MORE ABOUT
Story of Seward
(Continued from Page 1)
were founded during 1905.
A m. o n g them was the J. L.
Graef Hardware and probably,
the Alaska Transfer, which was
then owned by Charles Christen
sen and Joeseph Laubner.
There is no need to point out
that all of this is a different
story from the usual boom-town
growth. Small as the town of
Seward was, the essential serv
ices for independent existence
were already available, as a
result of considerable invest
ments of a long-term character.
Seward's pioneers deliberately
chose to build for the future,
rather than to set up saloons
and shell-games in tents, and
then move on when the ‘‘take’
began to diminish. It is a strange
and unfortunate fact, that prac
tically nothing has been written
about the men and women who
UUlll /Vlc*MVd, W11UC
pages of lurid trash has been
published about the riff-raff who
came to find gold in the streets,
and had to be transported back
to their stateside slums at gov
ernment expense.
True, there were some remark
able men and women originally
drawn to Alaska by the gold
rushes. And greatly to Seward’s
advantage, some of the best of
these found their way to the
Resurrection Bay settlement,
from Nome; from Hope and
Sunrise; and from Valdez. Some
of these we have already men
tioned; others included Mr. H.
H. Hildreth, U. S. Commissioner
at Sunrise in 1903, who moved
to Seward as commissioner in
1904, opening a recording dis
trict here shortly thereafter. In
cidentally, Mr. Hildreth is still
living in Hollywood, California
—hale and hearty despite his
eighty or more years.
With a school, a bank, a news
paper, a sawmill, a dock, and
a railroad under construction:
with a U. S. Commissioner and a
Recording District; with two
churches in temporary quarters
and a permanent church already
a-*building, Seward was a sub
stantial village by the end of
1905.
Nothing less than a strong
little town could have withstood
the first setback which soon
came.
John E. Ballaine, the guiding
genius behind the Alaska Cen
tral Railroad project, had gath
ered considerable funds from
Pacific Northwest investors, and
had also staked his own money
on its success or failure. But he
was still a long way from com
manding the hundreds of mil
lions of dollars eventually re
quired to complete the railroad
from Seward to Fairbanks.
In addition, We have told how
he managed to talk the Shedd
Brothers of Chicago into a loan
of $200,000 as soon as the De
partment of the Interior approv
ed his survey. Now let us once
again turn to matters of finance,
far from the hopeful little town
of Seward, Alaska—and yet of
the very greatest importance to
ns iuiure.
Mr. Ballain’e next step was
to sell the Tanana Construction
Company, of which he was presi
dent and principal stockholder,
to Frost and Osborn, a group
of San Francisco capitalists. The
Tanana Construction Company,
it will be recalled, was the cor
porate name of the organization
actually engaged4n constructing
the railroad road-bed, with its
costly cuts through solid rock,
its tunnels, and its bridges. For
reasons best known to Mr. Bal
laine, this operation was kept
entirely separate from the Alas
ka Central Railroad Corporation
proper, which seems to have
been primarily interested in the
development of the Seward
townsite. The Tanana Valley
Construction Company was un
der contract to the Alaska Cen
tral to perform the actual build
ing operations in the field.
Frost and Osborn, owners of
the Tanana Company, were in
turn heavily depend nt upon the
backing of the Soverign Bank
of Canada. When this Canadian
bank failed and closed its doors,
it brought an immediate cutting
off of further funds for railroad
construction. With Lss than 50
miles of track complete, and
with the vast engineering pr... >
lems of the famous “loop” dis
trict as yet untouched, it looked
like an early end to the Ballaine
dream—and an untimely death
for the town of Seward.
(Next week: Some events of
1906: Visit of Governor Hoggatt,
and how mining activity pulled
the town through a tough spot.)
Moose Pass News
The Moose Pass Rifle and
Pistol Club is planning to hold
a dance Saturday August 25.
The feature attraction will be
a drawing for a 300 magnum
model 70 rifle which is now on
display at the Moose* Pass Inn.
Tickets are for sale now at $1.00
each and the winner need not
be pres, nt at the dance to win.
Mrs. Walter Buckington of
Anchorage is spending several
days in Moose Pass.
Mr. and Mrs. Lyle Saxton
and sons Loren and Kent arc
driving outside in the near fu
ture. They plan to go to Idaho.
BAKE SALES
Lutheran Ladies will hold a
bake sale Saturday. The sale
will begin at 11:00 a.m. in Mc
Mullen’s store.
A bake sale will be held Sat
urday, July 7, by the Altar So
ciety of Sacred Heart Catholic
Church. Food will be on sale at
Werner’s Market.
National Commander Earl
Cooke of the American Legion
is to be in Anchorage on July
6. Anchorage Jack Henry Post
is putting on a Banquet in his
honor on July 6 at the Aleutian
Gardens in the -Hub City and
all Legionnaires are invited to
attend.
Mr. Felix Toner, Juneau civ
il engineer, is in town conferring
with the city council and the
Water Company on r habilitation
of the system.
Personalized Stationery
Made to Order
from Seward
BAKER MUSIC SHOP
and STUDIO
—Exclusively Music—
Certified Teacher
425 FOURTH AVENUE
Telephone Black 85
ALEUTIAN
Thursday
June 28
Juneau
Wrangell
Ketchikan
Seattle
SS ALASKA
Monday
July 2
Valdez
Cordova
Sitka
Ketchikan
Seattle
FREIGHTER SERVICE
from Seattle
MV SUSITNA
June 28
Valdez, Seward, Anchorage
SS JOHN QUICK
July 3
Seward. Anchorage
SS DIAMOND CEMENT
July 6
Seward
For Information
PHONE MAIN 125
W. V/. Sipprell, Gen. Agi.
starting july 2,1951, the seward seaport record will
issue three publications a week, monday, Wednesday,
and friday, with associated press world-wide news
coverage.
the seward seaport record will also have house-to
house paper routes to assure you early delivery of your
paper.
due to the increased publishing cost the monthly sub
scription rate will be $1.25 per month in advance.
Meets 2nd and 4th Monday!
I.O.O.F. Hall - Adams St.
N. G.. Art McKeough
V. G., George Kipsgard
Sec., Tom Jones !
SEWARD POST
No. 5
Meets
lst-3rd Wed. of Mon
Legion Log Cabin
SEWARD
B. P. O. ELKS
Meet 2nd & 4th Wed. of Mon'
OPEN DAILY 5:00 P. M.
United Brotherhood of
CARPENTERS and JOINERS
Seward Carpenters' Union 2304
Meetings at Lutheran Church
Affiliated With A F. of L.
Meeting 2nd Tuesday of Month
W. <5. Knaak — President
R. M. Bevan - Fin.-Sec. & Bus. Az
International Longshoremen's
and Warehousemen's Union
Local 39
Meets First Tuesday of Each Mont
7 p.m. — Union Hall
President — John Rose
Telephone Polk 166
McRae Concrete
Products
Box 621
SEWARD. ALASKA
Patronize Home Industry
REWEAVING
Burns, Moth Holes
Tears, etc.
MAIL CARD TO BOX 65
SEWARD
Will pick up garment
same day.
Free Estimates
CAMPBELL'S REWEAVING
Box 65, Seward
Patronize Home Industry
FOR—
LATEST NUMBERS
of Your
FAVORITE
MAGAZINES
Arrive on
EVERY
SHIP
THE MART
VARIETY
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TANNING
Send us your furs and skins to be
tanned. Quick, efficient, reliable
workmanship. We return yous
finished skins Immediately.
Valcauaa Fur Co.
National Blc.g. Seattle Wash.
Patronize Home Industry
Telephone Adams 92
Pickup & Deliver^
Cleaning Pressing
Alteration* Hat blocking