Territorial Library 4-50
SEWARD’S
All-'Weathec
SEAPORT
Is Alaska h
Greatest Asset
Seward Seaport necord
THE ONLY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD THAT GIVES A HOOT ABOUT SEWARD. ALASKA
Vol. VI, No. 32
SEWARD, ALASKA, FRIDAY, OCTOBER, 21, 1949
Price 10 Cents
H.P. Curry Killed When
Oil Truck Leaves Road
Harold P. Curry, driver of a big
tank truck for Lytle & Green Con
struction Company, was killed
Tuesday evening when his truck
ran off the shoulder of the road
and plunged down a steep em
bankment between Mile 57 and 58
on the Hope Highway.
The accident was discovered by a
foreman for Munter-Phillips, when
he saw the lights of the truck still
burning where it lay below the
road. The time of the accident is
not known, but it is believed that
Curry was killed instantly. Appar
ently he had tried to jump from
the vehicle as it left the road, but
couldn’t get away before it rolled
over him. The truck was complete
ly wrecked, according to a report
from Lytle & Green.
Curry, whose age was not giyen,
has worked in Alaska for at least,
five years. According to informa
tion he gave his employers, he was
unmarried. The name of his mother,
Mrs. C.arl Loken of Seattle, was
given as nearest relative.
Curry had been driving the heavy
truck for Lytle & Green fo a num
ber of months, delivering loads
of gasoline and fuel oil to the
highway construction job at Mile
58 twice a day.
He was a member of the Team
sters Union and union secretary
George Cease of Anchorage said
that arrangements are being made
to transport the remains to Seattle.
Frank Goyne III In
local Hospital
Many residents of Seward are
gravely concerned about the condi
tion of Frank Goyne, 81 year old
pioneer, who is ill at the Seward
General Hospital.
The familiar sight of Goyne tak
ing a number of tiny tots for their
daily stroll has been well known
for many years. Often he takes
them to the school playground to
play on the swings.
Goyne has spent some fifty-one
years in Alaska, and like most of
the old “mushers” he is extremely
fond of children. His son, who was
> known as the king of the dog rac
ers many years ago. was drowned
when his dog sled went through
the ice on a Canadian lake.
NURSES ASSOCIATION ELECTS
OFFICERS
The Seward Registered Nurses
Association announced the election
of Mrs. LaPreal Bie as president
for the coming year. Mrs. Bie has
recently announced her resignation
as Public Health Nurse here.
Other officers for the Nurses As
sociation • are Mrs. Hazel Lanier,
first vice president; Mrs. Hannah
Chesnut, second vice president;
Mrs. Pricilla Bacon, secretary; Mrs.
Ruth Cooper, treasurer. Committee
appointments have not yet been
made.
STOCKHOLDERS' MEETING
KENAI CO-OP
Moving pictures of an education- ;
al nature were shown at an in
formal meeting of the stockholders
of the Kenai Cooperative and Trad;
ing Company on Tuesday of last
week.
After the meeting there was an
informal discussion of the policy of
the Co-op, and officers gave a de
scription of the buiding soon to be
completed.
The new store will have a tile
floor and plenty of lights. The roof
construction will be on the same
principle as that in the new school
addition. There will be more dis
play windows in the new store than
any store in Seward, President
Earl Cass said.
Valeta Mary Inghram and Henry
Ochner, both of Fairbanks, were
married in Seward last Saturday
by Acting Commissioner Anna B.
Southard.
Contractors Vs.
Old Man Winter
Local builders are working at
top speed to finish outdoor con
struction work before snow and ice
force them to close down.
There are at least 17 new homes
under construction and many more
receiving additions, but the bigger
jobs in progress right now are the
Werner Cold Storage Plant
Werner cold storage plant, the
Kenaj Co-Operative building, and
the fire station. All three are of
concrete and cinder block construc
tion with steel.
Nearest to completion is the cold
storage plant, but all three should
be ready by Christmas. All work
on the small boat harbor, the Stan
dard Oil Company dock, and the
school addition is complete, with
the exception of a small amount
of finish work in the school.
The school addition is in use
now, however, and classes have
been in session there for several
weeks. City officials said the school
job would have been completed far
in advance if the money from the
bonding company had come
through on schedule.
Way Cleared For
Housing Transfer
The formal request for transfer
of the Seward Veterans Housing
Project from the Housing Adminis
tration to the City of Seward has
been forwarded to the proper aur
thorities, and the transaction should
be completed within the next sixty
days.
All the ground upon which the
housing project stands js owned by
the city with exception of one lot.
Part of a building containing sev
eral apartments rests on this lot,
and the city will have to move the
building before the government
will approve the transfer.
The party renting the apartment
in question has been notified that
he will have to move his family.
Mayor Lanier said, he would not be
rushed and that he could be given
another apartment in which to live.
LATEST STEAMSHIP SCHEDULE
SHOWS WEEKLY PASSENGER
SERVICE FOR SEWARD
Recent changes in passenger
ship schedules released by the
Alaska Steamship Company show
that ships will call weekly at
Ketchikan, Juneau and Seward.
At Valdez. Cordova and Wrangell
passenger ships will call only once
each month, while Petersburg ancl
Sitka will have bi-weekly passen
ger service.
The announcement was made re
cently that stops at Alaska ports
would be limited to twro hours, if
possible, with the exception of
Seward. Here it is planned that
unloading of cargo will take a min
imum of 24 to 36 hours.
POLICE REQUEST LIMIT
ON PARKING TIME
Chief of Police Leonard J. Clark
has asked that motorists be re
quested not to leave their cars
parked all night on Fourth Avenue
in the business district. Snow
clearance will soon be presenting
its annual problem, he said, and
it is impossible to remove the snow
when cars line the street.
The Chief suggests that car
owners find garages, or even lots,
in which they can park their cars
of the main street. If motorists
respond voluntarily to the request
it will not be necessary to set a
two hour limit on parking in this
area.
Hedley Davis, owner of the Sew
ard Water Supply, is in Anchorage
on business.
Funds Assured For
Kenai Hoads And
ARR Rehabilitation
Funds appropriated for roads in
the amount of $26,762,000 and SB
million in contract authorization
will allow new construction on the
Kenai Lake-Homer road, Eagle
Forty Mile-Alaska Highway road,
local farm and industrial roads, the
Turnagain Arm Highway and the
Richardson Highway-Mt. McKinley
Park road. Reconstruction of the
Fairbanks-Livengood and Tok Cut
Off roads can be carried out and
asphalt surfacing of the Richard
son, Glenn, Alaska, Haines to
Boundary, Anchorage-Lake Spen
ard and Fairbanks-College high
ways will have a good start.
The Alaska Railroad will have $17
million in cash and $17 million in
contract authorization for recon
struction and rehabilitation pur
-poses. The budget request totalled
$25 million in cash and $22 million
in contract authority for this work,
a request cut by the House to $17
million in cash and $12 million in
contract authority. The full budget
request was restored by the Senate
and in conference the Senate
agreed to the House allowance in
cash and settled half way on the
contract authorization by allowing
$17 million for this purpose.
!
Longshore Pact
Features Welfare
Negotiators for West Coast CIO
longshoremen and their employers
concluded wage review talks with
an agreement continuing present
wage scales without change, and
establishing a joint employer-em
ploye financed welfare and insur
ance fund.
At the same time, negotiators
came to full agreement on 17 ls<
sues remaining unresolved in last
December's back to work agree
ment. Thus, the new agreement
paved the way for final ratification
of the contract reached at the end
of last year's strike.
Longshoremen, through a 1 per
cent deduction from their payrolls,
will finance 45 per cent of the
welfare-insurance plan. Employers
will contribute at the rate of 3
cents per man hour, which amounts
to 55 per cent of the plan’s finances.
The fund is to finance a four
point benefit plan, providing for
longshoremen a life insurance poli
cy. hospitalization, a surgical
schedule, and disability payments
for time lost due to off the job in
juries or illnesses.
Amount of the projected insur
ance policy and extent of medical,
hospital and disability benefits are
not yet fully determined. The a
greement was to establish bene
fits in whatever amount the fund
is found capable of financing. A
joint union-PMA committee has
been assigned the task of working
out the details of the plan. The
plan calls for joint uniorf-employer
administration, as well as joint
financing.
Tentative date for commence
ment of the plan is January 1,1950
The wage agreement was reached
without resorting to arbitration. By
specific agreement the. welfare plan
was not subject to strike action or
to arbitration.
included in tne u otner items
settled were agreements wiping
out numerous ol8 arbitration
awards by inclusion of their terms •
into the contract; elimination of all
“hip pocket,” (special) working,
dispatching and safety rules not in
the contract; and eliminatioh of
the “1,000 hour clause” limiting
longshoremen to 1,000 hours work
in any consecutive 26 weeks, a pro
visional arrangement pending clari
fication of the Wage and Hour
Law.
The straight time rate for long
shoremen, unchanged in the wage
review agreement, is $1.82 per
hour. The overtime rate is $2.73
per hour. The straight time rate is
paid for the first six hours from \
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. All hours there
after and all Saturday, Sunday and
(Turn to Page 4)
Kids Joy Ride As Rates
Tumble In Taxi Dispute
Land Available For
Airport Site
While actual construction work
on the big airport here will not
begin till next spring, a great
many legal and technical details
are being worked out now, Mayor
Eugene N. Lanier said Thursday.
Lanier said the city has secured
agreements from land owners,
through whose property the en
larged airport would run, to sell all
the land needed at a greatly re
duced price of $40 per acre. Most
of the land in question belongs to
Leirer of the Seward Dairy and to
Hedley Davis of the Seward Water
Supply.
There are many other problems
to be ironed out, but the mayor
feels that a good start has been
rnade. During the winter plans and
specifications will be drawn up in
Washington to conform with data
furnished by engineers from the
Territory.
Mitchell Elected
Legion Commander
At a regular meeting of Seward
Post No. 5 American Legion
last Wednesday night Frank Mit
chell was elected Post Commander
for this coming year.
Mitchell was vice commander
last year and took over the com
mander’s post when Frank Blan
chard resigned a month ago.
First vice commander is Carl
Buntz, and second vice commander
is Andrew Semanisin. Ted Lesko
v/a$ elected adjutant and Bill
Knaack become finance officer.
Other new officers are Frank
Cooper, chaplain; Jim McCracken,
judge advocate; Alice Hussey, his
torian; Ed Manthey, sergeant at
arms; and John Rafferty, service
officer. Cooper, Knaack and Mc
Cracken were chosen for the exe
cutive committee.
Plans are to continue the im
provement of the Legion Club and
next year the grounds will be
landscaped. A new range has been
installed with ventilating hood in
the kitchen.
LOCAL MAN SLIGHTLY HURT
IN ACCIDENT
Eric Erickson, driver, accompan
ied by Albert Anderson, went off
the road at Mile 12 Tuesday night
and although the car rolled over
a 14 foot bank, both occupants i
survived the accident with only:
minor cuts and bruises.
In passing another car, Erickson ;
crowded a soft shoulder on the
road which threw the car out of |
control.
Patrolman Puckett warns motor- ;
ists that the highway from Seward
out, is being widened and the new
fills, being uncompleted, are soft,
and not to be trusted. Motorists
must drive with extreme caution
until the new ground is settled.
Concert Tonight
Simeon Oliver, noted pianist, lec
turer and writer is to give a con
cert this evening at the Seward
Methodist Church.
The concert is being sponsored by
the church choir with donations
going into the organ fund. Auto
graphed copies of his books will
also be on sale.
The ladies of th'e church are
holding a reception in the church
parlors after the concert. Refresh
ments will be served.
Miss Lurline Wilkins expected to
leave for Seattle Thursday evening
aboard the mailboat Garland. Miss
Wilkins has a year’s leave from the !
teaching staff of the Seward school 1
and will spend the winter with .
relatives in California and Colorado. ]
It was wonderful for the kids
while it lasted, but the taxicab
price war that brought prices down
to five cents a ride had stabilized
with three of the four local com
panies signing up with the Team
sters Union.
The three unionized cab com
panies have brought up to a dollar
a ride again, while the company
which started the price cutting has
set its price at fifty cents.
Secretary of the Anchorage
Teamsters Local 959 was in Seward
at the time on a matter pertaining
to the death of a union member
in a highway accident, and the
three cab companies took advan
tage of the opportunity to sign up
with the union.
Under existing prices,cab drivers
receive half the receipts of the
day’s run, and the other half goes
to the owner. Cab owners claimed
that neither the owner nor the
drivers can make expenses if the
rate is cut from a dollar to fifty
cents. Counting owners, the three
union cab companies in town em
ploy nine men, according to the
statement of one owner.
The first indication of a rate cut
was an announcement at about 7
p.m. Wednesday that one company
had cut to fifty cents. By midnight
the price had fallen down to the
five cent level.
That was when children came in
to their own. They swamped the
cab stands, demanding rides all
over town, from the soda fountains.
! to the skating rink, or even up to
| the bluff addition for a drink, of
water. One cab owner evaded the
issue by giving the children a
handful of nickels and sending
them to a competitor for their cab
service.
Jeanette Lind Named
Editor 'Seward Folly*
Miss Jeanette Lind, senior, has
been named editor of the school
publication, "The Seward Folly,”
for the present school year. Jean
ette served as assistant editor of
last year’s paper.
Assisting the editor are Beverly
Abrahamson and Bill Erwin, jun
iors, as associate editors. Richard
Mattson has been selected as busi
ness manager, with Margaret Lind
sey as circulation manager. Faculty
advisers are Miss Margaret Spencer
and Miss Shirley Calnan.
Other positions are being filled
by Helen Varnell. first page editor;
Jo Ann Milroy, second page editor;
Stanley Anderson, Bob Erwin and
Ruth DeWolf, sports page editors;
Mildred Hansen, fourth page editor:
Marida Martin and Art Sanders,
art editors; Charles Van Slyke,
photographer. Reporters that have
been selected are Julia Mareno,
Iris Smith, Marilyn Ratchford, Nel
lie Brandal, Lolita Havercamp,
Eleanor Salit, . Leah Jones, Irene
Ivey, Bill Evins.
Plans are being made to publish
the paper once a month instead of
the usual six weeks period. The
first paper will be issued Nov. 7.
Advertisers are being solicited and
plans are formulating for a sub
scription drive contest.
With increased staff and interest
among the students in -the publi
cation, hopes are held for an ex
cellent paper which will include
features such as pictures, alumni
news and special columns.
POSTAGE DUE
Melvin Anderson, acting post
master at Bartlett, Alaska (Seward
Sanatorium), this week requested
patients to remind all correspond
ents that all mail sent to the Sew
ard Sanatorium must be addressed
to Bartlett, Alaska.
All second, third, or fourth class
mail addressed to Seward, or any
other post office, will require ad
ditional postage.