SEWARD’S
All-‘Weather
SEAPORT
Is Alaska’s
Grccit* .->t Asset
Seward Seaport Record
THE ONLY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD THAT GIVES A HOOT ABOUT SEWARD. ALASKA
Vol. VII, No. 62
SEWARD,
ALASKA, FRIDAY, FEB.
, 1951
Price 10 cents
Don Carlos Br<
Judgment In !
Don Carlos Brownell won his i
case against H. W. Hunt, former j
Seward newspaper publisher, in
district court Tuesday, Judge
George W. Folta presiding. A
compromise settlement was
reached bj' defense attorney Ed
Davis and Mrs. Dorothy Tyner,!
attorney for the plaintiff. Brown- j
ell was awarded $825, and the'
defendant agreed to place retrac-1
tion statements in Anchorage
newspapers and the Seward Sea
port Record.
Mr. Brownell is 69 years old.
He came to Seward in 1903 from
Cordova, and with his father j
purchased the first lot sold in j
the new townsite. It was located
at the corner of what is now
Fourth Avenue and Washington I
Street. “We had to get an expert
timberman to make the first j
cut,’’ Mr. Brownell stated, “the j
heavy timber was so thick that'
we couldn't make it fall after i
cutting a tree.” The elder!
Brownell established a hardware
store on the property. It was j
used years later as a moving j
picture theater which was de
stroyed by fire. The present
theater was then erected on
Adams Street.
After serving as mayor of
Seward for nine consecutive
terms, and as Territorial senator
four terms, Brownell says that
he based his political career and
business “on absolute sincerity.” |
“The attacks in the newspaper
made it appear that I hadn’t
done the right and honest thing
by someone.”
He sued Mr. and Mrs. Harold
W. Hunt for what he termed i
“defamatory articles” which ap-j
peared in the Seward “Polaris” j
when they published it in 1947. j
Although he asked $10,000 dam-j
ages, he made it clear that he is J
not primarily interested in the
money.
i non i care 11 i cion t get a
cent above legal expense. My
good name is of more importance
to me than money.”
An advertisement appeared in
the Polaris March 19, 1947, de
nouncing Senator Brownell as
an “enemy of labor,” and pro
posing a boycott of his theater
after he had voted for a contro-:
versial labor bill. “The ad made
it appear that I had voted for the
open shop and I never did,” i
Brownell stated. He testified that
he had explained his stand to
labor leaders and they removed
his name from the unfair list.!
“But the smirch against my
character stands, and most labor
men still believe it. A lie never
dies like the truth does. An in
sinuation on a man’s character
can never be erased,” the white
haired pioneer told the court.
Mr. Brownell has been in poor
health for the last two years.
He had just returned to his home ,
after two weeks in Seward Gen
eral Hospital when the case was
called for hearing.
On Page 4 of this issue of the
Record annears a paid adver
tisement in full retraction of,
any and all statements or ad-j
vertisements resulting in dam
age to Mr. Brownell which ap
, peared in the Seward Polaris
while it was published by Mr.
and Mrs. Hunt.
Mr. and Mrs. Wm. O’Brien
have returned from a buying
trip in Seattle.
ownell Obtains
Libel Sait
Eagles and Hawks
Battle Saturday
Anchorage’s high school hoop
sters, the Eagles, and Seward’s
Sea Hawks will battle Saturday
and Monday nights on the Civic
Center floor. These are the
keenest rivals in the Western
Alaska Conference.
The Eagles will arrive by
train Friday night and return
to Anchorage Tuesday morning.
They are bringing a cheering
section which will put the Sew
ard girls on their toes.
A new row of bleachers has
been added to those already set
up before the last games. This
will s^at another fifty or more
persons. Attendance has been so
good at all basketball games
this season, that every effort is
being made to provide seats for
everybody.
RUTH DUFRESNE ILL IN
SEATTLE HOSPITAL
It has just been learned here
that Mrs. Ruth Dufresne under
went an emergency operation in
Columbus Hospital, Seattle, two
weeks ago. The hospital sent out
a call for four pints of blood to
replace blood lost in the opera
tion.
Mrs. Dufresne left Seward
with their three children several
weeks ago to be with Hank, who
has been in Marine Hospital for
nearly three months.
When Mrs. Dufresne was sud
denly stricken with a gall blad
der attack, the children were
taken to private homes of rela
tives in Seattle. Both Mr. and
Mrs. Dufresne are recovering
slowly, and may be home in the
spring.
Airport authorities have been
trying to contact Mr. Dufresne,
as the new survey for the pro
posed airport improvement cov
ers a considerable portion of the
Dufresne property, including the
dwelling on the Airport Road.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
ISSUES ILLUSTRATED
"FIVE YE \R REPORT"
Making its first report sine •
its creation by the 1945 Terri
torial Legislature, the Alaska
Board of Health has just issued
an illustrated “Five Year Re
port” addressed to the p< ople
of Alaska.
The 28-page booklet describes
in photographs and words th ?
progress of health protection and
disease prevention activities
throughout Alaska. It explains
how communities have cooperat
ed with sanitarians, nurses and
doctors in attempting to combat
increasing health problems in
the territory’s fast-growing
towns where expansion of facil
ities has not b^cn able to keep
pace with the rapidly increasing,
population.
Members of the Board of
Health represent the four judi
cial divisions of Alaska. They
are Dr. Dwight Cramer of Ket
chikan, Mrs. Katherine Kehoe
of Nome, Rev. R. Rolland Arm
strong of Anchorage, until his
recent transfer to Juneau, and
George Preston of Fairbanks.
Appointed by Governor Gruen
ing, chairman of the Board,
and approved by the Territorial
Legislature, the Board of Health
(Turn to Page 4)
ANCHORAGE HIGH vs. SEWARD SEA HAWKS
Two Gomes—Feb. 3-5 8 p.m.—Prelim. 7 p.m.
CIVIC CENTER (Plenty of Seats!)
Aduits $1.00 School $.50
No Estimate Given
On Elks Club
Fire Damage
No estimate has been made
public of the amount of damage
caused by the fire at the Sew
ard Elks Club Wednesday morn
ing. The building is barricaded
| until insurance adjusters make
i an inspection.
The fire occurred at 3:00 a.m.
Wednesday, about 30 minutes
after being closed for the night.
Witnesses report a bright blue
' flash and explosion which flung
I shattered glass eight feet away
from the building. The interior
of the kitchen, apartment, bar
, and dance floor, including fur
i nishings, were destroyed. An
! addition in the form of a wing
j on the south front was slightly
| damaged by smoke and water.
Less than 30 minutes after the
! fire department arrived, flames
{ were under control, and homes
i adjoining the club were out of
' danger. Firemen remained on
! the scene, however, until after
5 o’clock, removing stock and
watching for any further out
breaks.
No announcement has been
j made as to probable cause of the
! fire, or whether the “blue flash”
! and explosion were to blame, or
the result of an unknown blaze
reaching some volatile material.
Mr. Walter Sipprell, Exalted
' Ruler, was out of town at the
time and has not yet returned.
SECOND OF A SERIES ON—
i federc! Civil Dofense
Act of 1950
i (Continuation of summary of
! the Federal Civil Defense Act of
1950, taken from American
Municipal Association Washing
ton News Letter.)
The President has the power
under the act to direct federal
agencies to make emergency re
pairs and temporary replace
ment of communications, hos
pitals, utilities, transportation
facilities, and public facilities
1 The CDA administrator can re
| imburse state and local govern
! ments for civil defense expenses
i outside the state or municipality.
The act permits CDA to pay
all of the cost of stockpiling crit
ical materials, including engin
eering. evacuee, and medical
supplies, and to pay all of the
cost of communications and cer
I tain control centers.
: CDA’s proposed budget sug
! gests federal appropriations over
| a three-year period of $1,125
i million for shelters. $100 mil
lion for heavy equipment, $400
million for critical material
stockpiles. and $32 million for
. communications The budget pro
poses 4G ner cent of the total
cost shall be paid by the state
and local governments—or some
thing on the order of $1,425
million in the next three years.
But these figures are estimates
onlv. Until the Administration
indicates how much Congress
will be asked to appropriate for
matching, or perhaps until Con
gress actually votes civil defense
funds, state legislatures and
municipal governing boards will
not have firm estimates of what
should be their own state or
municipal contributions.
(To be continued)
Mr. and Mrs. Thorwald Osbo
left town Thursday for a vaca
tion Outside. They plan to visit
their son Thor, who is an archi
tect in Seattle, then go on to
Los Angeles and Phoenix, Ariz.,
before coming back to Seward.
"STREN GTH EN LIBERTY
PRESENT MEMBERSHIP 2.750,000 j
SLEEPWALKING CHILD
BAFFLES POLICE
Night patrolmen were called
to a home on Third Avenue one
night this week to solve the mys
I tery of a small child who was
j apparently walking in his sleep.
Dressed in nightclothes, with
out coat or shoes, the little fel
low opened the door and walked
in. He was a stranger to his
hosts and seemed unable to tell
his name, where he came from
nor what he wanted. After ques
tioning a few minutes, the police
were called in.
An officer, speaking quietly
| to the youngster, was able to
! get out of him a mumbled re
' quest for “pepper for his
; mommy.” Later they distin
i guished a name which they took
1 to be the first name of the child’s
father. On the chance of being
: right, the little fellow was bun
, died up in a coat and taken to
! what they thought might be his}
j home.
I “Did you lose something?” the
officer asked the man who an- j
swered the door.
| “My God, where did you get i
him?” asked the amazed father 1
' who did not know the child was *
not in bed where he had been!
tucked in early in the evening. ;
i The many stories of strange!
doings of sleepwalkers have'
been familiar down through the
ages. It appears that this is only;
another tale to be added to the
long list.
MOTORISTS WARNED TO GET
LICENSES BEFORE FEB. 1
' A considerable number of:
motorists have failed to secure!
both vehicle and operators li
censes, the Highway Patrol and:
licensing officer warned today.1
Motorists were warned to
pick up their licenses before
Thursday, February 1, when
the Highway Patrol and City
Police began stopping vehicles
that carried old plates.
Failure to have the new li
censes may lead to fines as high
as $100. Territorial statutes also
allow a lein to be placed against
the vehicle with the possibility
of its being sold at public auc
tion in order to get the license,
fee.
The City Magistrate’s office,
located above the fire hall, is
the only place in Seward that
the licenses may be obtained, j
The office is open from 10 a.m. I
to 12 noon and from 1 p.m. to j
3 p.m.
CITY COUNCIL MEETS
MONDAY
The first regular February I
meeting of the Common Council j
will be held in Council cham- j
bers at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5.1
Scy Seoul Week
February 6 to 12
February 6 to 12 is “Boy
Scout Week,” a time of celebra
tion for the Boy Scouts of Amer
ica,
As we all know1 this organi
zation is one of the best in the
world. It is upheld by all of
the leading people of our coun
try, including the President of
the United States. We have a
troop in our community and,
though it is not a large one, it
is very active. The boys in this
troop are striving to be good
Scouts just as much as the boys
in any other troop, no matter
how large it is.
The Boy Scouts in Seward
are doing the same things in
celebration of this week as
Scouts ail over the United States
are doing. They will have Scout
equipment and Scoutcraft on
display in prominent places dur
ing the week, and to climax the
celebration there will be a Scout
rally at the High School gym
nasium on Sunday afternoon,
February 11, at 2 o'clock.
The rally will be a contest
in various Scoutcrafts such as
knot tieing and rescue work.
All of it will be done in a race
against time and accuracy under
the supervision of judges who
will record the time and accu
racy and report it to Scout
Headquarters, so that in reality
the boys will be racing with
Scouts all over the country.
At the rally there will be a
presentation of badges to the
boys who have passed achieve
ment tests and are ready for ad
vancement. Miniature badges
will also be presented to the
mothers of boys who are re
ceiving their Second Class
badges.
Let us all help our Scout troop
be a good one by giving the
boys a little of our attention and
encouragement.
SORORITY TEA HONORS
MRS. JAMES
Members of Iota Chapter,
Beta Sigma Phi, held a tea Mon
day afternoon from 3 to 5 o’
clock at the home of Mrs. Russell
Painter. The tea honored Mrs.
Luella James, a sponsoring offi
cer of the sorority.
Mrs. Barbara Sh^a officiated
at the flower decorated table.
Mrs. James has left on a buying
Lour in the States.
Plans for a parade of art at
Seward Sanatorium, to take ac
tual Point1 r> 's of rTreat artists
to the patients of the hospital,
aave been postponed until after
Mrs. James returns.