HYDER - FIRST ALASKA TOWN THAT CAN BE REACHED BY PACIFIC-YUKON-ALASKA HIGHWAY
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VOLUME 10, NUMBER 48.
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, JULY 28, 1934.
SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS
BIG FIRE DESTROYS
FIVE STRUCTURES IN
BUSINESS CENTER
Three of Hyder’s principal
business structures and two
dwelling houses in the heart of
Hyder’s' business district were
obliterated Sunday ^afternoon
in the most disastrous fire that
has visited the camp since the
big conflagration of 1928.
The burned structures in
cluded the two story store and
office building occupied by
the Hyder Grocery and its pro
prietor, Frank Richenbach,
one cf the largest and finest
structures in the town; the one
story, double fronted building
housing the dental parlors and
residence of Dr. J.R. Kennedy,
the one sitory, sheet metal cov
ered building of The Nugget
Shoppe, Hyder’s princi p a I
jewelry establishment; the fine
h'ome of E. M. Reynolds; pro
prietor of the jewelry store,
and a large boat house used as
a dwelling and owned by Mr.
Richenbach but unoccupied.
Conservative estimates place
the loss at between $10,000
and $12,000, although it is
probable that the actual
amount will be close to $14,
000. About one-third otf the
estimated loss was covered by
insurance.
Starting from unknown caus
es in the rear end of the Ken
nedy building shortly before 3
p. m., the flames swept rapidly
to the Reichenbach premises
on the east side and within a
few minutes both structures
were a mass of seething flames.
The flames then swept in
to the Reynolds store building
on the west and a few moments
later ito his residence, situated
a few yards in the rear of the
store. The Reichenbach boat
cabin, situated near the rear
cf the Hyder Grocery, was the
last to succumb to the scorch
ing flame's.
At the start of the conflagra
tion, scarcely anyone wa=
around, many having gone to
Stewart for the ball game, or
to the hills for the afternoon,
and the few persons available
could do little more than re
move valuables from the burn
ing buildings, leaving the fire
to sweep its way unchecked.
Noel Traversy, with the town
chemical engine and a half
dozen volunteer assistants, put
up a hard fight to check the
flames in the Reichenbach
store, but without effect. Ow
ing to a breakdow n of the local
water pumpin' plant, and cut
ting off of electric power, it
was not until the arrival of the
Stewart f're department with
the McNeil automobile pump
ing engin ? that water became
Continued on Page 2
Says Local Project
Will Receive Consideration
The local flood protection
project will receive careful
consideration in the selection
of projects which are to be in
cluded in <the Public Works
Administration program, ac
cording bo a letter from F. E.
Schnepfe, director of the Fed
eral Projects Division, received
by Chamber of Commerce offi
cials this week.
The message was written in
response to the recent telegram
of the Chamber to Secretary
Ickes, urging an allotment of
funds to inaugurate the pro
ject, as approved by the last
Congress.
At the present time it is not
definitely known what portion
of the recent Congressional ap
propriation for public w-rks
will be available for Federal
projects and no specific infor
mation can be given on the
maker, according toMr. Schen
fe.
“You may feel assured how
ever,” the letter states, “that
this matter will receive care
ful consideration in the select
ion of Federal project? to be
included in the P. W. A. pro
gram.”
-e
Brooklyn Man is Not
“Blueberry Tom” Johnson
Thomas P. Jensen, 51-year
old sailor, who was arrested re
centy in Brookyn, N. Y., and
at first identified as Thomas
H. “Blueberry Tom” Johnson,
wanted for the slaying of
“Dutch Marie” Schmidt, dance
hall girl, and two men in the
Koyokuk district tof Alaska in
1912, was cleared of the
charge last week and released
from custody.
Investigations proved that
Jensen was .in Buenos Aires in
1912, as he claimed he was.
-o
Alaska Has First Air Wedding
Alaska’s Ifirst aerial wedding
took place recently near Skag
way, when Miss Gladys Krater
of Chehalis, Wn., and Harold
E. Mulvihill, son of the mayor
of Skagway, boarded a plane
with a minister and were mar
ried in the clouds at an altitude
of 7000 feet.
The ceremlony was given add
ed novelty by the fact 'that it
was performed over the fam
ous Chilkoot Pass, the forbid
ding ipathway by which thous
ands of gold seekers started to
the Klondike gold fields in
1898. ,
DRILLING STARTS
ON CANTU GROUP
Diamond drilling operations
were launched by the Consolid
ated Mining and Smelting Com
pany on the Cantu group early
this week, according to reports
from the upper Salmon va’ley.
Drilling operations are being
conducted in two shif.s of 8
hours and are said to be mak
ing in the neighborhood of 50
feet per day. Glen C. Marshal
is in charge of the drill work,
with a crew of four men em
ployed.
The work is being carried
on at an elevation of about
1400 feet on the precipitous
easit face of Cantu mountain.
Three men are employed in
addition to ithe drill crew.
-o
Drilling On Salmon Gold
Drilling operations of ^he
Consolidated Mining & Smelt
ing Company on the Salmon
Gold property on Summit Lake
were scheduled to start at the
end of the present week. A
crew of men went up last week
to undertake tKe preliminary
work.
o
Silver Certificates To Be
Issued On Cost Basis
The new silver certificates
authorized by the Silver Pur
chase Act will be issued in de
nominations of $1, $5, $10, $20
and possibly $50, and will set
forth that the bearer is entitled
to one silver dollar for each
unit of value represented, thin
permitting issue against bul
lion, according to Washington
reports.
The redemption price is leg
ally $1.29, the difference be
tween that and the price paid
by the government for bullion
being profit.
Certificates will be issued for
the present Pn the basis of
cost, but if necessity arises that
profit will be used to cure a
deficit or lOltherwise touch up
the financial picture, the re
ports said.
-o
Applewhaite Heads
Board o f Trade
The Stewart Board of Trade,
at a recent meeting, again
chose E. T. Applewhaite to
head the organization during
the coming year. Other offic
ers and council members
named were Harry Zeffert,
vice-president; P. S. Jack, sec
retary; H. P. Gibson, M. P.
Murphy, H. W. M. Rolsion, W.
R. Tootth, W. J. AsSelstine, A.
Russwurm, W. L. Newell, John
Haahti, and W. D. Smith, coun
cilors.
Unuk Prospectors To
Leave Next Month
Representatives Of the Mac
kay Syndicate of Premier will
leave early next month by air
plane for ‘the upper Unuk Riv
er area, to continue work on
promising mining properties
located there by Thomas Mac
kay and associates two years
or so ago.
The operations will include
general prospecting and dia
mond drilling , in which a
Boyles Bros. X-Ray portable
drill will be employed, accord
ing to recent Vancouver re
ports.
A Canadian Airways plane
will take the party to their
destination on Mackay lake,
where a permanent: camp has
been established. It is under
stood that the plane will re
main here for several weeks, to
take in supplies and equipment
after landing the party and to
bring them back later in the
season.
Several other parties are
said to be planning to visit; var
ious parts of the Unuk section
while the plane is here.
Fast Driving Raises Protests
Overly fast driving along the
streets and on the Salmon Riv
er highway is again causing
much disquietude among Hy
der residents and tparticularly
those with children. Some
offenders are said to go
through town habitually at
speeds far in excels of the
legal limit and apparently with
little or nto regard for the safe
ty of pedestrians.
In an effort to abate the
practice without resort to dras
tic measures, red flags and
“slow” targets have been
placed af various points along
International and Premier ave
nue? by interested cit'zens.
Proposals have also been
made to place lbw obstructions
or shallow ditches across the
highways, which ha- been
found elsewhere to effectually
prevent ceding, but operates
to the dis.'omfort of those who
keep within speed limits as
well as th ?e who d « net..
-o
To Improve Big Missouri Road
The B. C. Public Works de
partment authorities in Stew
art have announced a program
| of improvements on the Big
Missouri road, which has been
] in an almost impassable con
I dition. A dozen or so men will
i be employed on the job.
-,0
S. H. Alton of Premier re
turned last week from a visit
in the sou-h.
DETAILS OF BIG
MISSOURI PLANS
ARE ANNOUNCED
Details of the development
progress and future contem
plations of the Consolidated
Mining and Smelting Company
respecting the local Big Mis
souri property, are presented
in the following letter to share
holders issued by G. II. Rain
ville, president of the Big Mis
souri Mines Corporation, on
July 10. The letter says:
“The Big Missouri mine was
re-opened late last fall when
development was resumed on
the Province Tunnel under the
immediate direction of the min
ing staff of the Buena Vista
Mining Company Limited. Act
ual underground work began
October 19th, 1933, and has
been carried on systematically
ever since.
“The development work on
this level, previous to that time,
had been confined to the main
north-south ore zone and the
program laid out last October
was a further extension of this
zone both !fco the north and to
the south, a distance of about
1,000 feet in each direct on.
This work has now been com
pleted with some diamond
drilling both east and west
from these drives, as well as
further exploratory work c in
sisting of raising from the 326
drift north and diamond drill
ing in the same section ,and the
results have been satisfactory.
A fault plane, previously
known to exist, has been defin
itely outlined and with it, and
lying .on both sides of the fault
plane, a large ore chute of
commercial grade, varying in
width from 12 to 50 feelt, has
been definitely located for a
considerable distance on this
horizon.
“As a result of this work, it
is now recommended by Mr.
W. M. Archibald, president of
the Buena Vista Mining Com
pany Limited, that a raise be
driven in this new ore chute
from the Province Tunnel level
to the surface, a distance lof
abouit 700 feet, from which
levels would be cut at intervals
with enough drifting and cross
cutting to define the width and
grade of the ore at each level.
It is also further recommended
by Mr. Archibald that at the
same time, a lower tunnel be
driven under the present work
ings and a site will be chosen
immediately from which a tun
nel will intercept the down
ward extension of the new ore
chute at a point between 500
and 600 feet vertically below
'the Province Tunnel level.
Then, when this ore is defined
on the new tunnel level, a raise
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