God offers to every mind Its
choice between truth and re
pose. ..Take which you please,
you can never have both.
Emerson
Seward
The Gateway City of Interior Alaska Since 1903.
S e a P 0 r t
Record
Seward’s All-FPeat her Port is Alaskafs Greatest Asset.
The Seward Seaport Record
la Independent In every re
spect and none shall ever be
denied the right to use Its col
umns for any legal purpose or
expression.
VOL. XI, NO. 8.
SEWARD, ALASKA, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1954
PRICE 10 CENT8
SEATTLE CHAIHBERITES VISIT,
ENJOY SEWARD HOSPITALITY
By Tuesday of this week every
thing had settled down to normal
in town. Once again business as
usual took over after a fast round
of out of town conventions and
meetings in Fairbanks, Anchorage
and Palmer, and a special Cham
ber of Commerce session on Sun
day evening here.
ALASKA CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE
Chamber of Commerce President
Win Ervin reported that all local
members who attended the Alaska
Chamber sessions in Anchorage
last week had a good time. Among
those attending from Seward were
Win Ervin, Dr. J. B. Diesher, Sol
Urie, Mayor Russell Painter, City
Manager Ray O’Hara, Jack Jeffrey
and Wayne Sword.
It was reported that the Seward
Chamber had been the first to
respond to a questionaire about the
establishment of a blood bank in
Seattle for Alaskans, and had also
been the first to ask for the State
hood study kit offered to the public
by the University of Alaska.
President Ervin _ also reported
that he had entered vigorous pro
test to the proposed Seatrain ser
vice because of the adverse effect
it would have on the shipping ser
vice to the smaller towns of Al
aska as well as the depressing
effect it would have on the econ
omy of Seward.
It was also reported at the
i uc-suaj uiccuug mai 1111? tuuiru*
versial port bill had not been put
forth by the Anchorage delegation.
TOURISTS
One of the most interesting dis
cussions at the recent Alaska
Chamber of Commerce meeting in
Anchorage was reported to have
been the tourist potential of Alas
ka. The feeling was expressed
that more would have to be done
to attract and hold the tourists in
Alaska for a longer period of time,
and interest them in returning.
Wayne Sword of the U.S. Forest
Service Seward office was present
and said the Service' was pushing
its recreation facilities program.
He told the group that in the in
stance of the Portage Glacier road
as many as 2.000 cars had visited
the area over one weekend.
It was pointed out that many
If times the attitude of the local
j residents affects the volume of
, tourist business. There is need, it
was pointed out, for more inform
ation about the points of interest
in the area.
It was suggested that a road
could be built up Resurrection Can
yon to the glacier, so that cars
could make the trip, and thus draw
more visitors to the Seward area.
The ever present money problem
was discussed, and it was suggest
ed that the Seward area could take
a hint from Valdez, where they
built their own road with private
funds and donated time, thus mak
ing a glacier easily accessable by
road.
TELEPHONE
The Chamber was told that the
polio rehabilitation Center was
still without phone service and
was wondering why nothing had
been done by the Chamber. The
Chamber, it may be remembered,
had held up action until it was
certain that letters already sent
to AOS in Anchorage had not been
acted upon. In view of the inac
tion. it was decided that the next
step was to send a wire asking
the immediate attention of the ACS
to the request for phone service.
Zoning Commission
Has New Secretary
At a meeting of the Planning and
Zoning Commission held on No
vember 8th. a new member. John
McAnerney, was introduced. He
was appointed to fill the vacancy
created by the resignation of Gale
Shingleton. The Commission re
viewed its recent activities which
included the compiling of a new
Zoning Ordinance, now ready for
typing, and preparing of a zoning
map. The Commission voted to
have the zoning ordinance typed
up. and authorized the secretary,
John McAnerney, the hire some
one to type it. The meeting also
approved a recommendation that
the City Council be asked to com
plete. as soon as possible, a re
vised survey of the City Plat, es
tablishing vertical and horizontal
controls as part of the master plan
ot permanent grades ror streets
and sidewalks. The meeting also
called for a report from the City
Council on the Commission’s re
commendation for the adoption of
a 1952 building code.
Other business included recom
mendations that cars along 2nd
Avenue lie removed from in front
of the former Gus Manthey house,
and that sidewalks be constructed
around the school for the safety of
school children. It was also sug
gested that the Commission take
under consideration provisions for
off-street parking.
The Commission also issued two
commendations: one to the City
Council and City Manager for the
improved maintenance of the
streets this year, and the second,
to the Foster Brothers for improve
ments made in the appearance of
their trailer court property locat
ed at the north end of 4th Ave.
The owners have graded and filled
the property, and have landscaped
the area planting trees and gener
ally making it an asset to the
community.
Seward Guide
Dies in Seattle
Jack Pennington, 4S, former big
game guide of Seward, died in Se
attle Monday.
Born in Texas, he had lived in
Seattle many years before coming
to Seward in 1945. He returned to
Seattle last January.
His widow, Margaret, and a
daughter survive.
SCHEDULED FLIGHTS
WITH NO CHANGE IN PLANES
DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY
Anchorage -V aldez
Cordova
ON TO
YAKATAGA — ICY BAY
TUESDAY
ON TO
MIDDLETON ISLAND
THURSDAY
THESE ABOVE FLIGHTS DEPART
SEWARD 9:35 A.M.
For Information or Reservations, Call Main 99
Gosidaua AixlUi&i
•fo Serving the Heartland of Alaska Since 1934
Alaska School Boards
Form Association
Carl R. Carlson, Superintendent
of Schools, left Monday for Juneau
where he will attend the confer
ence of school superintendents of
Alaska.
This conference, held annually,
follows closely a similar confer
ence held in Palmer last week to
form an association o f Alaskan
School Boards.
Mildred Kirkpatrick represented
the Seward School Board at the
Palmer conference. Other schools
repreented were Nome, Nenana,
Fairbanks. Palmer, Anchorage,,
Valdez and Cordova.
Guest speaker was Dr. Wm. Kel
ler, head of the University of Al
aska Department of Education and
Territorial Commissioner of Edu
cation. Dafoe.
Officers elected were: President,
Len E. Hanks, Palmer; Vice Pres
ident, John Coghill, Nenana; Sec
retary, Keith Lesh, Anchorage;
and Treasurer, M. F. Joy, Fair
banks. The group drafted several
resolutions aimed at betterment of
public schools in Alaska.
Please Mail Early
Urges Postmaster
The local Postmaster, Clarence
Larson, had a word of advice for
local folks this week as the Christ
mas season approaches and a per
iod of extremely heavy mailing
i will confront the crew at the Post
I Office.
The Postmaster pointed out that
I due to the congested facilities at
! the Post Office, it is more impel
ative than ever before, that people
having Christinas mailing to do get
it out early and avoid the last
minute rush that annually con
fronts the Department.
At the present time Seward is
receiving one of the best mail ser
vice schedules in many years with
daily except Sunday air service,
and twice weekly service by boat
from Seattle.
The Post Office Department as
a whole is trying to step up its
efficiency and as part of the pro
gram, is asking persons using the
mails to make their mailings at
frequent intervals so that there
will not be peak loads accumulat
ing at or near closing time.
In line w’ith this policy of in
creased efficiency, the Department
has been experimenting with the
use of paper mail sacks for ship
ping to Alaska and overseas. The
bags are reinforced, waterp roof
kraft paper, and so far, have prov
en quite satisfactory in the Alaska
service, the local Postmaster said.
An interesting comment was that
in the case of the recent ship fire
that mail shipped in the paper
sacks came through in much bet
ter condition than that shipped in
the regulation canvas sacks. The
paper sacks did not seem to hold
jthe moisture as much as the cloth
| sacks and they did not come apart
as might have been supposed, due
[to being subjected to the terriffic
| heat of steam which was poured
into the hold to put out the fire.
The one remaining problem in
the use of paper sacks for mail
seems to be a problem of what to
i uu nun me sacas once tney nave
been used for shipping mail. At
present they are only used once
and then discarded though they are
still apparently in good condition
and would be usable. If you have
any ideas maybe the Post Office
Department would be interested in
hearing about them.
BARGAIN
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1954 Willy’* Lark
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below List Price
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Chamber Meets Sun.
:In Special Session
A jovial crowd of over 75 Seward
Chamber of Commerce members,
their wives and guests enjoyed a
special social session last .Sunday
evening in the lodge rooms of the
Elks Hall, ag well as having a
good meal.
The main speaker of the evening
was Mr. Stan Stretton, President
of the Seatle Chamber of Commer
ce and head of the Seattle office
of Standard Oil of California. He
told the group of his Company’s
faith in the future of Alaska in
general and Seward in particular.
He said that development of the
Seward facilities was an act of
faith not due to any inside dope
on what might be done with the
Seward end of the Railroad.
Another speaker of the evening
was Mr. Chet l^attimer of the
Seattle First National Bank. He
gave us a start for unlike Alaska
Bankers, he was looking for a
pool of blood, rather than the
usual 8 per cent. All worked out,
however, when he explained that
the Blood pool when formed would
be used to supply Alaskans who
were outisde for medical treat
ment. The present annual usage
by Alaskans is 400 to 500 pints,
and many of these have to be pur
chased at a rate of about $32 per
pint.
Other speakers included Don
Follette of the Seattle Chamber,
and Bob Rose of the Alaska Steam
ship Co. Rose gave the crowd a
good laugh when he told the group
that as “General Passenger Agent”
for the company he was as much
unhappy as anyone about the dis
continuance of the passenger
snips, ne iuiu me ^cuncimf,
1 he could see no possibility of a
resumption of passenger traffic by
his company or any other.
As a mark of appreciation for
the Standard Oil Company’s faith
1 in the Seward area President Win
Ervin made a presentation of an
i Honorary Membership to the Sew
j ard Chamber of Commerce to Mr.
: Stan Stretton. the main speaker of
the evening.
Throughout the meal, music was
provided by a three piece band
which played on for the evening,
i providing music for dancing.
Both the visitors and Sewardites
proclaimed the evening one of the
most enjoyable they have spent
in many years.
The list of visitors at the dinner
included Mr. Chet I^utimer, Mr.
O’Rourke, Bob Rose. Solly Spring,
George Marble. Mr. and Mrs. Don
! Follette, Pete Debore, Ross Wood
| and Mr. Stanley Stretton.
—
WE CAN SAVE
i $4,600,000,000 A YEAR
Could your family use and ad
ditional $120 a year?
That's the sum. according to a
reliable estimate, that would be
saved the average family of four
if manufacturing and service op
erations in which the government
is engaged were turned over to
private enterprise. The total sav
ing to the taxpayers would be
$4,600,000,000 a year.
Socialism depletes everybody’s
pocketbooks—just as it undermines
everybody’s freedom and oppor
tunity.
Seward B.P.W. Club
To Have Dinner
All nurses and school teachers
In Seward and Bartlett are to be
guest3 of the Business and Profes
sional Women’s Club next Monday,
November 22, at dinner. The din
ner will be held in the Elks Club
dining room at 6:30 with Mr. and
Mrs. La Ford as caterers.
The dinner has become an an
nual affair with the Club, as a
means of introducing club work to
professional women of the vicinity.
Although invitations have been
sent to all known teachers and
nurses, it is possible that someone
may have been missed, Mrs. Kirk
patrick, Club President, said, and
further stressed that if this be
the case, any woman interested in
the B & P W Club is invited to
attend the dinner by making res
ervation with her, or Juanita Ev
erett.
New Car Interest
Running High Here ,
New cars in Seward being shown
by local dealers have really drum
med up interest as most all the
local dealers are showing models
that are entirely new for their
lines.
One of the earliest openers was
the Chevrolet and Pontiac line at
Win Ervin Motors, and already the
sporty new Pontiac has been pur
chased and may be seen gliding
through the streets.
Last week two local dealers had
their showings of new models and
interest hasn't lagged a bit. Sew
ard Machine Shop showed the new
r airiaiie series ruiu unu uaiuiv
got the car on the floor before it
was purchased.
According to Mrs. Lechner the
three day showing of the new Ford
on Saturday. Sunday and Monday
saw over three hundred people
sign the register book.
Out at Bay City Motors they
have been showing the new Ply
mouth. They have a good selec
tion of cars in a rainbow of colors.
Also on display this week will be
the new Dodge and Chrysler cars
of 1955. This’ week also will * see
the showing of the new 1955 Buick
at Win Ervin Motors, starting on
Friday.
Northernmost Alaska
I TV Antenna Enroute
Television antenna for the far
I thest north TV station on the
North American continent was
loaded aboard Alaska Steamship
Company steamer Chena at Seat
tle November 16th.
Soon to be under construction
at Fairbanks, the station KFAR
TV, is expected to be completed
early in 1955, Del Day, Western
Sales Manager of the Midnight
Sun Broadcasting Co. announced.
The Chena will deliver the an
tenna to Seward where it will be
transferred to the Alaska Railroad
for the inland haul to destination.
Sell that Surplus Item
with a
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HIMANGO REALTY
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☆ ☆
TWO BEDROOM HOME — 132 10th Street, near school and
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FOUR UNITS, FURNISHED — $475.00 month income. Total
$10,500, with $1200 down.
FOUR ROOM CABIN — Has water, lot 100 by 100. Price $5,300.
$500.00 down; Close In.
FREE FREE
THANKSGIVING KIDDIE MATINEE
LIBERTY THEATRE
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1954
2:00 P.M. Doors open at 1:30 P.M.
12 Cartoons — Free Treats
All Children 14 and Under Invited
Sponsored by
Hotel & Restaurant Employees
and Bartenders Union
Local 885
FREE
FREE
CITY COUNCIL SESSION
CLEARS STREET DEPARTMENT
A good meeting with much rou
tine business disposed of, wsb the
mark of the regular meeting of
the City Council held Monday ev
ening.
SEWER
The first item of business was
a continuation of the hearing of
the complaint of the Foster Bro
thers that they were being over
assessed for the sewer which pas
ses their property. They own 3
lots which the sewer passes on the
long side giving them a total of 300
feet of frontage on the sewer.
They maintained that they still
could not make any greater use
of the sewer than they could if
the sewer had passed their lots
on the 30 foot side, and thus should
be assessed for only 90 feet of
frontage on their three lots.
After some discussion it was de
cided that the Fosters had a point
and that their assessment should
be lowered as well as that on a
lot belonging to Gus Johnson which
had also been assessed for sewer
frontage on the basis of the 100
foot side of the lot. Johnson had
not protested the assessment.
Other sewer matter taken up
was an agreement with the Bureau
of Public Hoads providing for an
nual payments by the Bureau to
the City for the use of the City’s
new sewer line. The payments
would cease when the full amount
of the Bureau's share o fthe cost
or the sewer had been paid.
TELEPHONE
The City Manager reported brief
ly on the telephone survey, saying
that the preliminary report indi
cated that an average cut of 10 to
15 per cent in telephone rates
could be anticipated under City
ownership.
HOSPITAL BOARD
A report was received from the
Hospital Board asking that the
Mayor and City Council approve
the appointment of four addition
al members to the Hospital Board.
A list of names was submitted by
the Board for consideration of the
Mayor and Council.
A problem of taxes on certain
pieces of Hospital property was
alo brought before the Council and
was referred in part to Mr. South
ard. City Tax Collector. The pro
blem was in part the question of
taxes payable on certain property
which the Board believed to be tax
exempt for various reasons.
QUICK WAY CRANE
The oft heard rumor that the
City got stuck when it purchased
a Quickway Crane was repeated
Monday evening when Frank
Woods told the Council that the
equipment was in tough shape
and would likely cost an additional
$4,000 to put it into operating con
dition.
In order to clear up the matter
one way or the other, Mr. O’Hara
suggested that a five man board
of experts from the construction
'industry be named to inspect the
equipment and turn in a report
as to their findings. (See special
council story elsewhere in this
issue).
LAGOON ROAD
The City Manager reported that
the Lagoon area land which had
been requested for the Alaska Rail
road’s use was now out of danger.
The request for withdrawal was
originally made in June of 1952
and since the change of managers,
plans for its use have been revised.
The request for the land has been
formally withdrawn by ARR Man
ager Frank Kalbaugh.
HEALTH COUNCIL
The need for an ordinance or
resolution giving the Health Coun
cil some legal standing was heard
by the City father and referred to
the City Attorney so that he could
draw the necessary document for
giving the Health group legal sta
tus.
CITY OFFICES
The City Manager presented a
proposal to the Mayor and Council
that the City offices be combined
in the area now used by the Coun
cil Chambers, City Clerk’s and
Treasurer's offices, and City Man
ager's office to include the Utili
ties offices. By remodeling the
area at an estimated costlof abotW |
$3500 the City could savetfaieJjSzT J
rent now paid for the offi®_o£JjiJ
Health Nurse and Welfare office
by moving them into the building
rmnr norwl Kir tKn
The matter was discussed and it
was decided to make sketches ot
the proposed remodeling and call
tor bids on the job from local con
tractors.
SPECIAL SESSION
The Council was told that the
Grant Lake power group had ask
ed for a joint meeting with the
Council and Utilities Board to dis
cuss the possibilities of the City
purchasing power from the group
rather than putting in jts own
fiydirft-electrlc plant. The meeting
was set for 8 p.m. Wednesday at
which time the Council was also to
hear the report on the findings of
the board of experts selected to
inspect the City's Quickway crane.
PAVING
The City Manager reported that
there was considerable interest
locally in going ahead with a pav
. ing project in certain districts even
though there might be areas in
which there is no desire to pay
the cost.
Paving districts could be set up
as the City Manager suggested, and
where the property owners were
willing to bear a 2/3 share of the
cost the area could be paved.
John McAnerney was present
and warned that the City should
go slow on any such proposal until
they had a master plan of grades
and controls. The thought being
that unless they did, the early pav
ing might have to be dug up in
later years if all the paving was
(Turn to Page 4)
“Come, Ye Thankful People, Come ...”
FESTIVE THANKSGIVING
WORSHIP SERVICE
Thursday, November 25, at 11:00 a.m.
SPECIAL MUSIC
Bring the whole family and invite your friends!
Enjoy a real old fashioned THANKSGIVING!
SEWARD LUTHERAN CHURCH
303 CHURCH STREET
.. .... r
- Hi . n . — riifii, m,■,«■■■■ ■, ■■ i«
OUR SPECIAL EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK
SEWARD BAKERY
L,. ■ I, ■I., I, i 11 w*
■
Following Basketball Game
Live Music - Refreshments
Civic Center
9:30