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PuWished every Saturday at Kodiak, Alaska
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\ THE ISLAJtfp PUBLISHING COMPANY
Bpx 1307, Kodiak, Alaska
Sig J. Ptgree, Editor and Publisher
f-fc* Botha Digree, Executive Secretary
MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use or republica
tion of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in
this paper and also the local news published herein.
The Right to Speak
The Freedom of the Press Com
memorative stamp being issuer
next week is a reminder of a fore
for freedom that should be kep
alive at all cost. Freedom of vw/*
sometimes importan
freedom of action.
Right to snpqk bv mnrvns r'r
' ertising is heme att^VM bv tb<
eternal Revenue Department
The department has ruled that in
stit.utional advertising nlaced b:
utility companies in which the^
preenfc their side of the public-vs
private power controversy is no
dedfjctabte bj-smess expense. Th<
service has further ruled that lit
eratiere opposing socialism pro
duced and distributed by the As
sociation of American Physician;
- and Surgeons is not a deductable
j expense. So also in the case of
» Timken Roller Bearing Company,
l which discussed socialism as op
. posed to capitalism.
t We think institutional adver
tising is vitally necessary to some
- companies—such as Boeing—that
1 do not sell directly to the public
. — private utilities, to protect
themselves against government
7 competition, and in conveying
7 thinking of management to en
' ployees and the community.
, And something of far greater
. importance is at stake—the right
. of people to present their side of
. controversies to the public with
i out censorship by taxation.
- Here, There And Everywhere
Historic Profile
lUMiiaK is Boom Town With Law and Order” is the heading of
an article which appeared in the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Time?
Not now, to be sure. The article is clipped from an early war year’s
edition, on the occasion of a visit to Seattle of the first mayor of Kod
iak, R. H. Chadwick, soon after the town incorporated.
To quote: “The old Russian town of Kodiak, where the United
States Navy is building one of its great strategic bases, is one of the
fastest growing towns in North America. But take it from its mayor,
R. H. Chadwick, visiting in Seattle, it isn’t one of those wide-open,
hell-roaring Adaslj^camps that Rex Beach wrote about in the old
days."
" 'V *
Said *:he then mayor: “Of course, with a population made up of a
thousand or more construction men and fishermen, we can’t be a
Sunday school,town, We have to let the men have their fling but
we insist on law and. order, and get it.”
Kodiak algo is unique in that it is entirely free of municipal
debt," the mayor continued “I guess we’re only one of the few cities
in the Western World that way.”
Commenting on Kodiak as “a sleepy town of 400,” when the navy
decided to build the base, he said that (at that time) between 1,200
and 1,500 people lived here, and the population is increasing so
rapidly they couldn't take a census.
We are starting our city government from scratch ” Chadwick
continued. “We have to ncrease our water, lighting and sewer fa
c.lities, bu:;d s.cevalks and make other needed improvements.
Otir city councilman are kept busier than bird dogs passing the
necessary ordinances, planning improvements and worrying about
the housing shortage. We’re putting up homes in town as fast as we
can, but we can’t catch up. Anyone who wants to build homes in
Kodiak tor a profitable investment will be welcomed with open arms.”
Chadwick touched on the heavy bank deposits here in those
early days. “We opened a bank less than a year ago and deposits
are now at the half-million mark. And all of the businessmen doing
business with the bank are very much in the black.”
Chadwick s comments don’t begin to cover those hectic war years.
O. A. “Torgie” Torgerson, president of the Bank of Kodiak,, could
fill in many of the details. Others around here and some who are
gone, could well provide reams of information on that same era in
Kodiak s history. With an estimated 15.000 soldiers in the area, 5,000
construction workers, several thousand sailors and marines,' Civil
Service workers and towns people, Kodiak was a bustling, lively,
restless town, busy with the hum of men; some having their fling
m ~heir off hours: some promoters, opportunists, sharpies, call them
what you will—men and women looking for the fast buck_enter
prising to say the least.
me streets were filled with darting cabs—eager cabbies eargerly
being hailed by an eager fare- Stir your stumps, there’s a buck
to be made.
Kodiak in those days—a euphemism or a euphony, according to
your tastes its tempo set to the rhythm of tinkling glasses—peopled
by construction stiffs who lived from day to day; also good sober citi
zens; opportunists—all gathered together in the web of defense con
tracts, and in the confines of a small town whose maun street was a
cowpath, a city with the nomenclature “Frontier tawm”
Larry Liptrap
Leaves for School
Larry Liptrap left last week
for Los Angeles with his aunt,
Mrs. Pearl Jenkins. He will at
tend Los Angeles City College.
During his first year, he will stay
with his grandmother and his
aunt.
Mrs. Pearl Jenkins and her son,
Danny, have been visiting her sis
ter and brotherin-law, Mr. and
Mrs. Edward Liptrap, for the past
six weeks.
Letter to the Editor
The Kodiak Mirror
Kodiak, Alaska
Gentlemen,
It has been my pleasure to meet
a few men with whom I would
trust my life. Not many, just a
few. Such men are worthy of rec
ognition; they are better men than
most of us.
During the early part of this
past fishing season, a small fish
ing boat named the Sea Duce left
Kodiak for Chignik. She refueled
and provisioned before departing
the Island near Karluk headed
for the mainland. Near Puale Bay
the engine quit, her anchor was
lost and she drifted ashore on a
sandy beach at the head of the
bay. Another fishing boat which
was to meet the Sea Duce wait
ed half a. day in Wide Bay for her.
Theti the crew of the other boat,
decided the Sea Duce had been
delayed and went on.
Alf this time, one man who
knew the Sea Duce was enroute to
Chignik, kept her in mind. Al
though the boat was not primar
ily his concern nor fishing for his
company, he remembered hear
ing that she had set out for Chig
nik. This man has a remarkable
memory for boats. He can recog
nize a boat at a distance when
most of us can just see her. Boats
and fishermen are his business,
and he knows his buiness.
When he felt the Sea Duce was
overdue, he began to check all
the way points where the boat
was known to have stopped, got
her description—for in this case
he had never seen her, just heard
about her. When satisfied that
something had gone wrong, he
used his own company chartered
aircraft to search for the boat,
found her, picked up the crew
and flew them to their destina
tion. Five days ashore, the crew
did not anticipate rescue until
“humpy season.” But because
Chuck Turner, vice-president and
general manager of Kadiak Fish
The Thrill That Comes Once in a Lifetime a »ibsi« classic
eries Co. was concerned enough
about what he thought might be
another man’s misfortune, two
fishermen were still around for
the fishing season.
If this were the only such act
on this man’s part, it might have
passed unnoticed, but it is typi
cal of his attitude and action since
I have known him and by report
prior to that time. This area, with
its many small fishing vessels,
treacherous waters, and rapidly
changing weather, can be grate
ful that there are still some men
who will act while others discuss
the chances. Here is a man who
still thinks he is his brother’s
keeper, and acts that way. Chuck
Turner deserves the thanks and
admiration of all of us connect
ed with the fishing industry in
this area.
Very truly yours,
Paul B. Hansen
A Reliable Agency
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Companies
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'"amden Insurance Co.
National Surety Co.
Springfield Fire & Marine
Insurance Co.
United States Fidelity &
Guaranty Co*
Home Insurance Co.
Hanover Insurance Co.
Yorkshire Insurance Co.
American Universal Ins. Co.
Birmingham Fire Insurance Co.
Royal Exchange Assurance Co.
Farmers Home Mutual Ins. Co.
Norwich Union Ins. Co.
National Auto & Casualty Co.
Harbor Insurance Co.
Union Society of Canton
Newfoundland American
Maryland Casualty Co.
Lloyds of London
Midland National Life Ins. Co.
ART BROOKS
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3401 2561
ZAMA (HQ., US.S. ARMY JAPAN)—August 29
—On Location: PFC Alfred R. Torgramsen,
(third from left), son of Mrs. Alfred Torgram
sen who lives in Kodiak, Alaska, is presently
assigned to the 304th Signal Battalion’s Motion
Picture Team in Korea. The team, shown mak
ing Hometown. .TV Interviews* at Camp Zama
Japan, about 35 miles southwest of Tokyo, is the
only Army unit in the Far East equipped for the
making of sound motion pictures.
Torgramsen, a 1955 graduate of Kodiak inde
pendent High School, entered the Army in June
1957. He attended the Motion Picture Photogra
phy School at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, prior
to being assigned to Korea in December 1957,