SEWARD’S
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is Alaska's
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Seward Seaport Record
THE ONLY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD THAT GIVES A HOOT ABOUT SEWARD. ALASKA
I
Vol. VII, No. 69
SEWARD, ALASKA, TUESDAY, FEB. 27, 1951
Price 10 cents
Del. Bartlett
Reports From
Washington
Delegate Bob Bartlett, in his
Washington News-Letter of Feb.
23, gives an interesting resume
of the Preparedness Subcom
mittee report on Alaska defens
es as presented to the Senate
Armed Services Committee last
week. The report was presented
by Senator Johnson of Texas,
who stated, “The security of
every American home begins in
the snows of Alaska. A strong
Alaska is essential to our se
curity. Our continental defenses
can be no stronger than our
Alaskan defenses.”
The report is too lengthy to
print in its entirety, but parts
of special interest to Seward
are given here. This city was
visited last October by Senators
Hunt. Saltonstall and Morse,
who held hearings and made
investigations in the Territory,
“to determine if everything is
being done that is required for
its defense.” They arrived at
20 conclusions relating to de
fense. housing, Whittier, Sew
ard, The ARR, Haines, cost-of
living, explosives, commercial
aviation and a number of addi
tional subjects.
One of the 20 points in the
subcommittee report has caused
widespread comment in the Ter
ritory. The subcommittee agreed
with the concept of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff for Alaska’s de
fense, when it stated, “It is
recognized that it would be im
possible to physically hold all
of the Territory of Alaska.” In
reaching its conclusion that "It
is believed that the military in
Alaska, within the limit of forc
es made avalable to them, is
embarked upon a realistic plan
for the defense of the Terri
tory,” the subcommittee de
clares, “ . . . its defense is de
signed to permit the holding
of so-called critical areas and to
defend the balance by air and
naval action or the use of mo
bile ground forces. It is believed
that if this concept is success
fully pursued, then the mission
of defending Alaska will have
been accomplished.”
Stating that “It appears . . .
reasonable to assume that little
could be done to protect the
Seward Peninsula area from
either bombing or actual inva
(Turn to Page 4)
WSCS HEARS TALK ON
AMERICAN INDIANS
The Woman's Society of
Christian Service met at Mrs.
Tom Howell’s home last Thurs
day evening and had an enjoy
able time.
About 25 members were pres
ent and there were also several
guests, including Mrs. Nancy
Junemann, Miss Rama and Mrs.
Cox.
Miss Goldie Busko, program
chairman for the affair, gave
an interesting talk on the health
of the American Indian. She em
phasized the point that while
tuberculosis is a serious prob
lem among Indians in the States,
there are 8 per cent more cases
among the Alaskan natives.
Many get-acquainted games
and contests were entered into
by those present and prizes were
awarded to Miss Sarah Garrett,
Mrs. Pat Friede and Mrs. Nancy
Junemann for their cleverness.
Mrs. Donn Lee and Mrs. Victor
Mahan were in charge of the
games.
George Washington’s birthday
was not forgotten, either, as re
freshments consisted of individ
ual cherry pies. Mrs. Gordon
Inglis assisted Mrs. Howell.
Finger Print Chart
Reveals Identity Of
Man Found At Sea
It was revealed Monday by
the local Deputy U. S. Marshal’s
office that positive identifica
tion has been established as to
the identity of the body of an
unknown man found by the
U. S. Coast Guard vessel last
June 16, floating in the sea
about five miles northwest of
Cape St. Elias, and which was
subsequently brought to Seward
for burial. This identification
was effected by the use of a
finger print chart made of the
man over thirty years ago dur
ing World War I.
The body has been identified
as that of Capt. John Erickson,
master of a fishing vessel which
| was lost during the latter part
I of last May while enroute from
Seattle, Washington to Cordova.
Capt. Erickson’s home is at
Winslow, Wash., where his
, widow, Mrs. Anna Erickson,
now resides.
i Capt. Erickson was a World
War I veteran. The other two
| crew members of the vessel
| were brothers, Albert and Ralph
Peterson, who have not been
heard of since the vessel was
lost. Their sister. Mrs. Lester
I Wilkins, resides at Cordova.
| At the time of discovery
i last June, the body was in a bad
(ly decomposed condition, appar
; ently having been in the sea
for two or three weeks prior
thereto. There were no marks
I thereon or in the clothing which
i would give local officers any
clue as to identity at the time
of burial.
Positive identification was re
cently made by procuring from
the files in Washington a pho
tostatic copy of Erickson's
fingerprints, taken when he en
tered the U. S. Army in 1917,
over thirty years ago, and com
paring same with the finger
prints taken from the unknown
body. This identification, re
j cently effected by the local
Marshal's office, has been con
firmed by letter from the Fed
! eral Bureau of Investigation in
Washington.
Three Seward Boys
Selected All-Stars
j A Western Alaska All-Star
team as chosen by referee offi
* cials, timer and scorer in the
Rendezvous tournament and
two newspaper men, include
three Seward boys,
i The six all-stars as named are
Anderson, Deigh and Denton of
Seward; Lafon of Fairbanks;
Thuma of Palmer; and Fultz,
! Brown and Carman of Anchor
age. They were selected for
I their outstanding work on the
1 basketball courts. Of Seward’s
three boys who were honored
Denton and Anderson were chos
en as co-captains.
Sportsmanship Award
The sportsmanship award was
given to the Anchorage Eagles.
It was awarded by the Rendez
vous Committee, without a vote
from game officials—referees
were not consulted. Coach Don
Dalberg states that it is his be
lief concurred in by others pres
ent, that the award should have
gone to Palmer, whose team
displayed admirable sportsman
ship throughout the conference
and tournament.
Erick Bostrom, longshoreman
of Seward, where he has lived
for four years, called at Dele
gate Bartlett’s office last week.
Mr. Bostrom is. on a motor trip
through the States and will re
turn to Alaska over the high
way after visiting his mother
at his former home in Michigan.
New Athletic
Ass’n Formed
February 18
Six Class B schools and four
Class A schools formed the,
Western Alaska Activities Asso
ciation Sunday, February 18.
It is composed of representa
tives from the teaching and
coaching staffs of Valdez, Cor
dova, Kodiak city, Kodiak Naval
Station, Nome and Wasilla, com
prising the Class B schools,
which receive their designation
according to the size of the
student body. Schools with less
than 75 high school students
are Class B. Fairbanks, Palmer,
| Anchorage and Seward schools
; are designated by the same pro
cess as Class A schools for ath
letic activities, thus making a
total of ten schools in tne asso
ciation.
Carl Carlson, Superintendent
of Schools in Seward, was elect
ed president of the Association.
Bud Ottmar, Anchorage coach,
vice president; and Wm. Zahrad
nicek, superintendent Palmer
J school, secretary treasurer. Mr.
Lavere, Kodiak Naval Station,
was elected member-at-large.
The organization went on rec
ord as agreeing to withdraw
all basketball activity from the
Fur Rendezvous. Hereafter,
championship and conference
games will be handled by the
schools alone through the Asso
ciation.
13&2 liile c*anr<e* at Fairbanks
Alter the usual railbelt con
ference games, the elimination
games for Western Alaska cham
pionship will be played off in
Fairbanks in 1952. The 1953
elimination tourney will be held
in Seward: Palmer will have
the 1954 games. There will be
no connection with the Fur
Rendezvous.
Class B championship teams
will have the privilege of chal
lenging the Class A winners for
the trophy, but will be under
no obligation to issue challenge,
according to the new rules.
Another point of contention
settled by the Association offi
cers, was the matter of age for
high school hoopsters. The new
ruling permits a 19 year old
student to play if his birthday
is on or before September 1 of
the school year. This ruling was
particularly beneficial to Nome
and other outlying cities whose
, students are older than those
I in the southern districts. Inci
; dentally, it will permit Pedro
! Denton to play for Seward again
' next year.
i -——
SEWARD GI 5 SEE MANY
I FAMILIAR FACES IN
ANCHORAGE LAST WEEK
Local people visiting in An
chorage last week met several
of the Seward boys from Fort
Richardson. Don Smith, Gene
Kirkpatrick and Frank Sanders
are now old hands and lording
it over Ralph Erickson and
Moose Steinwald, who were
called later. Ralph and Moose
not only have to spend 7 weeks
instead of 6 in basic training,
they both have crew-cut hair
dos, which make them look odd
to the home folks. /
The boys roamed the streets
every spare moment looking
for familiar faces and there
j were many happy reunions.
--
NURSES BAKE SALE
MARCH 24
Seward Nurses’ Association
has announced the place of their
bake sale on March 24. It will
be held in the front of the
Seward Trading Company, to
begin at 11 a.m.
FWS Investigates
Bear vs. Salmon,
Cattle Dispute
Commenting on passage of
II.R. 6, requesting removal of
all protection on Kodiak bears,
Clarence Rhode, Regional Di
rector of the Fish and Wildlife
Service, said this week the Al
aska Game Commissioners have
no intention of recommending
such action on the basis of in
formation presently available, j
“The members of the Commis
sion, all old-time Alaskans, are
not convinced the American
people arc willing to sacrifice,
Alaska’s most famous big game
animals just because a few
groups blame all ot their trou
bles on the Kortiak bears,” i
Rhode said. “The Commissioners
examined all available informa
tion and they just aren't con
vinced the bears are the big
factor they are said to be with
respect to cattle and salmon
depredations. We are aware Oil
the situation on both of these'
issues and will naturally do
whatever can be done to alle
viate it consistent with the pub-1
lie interests. On the other hand,
we cannot concede that either
the salmon or cattle-raising in-j
dustry can lay even a sizeable
part of their difficulties on the
Kodiak Brownies.
“There is ample evidence,
based on studies made of the
problem, that losses from mal
nutrition and other natural haz- j
ards take by far the greater
toll of cattle on Kodiak Island.
We have pictures of a great
many cattle that died from other
causes and were never touch< d•
by bears. Information from our)
own people stationed at Kodiak,
and from many other individu
als there, shows substantially,
less bear depreciation than is |
alleged by the cattle growers, j
The Commissioners believe loss
es could be reduced to a low i
level by proper herding, feeding
and salting during the critical
spring months.”
On the matter of bear-salmon,
Rhode said the problem is more
(Turn to Page 4)
Sea Hawks To Play
Last Game Friday
Sewardites’ last chance to see ■
the Sea Hawks play this year
will be Friday night, March 2,
in the Civic Center. They will
play a benefit game to repay
the Firemen for the use of the!
hail during the six school games. |
The Sea Hawks will play a '
strong Bear Lake team. The
lumberjacks will be strengthen-]
ed by several stars from the j
Nobby Club, and will present
a lormidable opponent for the
school boys. By all signs, it
should be a good battle.
Preliminaries will be a battle I
between the eighth graders and
freshmen. These two teams have
given a good showing this year,!
and are playing good basket
ball.
Four seniors will be playing
for the last time. Ray Anderson,
Dick Deigh, Bill Erwin and
Dick Van Guilder are all sen
iors, whose graduation will
leave quite a hole in the squad
for next year.
The town is expected to turn
out in force to witness the fare
well game of a spunky team,
which has done Seward proud
this year.
CARD OF THANKS
We wish to thank everyone
for their kindness and consider
ation at the time of our recent
sorrow.
Mrs. Clarence Thatcher
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Neville
Mr. and Mrs. Wade Veillon
Local Bowlers
Rank High
In Tournament
Norine Reed of Seward won
the “All Events” title in the
Anchorage Fur Rendezvous
bowling tournament Sunday
with a total score oi 167u. Tne
runner-up, Marge Osborn of
Anchorage, was next high, scor
ing a total ox 1640 points.
Mrs. Reed says that she was
surprised to near in the tighLh
game that sue was anywhere
near the winner, as she had
been too busy to keep track of
her own poin:s. Lcr mga score
wins lor her an all-expenses
paid tnp to the States, probably
to the National fowling Con
gress in Beattie, which will meet
in May and June.
Several other local keglers
placed with good scores in the
tournament games. May Hoy
and Norine Keed placed third
in the women s doubles with a
score oi 1U97. Norine placed
second in tne women’s singles
with o67, topped by Mary Hol
land oi Anchorage by only one
point.
There were three men’s teams
from town, one winning sixth
place lor team event with a
score of 2743. Marty Kowalski,
Dick Kirkpatrieri, Tony Mur
kowski, A1 Reed and Doc Wag
ner made up this team.
Marty Kowalski placed 4th
in the singles tying with an
Anchorage bowler icr €31.
Hugh Milroy placed oth in
men’s all events with a score of
1764, followed by Kowalski in
9th place with 1763.
May Hoy bowled 211, which
made her a member of the 200
club, whose pin she now wears.
Anchorage League teams are
anxious to play in Seward, Mrs.
Reed says. They paid us a visit
last year, and alter this year‘s
tournament want to come again.
The soldiers in Whittier also
want to come down for a series
of games.
About ouu Dowiers parucipui
cd in the tournament, the first
All-Alaska event. Teams from
Kodiak, Fairbanks, Sitka, Fort
Richardson, Whittier, Seward
and Anchorage vied tor honors,
playing nine games each. The
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MRS. BOGAN ENTERTAINS
BETA SIGMA PHI
Alaska Iota Chapter of Beta
Sigma Phi held their monthly
luncheon in the lounge of the
Kenai Cafe Saturday, Feb. 17,
at which time the following
were guests of various members:
Mesdames Nancy Juneman,
Gladys Zentmire, Gladys Keene,
Phyllis Goodwin, and Rene
Skinner.
Tuesday, Feb. 20, the regular
meeting was held at the home
of the president, Mrs. Jean Bo
gan, with Mrs. Bertha Lewis as
co-hostess. The cultural program
for the evening was an interest
ing talk on “Correct Speech”
given by Mrs. Bogan.
Plans are being made for the
Spring Rush, which will begin
the first of March.
SEEKS WHEREABOUTS OF
MARIE BELL. CHITINA
The local Marshal’s office in
Seward is endeavoring to locate
Marie Bell, a fourteen-year-old
girl from Chitina, who may have
come to Seward during the past
week to visit friends in the Sew
ard Sanatorium.
Anyone having any informa
tion as to where she might be
contacted is urged to communi
cate with Deputy Marshal Met
calf.