Digrees Living It Up In Sunny Mexico
But Land Of Manana Presents Problems
By Sig Digree
ON THE GREYHOUND
Almost everyone, I’m sure, has
been intrigued by the advertise
ments that beckon one to enchant
ing Mexico—where you will see
relics of the old and be charmed
by the hospitality and friendliness
in new and old Mexico. These ads
were true in every respect should
you board a plane that would take
you directly to Mexico City or Ac
apulco or more travelled routes.
There are certain reservations *o
be made, however, if you travel
the way Beth and I did. We are
now in Mexico City as you can see
by the dateline where we are rest
ing after a five day trip by bus
that took us from San Diego, Tia
juana, Hermosilla, Masatlan, Guad
ajara and finally Mexico City.
But before I get into that phase
I might hurriedly mention our
pleasant visits with Rear Admiral
Arnold McKechnie, Retired, and
his wife, Harriott, Cmdr. Roger
Burum and his wife. Elaine, re
tired Capt. George Roullard and
his wife, Gale, all formerly sta
tioned at Kodiak and now living
V4»4«4«4»4mT»Ji AA.T. • m m m
in Coronado. Also Bill O’Brien
who also lived in Kodiak and his
wife, Millie. While in Coronado
we were agreebly surprised to get
a call from the Jack Hinckels who
were passing through on their re
turn trip to Kodiak after covering
much of the U.S.
PLAY BY EAR
Our entire trip has been played
by ear—a very good way to plan
it when you have the time. We
originally planned to go by train
from Nogales, but changed our
plans after talking to a travel agent
in San Diego. He laid out a trip
going by bus from Tiajuana which
was to provide stopovers every
night and give us a good share of
daylight travel—the latter idea,
coupled with the prospect of see
ing more of old Mexico this way,
sold us on this mode of transporta
tion.
But wre found he and we rec
koned without the Mexican way of
doing things, and the utter disre
gard for schedules characteristic
of bus travel here. We were to find
that a scheduled arrival may be
set for 8 p.m. but actually arrival
m m rnm m m m m m m m. * m m m m m.
The Bar
The Saloon is sometimes called a Bar,
A Bar to Heaven, a door to Hell.
Whoever named it, named it well:
A Bar to manliness and wealth,
A door to want and broken health;
A Bar to honor, pride, and fame.
A door to grief and sin and shame;
A Bar to hope, a Bar to prayer,
A door to darkness and despair;
A Bar to honored, useful life,
A door to brawling, senseless strife;
A Bar to all that’s true and Brave,
A door to every drukard’s grave;
A Bar to joys that home imparts,
A door to tears and aching hearts;
A Bar to Heaven, a door to Hell,
Whoever named it, named it well.
“The Bar’’ was reputedly written a number of years ago by
a convict serving a life term in the Joliet prison in Illinois. With
the growth of the problem of alcoholism the poem is again re
ceiving public attention as a pertinent condemnation of saloons
and cocktail lounges.
A. L. Alexander read the poem on his Board of Meditation
heard over station WOR and the Mutual network. Jimmy Fidler,
Hollywood radio columnist, read it on his nationwide program.
Both Alexander and Fidler have received thousands of requests
for copies of the “The Bar.”
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time might be anywhere from 10
p.m. to 12 p.m. or later. This in it
self is frustrating. But couple this
with the language barrier and
you’ve got a problem. Ticket
agents, bus drivers, fellow passen
gers, all seemed to speak fluent
enough Spanish, and we, of course,
spoke no Spanish. We never knew
for instance, if it was to be a 10
minute stop or a half hour, and
half the time didn’t know if we
had arrived at one of our overnight
stops. Sign language or a helpful
passenger who knew a smattering
of English usually straightened us
out. Except in one instance where
a wouldbe helpful passenger told
us we had to change buses, which
we did, and found later we were
on the wrong bus—owned by a dif
ferent company! But it was going
our way at least and we were
dumped off, catching a later bus.
As to schedules, let me give you
an illustration which is typical of
the entire trip. We were to arrive
in Matzalan at 8 p.m. We arrived
instead at 1 a.m. Our schedule
called for departure at 7:25 the
next morning. After a short sleep
we sleepily arrived at the bus de
pot only to be told there was no
bus until 4 that afternoon, when
there would be three busses to
Guadajara. Our bus did not take
off until 5:30 p.m.
They say you have to prepare
yourself emotionally for a trip
through Mexico. How true! There
is only one way to handle a situa
tion like that and that is to “enjoy
yourself” in the meantime. We did
just that. We took a walk along the
promenade in this beautiful sea
port town, and watched the break
ers roll in as they came for miles
along this beautiful sandy beach.
We then sat at a sidewalk cafe
enjoying a leisurely breakfast, then
strolled through an old section of
town, where we saw signs of pov
erty everywhere—half naked chil
dren playing in open gutters, beg
gers everywhere. Pitiable sights to
be sure, but a problem Mexico has
and is dealing with. Our mode of
travel brought us face to face with
this condition everywhere, along
the roadside and throughout the
hamlets and towns through which
we passed. There is so little that
can be done for the poor. Many of
them are beggers by choice, lack of
pride, drive or desire to exert him
Legal Notice
NOTICE OF PETITION
TO VACATE ALLEY
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN
that on the 22nd day of October,
1962, Aleutian Broadcasting Co.,
Inc. owners of all the abutting
properties, filed a petition praying
for vacation of a certain alley,
platted, but not constructed,
through Block 47, East Addition,
of the City of Kodiak, for the pur
pose of constructing a radio trans
mitting tower with incident facil
ities.
This petition is filed pursuant
to Chapter 115, Sessions Laws of
Alaska 1953, and is accompanied
by a plat showing the proposed
vacation.
NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN
that a hearing on said petition will
be heard before the City Council
of the City of Kodiak at 8:00
o’clock p m. on the 13th day of De
cember 1962 at the City Council
Chambers in the City of Kodiak,
at which time the City Council will
inquire into, and determine the
merits of the relief prayed for, and
make such order as justice and
the public welfare require.
WITNESS my hand and the of
ficial seal of the City of Kodiak
this 13th day of November, 1962.
Douglas G. Preston
City Clerk, Treasurer
Publish: Nov. 23, 30
and Dec. 7, 1962.
self forces many Mexicans to live
like animals. I was told there is a
shortage of labor in Matzalan—un
believable but true- It’s a well
known fact that many workmen in
Kodiak don’t overexert themselves.
But you should see some of these
workmen in Mexico in action—it’s
slow motion pesonified! On every
job there is a swarm of workmen,
but none of them exert themselves
too much.
LAND OF TOMORROW
The Mexican work method is ’1
lustrated in their method of ro
tating bus drivers. Greyhound
would soon go broke if they op
erated the same way. There were
three drivers on the bus as we left
Tiajuana, one driving a while, then
another taking over, then a third.
In the meantime, all three would
carry on a conversation which was
trip. I don’t know whether this was
incessant throughout the entire
to keep each other awake or what.
We found few eating places en
route to our liking. I have never
in my life eaten so many bananas
and oranges. These were good.
Though not a beer drinker normal
ly, I drank it enroute as a thirst
quencher. Mexico does have excel
lent beer. The rest stops left much
to be desired in the way of sanitary
facilities. The average Mexican is
just being educated along these
(Continued on Page 15)
Legal Notice
STATE OF ALASKA
DEPARTMENT OF
NATURAL RESOURCES
DIVISION OF LANDS
Subject to the provisions of
Chapter 169, SLA 1959, as
amended, particularly Article III,
Section 5 (2)e, and the rules and
regulations promulgated thereun
der, the Director of the Division of
Lands, or his authorized repre
sentative, will convey to the Alas
ka Packers Association, c/o Hub
bell and Waller Engineering Corn.,
416 Queen Anne Avenue North, Se
attle 9, Washington, as preference
>T
right claimant, a parcel of tide and
submerged land, known officially
as Alaska Tideland Survey 222
(SM 37S 31W), below the line of
mean high tide on Trap Point, west
side of Moser Bay, Kodiak Island,
and more properly described as
follows:
Beginning at Meander Corner
No. 1 of Alaska Tidelands Survey
No. 222, identical with Meander
Corner No. 4 of U.S. Survey No.
1976 and with Meander Corner
No. 3 of U.S. Survey No. 1224 at
the line of mean high tide on Trap
Point on the west shore of Moser
Bay, an arm of Alitak Bay, Kodiak
Island, Alaska; thence meandering
the line of mean high tide along
the officially numbered Meander
Courses in front of said U.S. Sur
vey No. 1224 as follows:
(1) N. 55° 17’ E„ 182.16 feet; (2)
N. 62°52’ E., 473.22 feet; (3) N.
39°21’ E., 112.20 feet; (4) N. 20°13>
W., 97.68 feet; (5) N. 34°49’ W.,
195.36 feet; (6) N. 32°54’ W., 203.28
feet to Meander Corner No. 2,
identical with Meander Corner No.
1 of U.S. Survey No. 1224 and with
Meander Corner No. 1 of U.S. Sur
vey No. 1975; thence outboard over
tide and submerged lands East
505.00 feet to Corner No. 3; thence
over submerged lands south 784.70
feet to Corner No. 4; thence S.
60°00’ W., 769.03 feet to Corner
No. 5; thence inboard over tide
and submerged lands N. 33°31’ W.,
408.00 feet to Meander Corner No.
1, the point of beginning, contain
ing 11.853 acres.
Any valid protests to the convey
ance of these tidelands should be
addressed to the Director, Divi
sion of Lands, 344 Sixth Avenue,
Anchorage, Alaska on or before
January 26, 1962. A copy of the
plat may be obtained for $2.00.
The right is reserved to waive
technical defects in this publica
tion.
Further information may be ob
tained from the Division of Lands.
HERBERT C. LANG,
Actg. Director
Division of Lands
Publish Dec. 12, 19 and 26, 1962.
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