EWARD
Tlw Gatezeay City of Interior Alaska Since 1903.
Record
Seward’s A HAPeather Port is Alaska’s Greatest Asset.
THE ONLY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD THAT GIVES A HOOT ABOUT SEWARD, ALASKA
VIII, No. 48
SEWARD, ALASKA, FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 2, 1951
Price 10 Cents
Ye Story of
EWARD
By Jay Sfauter
XXII
E IN THE EARLY TOWN
'om the rather weighty and
lved account of the end -of
Alaska Northern Railway,
1 turn back to the little
isite. and try to add some
io "human interest" type of
rial to the Story of Seward,
L oi it drawn from the period
i to 19U9. one of the City s
l)i osperous and busi ;st
aring this time the year
nd population oi regular
ieuts may by roughly esti
■d as varying between guu
4Jo men. u’uiiioi and chil
. a large proportion of
in seemed to be engaged in
undertakings" of all sorts,
e was land to be cleared;
ips to be removed; homes,
is, hotels and churches in
process of construction.
y birds were grubbing most
striously for the proverbial
n .
itii all this economic acti
a casual reader might reach
inclusion that Seward folks
■, in the main, a bunch of
-ambitious, money-hungry
Is, who led a pretty dull
prosaic lile, with little time
'ecreation and social aetivi
uch was, most emphatically,
1 *C Cv»SC Qt uii.
ose of us who have never
through pioneering days
only read with envy about
good times these people
y had, and wonder how in
world they ever found so
1 time i'or recreation and
'merit. There were dances
st every evening; picnics in
ummer, dog team and sleigh
in the winter; excursions
ail and water; and dozens
her special events in Which
icuIjy Uk whole communi
irticipated. There wore or
ed sports, both indoor and
;:»r. besides wiiat must have
an almost uninterrupted
cl of card parties, birthday
es. dinners for notable visi
iodge and church affairs,
i oid-timers ten us tnat on.1
e most exciting of all events
tie arm al 01 a steamship
.nuTecliw.i Bay. Before me
irom Valdez to Seward
ompiete, boat arrivals were
y uncertain, but most eag
anlicipated, since the town
;ure to b out of something,
mly that, but each steamer
;iit new settlers, new ofri
icr the railroad, more pros
rs bound for the tnp over
peninsula into Cook Inlet
the Susitna River country,
e ever became in the least
in S.ward (and it's hard to
no how it could!) the arri
jf the next steamer was
to direct that at once.
Peel tells how tic and an
\ oimg fellow' used to win
by climbing Marathon
tain, spotting the steamer
if, then hurrying down to
igar store to place a few
•s on its arrival time. The
nan or woman spotting the
er would usually ring the
ell. to turn out the whole
Then a cry of “Steamer”
I pass from one end of the
to the next, and men,
n. children and dogs would
>ck down to the wharf. A
was sure to be on hand,
when the steamer arrived
; wee small hours of the
ng.
/ia Sexton tells of working
; post office from 8 a.m.
p.m. daily; then hurrying
(Turn to Page 6)
Parent-Teacher Ass'n
To Hold Important
Meeting Wednesday
The Seward Parent Teacher
Association, which has been dor
mant during the present school
term, has announced through a
past president of the organiza
tion. that a do-or-die gathering
of former members, prospective
members, and all interested citi
zens lias been scheduled for this
coming Wednesday, November
7, at the school.
The organization at present
has no officers, having lost those
elected last year by resignation,
health reasons and bv movm„
out of the city. The time has
come.’ the spokesman said, tor
the organization either to acti
vize or to disband, since the few
membe rs who have been keeping
the P-1 A alive can no longer do
all the necessary work. Teachers
have been reluctant to attend
because of the small turnout of
mothers during the meetings
last year, and personal feelings
are said to have been a factor
in the difficulties of the group.
Yc-t it was stated mat me
Seward P-TA has a record of
recent past achievements of
which any organisation can be
proud. They instituted and put
into successful operation the
school cafeteria program, which
is now serving more lunches
than ever before, providing bal
anced hot meals at nominal
cost, with virtually no waste.
Another accomplishment of
the Seward P-TA was the. aid
rendered the school in meeting
stringent requirements for the
school library, in order to main
tain accreditation with outside
colleges. An estimat d ShUOO
was raised, both in cash and in
gifts of usable books during this
campaign.
More recently the sum of ap
proximately S40Q was raised by
the P-TA for the purchase of
playground equipment, blit this
money was never expended be
cause the city council appropri
ated the money, apparently thru
a misunderstanding.
In the event that the P-TA or
ganization is disbanded, it has
been suggest d that this sum
be turned over to the public
health nurse for the outfitting
of a first aid room for the
school.
But in any event, the future
of the Seward P-TA, and the
disposal of its funds, hinges en
tirely on actions to be tak n
at the special meeting, announc
ed for Wednesday, November 7,
at the school at 8 p.m. An urgent
call for all parents and others
interested in work of the P-TA
has therefore been issued by
the past president.
(See editorial elsewhere in
this issue.)
BARTON BACK IN SEWARD
Sid Barton, widely known
Alaska old timer, is a Seward
visitor, registered at the New
Seward Hotel. He plans to stay
for the winter in Seward, he
said.
Bartlett Visits City,
Studies Waterfront
Bob Bartlett, Alaska Dele
gate to Congress, spent a busy
21 hours in Seward last week
end, gathering first hand infor
mation on local problems, and
conferring with Seward business
people.
Arriving last Friday morning.
Delegate Bartlett met immedi
ately with the committee from
ILWU Local '-82. Friday after
noon he conferred with Dr.
Francis J .Phillios at the Sew
ard Sanatorium, on the problem
of maintaining car«. for tubercu
losis ’.’ff_n.rs. ■*,rida> *von>n'?,
he was the honor guest at a
h : given by the Licnr Clv.b
at Harding’s Cafe Later Friday
nieht he conferred informally
wFi Seward business people
and local officials, departing via
the highway Saturday morning.
Mr. Bartlett rode out with
officer George Puckett of the
Highway Patrol to Mile 38,
where he joined Mrs. Bartlett
and continued the trip on to
Kenai. Homer, and later Kodiak.
In Kodiak, he addressed the con
vention of the League of Alaska
C ties before leaving this part
of the Territory.
FAULTY NAVIGATION OF
BORROWED FLIVVER LANDS
FOUR TARS IN NAVAL BRIG
“Borrowing” a car last Satur
day night from its parking place
in front of the Seward Record
plant, four sailors from the USS
Jackson were overtaken by local
police when battery trou’ol ■
stalled the motor across from the
1 office after 1< ss than two
blocks' drive.
iue men were transferred
■ .1 land lubb rs lockup to the
brig aboard their own vessel, in
o; r u permit the sailing of the
USS Jackson on schedule, after
the filing of minimum charges
here.
Also aboard the Jackson when
she sailed, but not in the brig,
were the offic rs and men of the
30th Topographical Engineers,
en route to a new assignment
after a summer’s work on the
Kenai Peninsula.
FOURTH AVENUE DUE FOR
NIGHTLY COLOR SPLURGE
Neon si ns are being installed
by several S ward business
firms, including the Seward
Trading Company, Bobbie’s, An
drews’, City and Northern Cab,
Brown Bear Liquor Store, Yu
kon Bar, and O’Brien's, as well
as Werner’s Market and Tony’s
Bar.
Installation is being made by
the Wilson Electric Company of
this city.
NEW SHIP FOR A.S.C.
The Liberty ship Katharine B.
Sherwood has been assigned to
the Alaska Steunshin Company
by the Federal Maritime Board
for operation under general
agency agreement according to
word received by the company
last week.
Trick-or-Treafers
Escape Serious
Gastric Disturbances
Seward's youngsters garnered
a total of 2759 cookies, 3054
pieces of candy, 7(59 apples, 438
oranges and several hundreds of
dollars in cash during annual
trick-or-treat activities, accord
ing to a highly unofficial talley
received at the Seward Record
office yesterday.
Where they got it is pretty
well known, says the top-secret
document; what they did with
it all is a matter for future sci
entific research, which may rev
oiutlcn?’? present ideas of max
imum stomachic capacity.
The claim ol some household
ers, that Anchorage and other
railbelt towns had delegations
of children down here for the
annual shake-down is unfound
ed, the report continues. Some
Seward youngsters must have
changed masks and made the
rounds several times, it was sug
gested. All agreed, however, that
there just simply could not be
that great a numb, r of children
in Seward alone, as were seen
making the rounds Wednesday
evening.
Local merchants were grad
ually calming their fears that
two or three trick-or-treaters
might obtain a monopoly of the
loot and start a store, thus giv
ing them severe competition in
the confectionery, bakery-goods
and fresh fruit departments.
Impossible as it might seem
the greater part of the loot lias
already been consumed, the doc
ument concludes.
DICK MYERS IMPROVING IN
HOSPITAL AFTER
WEEKEND ACCIDENT
Latest reports from the S. \v
ard General Hospital indicai.
that Dick Myers' injuries, sus
tained last weekend in a hic,ir
way auto crash, are not as seri
ous as it was first feared. He is
making a satisfactory improve
ment, gradually regaining the
use of his limbs. Visitors are
now permitted at his bedside.
Mr. Myers suffered a pelvic frac
ture in addition to rib fractures.
When his car crashed after
skidding off the road, both Mr.
and Mrs. Myers were hurt. Mrs.
-Myers' injuries, fortunately, wer.
slight, and she \.us released
from the hospital after one day.
Mr. and Mrs. Del Robbins, pas
sengers in the crashed car, es
caped with only minor effects
from the accident.
HIGH SCHOOL ANNOUNCES
ANNUAL VAUDEVILLE SHOW
The senior class of Seward
High School will present the
first annual vaudeville show in
the High School Auditorium on
Friday, November 16th, at 8 p.m.
The program will include tal
ent from the entire high school,
consisting of dancing, singing,
skits, jokes, and all the laughter
and gaiety of a vaudeville show.
Especially colorful will be the
Gay Nineties act, the announce
ment said.
Dispute Settled By
Mutual Agreement
The entire railtaelt population
was greatly relieved this week
to learn of the agreement be
tween longshoremen and the
Northern Stevedoring Company,
concluded last weekend and rati
fied by vote of a special meet
ing of Local 1-82, ILWU.
While details of the agree
ment regarding dispatching prac
tices were not made public at
this time, it is understood that
a compromis? between the for
mer position of both employer
and the union was worked out.
Longshore spokesmen said that
negotiations between their com
mittee and Mr. Setterston of the
Northern Stevedoring were ami
cable and that many additional
points of minor grievance were
taken up and dealt with satis
factorily on an informal basis.
The assistance of a federal
mediator was not required in
arriving at a permanent agree
ment. Work had been progress
ing normally since the tempor
ary truce of last week.
Local Sharpshooters
Awarded Badges
For Proficiency
Fori Richardson—Four sharp
shooting S:ward National Guard
members were awarded badges
for proficiency in the use of
rifles and carbines in ceremonies
conducted here last week.
The sharpshooting Guardsmen,
all members of the 207th Infan
try Battalion. Alaska National
Guard, w re Sergeant John C.
Blidberg, Pfc Ray E. Quick, Pri
vate Melville P. Lehman and
Private Gcrwin Smith.
Sergeant Blidberg, Pic Quick
and Private Smith all won ex
pert Qualifications in firing tests
conducted on the Fort Richard
son ritle range last wesk. Pri
vate Lohman qualified as a
sharpshooter in the same class—
M-] r;iie.
Pfc Quick won another ex
pert's rating with the carbine
and Sgt. Blidberg qualified as a
marksman with the same wea
pon.
The 207th Infantry Battalion,
comma; ! d by Lieutenant Col.
George McLaughlin of Anchor
age, is at Fort Richardson for
the National Guard's annual
two-week training encampment.
CITY WELL REPRESENTED
IN NEW OFFICERS FOR
LEAGUE OF ALASKA CITIES
Reports from the Kodiak con
vention of the League of Alaska
Cities state that Mildred Kirk
patrick has been elected vice
president, and Clarence Johnson
a member of the board of trus
tees of the organization.
Lee Bcttinger of Kodiak was
elected president for the coming
year, during the convention
which considered pressing prob
lems of municipal finance, civil
defense, housing and many
others.