Dan Noonan Visits Kodiak Again;
Relates Early Experiences Here
A visitor in Kodiak this week
was Dan A. Noonan, an old-time
Alaskan who has seen much of this
great land in random visits since
early days.
Noonan is a “Knight of the grip”
and has at one time or another hit
spots in Alaska from Ketchikan,
Juneau, Anchorage, Fairbanks,
Kodiak, Nome and points even fur
ther north. Give him a chance and
he can tell you many and varied
stories of Kodiak as well as most of
the places he has visited.
One such story, for instance, was
the time when he was kissed by a
cow on the main street of Kodiak
—a black cow during the blackout
in the war days, or was it nights?
Another story was of the time he
fell down an embankment thirty
feet high, also during the blackout,
as he ran to get aboard the steamer
docked at the now City dock. Grips
in hand, he lost his way, and stum
bled over the bank. The only thing
that saved him was the fact that
he let his bags fly and somer
saulted to the bottom.
Happenings such as these he took
in his stride. Now a man of 78,
and semi-retired, Noonan looks
back on these and many other
events that have filled his life, with
tender memories. They are for the
most part linked with Alaska and
the men who made up its popula
tion in the early years of its growth
and exciting developments.
He spent seven years in Fair
banks, working on riverboats. He
was chief steward aboard ships of
the Admiral line—the Watson and
the Evans for a period of about 25
years.
He saw Kodiak for the first time
in 1907. He knew Blodgett and
Blinn of the original B and B., W. J.
Erskine, and many others linked
to the early history of this town.
Now semi-retired, Noonan lives
at the Arctic Club in Seattle. He is
a member of an Igloo of the Pio
neers of Alaska, a member of the
Juneau Elks, and a member of the
Alaska Salesmen’s Society. Though
retired, his philosophy is to keep
his hand in something—that way
you live longer, he says—so he rep
resents the firm of Dan-Ken Co., of
Seattle.
Alaska is dear to Noonan—in
fact, his liking for this big hunk of
land—now a state, has caused him
to write down impressions gained
during his travels, impressions he
put down for his own amusement.
They are in poetry form, and have
had reprints since. One, written in
1921, and reprinted in 1923, was
“Alaska, The Land of Now.” An
other, “Alaska, The Land of
Plenty” is enjoying popularity
now. Here are a few excerpts from
it:
Alaska
Alaska, ’tis of thee
Land of Sublimity,
Of thee I sing!
/
I love thy valleys wide,
Thy hills where fortunes hide,
I happily abide
Beneath thy wing.
Kodiak comes in for a little treat
ment in a poem entitled “Kodiak,
The Isle of the Blessed,” which be
gins like this: '
Serene ’neath changing Northern
skies . . .
There she lies . . .
FOR ALL YOUR
Welding Needs
or Problems
Phone 486-5150
KODIAK WELDIHG WORKS
■
' ——— .— ... .1,
KODIAK
Anchored to the mountain sides,
Yet close to the surging tides . ..
KODIAK
NOTICE
Attention All Masons. The Most
Worshipful Grand Master of Free
and Accepted Masons of Washing
ton, Most Worshipful Brother El
mer C. Huntley, will arrive in Ko
diak on the morning flight at 10:10
A. M. at PNA Terminal on July 8,
1961. He will hold a special meet
ing at 7:30 P. M. on July 8, 1961, at
the Masonic Lodge. 30-2n
THOMPSON TRANSFER
ERIC MUELLER, Prep.
CLEAN NEAT!
Both Standard Furnace Oil
and Standard Stove Oil
are super-refined to burn clean.
CALL US TODAY FOR PROMPT SERVICE
FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE WE HAVE
Automatic Keep-Filled Service
Home and Office Standard Plant
486-2300 486-5115
.. ..—
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Galaxie styling is inspiring more admiration
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This is the look that started with Thunder bird
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Many cars have tried to copy it. No car has
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Styling is only part of Galaxie’s distinction:
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1
I. . ____Ilat
KODIAK MOTORS, INC.
Kodiak, Alaska