HYDER - FIRST ALASKA TOWN THAT CAN BE REACHED BY PACIFK-YHKON-ALASKA HIGHWAY
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VOLUME 9, NUMBER 39.
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, JULY 8, 1933.
SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS
DELEGATE REPORTS ON
HYDER FLOOD PROJECT
Alaska Delegate A. J. Di
mond, responding to a request
of the Hyder Chamber of Com
merce for information regard
ing the progress of the Hyder
flood control project and ask
ing what may be done locally
to expedite its progress, re
turned the following answer
by telegraph today.
“Officials here advise that no
allotment of Public Works
funds has yet been made for
any flood control project. Am
urging the Salmon River pro
ject in every possible way and
believe it will be included if
and when flood control work
is undertaken.”
-o
Forestry Camps Give
Employment to 200
More than 200 men are now
employed in various forest ser
vie activities in Alaska under
the emergency employment
program of the federal govern
ment, according to reports
from Ketchikan this week.
Eighteen camps have been
established between Ketchikan
and the Kenai Peninsula and
are employing crews ranging
from four to fifteen men. Sev
en additional camps have also
been authorized, including one
at Hyder, which is expected to
be in operation shortly, and
two or three more may be es
tablished later on. Fourteen
'of the present camps are in
southeastern Alaska, one is
near Cordova, and three are on
Kenai Peninsula.
Just when the Hyder camp
will be placed in operation
could not be ascertained but it
is learned that supplies ana
equipment are being assembled
ait Ketchikan and should be in
readiness within a few days at
the outside
It is also understood that the
forestry officials have aban
doned their original plan to
have the local physical examin
ations made by Dr. Ellis of
Ketchikan and have authorized
Dr. J. W. Vosburgh, local phy
sician, to do the work.
-o
Miss Grace Allen of Hyder,
B. C., left Monday evening to
visit friends in Prince Rupert,
accompanied by her young sis
ter, Helen Kaspar.
-o
Owing to the space on page
3 devoted to publication of
special articles being given
over in the present issue to an
other subject, the third install
ment of William A. Hesse’s in
teresting treatise on silver has
been held over until next week.
Delegate Dimond Speeding
Public Works Program
Since the adjournment of
Congress, Delegate Dimond
has been working at top speed
to draw up a program of pub
lic works for Alaska. The pro
gram was presented several
days ago to Col. D. H. Sawyer,
temporary administrator of
public works under the Nation
al Recovery Act, and to depart
mental officials. It calls for
the immediate expenditure of
several million dollars for
roads, rivers and harbors pro
jects, air fields and public
buildings, according to a re
port to the Herald from E. L
Bartlett, the delegate’s secre
tary.
With organization of the pub
lic works administration not
yet fully completed, Mr. Bart
left says it is impossible to tell
just what allotment will fin
ally be made for Alaska, but
Mr. Dimond is keeping in close
touch with the situation and at
every opportunity is urging
Alaska’s claims. It is expect
ed that announcement of the
first projects to be undertaken
will be made within the next
couple of weeks.
-o
New Postage Rate Does
Not Apply Locally
Recent Outside press reports
announcing a reduction of one
cent an ounce in local letter
postage rates have apparently
mislead some citizens into be
lieving that the announced re
duction meant a general re
turn to the old 2-cent rate with
in the United States.
This is not the case, accord
ing to Mrs. Oren F. Hill, acting
posmaster. The reduction is
effective only in the case of
letters mailed in areas where
mail is delivered by carriers
and does not apply in anas
where there is no delivery serv
ice by carriers. The three-cent
per ounce rate continues on
first class matter mailed f >r
other than local delivery. The
local or drop-letter rate here is
one cent per ounce or fraction.
-o
First Local Beer License
Granted To Sidney Anderson
Sidney Anderson was advised
Monday that his application
for a beer dispensation license
for his Fish Creek road house
had been granted by the Dist
rict Court at Juneau. The li
cense is the first to be granted
for this precinct. Mr. Ander
son has shipped in a large con'
signment of one of the leading
3.2 brands for the delectation
of his patrons.
-o
Stuant Steel arrived this morn
ing from Anyox to visit the
: Bushfield family.
HYDER CELEBRATES
NATION’S BIRTHDAY
Hyder celebrated last Tues
day the nation’s birthday in a
manner worthy of the occasion
and was ably assisted by many
residents of Stewart and Pre
mier, B. C. Weather condit
ions were not of the best but
the raw winds and occasional
showers failed to disturb the
feotive spirits of either partic
ipants in the program or the
spectators. In deference to the
economic stringency, the pro
gram was somewhat abbrevi
ated as compared to earliei
years, being confined'princip
ally to entertainment of the
children, although the ladies
were included in the sports to
the extent 'of participating in
a Maggie Jiggs rolling pir
contest in which they were giv
en- an opportunity to demon
strate their skill as rolling pin
wielders, with a most realistic
Mr. Jiggs as a target. Partici
pants in the contest included
Mesdames Thomas, Haddon,
and Hall of Hyder and Mes
dames Thomey, Matheson,
Wakefield and Armstrong of
Stewart. M r s1. Wakefield
proved >to be the most adept
and won by a score of six
points. Mrs. Thomey was sec
ond with five points and Mrs.
Matheson third with four.
The children’s sports result
ed as follows:
Childrens race, 6 and under:
C. Hutchins, Bert Thomas.
Girl’s race, 6to 8: Kathleen
Armstrong, Joyace Hawkinson.
Boy’s race, 8 to 10: Tommy
Jadroe, Harold Bushfield.
Girl’s1 race, 8 to 10: Jackie
Cr’ozier, Gladys Armstrong.
Boy’s race, 10 to 12: D. Heine
key, H. Bushfield.
Girl’s race, 10 to 12: Agatha
Heinekey, Maureen Murphy.
Boy’s race, 12 to 14: Hector
Matheson, Buddy Murray.
Girl’s race, 12 to 14: Shirley
Young, Betty Wakefield.
Boy’s 100-yd. open: Hector
Stewart, Walter Hanson.
Girl’s 75-yd. open: Yvonne
Murray, Olah Matheson.
Boy’s 3-leg race: Hanson and
Stewart, Thcmey and Crozier.
Girl’s 3-leg race: B. Wake
field and S. Young, O. Mathe
son and A. Heinekey.
Mixed open race: K. Arm
strong, Jackie Crozier.
Cracker eating contest: Ken
neth Legge, Hector Matheson,
Gladys Armstrong.
Sack race: D. Heinekey,
Agatha Heinekey.
W. 3. Orr and J. Hutchins, of
Stewart, garbed in tradional
clown costumes, Contributed
greatly to the amusement of
both children and oldsters by
a wide variety of funny antics
Continued on Page Four
Alaska Has Most Unique
Trade Money In U. S.
Many forms of barter or trade
money have appeared in the
United States during the de
pression period. These have
ranged from printed slips to
srips of wood bearing various
devices t'o indicate their use
and value. In some instances
efforts were made to adopt
curios forms, mainly with a
view to securing community ad
vertising, as for instance the
wooden money adopted in i
certain Washington town. A
proposal was also made at
Prince Rupert to employ fish
skin for local scrip, as indica
tive of the great fish busines
of that port.
But it has remained for an
Alaskan community to inaugu
rate the most curious form of
barter money that has yet ap
peared ; namely, dried fish
tails.
The basis of this novel form
of barter money is found in a
fund provided by the Territory
of Alaska and Bristol Bay sal
mon packers for the destruct
ion of trout which destroy
great quantites of red salmon
fry and eggs in the spawning
streams of Bristol Bay and the
Alaska Peninsula. The trout,
of the Dolly Varden species,
are taken in large quantites by i
the native villagers of that reg
ion. The flesh is cured foi
food for humans and for dog
feed and the tails are dried
and widely used as money by
the natives. Owing to the
bounty, they have a real mon
ey value and are accepted as
legal tender by the merchants
and traders of the district.
The system has been in oper
ation for some years, with the
field forces of the bureau of
fisheries cooperating in the
payment of the vouchers pre
sented. As a measure of relief
to the unemployed natives the
packers this year contributed
$15,000 to the $7,500 appro
priation made for the purpose
by the Alaska Legislature.
o
Stewart Celebrates
Dominion Day
Stewart celebrated the great
Canadian national holiday, Do
minion Day, with eclat and
splendor last Saturday, altho
the prevailing bad weather
dampened somewhat the out
ward observances if not the
spirit of the festivities.
The program included an ex
tensive variety of field sports
for the children and a few for
the grown-ups, followed by
I soft ball games between 'the
High Sschool, Canadian Leg
ion and Premier teams. The
celebration was concluded with
a big dance in the evening.
3IG MISS. STATEMENT
IS EXPECTED SOON
An announcement regarding
the intentions of the Consoli
dated Mining and Smelting
Company for development of
the local Big Missouri porperty
is expected at an early date,
according to statements pub
lished in the Vancouver papers
! this week.
Earlier reports from the
south indicated that the comp
any was planning to send sup
plies for a resumption of ac
tivities. Nothing could be
learned locally regarding the
outlook.
-u
W. J. Elmendorf Passes On
Old timers of the district
will learn with regret that
William J. (“Billy”) Elmen
dorf, widely known mining en
gineer, who was associated
with many important Alaskan
mining enterprises during the
past twenty-five years, passed
away at his home in Seattle on
•June 26.
Mr. Elmendorf was for four
years subsequent to 1910 man
ager of the old Portland Canal
Mining Company, the exten
sive properties of which are lo
cated on Glacier creek, a short
distance north of Stewart, and
was a familiar figure to most
of the early day residents of
the camp. He is survived by
a widow and three children, in
addition to ether relatives.
.n.
Special Prohibition
Force Abolished
Deputy U. S. Marshal War
ren S. Harding was formally
notified this week by United
States Marshal Albert While
ihatthe Federal prohibition en
forcement unit in Alaska has
been relieved of prohibition en
forcement and the work of the
unit has been taken over by
the Marshal’s office.
This brings to an end, inso
far as Alaska is concerned, the
13-year old system of having a
special organization of offi
cers and agents to enforce .ie
national prohibition act- -an
organization which has been
justly condemned as inherently
vicious and unAmerican, em
bracing in its ranks spies and
stool pigeons and even acknow-.
ledged criminals, and employ
ing practices which in many
instances were in themselves
little short of criminal and in
■opposition to constitutional
law.
Much to the gratification of
right-thinking citizens, prohib
ition enforcement will be here
after where it belongs; in the
hands of the regular law en
forcement agencies.