EWARD
Gateway City of Interior Alaska Since 1903.
S e a p o r t
Record
Seward*s All-IPeother Port is Alaska?s Greatest Asset.
THE ONLY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD THAT GIVES A HOOT ABOUT SEWARD. ALASKA
I VIII, No. 18
SEWARD, ALASKA, MONDAY AUGUST 13, 1951
Price 10 cents
Letter From—
ward, Nebraska
Seward, Alaska
Irs. Alta M. Dunphy, a rep
mtative of the Blue Vailey
de, the newspaper in Sew
, Nebraska, was one of the
ourage of the National Edi
ial Association who visited
c in June.
fail for the Alaska city is
;n misdirected and arrives at
yard, Nebraska, instead, Mrs.
iphy said—and the same is
e here. We asked the Blue
ley Blade for a short history
the city, which Mrs. Dunphy
y kindly sent us.
Jeward, Nebraska, is the
nty seat of Seward County,
1 has a population of 3,500.
s located in “one of the rich
counties in the United
tes,” as claimed by the local
mers.
'he town of Seward, Nebras
was founded by Mr. and Mrs.
wis Moffitt in about 1865.
ese two owned much of the
d around the town and Mr.
ffitt was its first postmaster.
3y 1868 there were seven
res in the town. Seward Coun
was first named Greene Coun
in honor of Greene, the Mis
lri statesman who turned out
be a Rebel. Nebraska and
ward County, and the city of
ward have always been Re
blican, so it did not take the
te legislature long to decide
it no part of the sacred soil
der their control should bear
!• dishonored name of a Rebel,
d as Honorable Wm. H. Sew
d was then Secretary of State,
der Lincoln, his great name
is chosen by both county and
wn as their own.
Many of the people of that
rly day arrived by covered
igon, to a part of the state
iere the Pawnee Indians lived,
few miles away, at the Sew
d County town of Beaver
•ossing there are flowing wells
this day. The settlers lived
rough cyclones, Indian raids,
outh, a grasshopper period,
d, not so long ago, a tornado
lich leveled the north part of
e town killing nine people.
Seward is now the county
at, but is was not always so.
ildord, a settlement 13 miles
uth was a larger town and
ore centrally located. It was a
owing community located on
e Big Blue River. A knock
>wn, drag-out fight occurred
:tween the two towns, which
ie old settlers love to laugh
jout, and the matter was fin
ly taken to court where the
wn of Seward won out and be
ime the county seat. In those
»ys the people lived in sod
5uses. Even the first schools
ere opened in soddies. The set
ers were so poor that they
ime together during freezing
eather, as many as could in
ie sod hut or dugout, and
jrned their corn for fuel to
eep from freezing because they
id no other fuel.
The Burlington Railroad, then
nown as the B&M, was the first
iilroad through that part of the
>untry. It is on the main line
) the Northwest and later the
hicago and Northwestern built
irough the county. It carries
je mammoth crops of corn,
heat and oats raised in Seward
ounty.
Lutheran Concordia Teachers’
ollcge is now located in Sew
rd. A new school boasts an
uditorium as fine as any in the
ate. The Hughes Brothers
ross Arm plant employs 500
len. Swanson & Sons “Chickens
nd Eggs” is a large institution,
he city has a public library,
;ven churches and a newspaper,
le Blue Valley Blade, which
fas the first newspaper in Sew
(Turn to Page 4)
Homer . . .
(By Carolyn Turkington)
Mrs. Gene Lawnty and young
daughter flew to Ancnorage
Tuesday to join her husband
who is employed there.
Mr. Peterson, father of Mrs.
Harry Hegdahl, has retired from
his duties with the railroad and
has joined his wife and family
in Homer.
Mr. and Mrs. Hayden Whiting
and Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Floy,
parents of Mrs. Robert TurK.
ington, are visiting the Turking
ton family in Homer for ten
days. Both couples are from
Manchester, Connecticut. They
drove to Seattle and flew to
Homer from there.
Thursday Mr. and Mrs. Whit
ing. Mr. and Mrs. Roy. Mr. and
Mrs. Turkington, Mr. and Mrs.
Earl Engel and Mr. and Mrs.
Walli will drive to Seward and
take the train to Anchorage.
They plan to be gone about
four days.
Several Homer residents ar
rived here Monday evening from
Snug Harbor. Among them are
Mr. and Mrs. Ross Bennett and
Mrs. George Lawney.
Mr. and Mrs. “Red” Harring
ton and family have returned
to Homer from Illiamna.
Mr. Gene Effler flew to Ho
mer from Anchorage Tuesday
evening. He is visiting his fam
ily who are vacationing here.
Mrs. Shirley Dennison, Pub
lic Health Nurse, has arrived
in Homer for her monthly visit.
Mr. Jim Wilcox has rejoined
his family in Homer. He was
employed in Rainbow.
Ira Lasey, Kenai Peninsula
salesman, is in Homer on busi
ness.
Rev. Cecil Wyant held his
first baptismal services in Ho
mer Sunday. The children be
ing baptized were Paul Mutch
and Bruce and Alan Turking
ton. Services are now being
held in the American Legion
Hall but the Seventh Day Ad
ventist Church has been se
cured for future services. Mr.
Wyant plans on beginning con
struction of his church this
spring.
Mr. and Mrs. Pat Miller have
a new son, born in Seward,
August 3. Th£ Millers have a
daughter Cheryl.
Tom Thompson, Alaska air
pilot from Kenai, has come to
Homer to assist Tex Harrison
with his duties.
DIRECT HOUSING LOANS
TO VETERANS
The National Housing Act,
passed by the Senate some
weeks ago and as reported out
of Committee to the House last
week carries a provision to re
new direct loans to veterans.
This was discontinued on June
30 of this year when the De
fense Production Act of 1950
came to an end.
The new bill would be in
effect until June 30, 1953, with
no additional appropriations to
be made as it is estimated $30
million remain in the fund
from last year’s appropriation.
The provision as it now ap
pears in the Defense Housing
Act was included in the bill
on the Senate side through an
amendment offered by Senator
Sparmnan.
BULLETIN
SEATTLE (AP) _ At least
nine persons were believed kill
ed in the crash of a B-50 bomb
er that set fire to an apartment
house in Seattle todayv Six of
the victims are believed to be
plane crew and the three others
residents of the apartment
building.
The big bomber crashed on
takeoff from Boeing Field.
CAB Would Extend
Pilot Owner
Exemptions
A proposal from the Civil
Aeronautics Board would ex
tend the present exemptions for
pilot owners from compliance
with certain provisions of the
CAA for a five-year period un
til December 31, 1956.
The present exemptions, due
to expire on Dec. 31, 1951, al
low pilot-operated small air
lines in Alaska to operate with
out certificates of necessity.
"The exemption in question
was initially granted and sub
sequently extended for relative
ly short periods because of the
Board's desire to keep these
operations on a temporary ex
perimental basis,” the notice of
the proposal states. "Experi
ence has shown that there is
a need for the services which
have been offered pursuant to
this exemption. The pilot-own
ers have apparently kept their
operations within the intended
scope of the e*xemption, and
nothing has come to the atten
tion of the Board which would
indicate any signifeant inter
ference with or prejudice to
any of the other forms of a»r
transport services offered in the
arguments or views of inter
ested persons are to be sub
mitted in triplicate and addres
sed to the Secretary, Civil
Aeronautics Board. Washington
25, to be received by August
24.
FASHION SHOW TO
BENEFIT LIONS CLUB
SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Norine's Dress Shop and the
men of Seward Lions Club are
collaborating in a fashion show
for the benefit of the Lions
Scholarship fund.
They have announced a show
to be given Wednesday, Aug
ust 22 in the Nobby Club at
9 p. m. Fall and winter styles
will be modeled by local girls,
trained by Mrs. Hazel Gillis,
herself a former model. Dress
es, coats and furs will be fea
tured.
In addition to the ladie's
fashions, men will put on a
special sho.v of Lions’ fash
ions. This promises entoriain
ment of a novel and unique
sort.
KENAI MARSHAL
VISITS SEWARD
Mr. Alan Petersen, U. S.
Deputy Marshal at Kenai,
drove in to Seward Sunday to
visit his new grandson, Josepn
Conrad Arriess who is with h;s
mother in Seward General Hos
pital.
Mr. and Mrs. Petersen, who
have been staying in Seward
returned to Kenai this afternoon,
via the highway. Mrs. Arness,
their daughter, will return
home by plane later in the
week.
Mr. Petersen said that the
weather in Kenai ’when he left
yesterday was “much bettor"
than that of Seward.
LOCAL ARMY BOYS DRIVE
IN FROM FT. RICHARDSON
PFC Bobby Wills and PFC
Don Smith spent the week end
with Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Smith,
Don’s parents. They drove in
from Ft. Richardson Saturday
night.
The road was bad most of
the way, Wells said, but the
north of Turnagain Arm was the
worst. He broke the tie rod in
his car, but managed to repair
it enough to get through.
Jimmy Webb is also home on
a 20 day leave. Jack Hoogland
left for his return trip to duty
in the Navy last week.
Rent Increase
Forms Ready
Application forms for increas
ing controlled rents 20 per cent
are now available at the Area
Rent Office, Pearl Building,
Anchorage. Director A. Bandet
tini states: “We are now ready
to take applications and adjust
the rents in accordance with the
new rent control law signed
by President Truman last week.
The application for an increase
must be sworn to before fil
ing.”
“In any case where the pres
ent maximum rent is less than
20 per cent of the June 30,
1947 rent plus adjustments for
improvements and services, the
landlord is eligible for the rent
increase.” Here are some typi
cal cases showing landlords
who are eligible and those who
are not.
Supposing the landlord's rent
in each case was $50 per month
on June 30, 1947, the following
is the amount he is now allow
ed in increase:
1. He has had no increase
since the given 1947 date—he
may now obtain an additional
20 per cent to $60.
2. Since 1947 he has received
ap increase in rent to $57.50
under a “voluntary lease” which
was authorized by Congress in
1947 and 1948. In this case the
landlord may obtain a rent in
crease to $60, which is 20 per
cent more than the $50 in ef
fect before the lease.
3. He has received an in
crease to $55—because a $5 in
crease was necessary to com
pensate him for increased costs.
In this case the landlord may
obtain a rent increase to $60.
4. If the landlord s rent was
$50 in 1947, and he since re
ceived a $10 increase because
of major improvement such as
a garage, modern bathroom,
sleeping porch, etc., or an in
crease in service such as utili
ties, heat, etc., he may now get
an additional 20 per cent of
his present rent of $60 for a
total new rent of $72.
5. It the $50 rent was raised
to $60 because the $50 was
less than that brought for com
parable dwelling units, and the
increase was not for an improve
ment or an increase in services,
tne landlord cannot obtain a fur
ther increase undtr the 20 per
cent provision because he is al
ready receiving 120 per cent of
the original rent.
6. If the landlord has been
permitted to charge an addi
tional $5 whenever he has rent
ed to a number of persons that
is greater than normally occu
pied by this kind of dwelling
unit—he is now eligible for a
rent of $60 for normal occu
pancy (120 per cent of $50), and
$65 for additional occupancy.
“In any case where the pres
ent maximum is already more
than 120 per cent of the June
30, 1947 rent plus adjustments
for improvements and services,
the present maximum rent con
tinues without change.
In any case where there has
been a decrease in services or
equipment such as cutting off
utilities, such decrease must be
shown in the application and
are offsets against the. 20 per
cent increase.
HEARING ON SHIPPING
RATES IN SEPTEMBER
September 10, set as the date
for a hearing to be held in Se
attle on the increased passen
ger and freight rates of the
Alaska Steamship Company was
cancelled by the Federal Mari
time Board and a prehearing
conference scheduled on Sep
tember 25 in Washington. No
tice was furnished Delegate
Bartlett this week by the Board.
Muddy Water May
Not Be Contaminated
Says Health Dep't.
In a conversation with Dr.
R. O. Sellers, city health of
ficer, the Doctor stated that the
muddy water now being served
in most of the Seward resi
dences and restaurants, is not
necessarily con ta ruinated. He
has had no report of contam
ination from the Territorial
Department of Health labora
tory.
Dr. Sellers does advise, how
ever, that mothers should boil
the water for infants and small
children.
It is unusual to have the
Seward supply so muddy at
this time of the year, when,
there have been no excessive
rains. It is observed that all or
most streams on the Peninsula
that are glacier fed are also
very muddy. Ptarmigan Creek
has not been clear all season, ac
cording to reports. Those lines
in town that are fed from the
Mt. Marathon tanks are clear,
but very little water is coming
from that supply. Oldtimers
who know the Marathon in
take, state that the flume on the
top of the ledge at timberline
must be stopped, thus divert
ing the Marathon water away
from the line. This has happen
ed before, and with the open
ing of the ditch, clear water
again runs into the Marathon
tanks.
Although a verbal offer was
made to the city council for
the sale of the water facility,
the offer has not been submit
ted in writing as of this morn
ing, and no action can be tak
en on the deal until such pa
per has been received by the
council.
According to the verbal a
greement, the Water Company
would sell the utility to the
city on an easy payment plan,,
at the rate of $500 per month,
without down payment and.
without interest. The muddy
condition has arisen since that
offer was made.
Phone calls are pouring into
the newspaper office complain
ing of the mud. One mother
stated that a call to the office
of the Water Company brought
the information that water in
the office is perfectly clear—
this information, of course, did
nothing to allay the anger of
that mother, whose children
are ill at the present time, al
though the water has not offici
ally been blamed for their ill
ness.
1952 FISHERY REGULATION
HEARINGS
The Interior Department has
designated 12 places in Alaska
where open discussions are
scheduled in connection with
the 1952 commercial fishery
regulations.
The hearings for Naknek and
Dillingham wer,e set down for
August 1 and 2, respectively,
but further discussions are to
continue in September, October
and November, including a
13th meeting in Seattle on Oct
ober 31 and November 1.
Dates specified for hearings
in Northwestern Alaska are;
Kodiak, Sept. 17; Anchorage,
Sept. 20: Cordova, Sept. 24;
Yakutat, Sept. 26.
Mr. and Mrs. Logan Varnell
and son Burt returned to Sew
ard after the season fishing in
Cook Inlet.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Depue
left this morning by Matanuska
Valley Bus for a skyline tour
of the Peninsula. They will
stop at Homer and Kenai.