered in
all appointments.
Applications for employment
j may be obtained by writing the
! Divisional Office, Bureau of the
j Census, Box 1043, Anchorage,
Alaska.
'Round V 'Bout Town . . .
■—The Roving Reporter—
Mrs. Emma Renwalcl enter
tained the Fourth Avenue work
ing girls Thursday at a buffet
luncheon. There were 29 pres
ent.
A fine play on humor was
added to the party which made
it an occassion of much laugh
ter. Mrs. Frances O'Brien was
given a surprise birthday party,
even though Thursday was far
from being her real birthday.
When some of her good
friends are in buying gifts, she
sometimes jokingly tells them
she is having a birthday, too.
When Mrs. Renwald invited her
to the luncheon Mrs. O’Brien
said, “Oh, Thursday is my birth
day and I need suits and hats
more than anything else.” Mrs.
Renwald, knowing what a good
sense of humor Mrs. O’Brien
has, decided to really surprise
I her, so as she called her guests
I she told them of her plan and
tasked them to bring some amus
ing little gift. She also had
iBilly Estes make a suit, doll
Isize, which you should see, as
lit has covered buttons, split
|skirt and is complete in every
letail, even to the Scotty pin
)n the lapel. A tiny hat was
lade to match and it was in a
cellophane box, wrapped like
ft came out of a Fifth Avenue
phop.
Mrs. O’Brien was somewhat
jewildered for a while but it
/asn’T long until she was laugh
ing with the rest of them, espe
cially when she opened up gift
>ackages containing rattles, rub
ber toys, bird seed and books
>n how to travel with children
j and dogs, etc.
The guests left the party con
vinced that everyone should
have at least two birthdays each
year.
A banquet will be given in
honor of the Sea Hawks basket
ball team at 7:30 next Tuesday
evening, Feb. 28, in the base
ment of the Methodist Church.
The team and the speakers
I will be the guests of Hinie
Werner. Joe Doyle is making
all the arrangements for the
banquet and anyone wishing
to attend should contact him
for reservations.
fe'
Mrs. Calvin Brosius returned
on the Baranof last evening
after vacationing in the States
.since last November. She re
ports that it was one of the
nicest vacations she has ever
had and that the weather was
like spring every where she
went.
While visiting in New York,
Father Turner entertained her,
Bishop and Mrs. Bentley and
Father Fenn at a luncheon.
Father Turner asked her to re
member him to his friends in
Seward.
Mrs. Brosius says she is glad
to be back and after a day or
so of unpacking she will be
“at home” to her friends.
JS
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Milroy
arrived on the Baranof after
having a grand vacation in the
States. They brough their daugh
ter JoAnn a darling little scottie
pup.
Bank of Hamer To Be
Open For Business
Wednesdayf March 1
The Board of Directors an
nounce that the Bank of Homer
! will open its doors on March 1st
for the conduct of general bank
ing business including savings
and checking accounts. A loan!
department will be established |
at a later date.
The bank was incorporated
on September 29, 1949 for
$100,000, under the laws of the
Territory of Alaska and received
its certificate to engage in the
banking business from the Ter
ritorial Banking Board on Jan.
20, 1950. It has a paid-in capital
of $15,000 of which 65 per cent
is locally owned.
The members of the Board are
Messrs. Robert W. Kranich,
president, Homer Electric Ass’n.;
Evan Jones, president, Homer
Coal Corporation; Carl F. Gul
ley, station manager, Civil Aero
nautics Administration; Vern
Mutch, proprietor, Homer Jeep
Sales and Vern Mutch Drugs;
and Arthur T. Hewlett, agent,
Pacific Northern Airlines.
The bank will occupy prem
ises in the Pacific Northern
Airlines offie at Homer with
banking hours from 4 to 6 p.m.
daily except Saturday, and will
be managed by Mr. Hewlett as
cashier.
{Father Clapp Returns
From Conference.
The Reverend L. Russell
Clapp, St. Peter's Episcopal
i Church, returned to Seward
Monday of this week after at
tending the first conference of
all Episcopal clergy in Alaska,
held at Fairbanks last week.
| This conference was really an
I historic undertaking, being the
j first of its kind in the Territory
i and considering the distance
! many of the attendants had to
travel.
On Wednesday of last week
Bishop Wm. J. Gordon, bishop
of Alaska and former pastor
of St. Peter’s here, interviewed
the pastors of the various towns
i and mission stations, and a
transcription was made of the
talks. This transcription can be
heard over radio station K1BH
J at 4:30 p.m.. Sunday, Feb. 26.
Father Clapp says he is glad
to be back in the “banana belt, '
having run into temperatures oi
fifty below and more in the
Interior city.
ALASKA STEAMSHIP CO.
MOVES SEATTLE OFFICE
The Alaska Steamship Com
pany Seattle city ticket office,
in charge of Mr. K. A. Cross,
assistant general passenger
agent, is moving to new quarters
at 1223 Fourth Avenue on April
1, according to statement made
this week by Mr. D. E. Skinner,
general manager of the com
pany.
“The move from the present
location at 823 Second Avenue
to ‘transportation row’,” Skin
ner said, “will enable us to give
better service to the traveling
public, being in the rail, air and
steamship ticket office district
and in closer proximity to the
central hotel area.”
This relocation places The
Alaska Line ticket office just
across Fourth Avenue from
where it was in 1942 and repre
sents the culmination of plans
made at that time to return to
“transportation row” after the
war, it was stated.
BAKE SALE AT SEWARD
TRADING TOMORROW
The Lutheran Ladies Aid So
ciety will have a bake sale to
morrow (Saturday) at 1 p.m.
at the Seward Trading Com
pany.
The sale will be of many good
sounding home made dishes in
cluding baked bread, pastries,
do-nuts, baked beans, potato
salad, etc. The public is invited.
Mayor Reports On A.P.W.;
Asks For Suggestions
By Mayor Eugene N. Lanier
The Alaska Public Works pro
gram was passed on by the J.S.
Congress last year for the pur
pose of aiding Alaska communi
ties in their local facilities sucii
as schools, hospitals, sewers,
water works, street improve
ments, electric power plants,
parks, playgrounds, etc.
The purpose of the program,
(which I will simplify by call
ing A.P.W.) was to relieve Alas
ka towns the burden of heavy
bond issues, by providing finan
cial assistance in the various
improvements.
In the A.P.W. act the town
may apply only for the improve
ments most urgently needed in
their community. These appli
cations are reviewed by the
A.P.W. director, with the aid
of the Governor and his staxi
to determine whether that com
munity can qualify for assist
ance under A.P.W’. If, on the
basis of the report, it should ap
pear that the existing need is
great enough the decision will
be in the favor of that town, and
they pass their approval on the
project submitted. Before this,
however, they take into consi
deration the ability of the partic
ular community in repaying the
Government for their share oi
money made available for the
project by the A.P.W. act.
The participation in a project
by the Government is divided
into three main sections:
1. On a 75 per cent basis the
Government would pay 75 per
cent of the total cost of a pro
ject.
2. They can participate on a
50 per cent cost of a project.
3. Or on a 25 per cent basis
paying only that amount of the
total cost.
The directors of A.P.W. have
left in the minds of most City
oxficials their intention to par
ticipate on a 50 per cent basis
with most of the community
projects.
To explain further, let's take
for example the 75 per cent par
ticipation of the Government in
a project. If the project cost
$100,000.00 t ii e Government
would pay $75,000.00 and the
city the remaining S25.000.uu.
On a 50 per cent basis the
Government would pay $5u,000
and the city the same. This ex
ample is the yard stick for most
communities in Alaska to plan
by, according to the understand
ing we have.
In the 25 per cent participa
tion the Government would pay
$25,000 to the city's $75,000.
The A.P.W. act appropriated
$70,000,000 for G.C.A. to be
spent in Alaska towns <jver a
period of five years. At the end
of this time the director of
A.P.W. must return to Wash
ington, D. C., $35,000,000, or
just half of the money appro
priated for the programs. The
$35,000,000 returned may be
either in cash or commitments
of payment by the communities
in Alaska for the projects they
have received under this act.
The City of Seward has out
standing in General Obligation
$119,000, which is the balance
of the last bond issue, which
was in the sum of $125,000. This
was used in paying for the new
school addition. The interest is
3% per cent.
In addition there is $2,000
left to be paid on the gymna
sium and $12,000 remaining to
be paid on the original school
bond issue. This means we have
approximately $133,000 still out
standing in General Obligation
bonds. These bonds are issued
by the City through an election
in which the property owners
by a majority vote, allow the
City to mortgage their property
lo the bond holders as collateral
' for the sum of the bond issue.
' General Revenue bonds are
different from General Obliga
| tion bonds in this way: they are
' taken out by the city after a
I vote is taken at an election by
the people of the city for a
particular revenue makthg pro
; ject such as our City Electric
| System, and can only be paid off
from the revenue of the project
i for which they were drawn. The
I only security the bond holders
i have is the property of that
I project. The real property of
i property owners is not held as
i collateral as it is under the Gen
| eral Obligation bonds. We have
| outstanding in General Revenue
' bonds S104,000 for the City
I Electric System improvements,
I which was passed on in a recent
election. We also have $36,000
outstanding in General Revenue
i bonds for the Seward Marine
! Ways and Cold Storage. The
I revenue from this project will
pay itself off in a period of 10
years starting in 1948.
The City Sales Tax program
brings in a revenue of approx
imately $4,000 per month, which
will net the City around 348,000
, in a year's time. Under Sales
Tax Ordinance 190-A this reve
nue is set aside for health, wel
fare and education purposes
only. This limits the council’s
I appropriations of the Sales Tax
revenue to the school budget,
which for this fiscal year is
$26,500, and $1,800 for public
health. The balance is appro
priated for the various improve
ments at the school which are
! now in progress or will be un
dertaken shortly. For the next
| fiscal year starting July 1, 1950
j through June 31, 1951 the coun
J cil must appropriate to the
j school their share of the budget
I for that fiscal year, which will
be in the neighborhood of
$30,000 and to the Health De
partment $1,800, leaving ap
proximately $16,200 surplus,
j which the School Board may use
for any program they see fit.
Now in getting back to the
A.P.W. program and what it
can mean to Seward, the coun
cil has studied the various pro
jects for improvement for Sew
ard and have discussed them
personally with A.P.W. authori
ties. They informed us that Sew
ard has ample school facilities
for the time being, and that
many Alaska communities were
in much greater need for school
construction programs than we
1 were. They had obtained this
information from Dr. Ryan,
c,ommissioner oi iLaucaxion, lo
cated in Juneau. Schools were
considered as No. 1 priority on
their list of programs. The coun
cil members and myself then
discussed the sewer project, the
paving and side walks, the hos
pitals, and the water works,
which is privately owned. We
were told by the authorities
that we must get our sewer
system and see to it that the
water works are in good order
before going into a paving pro
gram. Consequently the city
council took as their No. 1 need
the sewer system. We are now
in the process of submitting
an application to the A.P.W. di
rector in Juneau for approval.
The Seward Water System has
assured us of their intention
to revitalize their system. This
done, the city could proceed
with the paving and side walk
program next year.
In both the sewer and paving
projects there would be no need
in calling for General Obliga
tion Bond issue, as tax assess
ments over a number of year^
would take care of the ci4
share of the construction v
Only the lots connected w.
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