I
Organizations
Exchange Troops
In Gyroscope
Brigadier General John F. Ruggles, j
commanding general of the Yukon
Command, and Fourth Infantry
Commander Lieutenant Colonel
Louis F. Springer. After a brief
ceremony the twt» regimental com
manders shook hands and the trans
fer of the troops participating in
•‘Operation Gyroscope” was sym
bolically sealed.
Advance Party
Several months prior to the ar
rival of the main groups at I,add
and Eielson an advance party of
Ninth Infantry officers and enlist
ed men reported to the Alaskan
bases and made final preparations
and arrangements for their north- 1
bound parent unit. At the same time
an advance .party of Fourth ?rtfan
try personnel was at Fort Lewis
laying groundwork for the Fourth
Infantry's return to the states.
The majority of Ninth Infantry j
soldiers are new not only to the
land of the midnight sun but also :
to the United States Army. The
unit, which did not have a full
complement at the beginning of the
year, started in February to pull
trainees from the various basic
training camps in the United States
to Fort Lewis where they were giv
en an additional 16 weeks of train
ing. Nowt the men are scheduled to
receive instruction and training in
arctic warfare and will probably
join in several large scale winter
maneuvers.
“Big Brother” Program
An experimental “Big Brother”
program has been set up at both
bases whereby veterans remaining
at Ladd and Eielson are assisting
the newly arrived men and their
families in getting settled. New of
ficers.. and enlisted men have been
assigned a “sourdough sponsor” of
their same rank to acquaint them
with facilities of the bases and sur
rounding area. Each sponsor also j
signed for the incoming family’s
housing and stocked the shelves
with a two-day supply of groceries. i
Although most Ninth Infantry
personnel have arrived at their new
duty stations, the official completion
of “Gyrseope” is not expected until :
early next week. By that time all
units of the Fourth Infantry will
be headed south and the Ninth In
fantry will be at Ladd and Eielson
in full strength.
Eielson Troops
The 9th Army Band from Ladd
AFB was on hand to welcome the |
troops last week and the out- j
troops Monday morning and the out- '
going personnel of the 4th Infantry
lined the banks along the railroad
tracksm to cheer the new arrivals.
The commanding officers of the
2nd Battalion organizations are:
Capt. Robert H. Wise, Heaquarters i
Company; 1st Lt. William J. Crow- i
ley, Company E: Capt. Paus E. Tay- j
lor, Company F; Capt. Merle E.
Bright, Company G; Capt. Frank Mi
la Zzo, Company H; Capt. Robert
M. Stump, Hvy Mort. Company;
Capt. Gor Christopherson, C Btry.
15th AFA Bn; and Capt. Harry G.
Estes, D Btry 82nd AAA Bn.
Friday the 1st and 3rd Battalions
from Ladd AFB departed with
the 4th Infantry Regiment com
manding officer, Lt. Col. Lewis F.
Springer.. The 4th’s motfe Is ex
pected to be completed by tomor
row.
MMES. BAYLESS, BOYER
WIN BRIDGE HONORS
At the regular meeting of the
Farthest North Bridge Club Fri
day evening at the USO, Wilma
Bayless and Mary Boyer took top
honors in the 24 pair session.
Second were Hugh Covihgton,
Club director, and his partner, Ona
Bailkey. Marvin Kelley and Val
Freeman and Mrs. A1 Waxberg and
Bill Lusso tied for third and fourth
place.
Les Wilkens is club chairman.
Fairbanks, Alaska
A LONG TIME AGO
—Jessen’s Staff Photo
These ladies donned clothes of yester-year and rode the pioneer float
during: Golden Days. They are, reading from left to right, Mrs. How
ard Brown, Mrs. James MacGuire, Mrs. Flora Balltosser, Mrs. Jack
Egan, Mrs. Walter Shutte, and, oops, this one is a gentleman, James
MacGuire.
YMCA Slates
‘Bike Camp’
For Next Week
The YMCA will hold a boys “bike
camp" on Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays, beginning this Monday
and running through August 10. The
program is open to boys eight years
old or in the third grade, up to
and including all boys who have not
actually started in the seventh
grade.
A fee of $6,00 will be charged for
the project, in addition to being
“Y” members. Boys may join the
j “Y” at any time. Membership in the
“Y” is $5.00 per year.
The boys will be divided into
small groups and will take “bike
hikes’’ to various places around
Fairbanks. A leader will be with
each group. The last day will fea
ture a “bike rodeo.” Bicycle safety
will be a part of the program, in
I eluding road rules and care of bi
cycles. The boys will swim every
day it is possible while on their
bike hikes.”
Registration for the program is
now going on at the YMCA office.
A place will be held for $1. Director
of the program is Rube Tikka, as
isted by Sharon Kremer and Gary
Smith. For further information call
the “Y” office at 5656. The entire
program is under the supervision of
the YMCA.
Fairbanks Has Many Churches
A saloon was the location of Fair
bank's first church services. That
was back in 1902. Today there are
about 35 houses of worship in Fair
banks, in addition to the base chap
els at Ladd and Eielson.
St. Matthew's EpiStopal church
dates back over half a century.
The original building, which also
housed Fairbanks’ firfet library,
burned 10 years ago. It was re
placed by a new modern structure.
The First Church of Christ. Sci
entist, held its first service in 1906
with seven persons in attendance.
The first Thanksgiving day services
in that church were attended that
year by two members who walked
12 miles in 50 below zero weather
to be there. The present building
was completed in 1940.
The first permanent Presbyterian
church was built in 1904. It now has ;
about 200 members and boasts one
of the most modern structures in
town. The new building was built
last year.
/
The First Methodist Church is
one of the most attractive churches
in town. Its history also dates back
over 50 years. The present building
was finished in 1953.
The Immaculate Conception
church has spent the past 50 years
serving the community. On Thanks
giving Day in 1906 their hospital
was dedicated after many setbacks
and hardships. This past fall Mon
roe high school was opened by the
church.
Fairbanks’ spiritual growth has
kept pace with is rapidly expand
ing population. There is now a
congregation for almost every de
nomination. The doors of Fairbanks
churches are open and members
welcome new friends and visitors.
Unitarians Meet Sunday
The Fairbanks Unitarian Fellow
ship will hold its quarterly business
session at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Car
penter’s Hall, 315 Fifth avenue. All
Welcome...2nd Division
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