o •
Years of Effort Required Before
Construction of Small Boat Harbor
By Pat Wolfe
O
Liaison Branch, U. S. Army
Engineers
A long history proceeds the de
velopment of Kodiak’s small-boat
harbor, extern!ing back to 1772 or
thereabouts.
Kodiak wa;> first settled in 1772
by Russian explorers for the reign
ing Czar, Shortly after the first
settlement the harbor work was
accomplished consisting of a rock
bulkhead equipped with large iron
rings embedded in it for mooring
trading vessels.
During the Russian era which
came to an end in 1867, Kodiak be
came an important trading center
for the Russian American Com
pany whose operations extended as
far south as San Francisco.
Kodiak’s commercial fishing in
dustry got its start about the same
time and has continued to be of
prime importance to the commun
ity’s economy.
Facilities lor the fishing fleet
Above picture hears out the
.statement that some of the rich
est halibut banks in the world
are found near Kodiak.
These larg“ fish are taken in
great quanKies every year on a
quota basis. Roth Canadian and
Americans fish these waters.
The halibut too, is considered
a good game fish by some fisher
men, and is also prized as a table
delicacy. The above fishermen
are unidentified.
FOR
SEATTLE
TACOMA
PORTLAND
SERVICE
CALL
4131
Pacific Northern
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were found to be inadequate about
1927 when an engineering study
established the fact. With the
engineering findings in hand, resi
dents spearheaded by city and
Chamber of Commerce officials
began a campaign to obtain the
needed improvements.
The camoaign continued for 30
years to 1957 when the harbor pro
ject was started. It required pers
erverance, and a lot of effort, ex
emplified by a file of correspon
dence 12 inches thick accumulated
through the years at the City Hall.
In 1954, the U .S. Congress auth
orized a small-boat harbor for
Kodiak. The authorization was
made after evidence was presented
that upwards of $78,000 annually
would be saved by the facilities
in prevented storm damage to the
fishing fleet.
At this time, commercial fish
ing at Kodiak was expanding and
new resources were being examin
ed. In the summer, salmon and
halibut fishing continued while
crab fishing was starting as a
winter occupation. Further ex
pansion was under study into
shrimp, scallops, clam and wild
oyster resources.
Congress appropriated funds for
the harbor project in June, 1957
and the project started with a
ground-breaking ceremony on Au
gust 31, 1957. The banner day was
saluted by the Kodiak Mirror with
a front page editorial headlined
.... “After Thirty Years . . ”
The U S. Army Engineer Dis
trict, Alaska, designed the project,
called for bids, awarded the con
tract and supervised the work. The
contract called for the dredging
of a boat basin 11 acres in extent
with two rock breakwaters measur
ing 1,250 and 760 feet.
A $1,041,050 contract was award
ed to Manson-Osberg Company
of Seattle, Washington on a low
bid. Morrison - Knudsen subcon
tracted the quarry work and break
water construction.
Work progressed rapidly dur
ing the Fall and Winter despite
inclement weather. The south
west breakwater was the first por
tion of the project completed that
Fall. “The Husky” literally lifted
out a chunk of the bottom at the
site to form the boat basin. Work
was virtually completed by April,
1938. All that remained was the
removal of a rock ledge fiom
channel and basin. The formal
finishing touches were made in
July, 1958.
At the peak of activity, a crew
of 22 men was employed. Thomas
“Jiggs” Tice was the Project En
gineer for the Alaska District. Pat
Patterson was M-K Resident Super
visor; Roger Morris was Manson
Osberg Supervisor; Art Molvar
was captain of the dredgb; Floyd
Barney ,^'as Chief Engineer; Art
Prekaski was Assistant Engineer;
others on the crew included Jim
Coulter, Sam Nelson, Herb Car
penter, Leroy Blondin, James Ry
man, Charles Hixon, Jim Schwartz
and Mat Pytel.
The dedication was a gala time
in Kodiak. The Governor and other
dignitaries attended. For some of
the residents, it was a day that
, o .
took 30 years or more in coming.
. _ O
O
Whii©^* S Ice Cold at the
High Life Beachcombers
If you have something to sell
try a classified ad in the Mirror.
They bring quick results.
mmmmwmmmmm—mm—m
Progress
In Kodiak
Means Better Homes!
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