SEWARD’S
All-Leather
SEAPORT
Is Alaska’s
Graafpsf Assat
Alaska1 Ulster->ftl LiJ>r*>;j
and Museum
Seward Seaport Record
THE ONLY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD THAT GIVES A HOOT ABOUT SEWARD. ALASKA
Vol. VII. No. 55
SEWARD,
ALASKA. TUESDAY, JAN. 9, 1951
Price 10 cents
O’Briens Take
Over Sylvia’s In
Surprise Sale
Sylvia’s, one of the three old
est business houses in Seward, ;
changed hands this week, when
Miss Sylvia Sexton sold out to
Mr. and Mrs. Wm. O'Brien.
Sylvia, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. George Sexton, came to
Seward writh her parents in 1903.
Mr. Sexton was the first U.S. j
Marshal on Kenai Peninsula,
with his first office at Sunrise, j
In 1904 the office was moved
to Seward and Mr. Sexton open
ed the Sexton Hotel in 1905 or
early 1906. This stood across the j
street from the present store, but:
was burned in 1935.
The first Sylvia's shop was j
opened in 1917 in the hotel. Aft- j
er the fire, Miss Sexton moved
to her present location across
Uie street, where it has been op- j
erated ever since, selling Alaska |
curios, ivory, and other articles, \
and a soda fountain. Sylvia’s
also has the only corn popping
machine in town.
Mrs. O'Brien stated today that J
the store will be completely re- •
modeled, but she will not change !
the line of business. It is her
plan to put in leather booths,
and to encourage children and
’teen-agers to consider the shop
as their meeting place. “It is my
ambition," she said, ‘‘to make a
place for the k;^s."
Miss Sexton, although retiring
from business, does not plan to
leave town. She will live in the
O'Brien's pretty little house on
Fourth Avenue and “just take
life easy,” she said.
SOC. SBC. REPRESENTATIVE
HERE JAN. 10
Joseph W. Finnell, field rep
resentative of the Social Secur
ity Administration, will be in
Seward on or about January 10,
19J>1, to assist in the filing of
claims and other matters pertain
ing to Old-Age and Survivors
Insurance under the Social Se
curity Act.
Mr. Finnell will be available
at the New Seward Hotel to
answer questions or supply in
formation regarding the Social
Security program.
“Under the recently-amended
program,” Finnell said, “it is
much easier to qualify far
monthly benefits or lump-sum
death payments.” He urged all
persons age 65 or older who
have Social Security account
numbers to call him at the hotel.
“Benefits are payable as a
matter of right,” he explained, |
“not by want or need, but a
claim must be filed as payments
are not made automatically.” i
W. S. C. S. MEETING JAN. 12
The Woman's Society of Chris
tian Service will hold a business
meeting in the Seward Metho
dist Church parlor Friday eve
ning, January 12, it was an- j
nounced by Mrs. Troy Bogard, j
president of the group. As
matters of importance will be
discussed, it is important that i
all members attend. Hostesses
for the evening will be Mrs.
Lois Norton and Miss Ruth
Murrell.
Mrs. Phil Harding, affection
ately known to many Sewardites
as “Mom”, was taken to Seward
General Hospital Monday eve
ning. It is not known how long
Mrs. Harding will be hospital
ized.
Portage Townsite
To Be Held
February 6
Announcement was made to- j
day by Lowell M. Puckett, Sup-1
erintendent of Sales, Railroad
Townsites, that all of the lots in
the newly created townsite of
Portage will be sold at public
auction on Tuesday, February 6.
The sale is to be held at the
railroad depot. Portage, by Vic
tor Fischer, of the Bureau of
Land Management. There are
four blocks, each containing six
teen lots. The starting price of
the lots ranges from $30 to $60
each.
Portage townsite is located at
the junction of the Seward and
Whittier spurs of The Alaska
Railroad. According o the Super
intendent of Sales, it was sur
veyed out principally to furnish
industrial sites for businesses
which may want to locate along
the railroad. The location is not
considered ideal for residential
purposes, according to Puckett. !
The land is low. and may be sub- j
ject to flooding during late sum- j
mer thaws.
Portage townsite, whose loca
tion was chosen by the mana-1
ger of The Alaska Railroad, not
only is located on the railroad,
but also is on the highway which
will eventually connect Anchor
age with Seward.
COUNCILMAN MYERS'
FATHER IS DEAD
| Councilman Richard Myers
1 returned New Year's Day from
| the bedside of his father at
Crand Junction. Colo., believing
that the cider Myers was recov
ering from his' illness. When in
torviewed/at the airport he said
that his father was improving
and was going to get well. It
was not until he reached his
, home that Mr. Myers found a
telegram awaiting him announc
; ing the death of his father, W. J.
Mvers, on Dec. 30.
New Year's Eve was also the
25th wedding anniversary of Mr.
and Mrs. Myers. They had
planned open house and a party
in celebration of the anniver
! sary. but flight conditions pre
; vented his reaching borne until
' the next day.
POLICE CHIEF TO
EXPLAIN LAWS
Police Chief Dale Green feas
announced thal he will be in his
office at the city jail every
morning from 9 to 12 o'clock to
discuss city ordinances, rules
and regulations and Territorial
laws with any person who is
interested.
“Many people have remarked
to me that they did not know or
understand certain laws, and
that one action is forbidden
while another is not,” he said.
Chief Green is prepared to in
struct all persons who wish to
know traffic regulations in? par
ticular, and other laws.
NAVY AT KODIAK PLAYS
SANTA TO NATIVE VILLAGE
On the morning of Dec. 22,
1950. Santa Claus, in a Navy
plane loaded with toys, candy,
fruits and other foods, paid a
visit U> the remote village of
Alatak on Kodiak Island. The
gifts of toys and food were con
tributed by military and civilian
personnel of Kodiak Naval Sta
tion and flown to the village in
a Navy seaplane (PBY).
The natives seldom receive
fresh fruits and vegetables, as
there is no scheduled transpor
tation to their village.
Mr. and Mrs. J, B. Stanton
went Outside last Friday on the
Baranof with other Sewardites.
Civic Center To!
Be Completely
Renovated
The old USO building, now
Seward Civic Center, is under
going a complete renovation in
preparation for the Western
Alaska conference basketball
games.
The building is under the i
supervision of the Volunteer1
Fire Department. Firemen de-j
cided to clean it up, and the!
clean-up snowballed into a real'
pioject of painting and refinish
ing of the floors.
Paint and implements were,
donated by local businessmen,1
Firemen, longshoremen and high j
school boys donating the labor. |
The basketball court will be |
relined, floors refinished, bleach-!
ers built, and the old building j
given a general face lifting.
Skating has been suspended i
for 30 days to allow for the
repairs and until after the out
of-town games. Coach Don Dal
berg has been agitating for some
time for bleachers in the build
ing so as to permit larger seat
ing capacity at games. The reg-1
ulation sized court will also!
make for better games and pre- J
pare the Sea Hawks for playing j
on the bigger floors when they !
go to Anchorage and Palmer this
month. The first out-of-town
games will be played here Jan.
27 and 29 with the Fairbanks,
team.
The Sea Hawks will leave)
Seward Jan. 16 for then second j
game in Anchorage to be played
Jan. 17. They will proceed to
! Palmer for two games, Jan. 19
and 20. Palmer will be in Sew
ard February 10th and 12th.
The Anchorage Eagles will prob
ably be here Feb. 3 and 5, but
the date has not been definitely
settled. It is bing juggled to fit
in with the Rendezvous,
i
FIRST LOCAL INDUCTEES
END LEAVE
I
Five Seward boys, the first
group of inductees, are in the
Army now. They finished basic
training Dec. 30 and came home
on ten day leave, arriving Jan. 1,
after losing one day of their
leave because of weather con
ditions. They returned to An
chorage today by train.
Four of the boys have been
assigned to motor pool, one to
headquarters, and Bill Green,
who began his training before
| the group, was assigned to 4th
Infantry.
Names for the January draft
have not been announced ex
cept for Robert Biggs.
1 ROBIN SHINGLETON
IS FOUR YEARS OLD
Little Robin Shingleton had
, nine guests at her birthday
party yesterday to celebrate her
fourth birthday. Joe Jeffrey had
his hands full as the only boy
: to the eight girls. Beverly
Dodge, Patty Bogan, Rayna Ba
; goy, Pamella Casey, Carol Lee
Ferguson, Susie and Diane Hall
all had fun with noisy toys, ice
cream and cake, candy and pop.
1 Mrs. Bagoy and Mrs. Bogan
helped Robin’s mother in keep
ing the little folks happy from
2 until 4:30.
Logan Varnell is laid up in
the hospital for an indefinite
time. He is having treatment for
a foot injury suffered several
years ago.
Mrs. Art Brooks went to An
chorage today for a short visit.
Rosien Appointed
Exec.-Sec'ty
League of Cities
Upon the resignation of Rob
ert E. Sharp as executive sec
retary of the League of Alaska
Cities, the league president,
Z. J. Loussac, with the consent
of the executive board, appoint
ed Mr. Arthur H. Rosien to the
post on a part time bas's.
Mr. Rosien was appointed
upon the basis of his educational
background and past experience
at Syracuse University, and with
approval of those members of
the executive committee whose
cities have become members of
the League.
Mr. Sharp, who was appointed
as temporary secretary by the
committee at the organizational
meeting last August, resigned,
because, as he says, “I find that
my principal duty as City Man
ager, City of Anchorage, and
several other collateral positions
I now hold, makes it impossible
for me to devote sufficient time
to League duties. I also feel that
the duties of League Executive
Secretary are such that there
is a need for a full time secre
tary as soon as funds are avail
able.”
sion was effective January 2, so
as to allow sufficient time for
the legislative work required
to fulfill the directives to the
Board of Directors by the Au
gust Conference to be completed
for submission to the Territorial
Legislature this year.
Seward has not yet joined
with other Alaskan cities in the
League. It will be brought before
the Council again at the next
session by Councilwoman Kirk
patrick. member of the Execu
tive Committee of the League.
Seldovia and Kodiak are the
latest communities to ratify the
constitution and enter into the
League. Mrs. Kirkpatrick ex
pressed the hope that Seward
will participate in the League
activities with the next meeting.
POLICE NOTES
The 1951 police record had
been unblemished until today
when the local lawmen picked
up three men for drunkenness.
Frank J. Walsh and John Quincy
Smith, both from Anchorage,
were fined $10 each and prob
ably will be returned to their
home town.
Henry Halvorson was arrested
for drunkenness and using ob
I scene language. His case is pend
inp.
Last month John Johanson
Kenai, paid a fine of $10 for
speeding, ^md Gene Lanier was
fined $5 for blocking an alley
Mayor Lanier has often beer
! heard to say that “I am nc
’ better than any other man. II
I happen to break the law, 1
| will pay the fine.” He proved
i his statement by paying his
fine.
Vernal Hoffman paid a $2.5C
fine for parking at a fire plug
ART OF CERAMICS TO BE
SUBJECT OF TALK
Rev. Paul Irwin will be guest
soloist at the January meeting
1 of the Seward Woman’s Club.
At this meeting Mrs. Ed
! Schnoeker will speak on the Art
j of Ceramics and also demon
strate works in pottery.
Ladies of Seward and district
are extended a cordial invitation
to attend. The meeting will be
held in the Methodist Church
parlor on Thursday, January 11,
at 8 p.m.
Mrs. LaPreal Bie and her
young son Tommy left for An
chorage this morning. They will
be back by Thursday train. This
is Tommy’s first train ride.
Bids On Airport
Ready Mar. IS
Lanier Says
{ Mayor Eugene N. Lanier re
; turned from Anchorage Sunday
! with news from a conference
held by Alaska Aeronautics and
Communications Commission to
the effect that Seward’s airport
was approved by the Commis
sion, with a slight change in lo
cation. The new plan will take
part of the Dufresne property,
which purchase was approved
by the Commission.
In a telegram from Mr. Tony
Schwamm, he notifies the mayor
of the approval, but says, “. . .
final approval must come from
CAA and Military that project
is for national defense.”
Mr. Lanier started for the
conference on explosives held in
Juneau Jan. 4, but failed to
make connections in Anchorage.
He was called in to the AACC
conference when it was learned
that he was in the city.
“Mr. Schwamm has certainly
worked hard to get the airport
for Seward,” said Lanier, and
stated that Victor Rivers also
commended Mr. Schwamm for
his diligence on the part of Sew
ard.
1 Schwamm assured Lanier that
he will be ready to call for bids
, by March 15.
UNIVERSITY HOOPSTERS
PLAN TRIP TO SEWARD
AND SOUTHEASTERN
j The editor received a letter to
' day from Lud Urick, coach and
athletic director at the Univer
sity of Alaska, saying that the
basketball team is “unofficially”
1 planning or considering a trip
to Southeastern Alaska, and, we
assume, to SewTard.
The last such tour to this area
i was in December, 1933. Mr.
j Urick makes inquiry as to suit
J able opponents, and possible fi
I nancial arrangements. The let*,
j ter will be turned over to Coach
Don Dalberg' for reply, and pos
sible arrangements for a game.
In the postscript, Mr. Urick
states that the Fairbanks Elks
basketball team is also interest
ed in making such a trip. We
wonder if the team which lost
to the Anchorage Elks by only
six points would be considered
“suitable.”
,i _
EASTERN STARS ENTERTAIN
Seward Chapter. Order of
Eastern Star began this year
i with a potluck supper in the
social hall of the Masonic Tem
! pie last night, with 75 present.
! The supper was prepared and
I served by the incoming Star
Points. It preceded the regular
meeting, which Was followed b;y
a social evening of popular rad'tj
games, such as “Noah Webster
j Says,” “Rate your Mate,” and
j “Talent Scout,” which made for
the general merriment of the
evening.
Visitors and members from
out the highway braved the
weather to attend in spite of
bad roads. Raymond Tressler
said that the road is so bad that
for the first time he had to tow
a car downhill.
RAINBOW TO INSTALL
OFFICERS SATURDAY
Seward Assembly No. 6 Order
of Rainbow for Girls will hold
public installation of officers on
Saturday, Jan. 13, at 8 p.m. in
the Masonic Temple.
| The Advisory Board and the
: Mother Advisor for the coming
i year will be installed at the
same time. Refreshments will
be served after the meeting.