Seward’s /Ill-fl e tithe r Pori s Alaska $ Greatest /!sset.
VIII. No. 51)
THE ONLY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD THAT CIVES A HOOT ABOUT SEWARD. ALASKA
SEWARD, ALASKA, FRIDAY^DEC~28~ 1551
Price 10 Cents
f
Story of
WARD
By Jay Siauter
iiarod Gold, Continued
question of improved
or road facilities to the
)k\vim was becoming in
ngly urgent. Unfort unate
is same qusetion was al
becoming tangled up in
Alaska politics as well,
in December, 1J0J, W. L.
vin of the Alaska Road
lission was quoted in the
d newspaper as favoring a
‘d-Iditarod road, as a neces
md practical measure. Im
te opposition was also ex
d, however, by Major
P. Richardson, the head of
mimission. who had appar
adopted a systematic policy
lating the Seward townsite
as roads were concerned,
is this same Richardson,
is Brigadier General, was
largely responsible for the
ing link." and indeed, for
'omotion of a new govern
town of Anchorage, to the
lent of Seward. Thus far,
ive been unable to learn
ow this official enmity be
aut it certainly cost Sew
great deal of damage in
years.
Seward Chamber of Com
vvas alert to the possibili
if Seward-Iditarod traffic,
n order to promote this
they engineered a very
publicity stunt, which
, however, to have fizzled
omewhere. In those days,
ps the greatest of all Alas
g-mushers and cross-coun
icers was Jujiro Wada. a
esc, one of the earliest set
of Fairbanks. The Cham
f Commerce secured the
es of Wada to make a test
> Iditarod and return, ably
d by our own foremost
am driver, A1 Lowell. The
il idea was to show how
a time the run would take,
vo bad breaks and tough
generally, was encountered
ite. It took them nearly a
to reach the Innoko
and another month to re
Yet, their report to the
ier of Comm rco on March
0, was highly favorable to
ute.
NT-TEACHER ASS'N
sOCIAL SAT., JAN. 12
Seward Parent-Tcach r
ation has chosen Saturday,
'y !2, as the date for a
cial to be held in the pub
ool building.
lort mooting will convene
study hall at 8 p.m., fob
by dancing and auctioning
box lunches in the gym.
es are offered for tlv pret
nd the most unusual box
ear at the affair,
eeds will go to the P-TA
er that organization’s pro
the y.ar—a tennis court.
Hub City Man is
A.V.A. Secretary
Appointment of James W.
Chadwick of Anchorage as Ex
ecutive Secretary of the Alaska
Visitors Association was an
nounced this week by Robert E.
Ellis of Ketchikan, president of
the Territory-wide tourist pro
motion organization.
Chadwick, who has had exten
sive experience in publicity and
travel promotion, will open of
fices of ttie Association in Ju
neau early in January. At that
time the records and accounts of
the Association will be turned
over to him by George Sundborg.
General Manager of the Alaska
Development Board, who has
been serving as temporary sec
retary. Formation of the Visitors
Association is the result of two
years of effort by th Develop
ment Board and others.
Alaska's tourist attractions are
to be publicized by the A.V.A.
in a series of advertisements
which will appear in magazines
and newspapers in the Stat s be
ginning in February, Elns an
nounced. The Association has ap
point! d Pearson, Morgan & Pas
coe of Seattle as advertising
ag mey to handle its 15)52 travel
promotion campaign.
At a meeting of the A.V.A.
Board of Directors at Anchorage
last week, Ellis was elected pres
id nt of the Association, an of
fice he had filled on a temporary
basis since last February. Other
officers elected were: Ed Coffey
of Anchorage, first vice presi
dent; A. Polet of Nome, second
vice president: Henry Cuffel of
Anchorag:, secretary; and P. A.
Johnson of Fairbanks, treasurer.
In addition to these, others on
the board of directors are: O. F.
Benecke and B. Fred Dunn of
Juneau; Carl Heinmiller of
Haines; Russell Swank and L. A.
Moore of Anchorage'; Charles
West and Paul Greimann of
Fairbanks.
NEW CLAIM TO FAME
FOR TEXAS?
Texas may be about to be
eclipsed by Alaska a.- the largest
state in the Union, but Texans
apparently are preparing a new
claim to fame, according to the
Alaska Development Board.
What Texan s ems to be after
now is recognition as the coldest
state in the Union.
Among inquiries received this
week at the Alaska Development
Board office in Juneau was one
from two girls, ages 13 and 14,
at Grand Prairie, Texas, asking
the prior of “Eskimo coats.”
“We thought we might be able
to buy one, ' the girls wri te, “be
cause this Texas weather is get
ting us down. We don't see how
the Eskimos stand the cold, for
we freeze down here.”
IS OUR FACE RED?
To Benny and Marj Silvers
of the Marathon Cafe—our hum
ble apologies for getting their
name wrong in the Christmas
greeting advertisement last issue.
—and Happy New Year!
Aviation Safety
Discussions
D. M. Greizor
for
The Office of Aviation Safety
ARCTIC SURVIVAL AND
PRECAUTIONS
Alaska's Survival Record
So far as 1 can determine,
there is but one recorded case* of
passengers meeting deatii entire
ly as a result of exposure, who
were occupants of a civilian
airplane. There are two or three
doubtful east's, where exposure
may leave hastened the deatii of
injured passengers before being
rescued. There is but one expo
sure death of a pilot recorded.
Utis is indeed a good record,
and goes back +o the days of
li)24, when aupL.nes were first
introduced to AH;.ha.
Flying opera.lio is within Alas
ka were developc d by a class of
pilots now koo.vn as ‘‘bush
pilots.” Moo ol tin ' pilots, in
tl.v c»»i i> days ; insisted of peo
ple who were already experi
enced m Asdic life 1.1. .>
learned to li\, <r before tii y
put their flying ability to use.
They were men who came to
Alaska as miners, engineers,
trappers, laborers, fish rrncfn,
salesmen, and, even as pilots.
Many oi the present bush pilots
were born anci raised in Alaska.
These m.n were self-sufficient
anywhere in Alaska, either with
or without an airplane. When
their operations expanded so
that they found it necessary to
hire ‘‘Outside” pilots, they train
ed these pilots from their own
direct knowledge.
Lat ly a new kind of flying
has been developing in Alaska.
Private flying. Student pilots
and private pilots are buying
airplanes for their own use.
Many of these are recent arrivals
in Alaska, without previous
Alaskan experience. They are
too many in numbers for the di
rect transfer of instruction from
the person il exp rienee of the
1 invars.”
'i iu. good survival record of
the bush pilots was no accident.
A continued good survival rec
ord among the newer pilots de
pends upon sound common sense
and the application of lessons
learn d by wilderness survivors
through the past many years.
I hope to pass on in those col
umns. some of the principles
long since adopted by the old
timers. They are their ways, and
I am but the teller of them.
CHAMBER Of' COMMERCE
MEETING THURSDAY. JAN. 3
Seward's Cl rrb°r of Com
merce will mce; luncheon at
Hardi :g's Cafe on Thursday.
January 3. instead of Tuesday,
which is the regular day.
The meeting is postponed be
cause of the New Year holiday,
according to Tommy Bie, presi
dent of ihe organization.
Hank Pallage, well-known
Alaskan and big gam hunter, is
currently confined to his home
with a shot of flu.
Seif-Employed Hove
Sot. Set. Coverage
Janus G. Browne, Manager of
the Social Security Auimmsu’a
tion, recently reminded s, a un
pioyed people that most ui tm m
are earning erecut toward !• ed
erai old-age and .survivors in -
sura nee beginning in ljol. no
announced tne issuance ui a new
booklet telling in plain language
how the law now arieets people
wwhwa OvVii tneir ov(.n business
or work for themselves, ana ex
plaining how tire seli-employed
ill make their first reports early
next y ar on their earnings, tor
social security purposes.
“As w itil other gainfully em
ployed people in commerce and
industry," Browne said, “social
security coverage of the soil-em
ployed is not optional, li tiie in
dividual's employment meets tiie
terms of the law, he is covered
and must make his social secur
ity tax report for 1951, as a part
ot his income tax return due by
The new booklet entitled "Do
You Work for Yourself," is now
available at every social security
office. It explains that seif-em
ployed people who earn $400 or
more in a year are covered by
the law, with the exception of
farm operators, doctors, lawyers,
dentists, professional engineers,
full-time public accountants, and
certain other professional people.
"Under the new law, the per
son who owns his own trade or
business now builds up old-age
and survivors insurance plights
just as employe.s, including cor
poration executives, have been
doing for 15 years. This little
booKlet gives examples or month
ly benefits for retired self-em
ployed people of up to $80 for a
single p rson or up to $120 for
a couple. The family of a self
employed man will be protected,
in Case of his death, with ihsur
ante benefits up to $150 a
month."
The Social Security Ma in;: r
emphasized that m< re than four
million people are now fee v:- k
monthly insurance pe.ymc .to,
some as retired workers and oth
ers as dependents or survivors.
Th booklet points out that
every self-employed p e r s o n
should be sure that he lias nis
own personal social security
card before tlie 1951 income tax
report is due. The card, or a dup
licate to replace one that has
been lost, can be secured at any
social s. curitv office. Amount of
the social security tax for 1951
is 2' i% of net earnings up to
$3300. In the case of the person
whose earnings are $400 for the
year 1951. the tax will be $9;
for the person who earns $3(500
or more from self-employment in
1951, the amount of the tax is
$81.
"About 4,000.000 p rsons are
believed to be included in these
provisions," said Browne. "They
represent the largest new group
brought into old-age and sur
vivors insurance coverage by the
1950 amendments to the Social
(Turn to Page 4)
Del. Bartlett Reports
Afi-Tirfie High for
'52 Appropricitiorss
An all-time record of $271.
0715 27:5 in congressional appro
priations lor both civilian and
military programs in Alaska was
reached this month when a final
determination was made by the
Department of Defense on allo
cation of military public work
funds for Alaska for the 1952
fiscal year.
The total represents civilian
appropriations of $115,01)8,872
granted by Congress tiiis year
lor federal activities in the Ter
ritory, plus .$155,979,400 for
Army, Navy, and Air Force con
struction. Authorization for the
military public works program
for the T rritorv was granted
during the first session of the
82nd Congress in the amount of
$337,717,4150 and the money
made available to carry out the
authorization represents a sum
just short of half the authoriza
tion with additional money to
be sought in future years.
The Interior Department re
ceived the greatest amount of
money from the total $115,098.
873 allowed fur civilian projects
in the sum of $52.079,070, with
the Commerce Department al
lotted $22,414,664.
The road funds contemplate
construction and or surfacing on
th; Eagle-40 Mile-Alaska High
way road, Richardson Highway,
Alaska Highway, the Richardson
Highway-Mt. McKinley Road
and the Tok Cutoff with recon
struction funds for the Tok Cut
off and improvement of existing
roads and bridges. Reconstruc
tion and paving of the Seward
Anchorage Highway is included,
with new construction planned
for the Naknek Airport-Naknek
Village road, th Kodiak-Kodiak
Naval Station road and prelim
inary work on the Cordova
Rich a rdso n Highway.
SewesrcTs Best K’ews
Story of the Week
The 1>. st news story in Sew
ard this week is that it was an
absolutely quiet one. No serious
injuries or accidents, no deaths,
no fighting or police actions—
just a quiet Christmas family
week, thus making no news good
news.
Several visitors are in the
home town. Servicemen Gene
Kirkpatrick, Ralph Erickson,
and Raymond Kibsgaard were
home for the Yultide season.
Bob Morgan was in for Christ
mas. Bruce Cruickshank and a
friend were here for several
days.
Walter Holbcn spent the holi
day with his son at Hill Military
Academy near Portland. Police
Chief Evans, Police Commis
sioner Johnson and Mayor
Lanier returned from Anchor
age in time for Christmas at
horn:, and many other visitors
have enjoyed the beauty of the
week in Seward.
SEWARD VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
' YEAR'S EVE, DEC, 31, 19S1 OVIC CENTER — 9:30 P.M.
Admission $1.00