VOL. 16 NO. 48
KODIAK, ALASKA, DECEMBER 1, 1956
t'KICE 10 CENTS
Elks Urge
Decorating
Once again the City of Kotliak
will be dressed in it’s finest to
celebrate the joyful season of
Christmas time. The second an-'
nual Christmas Decorated Homes
contest will be open to all home
owners in the City of Kodiak' «ind
its immediate environs, as well as
the homes on thd, '^aval Sta
tion.
The Kodiak Elk's Lodge No.
,1772, and the Emblem iCiiib fib*
187 were the sponsors for the eon
i test held last year. Bill Lavine of
the local Lodge was chairman of
the event. He vfijjl-.act in tnat ca-,
paeity again this year! “No defin-'
ite motif has been decided upon.”
: Lavine said. “Your artistic imagi
1 nation and ability will, be the only
limitations imposed.”
Calling on all citizens to support
this move to beautify Kodiak, La
nine further stated: “All you have
to do to support it is to enter your
home in the contest. There are no
entry fees, nothing to pay.” The
Chairman pointed out the tradi
tional decorating of ,a tree in the
home has been enlarged UDon and
as a means of sharing the pleas
ure of a well-trimmed tree, and
decorating inside, decorating out
side for passersby .to see, is becom
ing more and more popular each
year. He cited the town of Bell
flower, a small town in Los An
geles County, located about 20 min
utes from downtown Los Angeles.
“Tbe town is fairly overun by tour
ists who have driven as much as
several hundred miles to see the
spectacular displays.” It achieved
national recognition for its dis
plays, he said, and has been ac
claimed as one of the most beauti
ful cities in Southern California.
“Decorating your home heed not
fee an expensive and elaborate un
dertaking. Quite a few of the ma
terials necessary are readily at
land, such as wire, laths, tacks,
cardboard, wood and paint." He
painted out a decorated window
can be a winner stating that two
sorb entries won prizes last year.
A first prize of $50 is offered.
Second prize $25 and $15 for third.
Hmre will be five judges, who
will inspect the registered dis
plays between the hours of 3 p.m.
and 11 p.m. Monday, December 24.
Hdro aro fho fan? cimnl > niloc
which will govern this contest:
lj Each home entered shall be
registered either by use of the
entry blank which will be found in
tke Kodiak Mirror or by a post
card addressed to “Decorated
Homes Contest Chairman” Kodiak
Elk’s Lodge 1772, giving your
name and house address. (Please
do not submit a Post Office ad
dress.)
2. All entries must be in the
bands of the Decorated Homes
Contest Chairman not later than
midnight, December 21, 1$56.
3. Decoration should be kept at
a minimum and no special consid
eration will be given other than
for originality and artlslic.arsaiige
ment.
4. Only hohjes •widun the Cily
. (Continued to page 12)
Hotary Host
To Teachers
Local Rotarians were hosts 1
teachers from the Kodiak high an
grade schools at a dinner held i
the latters honor Thursday ev
ning at the Elk’s Club. More tha
one hundred and twenty were i
attendance. Rotary President Wi
liam Lamme presided. ',i
„ 5
Prior tp. a ..program of s’.io:
speeches, introductions and mus
cal numbers, a delicious dinner i
prime rib roast was enjoyed. 1^
tarian George Kappos. chef of tl
evening, had the meat brought i
by air for the occasion.
Lively introductions were give
bt Rotary; members- ^ themselve
their wives and the teachers sea
ed in their vicinity. These evoke
considerable laughter. A spirit <
good fellowship was e v i d e n
throughout the evening.,
A short musioal program w;
presented by Dr. Bob Johnson an
Jules Radinsky. Dr. Johnson a
companied on the piano with Julc
Radinsky playing a coronet and
violin solo. These two later joine
Leon Johnson and Vinnie Root 1
form a vocal quartet in the rende
ing of several harmony number
The teachers honored at the o
casion who were in attendant
were: Superintendent Ivor an
Mrs. Scott, James H. Gray, Hig
School principal, Claracllen }
Dawson, Grade School supervise
and Bob Dawson; Betty Sprin;
hill, Elementary School supervise
(Continued to Page 4)
Formal Ceremony Marks Opening Of
First Section of White Alice Network
Anchorage, Alaska—The first
section of a new communications
network that will serve North Am
erica’s defense, and also eventual
ly bring the most remote sections
of Alaska within quick and easy
telephone contact, was put into op
eration Thursday at a formal cere
mony at Elmendorf Air Force
Base.
Air Force Lieutenant General
Frank A. Armstrong, Jr., Com
mander-in-Chief, Alaska, made the
first call over the “White Alice”
network, which operates by means
of a dramatic type of radio relay
never before used on such a large
scale.
The network is known as the
"White Alice” communications
system from the code name assign
ed to it by the Air Force. Built by
the Western Electric Company
under contract to the Air .Materiel
Command, it will provide tele
phone and telegraph facilities
vitally needed for the continent's
defense against attack from the
North.
“White Alice" will enable conji
bat 'centers of Jhe Alaskan A|r
Command to receive reports
aircraft detected by radar out
posts, including the Distant Ear^y
Warping (DEW) Line, north of
the Arctic Circle.
The first completed section of
the system' connects ' Anchor?.de
and a military installation 17B
miles away on Middleton Island
in the Gulf of Alaska. This seg
ment also makes available com
mercial telephone and telegraph
circuits for Cordova, an important
fishing center. Both military and
commercial facilities became avail
able simultaneously.
At the opening ceremony, the
Anchorage-Middleton link was
turned over to the Air Force’s Air
Materiel Command by Western
Electric, the manufacturing and
supply unit of the Bell Telephone
System. “White Alice” will be op
erated and maintained for the Al
askan Air Command by the Fed
eral Electric Corporation through
ICSAL (Integrated Communica
tions System Alaska).
Western Electric started work
on “White Alice” last year. Com
pletion is scheduled for 1958.
For Alaskans, the “White Alice”
network will provide telephone
Circuits frde for 'the first t'fne
from atmospheric disturbances
'and interuptions,'which have here
tofore hampered comihtirfiCat'ihs
near the :top of the world.
!,:'An almost-hew system of 6ver
the-horizOfl’radio ;:i£as' Selected to
pr'bvide reliable "Service and' spifft
the lonely' distances. Wire Cbr.T
TfiuniCattohs weft-'’ ruled 6iu by
difficulty of’ •rfi&lntenarfeer c*drf
stMietibn'- 'problems - 'and tu^dQ
weather.* 1 '•*
Massive lOtPton' antennas' that
look like outdoor movie screens
are the most spectacular features
of the system, which makes use of
what Western Electric engineers
call “forward propagation tropos
pheric scatter.”
The antennas must be precisely
pointed toward each other al
though they are separated by as
much as 170 miles. Radio signals,
which contain scores of telephone
conversations and telegraph ines-,
sages are beamed from the anten
nas toward the horizon. In order
to arrive at the opposite antennas,
the signals are deflected oy the
troposphere—a layer of air ex
tending about five miles up from
the earth’s surface. Only a tiny
scattering of the signal sent out
arrives—the rest is lost in the at
mosphere.
There are 33 antenna, sites for.
relaying the signals. Most of the
Sites are atop mountains, and at
the outset had to be reached by
plane or helicopter. Building the
sites required construction of
roads and air strips to bring >n
materials.
The “White Alice'’ network will
furnish circuits to the A,lask,ir.
Communications ,J System, which
provides telephone and telegraph
service to the public in the Terr^-t
tory. Army and Navy installations
and:Tac«ities;>9f 4he Civil Aon)- ,
oaiitics iAdihinStfation also wifi
be served by “White Alice.”
P» Cfl
o Issue Again
d The City. Council in an action at
n the-meeting Wednesday night in
-• stmtcgd tine City.*,Manager ■ to in
n fornvithe Chief of.-Police to take
n the necessary steps to curtail -gam
bling in.1 the: City-. .The . action was
the ificsult ..of! sefvwal complaints
‘i that havejcpmerto thetattenlion of
i- <3c«mcii:n*e;mber&^ii;
if ;<i,Gh\efcV.lefceiyistated, that he had
)- complied with the request Of- the
e Council, hut stated he is seeking
n a,clarification^as to.the. intep.t of
the CounciljJ Territorial igw upd a
n Cityordinance prohibits gainbjjug
s, of .C- i'Jj tWV-i
t- ,’The question w,ill copae betorei a
p 'future meeting, qf ' t.he^QnnclL
if . Street, paving was ’ .aapthejc„ques
t tion to cdipe. before th*£. C.ougc.i.i, a.t
the Monda^ night,( meptingj. coun
cilman dflmore "moved ,that pre
liminary .engineering be started
, on Brooklyn Avenue and Kraft
’s Street in preparation, fgr, paving
a these two streets.'TJjus action fol
lowed a report by City. kfapager
Truitt that there was a good.possi
0 bility of having paving done this
summer.
’ The -Council -concurred in liav
> itog Brooklyn Avenue paved first,
e then Seventh, :J and Sixth5 streets.
d The Council us looking into a
h rumor that is hre vail ant at this
1. time whereby matching funds for
r the proposed National Guard Afm
5- ory are available from the Teri/i
r tory. Federal government funds
Continued to Page 12)
Legal Actions
May Affect City
Two actions taken in Anchorage
may have an effect ont voting in
Kodiak and additional revenue of
the City.
Judge McCarrey of the District
Court, Anchorage, stated(he had no
j urisdiction over; anpexatiijn bases
What effect this will have on the
recent annexation of the Mission
Road area is not determined.
The sales tax is illegal in Alas
ka, acording to Edgar ■ Boyko,
chorage attorney. defend
ing A1 Hagen, a Palmer theatre
operator, who is charged with a
misdemeanor in a municipal court
with failure to file a monthly tax
report on time.
Boyko bases his contention on
the fact that the Territorial En
abling Act, \yhich authorizes a
salts tax levy, was repealed n
1953.
U. Of A. President
Heads Polio Drive
Doctor Ernest N. Patty, Presi
dent of the University of Alaska,
will direct the 1957 March of
Dimes throughout the Territory of
Alaska, it was anounced today
from New York by Basil O’Connor,
President of the National Founda
tion for Infantile Paralysis.
The March of Dimes will be held
January 2-31, inclusive throughout
the Territory and in every com
munity in the United States.
Along The
Waterfront
The big news afo'ng the water
front Of course is the recent de
velopments on the small boat har
bor. It looks like Kodiak is stearij
ly moving' fofWard in the direction
of, .acjtualt cflpjStrudwn of the long
awaited bpat facilities.
A1 Soliss 6f the Army Engineer?
together with Dick Berg and Mer
rill Coon, appeared before the City
Copnqifcjn a special meeting Wep
p^av,,^he latter two are on th*
Chtunbdr of Commerce Small Boat
Harbor Committee. Solis's stat'd
he was here to determine the rocl
formation of the harbor, its extent
and elevation. He said his depart
ment wjjb interested in determin
ing what is the rock and sand con
tent of beaches bordering the ha:
bor. It'is hoped that-much of it
may be used in construction of the
breakwater
Soliss stated there was consider
able mud in the area where the
proposed breakwater is to be built.
This "poses a problem, he said.
that hasn’t been solved so far. He
further stated the City must pro
vide suitable rock for the contrac
tor to use. He said that approxi
mately 107,000 yards of rock would
be required for the harbor.
Del Valley’s pile driver has been
hired for the purpose of probing
(ho hnrhne • Thir umrlr n<tm
ing conducted, pp weather permits.
Soliss informed the Council t)u>,
advance bids would be advertiser
in January and would be opened
about February 20. The contract
that .will be let he said will be* a
continuing iMfe add will continue
in operation'until the original ap
propriatitib oil $500,000 is exhaust
ed. At that tithe aother appropria
tion will he authorised- The Gov
ernment’s share, hb1 feiid, will be
in the neighborhood of $2,000,000.
Several contractors are already in
terested in bidding, it has been
learned.
Considerable discussion arose as
to the possibility of the harbor
freeing .up, 'as the result of build
ing the breakwater, curtailing this
flpw of salt water into the hafbor
It was pointed out by Councilman
that the harbor «ufed by a creek,
near Kraft’s store and other fresh
ets, and the harbor may become a
freeh water basin. The entrance to
the harbor will be approximately
200 feet Yfide.
Soliss pointed out that tide ac
tion would be .sufficient to elimi
nate the possibility of freeze up
from fr^sh , water emptying into
the basin.'Me 'stud'the flow in the
creek, was negligible in the winter
'JoTuisbii1 suggested that Soliss ad
vise Harold Moats of the Coi ps of
Engineers of the Count is concert!
over the problem. ; '; :
Councilman Pete Deveau briefer'
the Council at the Monday nights
,meeting on ,the .proposed hr k
'wbter ias indicated by the E*v,j
neers He stated the Council piari
mfisjt'be tied in with the pirns o'
the Engineers to keep dowh
■dodging cftStSi anti 1;^-'cii : r.f.ioa
{at the coiitrlicnroi milra n ,jr
(Continued to Page f>> -