SEWARD’S
Al l-cWeatKer
SEAPORT
Is Alaska’s
Greatest Asset
Territorial Library
Seward Seaport Record
Formerly The Seward Polaris & Kenai Peninsula Aleutian Chain Neivs
Vol. V. No. 60
SEWARD, ALASKA, FRIDAY, JAN. 28, 1949
Price 10 Cents
Kodiak to Play
Ponies Here
Feb. 10-11
The Seward High eagers are pre
paring their defenses and sharpen
ing their shooting eyes for an in
vasion of the home court by Kodi
ak February 10 and 11.
The Kodiak team is in Anchor
age this week to meet the Eagles
on their home floor. They will then
play Palmer at Palmer and will
meet Fairbanks at Anchorage.
Seward fans will be waiting
anxiously for the Kodiak team to
show up. Since the Ponies took
two games from Anchorage, the
local sports fans have been wait
ing eagerly to see them in action
again.
The game will take place on the
old USO floor, which, besides giv
ing more playing space, will also
permit more cash customers to
view the game.
City League Final Series
The final series of City League
basketball opens Friday night, Jan.
28 at the USO at 7:00 o’clock. The
first game will be a contest be
tween two high school girls teams,
the Girls' Athletic Association and
the Girls’ All-Stars.
The B & B Boosters will furnish
competition for the Seward High
Ponies, and the Seward Hardware
men will meet the Seward Light
and Power in the third game. Sea
son tikeets are good for the game.
Tickets at the door are fifty cents
for adults and twenty-five cents
for children.
G. W. SHUSTER OPENS SALES
AGENCY IN ANCHORAGE
G. W. Shsuter opened his new
Stinson-Piper agency in his new
headquarters at Merrill Field, An
chorage. The new office will also
be operated as an agency for his
non-scheduled Safeway Airways
flights.
Shuster has had the dealership
for Piper planes for some time. Re
cently a merger has given him the
selling rights on Stinson light
planes.
Chamber Acts on
Statehood, Other
Civic Matters
The Seward Chamber of Com
merce met Thursday evening with
a good representation of members
present.
Correspondence included sugges
tion by the Ketchikan Chamber
that all Chambers in Alaska en
dorse statehood for Alaska. The
membership voted a resolution,
copies of which will be sent to
Congress, Delegate Bartlett and
Governor Gruening.
Invitation for Seward to partici
pate in an Alaska exhibit at Seat
tle on March 11 was decided
against because of the time ele
ment which is too short to allow
preparation of a suitable exhibit.
Mr. Sipprell was appointed to in
vestigate and report on possibili
ties of a permnaent exhibit that
can be sent Outside or to any place
in the Territory. When not else- i
where the exhibit would be on dis
play in Seward.
A letter from the Anchorage
1 Rendezvous Committee suggesting
I the Chamber assist the high school
! basketball team pay expenses to
; the championship tournament in
; Anchorage the week preceding the
Fur Rendezvous brought forth in- ^
formation that American Legion
Post No. 5 had forseen the situa
tion and had taken care of the
matter.
Sam Romack was apointed chair- |
: man of the recreation committee, i
i and authorized to designate his
own assistants. Plans are on foot
i for Chamber dinners to be held at ]
| intervals throughout the year,
i Progress was reported on plans
! for entertaining Navy personnel to
i visit Seward for four days begin
| ning Feb. 17. All organizations
i planning to participate in the pro
j gram are requested to keep in con
i tact with Mayor Lanier and his en
i tertainment committee in order
that the various phases of the pro
gram may be coordinated.
t _
■ George Carlson, who is with the
Seward Light and Power Company,
has recently returned from a trip
Outside.
Increased Fishing Research
Sought for Alaska
Expanded fishers explorations in
Alaska waters and slightly in
creased research in the fisheries
field are provided in the budget
of the Fish and Wildlife Service
recently sent to Congress, the Al
aska Development Board was ad
vised this week by A. W. Ander
son, Chief of the Branch of Com
mercial Fisheries.
A base appropriation of $125,000
for exploratory fishing and gear,
improvement for the present year
would be increased under the bud
get now being considered by Con
gress to $155,150 for the fiscal year
commencing next July 1.
The increase will provide from
two to three month’s additional
operation of an exploratory fish
ing vessel in North Pacific waters.
Anderson explained to the Develop
ment Board that the current ap
propriation is sufficient for about
six months’ operation during the
year fbut if the increase is allowed
the work can be extended to cover
eight or nine months.
The Development Board had re
quested the Service to assign its
exploratory fishing vessel for work
in Southeastern Alaska during the
period of the year when it can not
operate in Bering Sea. Anderson
reported that the extra operating
time will be devoted especially to
inshore projects which can be con
ducted during periods of bad
weather usually encountered in
Alaska in late fall or early spring. ,
Budget estimates will be suffici
ent also to permit some research in
and development of new and im
proved types of fishing gear and
vessel operation for handling that
gear, the Development Board was
advised.
The estimates approved by1 the
Budget Bureau and recommended
by the President also contain an
item of $30,000 for completion of
the second floor of the Ketchikan
laboratory of the Fisheries Experi
mental Commission and small in- ,
creases for work in commercial
fisheries statistics and economic,
investigations. The estimates will
allow for some research on freez
ing, packaging and processing of
fishery products, on clam taxicity, 1
on bacteriology and sanitation,
and limited work on fish oils and
vitamin assays.
'Dance for
Those Who
Can’t’Saturday
People of Seward will be danc
ing Saturday night, dancing for
those who can’t dance.
The better time they have at the
Grand Ball Saturday evening. Jan
uary 29, the greater the benefit to
paralysis victims and crippled chil
dren.
All preparations for the Annual
Grand Ball have been completed,
chairman Hal Gilfilen announced
Thursday.
The dancing will begin at 9 p.m.
and continue until 1 a.m. Music
will be furnished by an orchestra
composed of Doris Smith at the
piano, Charles Lechner, drums; B.
Davis, saxophone; Park Smith,
violin; Jack Willis, trombone,, and
Ted Bristow, banjo.
The Rainbow Girls will be there
to give their services in the check
room and in serving refreshments’.
This will be the only opportunity
of the year for the general public
to participate in the work of the
Infantile Paralysis Committee and
the Public Health and Welfare
Council.
Tickets are now on sale, and will
be on sale at the door at SI. 10 per
person. Half of the fund raised
will be used locally for crippled
children in emergencies, and the
other half will be forwarded to
the Infantile Paralysis Foundation
headquarters in New York
It is not a large number of cases
of infantile paralysis which makes
it a major health problem. It is the
fact that hospitalization for long
periods of time is required.
Crippling of the victim is one of
the after effects which makes this
illness of far-reaching social and
economic consequence.
Care of the patient involves hos
pital treatment, convalestent care,
special education and vocational
guidance, and additional care in
the home.
The expense of providing these
facilities, in addition to transpor
tation and orthopedic appliances,
is considerable. But neglect is
more costly.
The price of each ticket, bought
to provide a dancing good time,
will he used to make a better life
for some stricken child, perhaps
the child of one of Saturday eve
ning’s dancers.
Shipping Mews . . .
The SS Baranof is expected to
arrive at Seward at 11:30 Friday
evening, January 28 (today). She
will sail Saturday afternoon, call
ing at Juneau, Ketchikan and Se
attle.
The freighter Abigail Adams is
now discharging cargo at Seward
and is expected to sail early next
week. The Coastal Monarch has
gone to Port Bailey to discharge
building material to rebuild the
cannery which was destroyed by
fire some time ago, and will re
turn to Seward to complete the
discharge of cargo.
The Ring Splice is now en route
from Seattle..
The Alaska Steamship Company
announced that perishable fruits
and vegetables (other than cool
room) such as potatoes, onions,
etc., destined for regular ports of
call will be handled on passenger
steamers only and on the SS Vic
toria.
The next Coastwise Line ship to
(Turn to Page 4)
New Health Code
To Grade Eating
Establishments
A new health ordinance, de
signed with the practical problems
of enforcement, has been approved
by vote of the City Council after
its third reading, according to in
formation received from Public
Health Officer Dr. R. O. Sellers.
There will be a board appointed
to enforce the law, consisting of
three members, and enforcement
will be carried out on the plans
used successfully by other cities.
Inquiry at the City Hall this
morning revealed that there was
only one official copy of the or
dinance, but that other copies will
be available to the public and for
publication.
The plans call for cards to be
, displayed in all places of business
handling food for the public. This
card will show the sanitary rating
of the establishment.
An “A” card will mean that in
spection has been made and sani
, tat ion is satisfactory. A “B” card
shows that the dealer has been
warned to clean up his place.
A “C” card means that the sanitary
laws have not been complied with,
and the place can not legally be
open 1o serve the public.
Until copies of the ordinance are
! available for publication it will not
j be possible to learn the reactions
I of food dispensers whose places of
business are affected.
Some opposition will probably
i follow the passage of the law.
| since any place where the public
| is served will be closed down if
'’condition's prove a threat to pub
lic health.
LEONARD TO WORK
ANTIMONY CLAIM
! H. H. tHard Rock) Leonard, who
' has been in the plumbing business
! in Seward for many years, an
nounced this week that he will be
going to Skilak Lake this summer
where he intends to work on his
: mining claim. The claim consists
! of Antimony deposits which he be
lieves are large and rich enough to
be profitable.
He did not state whether or not
he would discontinue his plumbing
business here.
Orin Welch of the Seward Light
, and Power Co. is on a trip Outside.
He will be back in about a week.
Bay Dragged
For Body of
George Poe, 3
George Lee Poe, three-year-old
son of Mr. and Mrs. Rex Poe,
slipped on the icy bridge and was
drowned in the icy water water
pouring from the Bear Mountain
tunnel Thursday at about 11:30 in
the morning.
His brother, only a year older,
tried to grab him and then tried to
pull him out by means of a stick.
The drowning boy grasped the
stick twice, but could not hold it
to pull himself out. The third time
he did not even make an attempt
to grab the stick.
Police received the telephone re
port at 11:49, and rushed to the
scene. By that time the boy had
disappeared entirely in the strong
current.
Police found the place where he
slipped from the bridge. The snow
was ice crusted.
At the time the hoy fell into
the water the tide was at its high
est and there was about five feet
of water under the bridge. At low
tide it would be a simple matter
i for even a child to scramble out of
the creek.
Tiie lighthouse tender, the Cedar,
was in port at the time and at the
; request of Marshal Metcalf and
Chief of Police Claik, Lt. Harmon,
I commander of the Cedar, put out
a boat with four men to drag the
waters along the shore and make
; a thorough search.
I Walkie-talkie radio sets were
used to maintain communication
| between the shore, the boat and
j ihe ship at the Army dock,
j On Friday morning the search
was continued, but at press time’
i no further information was avail
■ able.
: Seward police expressed warm
| appreciation for the aid from the
i Coast Guard and the Army. Lt.
Keidser dispatched three men to
; aid in the search They traveled on
i foot all the way to Lowell Point
1 and back over the rocks and
through the snow.
1 The three soldiers were pretty
well bruised and exhausted bv the
time they returned and on top of
that found themselves stuck with
clothing to replace or have cleaned.
Land Withdrawal Protested;
Kenai Project Cited
Alaska's prime need to encour
age settlement is not government
sponsored colonization schemes,
but a simplification of the existing
land laws, the Alaska Develop
ment. Board has notified officials
in Washington as a result of dis
cussions during a board meeting
in Juneau last week.
Legislation providing for trans
fer of land from federal to private
ownership by simple sale was re
commended by the Board to the
Secretaries of Interior and Agri
culture. Persons needing land in
Alaska for homes, farms, and for
business and industrial purposes
should have the right to buy suit
able areas of reasonable extent at
a fair appraised cost and should
not be subjected to long-drawn
out and complicated land disposal
procedures, the Board resolved
Such sale provisions should apply
not only on the public domain bu'
also in the National Forest area:
of Southeast Alaska and Prince
William Sound, the Board stated.
The Board renewed to the Sec
retary of the Interior its protest
against further land withdrawals
such as those made last year at
Kenai and Dunbar for agricultural
settlement purposes. The Board’s
letter to the Secretary asked as
surances that no further such
areas would be withdrawn at least
until after plans for development
of the Kenai and Dunbar projects
had been put into effect and dem
onstrated their worth.
Withdrawals or reservation of
land by federal departments with
out full hearing in Alaska was
condemned by the Board, which
also renewed its suggestion that
all federal withdrawals in the Ter
ritory be for limited time only,
with the agency requesting the
withdrawal being required to dem
onstrate periodically the need for
keeping the land from disposal
and use by the public.