-•lorary & Museum
Juneau, Alaska
VOL. 21, NO. 93 KODIAK, ALASKA, NOVEMBER 10, 1961 PRICE TEN CENTS
One Man Dies, Two Survive As Boat
Carmella-J Is Pounded To Pieces
One life was lost when the fish
ing boat Carmella J dragged an
chor in a rolling sea and went on
the rocks early Sunday morning
off Uyak Bay.
Dead is Estul Prior, owner of the
boat, a 46-foot crab fishing vessel.
Two of the crew, Carl Lagerberg
and Johnny Olsen, managed to
swim ashore and are now back in
Kodiak.
A long night of being tossed
around by a turbulent sea and a
running surf that eventually re
duced the boat to matchsticks, is
told by Johnny Olsen, who man
aged eventually to find shelter and
make his way back to Kodiak.
The boat ran into a heavy sea
and came around Pasagshak Point
at a reduced speed. They turned
in at the bay to anchor for the
night, pulling over to the east side
of the bay. It wasn’t long before
the boat started pulling anchor.
They pulled it up and ran back and
anchored again.
Lagerberg stood watch and Olsen
went below to his bunk and later
was awakened by a lound “crunch”
as the boat hit a rock. He said the
engine room was already filling
with water, and apparently the en
gine had stopped because Prior
was down there starting it.
Prior had come up at 11 o’clock
to relieve Lagerberg at the anchor
watch. When it, the anchor, had
started to drag again, they decided
to haul it up and go into Ugak Bay
where they would be more shel
tered from a southerly wind. With
out radar, they kept in the center
of ithe bay as best they could in
the dark. As they neared the en
trance, the engine stopped.
Prior went below and was a long
time getting it started, and the
boat drifted towards the southwest
entrance to the bay. After he got it
started, it stopped in a few minutes
again. Prior was below attempting
to start it again when the boat hit
a rocky point, and the engine
room started to flood. This was
the “crunch” that awakened Olsen.
As Olsen was putting on a life
jacket, there was a huge breaker
that broke over the boat. “I tried
getting out on deck,” he said, “and
the swell receded, pulling me out
of the door and into the surf.” He
continued: “The next swell washed
Body Found In
Small Boat Harbor
The body of John Waybrant, a
former Naval Station worker, was
found floating in the small boat
harbor yesterday morning.
The deceased was born August
29, 1904, at New Bedford, Mass.
He came to Kodiak in 1946. He
worked in (the Public Works paint
shop on the Naval Station with the
exception of a few months during
1947-48, until he terminated there
in December, 1960. He had re
turned to Kodiak recently.
His body was found face down
in the surface ice between floats
in the harbor at 7:50 Thursday
morning. Jim Brightman, a local
fisherman, found him.
His son, John, who is in the
Army, lives at Rockvill, Maryland.
Cause of death was not deter
mined at time of going to press.
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Chamber Urged To
Push For Land
ACS is willing to cooperate ai
much as possible on withdrawal oi
its land near the airport as an aid
to the City acquiring if.
This information was contained
in a letter from Col. White, officei
in charge of the System, to tht
Chamber of Commerce here. He
said there are several solutions
that are possible and a survey of
them is being made.
Chuck Powell, president of the
Chamber, who presided at the meet
ing Thursday at the Town Club,
read a letter from Sen. Gruening
suggesting the Chamber follow up
closely on the land for the airport.
In other business, Dr. Bob John
son gave a report on the Executive
Boards meeting. He urged all in
dividuals representing firms to
return questionaires on what holi
days should be officially recognized
and wihat events they want in
cluded in a calendar of events.
Jack Hinckel, who recently re
turned from attending the Alaska
State Chamber of Commerce meet
ing at Ketchikan, gave a report on
the meeting. He was critical of pro
cedures followed there, stating that
the meetings were interesting and
informative but that most of the
delegates had no voice in decisions
made and that everything had been
decided by committees in closed
sessions.
Hinckel stated that Federal and
State agency representatives who
spoke stressed the importance to
the State of trade overseas, both
import and export.
There were 18 members present
with one guest, Eudora Preston.
Traffic Deaths Down
Traffic fatalities recorded for
Alaska to date this year are 24;
traffic fatalities for last year to
date totaled 37.
Rats Are On The Increase In Kodiak
Inspection of the city area has
revealed that rats are on the in
crease according to Bob L. Burk
holder, Acting Regional Super
visor, Bureau of Sport Fisheries
and Wildlife.
This is a result of the lack of
interest by the public during the
summer months when the rats are
not so obvious according to Burk
hOlder. As cold weather approaches
rats move into warm shelter.
The brief inspection disclosed
other facts too. Rats can and have
been controlled by keeping rat bait
available to the animals at all times.
One of the local businesses with
stored food, damaged by rats each
week, has not had any loss since
the rat control program started
last year. In this case a fresh sup
ply of bait is available for the rats
at all times.
Harry E. Carter, District Sani
tarian, Alaska Dept, of Health, in
dicated that an essential part of
successful rat control is proper
garbage storage, pickup and dis
posal. The survey disclosed a need
for more attention to these matters
by everyone concerned.
A fresh supply of mixed rat bait
is available at the City Hall, free of
charge. It’s use is simple. Get a
one-pound coffee can of bait in
each area of rat activity—along
a basement wall, behind a box,
trunk, or refrigerator, in a store
room or area of garbage disposal.
Keep the bait dry and available at
all times. It is safe to use around
pets and children since the bait
must be eaten over a period of
several days to be effective, accord
ing to Carter.
Along The
Waterfront
The sea laid claim to two lives
this week, one in the sheltered
waters of the small boat harbor
and one in a wind-swept bay of Pa
sagshak Point. It reduced one boat
to match sticks.
Elsewhere you will find an eye
witness account of what happened
to the Carmella-J, and the two men
who barely escaped with their lives.
Estul Prior wasn’t so lucky.
Prior was 39 years old and leaves
a wife and five children, ages from
3 to 12 years old and a brother,
Evan.
There’s a sequel that doesn’t ap
pear in the other article. On Tues
day, Nov. 7, a rescue party of Ma
rines and Joe Zentner arrived at
the cabin where Lagerberg was.
A search was made for Prior’s
(Continued on Page 4)
“WELCOME ABOARD. SENATOR”—Rear Adm. H. H. Caldwell,
USN, Comdt. 17th Naval District, extends a warm welcome to U.S.
Senator and Mrs. Ernest Gruening during the latter’s visit to the
Kodiak Naval Station, November 6. During his stay here, the senator
was the principal speaker at a dinner in his honor at the 49 Room
Tuesday. He was also subject of an interview over AFRTS television,
at which time he spoke on the Rampart Dam project and other mat
ters of interest to Alaska. (Official U. S. Navy Photo)
Alaska As The Bulwark of Defense
Envisioned By Sen. Gruening In Speech
Sen. Ernest Gruening, in a
speech before more than sixty peo
ple who attended the no-host din
ner at the 49 Room Tuesday eve
ning, stated that it was part of
Alaska’s destiny to become the
bulwark of defense to the Western
world.
The no-host dinner was in honor
of the senator and his wife.
The senator contrasted the build
ing of our defenses in the state to
that of building bases on foreign
soil. “All those bases,” he said,
“are bases built on quicksand.” He
cited specifically bases built in
Morocco, Spain and Iceland. “We
don’t know when the rug will be
pulled out from under us—as it has
happened.” He mentioned Iceland
as a people with the same princi
ples as we have, but they don’t
want us there, he said. In order to
barter with them, we have to buy
fish products we neither want or
need.
He made reference to Adm. H.
Caldwell, Commander of the Alas
kan Sea Frontier, who he said was
in a similar position as that of the
Admiral of the Swiss navy—he has
no ships. Gruening cited Billy
Mitchell as having great fore
thought when he said years ago
that “He who holds Alaska holds
the world.”
He stated that we as a nation are
lagging far behind in our national
defense efforts. Gruening touched
on the various episodes leading up
to statehood for Alaska, and his
early efforts as governor of Alaska.
Alaska, he said, had no roads, few
services, and also no income tax.
Income tax in Alaska, he said, was
a piece of pioneering. The present
method of basing it on the federal
tax he thought was a good system,
making it relatively easy to make
out. He called the “permissive"
or sales tax the most democratic
of all forms of taxation. By it com
munities can get public services, he
said.
Stating that gaining statehood
for Alaska was something of a
miracle, Sen. Gruening said that
“on the facts, Alaska wasn’t enti
tled to statehood.” He recalled a
conversation he had with Sen.
Byrd of Virginia, who he said was
opposed to statehood here. One of
his arguments was that there
weren’t enough people here. Credit
for statehood, he said, belongs
solely to the people of Alaska. He
gave the Alaska Tennessee Plan
credit for assisting in bringing it
about.
“After two-and-one-half years of
transition, I feel very optimistic,”
(continued on page 3)
Mrs. Katie Olsen
Dies Suddenly
A long-time resident of Kodiak,
Mrs. Katie Olsen, collapsed as she
was walking on Mission road Satur
day. Cause was given as cerebral
vasculor.
Mrs. Olsen was a widow and has
lived in Kodiak most of her life.
She was born Dec. 7, 1898, at Fort
Wrangell, Alaska.
The deceased is survived by two
daughters, Mrs. Dolly Harcourt,
Beaverton, Oregon, and Mrs. Anna
Hickey, of Sacramento, Calif.; six
sons, Henry and Jerry, at Egigik,
Alaska, Harry, Metlakatla, Alaska,
Johnnie, Kodiak; Pat, Sitka; and
Daniel, address unknown.
Mrs. Olsen’s mother is Mrs. Nata
lie Brodtkorb, who is in a hospital
in Anchorage. A sister, Anna Zhar
off, lives in Kodiak.
Funeral services were held
Thursday afternoon, Fr. Targonsky
officiating, at the Russian Ortho
dox Church. Burial services were
held at the Russian cemetery.