SEWARD’S
Atl-<Weathec
SEAPORT
Is Alaska’s
Greatest Asset
Seward Seaport Record
THE ONLY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD THAT GIVES A HOOT ABOUT SEWARD. ALASKA
Territorial Library;
Vol. VI. No. 62
SEWARD, ALASKA. FRIDAY. FEB. 3, 1950
Price 10 Cents
CITY WELCOMES PENINSULA VISITORS
HIGH WINDS WORRY
POTLATCH COMMITTEE
A 35 mile wind Thursday with
gusts up to 50 mph, caused
some damage about town, and a
great amount of worry to offi
cials of the Potlatch committee.
Mrs. Howell reported that
wires to Anchorage were down
at noon yesterday and she had
had no contact with the Weather
Bureau there at the time. The
temperature had dropped to 17
degrees by afternoon, but indi
cations (at least her hopes) seem
ed to be that the wind would
drop by noon today.
A plate glass window in the
Alaska Shop was shattered
Thursday morning; planks, two
by-fours, car stakes, roofing,
trash cans and paper floated
through the air with equal ease.
Telephone and power men were
alerted and firemen uneasy.
The same high winds were re
ported on the Chain Wednesday.
LUTHERAN SERVICES
Lutheran Church services will
be held Monday, Feb. 6, at 8
p.m. at the Seward Lutheran
Church with Rev. A. O. Ode
gaard in charge.
Kasilof Means
"Land of Grass"
By NANETTE GROVER
Sixth Grade, Kasilof
The meaning of Kasilof is
“Land of Grass.’’ It comes from
the Russian name “Kussilof.”
The total population of Ka-!
silof is about 90 people in all,
including 25 children.
This year the Territorial I
school has reopened and there
are ten children attending.
In 1882, a cannery from Old:
Sitka was transferred to •‘Kus-i
silof’ on Cook Inlet. This was
operated by the Alaska Packing.
Company of California. This
company continued to function
until the year 1924.
Fur Farming Started in 1918
There were few white people.
living at Kasilof until in 1918!
when the first silver fox farm
ing was started. By 1925, ten
prosperous fox farms had been
built and continued until the;
1942. During the height of fur
industry at Kasilof live fox were
shipped all over the world and
hundreds of pelts were put on
(Continued on page 2)
'Round V 'Bout Town . . .
—The Roving Reporter—
When out scouting for news
today someone told me to tell
the folks the “wind is going
south.” No plane travel today
on account of “that thar” wind.
Mr. Frank Hielo from Moose
Pass had an emergency opera
tion last Sunday night and is
recovering nicely.
Mrs. Dorothy Edgington is
feeling fine after her operation.
SS'
Mrs. George Brauillard is
leaving for Anchorage to be
with her husband who is ill
at the Anchorage hospital. They
will take a trip to Tacoma,
Washington, as soon as Mr.
Brauillard is able to travel.
Mr. Brauillard installed the
heating plant in the new Seward
school and also in the school at
Kenai.
IS
Mrs. Lawrence Whitmore en
tertained at bridge Thursday
afternoon.
$4
Some of the folks about town
helped Vance Hitt celebrate his
birthday Wednesday, Feb. 1.
%
Tommy Moyer, manager of
the Standard Oil Co. in Dutch
Harbor, is in town for a few
days visiting friends.
is’
Mrs. Harriet Dick had a
birthday Feb. 1st. Mrs. Emma
Renwald gave her a beautifully
decorated cake. More of her
friends remembered her with
gifts and that evening she en
joyed a chop suey dinner at
Murphy’s.
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Reich
man returned from Fairbanks
Wednesday and plan on living
in Seward for the rest of the
season. Just before Christmas
Mrs. Reichman had a nice trip
Outside. She visited her parents
in Oakland, California.
Vt
The Rainbow Girls are hav
ing a pot luck supper for the
members and their guests at the
Masonic Hall Thursday evening
The engagement of Miss
Marian Shepherd to John
Offield was announced at a
party given by Mrs. Mae Gute
kunst, Friday, Jan. 27.
The bride-elect is a surgical
nurse at the Sanatorium and
has lived in Seward since last
August.
Mr. Offield is an employe of
the Alaska Railroad.
The couple plan to be mar
ried some time this month.
54
Mrs. Richard Myers enter
tained the members of the Nim
ble Thimble Sewing Club last
Monday.
54
Alex Petrovich, postmaster
of Naptowne, Alaska, reports
that the lowest temperature re
corded this winter was -48 de
grees.
Delmar Early and Richard
Huson were expected to arrive
on the Denali. They have been
vacationing in the States.
&
Baird French, Ed Cowan, Max
Reger, and John Haapala drove
to Homer recently, reporting
a very interesting trip with
good roads.
Mr. and Mrs. Ed Schnoeker
will be hosts this weekend to j
Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Coumbe j
of Soldotna, Alaska.
The Coumbe’s were school
mates of Mr. Schnoeker in Lom
bard, Illinois. They first came
to Alaska last November, de
ciding to settle down and home
stead on the Kenai Peninsula.
They shipped their pickup
truck to Moose Pass from An
chorage and drove over the new
Homer highway to their present
home near Soldatna.
ttf
Mrs. Karl W. Barth and baby
son Paul of Cordova arrived Fri
day, Jan. 27, by plane to visit
Kirs. Barth’s parents, Mr. and
Mrs. C. C. Harrow, at the Sew
ard Sanatorium. It was Baby
Barth’s first plane ride.
hO Years* Growth
With Kenai Peninsula
Roads and Highways
The 1950 mid-century year
is an appropriate time for us
to look back at the progress
made in the construction of
roads on the Kenai Peninsula
during the last 50 years. As
far as we know the first road
of any consequence that was
built on the Peninsula was the
Johnson Pass road which ex
tended 30 miles from Mile 34
on the Alaska Railroad to Sun
rise on Turnagain Arm. This
road was constructed by the
Alaska Road Commission in
1900 as a wagon road and was
used to freight in supplies from
the railroad to the mining camps
near Sunrise and Hope.
In 1909 a sled road, later im
proved to a wagon road, was
built from Moose Pass via Sum
mit Lake to the forks at the
junction of Canyon Creek and
Six Mile Creek (now Mile 58)
where it connected with the
Johnson Pass road.
Progress lo 1938
Between the years 1904. when
Seward was first settled, and
1920. when road construction
in the Chugach National Forest
was taken over by the Bureau
of Public Roads, 5Ji miles of
road were built by the Alaska
Road Commission from Seward
north towards Kenai Lake. Dur
ing this period the Seward
Radio Station road (now the
airport road) and the Nash Road
were built. In 1920 the increas
ing demand for good roads
caused the inauguration of a
(Turn to Page 3)
Sncwshee Theft Brings
Stiff Sentence
Merle Starr and Max New.
both of Seward, were sentenced
to six months in jail, with three
months of the sentence suspend
ed, in Commissioner's Court.
Wednesday, Feb. 1, by Deputy
U. S. Commissioner Anna B.
Southard.
The young men, both under
21, were charged with having
stolen a pair of snowshoes on
January 17. belonging to John
H a n s o n, homesteader, near
Homer. He had left them, ac
cording to custom, standing in
the snow beside the highway.
Starr and New sold the sno.w
shoes in Seward the following
day, claiming to have found
them, but without attempting
to find the owner.
Max New has no previous
police record, but Starr has
been in court on several occa
sions for traffic violations. He
made verbal appeal for retrial.
BOWLING EXHIBITION .
FOR POTLATCH
Bob Forsyth announced that
there will be a bowling exhibi
tion in Dreamland Bowl Satur
day morning from 10:00 till
12:00 o’clock. Top notch bowl
ers about town will display
their skill and show how to win
league games with big scores.
Cold weather and high winds
may give all but the most en
thusiastic ski addicts the idea
that a warm, inside sport like
bowling is more comfortable,
so everybody is welcome to the
exhibition.
Railroad Lifeline
Of Interior
First man to railroad in Alas
ka was Walter Jones. He drove
the first spike on the old Alaska
Central Railroad in the spring of
1904. The pioneer Alaskan came
to the Territory in 1903 with a
party of 30 railroad men and
worked for Alaska Central for
four years. The first spike was
put in at the Seward dock.
When Jones arrived at Seward
on August 28, 1903, the town's
population consisted of three
families. He helped lay out the
present townsite of Seward.
Private Don Blitch, Captain
Glenn, for whom the Glenn
Highway was named, and Lt. J.
C. Castner were responsible for
finding a route for a railroad
through Alaska.
In 1914 the railroad came to
Alaska, but it was not until 1923
that one could travel from Sew
ard to Fairbanks by rail.
Alaska Railroad's Historical
Highlights:
Authorized Mar. 12, 1914
I Surveys begun June 1914
Final selection of
route Early 1915
Actual construction
■ begun .May 1915
Alaska Northern (71
miles) bought 1916
'.Turn to Page 4)
On behalf of the people of the
City of Seward, we take this op
portunity to welcome all those
residents of the Kenai Peninsula
and elsewhere who attend this
First Kenai Peninsula Potlatch.
Much time and effort has been
expended by Sewardites in an
effort to assure a good and inter
esting time during this festival.
It is our hope that those who
make the long trip from the out
lying communities will not be
disappointed.
The entire program has been
planned with a view toward en
tertainment of local people as
well as visitors and the commit
tee promises a maximum of- fun
and entertainment at a minimum
of cost.
Let's get out and get acquaint
ed with our neighbors from out
of town, and those here at home, *
too.
Thanks, folks, for your whole
hearted cooperation.
$50 REWARD OFFERED BY
IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE
The Seward Chapter of the
Izaak Wallon League of America
is offering $50 reward for in
formation leading to the appre
hension and conviction of the
person or persons who killed a
cow moose in the vicinity of
Mile 36 on the highway the fore
part of the week of Jan. 29, 1950.
j Mayor Proclaims 'Boy Scout Week' and
|'Childrens Dental Health Week'
WHEREAS, February 8, 1950
is the 40th anniversary of the
founding of the Boy Scouts of
America, chartered by the Con
gress of the United States, as
a program for all boys of Amer
ica, and
WHEREAS, the Boy Scout
Program has affected the lives
of 16,500.000 American boys
and men since 1910, and now
has an active enrollment of
2,300.000 and
WHEREAS, the Movement is
engaged in a Crusade to
“Strengthen the Arm of liberty”
by giving more boys a richer
experience and increase its use
fulness to the nation and
WHEREAS, the Boy Scouts of
America, a great force for train
ing youth in right character and
good citizenship, marks its 40th
anniversary by a great National
Scout Jamboree at historic Val
ley Forge, Pa., this coming
summer;
NOW THEREFORE. I, Eugene
Lanier. Mayor of the City of
Seward in the Territory of Alas
ka, do hereby proclaim the
week of February 6th to 12th
as “Boy Scout Week,” and do
urge our citizens to recognize
the unselfish, patriotic service
being rendered to our communi
ty by the volunteer Scout Lead
ers who bring the Program to
the youth of our city, and in
all possible ways, to further
this wholesome youth program,
and help the City of Seward to
be adequately represented at the
great National Scout Jamboree
this year.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF,
I have hereunto signed my
name officially and caused
the Seal of the City of Sew
ard to be affixed, this 3rd day
of February, 1950.
EUGENE N. LANIER,
Mayor of the City of
Seward, Alaska.
(Seal)
This is the first official Chil
dren's Dental Health Week for
Seward and the sodium fluoride
application program is being
brought here bv the railroad
unit of the Alaska Department
of Health to coincide with the
observance of this week.
PROCLAMATION
Whereas: The children of our
community are our future citi
i zens in whom are based all our
i hopes and aspirations; and
! Whereas: The conditions of
j the teeth of our children con
tribute a great deal to their
health and vigor: and
! Whereas: The dentists of our
| community, and the Alaska De
j partment of Health are unself
| ishly vigilant and patriotic in
i their concern for the dental
! health of our children;
j Now, therefore, as Mayor of
i the City of Seward, and since
j Feb. tith has been proclaimed
I as Childrens Dental Health Day
i by the American Dental Asso
| elation, I hereby proclaim the
; Week of Feb. 6th as Childrens
! Dental Health Week for Seward.
In witness whereof, I have
: hereunto set my hand and Seal
this 3rd day of Feb. 1950.
EUGENE N. LANIER,
i (Seal) Mayor of the City of
Seward, Alaska.
Following is the schedule for
the adults who wish chest x-rays
at The Railroad Unit. The chil
dren 12 and over, and the high
school students will be • taken
directly from their classes.
Adults’ name begin
ning with
Feb. 8 and 9.A-C incl.
Feb. 10 and 14 .D-G incl.
Feb. 15 and 16 .H-L incl.
Feb. 17 and 20.M-P incl.
Feb. 21 and 23 Q-T incl.
Feb. 24 .U-Z incl.
Basketball Game!
PALMER HIGH SCHOOL vs. SEWARD HIGH SCHOOL
Friday, Feb. 3 — Preliminary Starts at 7:30 P.M.
SEWARD HIGH SCHOOL GYM
Final School Game of Seaton. DON'T MISS ITI
“Thank You, Mr. Parker”
A Three-Act Comedy
Presented by Homer Dramatics Club
E-3SGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM — SAT.. FEB. 4 - 7-9 P.M.
50c Admission ai Door
No Tickets Sold in Advance