Metrokins’ Lives Busy, Adventurous
By Miriam J. Angell
Mr. and Mrs. Eli Metokin have
lived in Alaska all their lives; 6he
was born in Chignik and came to
Kodiak thirty-four years ago; he
was born in Kodiak, and except
for thirteen seasons when he fish
ed out of Chignik and worked for
the cannery there, has lived in
Kodiak continuously. Their home
on Mission Road is set in a large
yard with cottonwood trees, over
looking the channel. The Metrokins
have three daughters and nine
grand children. We called on them
not long ago to learn something
of Mr. Metrokin’s profession as a
big game hunter and guide, of
Mrs. Metrokin’s busy days as head
fc.mmmm m mm
guide and hunter for thirty-four
years. “I don’t advertize,” he
said. “These men I’m hunting with
know me from years ago when I
worked with old Ben Madsen. One
man comes up every year; he
shot a ten foot ten inch bear a
long time ago and he keeps com
ing back to try to beat that one.
“I’ve been working with Alf
Madsen. I go more often to the
south end of Kaluga Bay; he goes
up by Karluk. We go mostly for
bear now but years ago when I
worked with Ben Madsen we went
up around the Kuskokwim River
on the mainland. We hunted griz
zlies, moose, sheep, and deer.”
We asked about some of the
MR. and MRS. ELI METROKIN
Photo by Ameigh
of the school lunch program, and
from both, more of the history
and lore of the island.
In the Metrokin livingroom
hangs one of -the most beautiful
icons we have ever seen, the frame
and covering an intricate design in
gold. The hanging lampada is also
of gold and of similar design.
When Mrs. Metrokin asked her
husband why the icon and one or
two pictures hung a little crooked
ly, he reminded her that he was
changing the house foundation
and all would be straight again
when he finished.
One picture shows Mr. Metrok
in’s father beside a large Kodiak
bear he had shot. This would seem
usual on an island where many
bear are killed except that the
elder man had lost his right hand
and did all of his shooting as a
wing shot. His son said, “He was
a fine hunter and guide. He rested
the gun in the crook of his elbow
and shot with his left hand.” Of the
icon, Mrs. Metrokin told us that
Father Gerasim said it was very,
very old. “I wonder what has
happened to many of them: pretty
nearly every home used to have
an icon and a samovar but people
sell them to different collectors.
There might be some on Afognak
Island and out in some of the vil
lages in the old timers’ homes.”
Eli Metrokin has been a game
tall bear stories we have heard;
Mr. Metrokin laughed and said,
“Rumors go pretty fast around
here, especially about bear. I
don’t know of anyone on this is
land who’s ever been mauled by
a bear. An old man, who is now in
his eighties, was telling me last
winter that years ago he and his
nartner went to Afognak Island
to check on some cattle. They had
no guns and when a bear came at
him he fainted. When he came
to he was badly hurt; the bear
orobably slapped him. Another
case was a couple of men fishing
for salmon; they shot and crippled
a bear. Then when one man tried
to shoot again the shell jammed
in his gun and the bear mauled
and killed him. But that was 25
or 30 years ago.”
Mr. Metrokin brought out a
ctaek of pictures of hunters and
trophies, and one of a friend dis
playing his wounded shoulder
where a grizzley had bitten him
badly. “We were after grizzlies up
on the mainland. This one came
after me but my partner ran; the
bear saw him out of the corner
of his eye and went after him. He
caught up with him and bit his
shoulder but the man had a pack
board on his back and the bear
couldn’t bite through it. He hung
on though, trying, and I got off
one shot at him, but the steel bul
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let went right on through the
bear. I couldn’t shoot anymore
from a distance without hitting
my partner; I had to get in close
and kneel down and shoot up into
the bear’s heart. You can see in
the picture, the teeth marks are
as big as thirty calibre bullet
holes.”
One of the grandsons, Alvin,
showed us a bear tooth five inches
long and said it was just one of
the small ones.
Eli Metrokin continued. “We’ve
started hunting again this year.
Just the south portion of the is
land is open by September first.
Alf put up a camp there; there
were plenty of bear signs when we
flew over, but no bear. They’d
gone up in the hills to feed on
elderberries. Bears have a tape
worm from eating too much fish;
they eat those sour berries and it
cleans them out. I tried once to see
how long the tapeworm was; it
must have been 30 to 40 feet long.
“About this hunting, a new law
has come out and the old guides
have to pass a test now to have a
license. Mind you, these are regis
tered guides, people who have ex
perience and have been guiding
and hunting for years. You don’t
read in books how to hunt; ex
perience is what counts. We’ve got
game laws and those are written,
but lots of other things about
how to hunt, aren’t”
We asked what advice he would
offer in case we met a bear. “I
wouldn’t run; he would probably
take after you because he can’t
see very well and he would think
you are game. If a bear gets your
scent he will go away. One thing
they have is a good nose and a
good ear.” We decided we would
faint on the spot.
We noticed the complete ab
sence of trophies of any kind. Mrs.
Metrokin told us that the only
things her husband had ever had
fixed for himself were two seal
skin rugs, which the grandchildren
have.
Mrs. Metrokin is manager of the
school cafeteria and we asked her
to tell us about that very busy
and important job. “Some days we
have as many as four hundred for
lunch. It’s quite a bunch. I have
two helpers; we cook and serve
and I have never worked where
time goes so fast, because we are so
busy. I make the menus and order
the food. We alternate food orders
between D and A’s and Kraft’s
and we get some surplus commod
ities, like rea/1 butter. The govern
ment subsidizes the milk program,
and this year we have pasturized
fresh milk from the creamery. I’ve
been doing this for three years
and I really enjoy it.”
Someone complained that we
were having more than our fair
share of rain and Mr. Metrokin
commented that it had never rain
ed so much. “We used -to run out
of water, it was so dry in the sum
mer. We’d go for a month or six
weeks without rain.”
His wife added that there were
many more gardens years ago, but
that now the ground was entirely
too wet and full of slugs and
worms. “We used to have a pretty
nice garden out here; I started the
seedlings in March and had nice
cabbages by summer.”
Mr. Metrokin told us that the
flats, starting at the Beachcomb
ers, were all gardens in those days.
“We had 48 plots there, way out
almost to the lake. We used kelp
for fertilizer; you’ve probably
seen those long patches of kelp
in the channel. We went out in
dories and gathered pile after pile
and rowed it back to the gardens.
We laid it on about a foot deep
and it really made fertile soil.
We took as many as 48 bags of
potatoes in a summer.
“In the winters we had a lot of
snow. Years ago when I was a kid
(Continued on Page 15)
10 Ladies Capped In NS Ceremonies
LADIES CAPPED—Left to right are: Mrs. D. J. Miller, Mrs. S. L.
Huber, Mrs. B. G. McIntyre. Mrs. R. E. Stalter, Mrs. C. H. Edris,
Mrs. R. L. Siegle, Mrs. E. J. Abdulla and Mrs. A. G. Terry. Two
others, Mrs. K. E. Keller and Mrs. Walter Kraft are not shown.
U. S. Navy photo
Gray Lady graduation cere
monies were held for 10 gradual
ing ladies Monday, September 26,
at the Naval Station Chapel. Mr.
Robert E. Fleming, Red Cross
Field Director, was master of cere
monies. -
The ten ladies who were capped
were Mrs. E. J. Abdulla, Mrs. C.
H. Edris, Mrs. S. L. Huber, Mrs.
K. E. Keller, Mrs. Walter Kraft,
Mrs. B. G. McIntyre, Mrs. D. J.
Miller, Mrs. R. L. Siegle, Mrs. R.
E. Stalter and Mrs. A. G. Terry.
Presentation of certificates were
made by Mrs. N. C. Sutliff, follow
ing a welcoming speech by Mrs. H.
H. Caldwell. Presentation of pins
was made by Mrs. G. H. Carrithers,
Gray Lady Chairman, and capp
ing by Capt. N. R. Lincoln, Jr.,
Commanding Officer of the Sta
tion, who was assisted bv LCDR.
E. M. Daughtry (NC),'TJSN, Chief
Nurse, Station Hospital. The ladies
were accepted for service by Capt.
W. S. Wray, (MC), USN, District
Medical Officer.
Special awards were given ladies
who have given service a year or
more, by Mrs. Flemming. The
special awards went to Mrs. N. R.
Lincoln, Jr., Nurse’s Aide, Mrs. J.
R. Gotchj and Mrs. W. W. Dootson,
the latter two Gray Ladies.
Cdr. R. A. Vaughn (CHC), USN,
District Chaplain gave the invoca
tion and Father Hoch, St. Mary’s
Parish Kodiak , pronounced the
benedication. ,
Mpsic was supplied by Mrs. T. B.
I.ongley. A reception for the grad
uates followed.
DAUGHTER ARRIVES
Mr. and Mrs. Don Gerber have
a baby daughter, Cynthia Lee,
born in Renton, Washington, on
September 17. Mr. Gerber is
superintendant of the Washing
ton Fish and Oyster Company.
Mrs. John Rogers gave a stork
shower on Saturday for Mrs. Gor
don Fisher. Mrs. Fisher received .
many lovely gifts.
NAVY WIVES CLUB OFFICERS
Back row, left to right, Alice Buse, Olivia Kuehner, Marsha Lewis,
Christene White, Lois Nave, front row, Faye Brunson, Mrs. Lincoln
(club sponsor) Melba Pajari, Gene Burch and Norma Kee. See story
on page 9. U. S. Navy photo
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