THjj
rrNews of oAmenca s Last rrontier
VOL 13 NO 18
KODIAK, ALASKA
JULY 11, 1953
PRICE 10 CENTS
Anchorage Covered By Volcanic Eruption
Local Cancer Crusade
Directed By Mrs. Segner
The local and KNS drive to
raise funds for the American
Cancer Society started offici
ally this week. Mrs. George
degner, of Kodiak Naval Sta
tion is chairman for Kodiak.
A luncheon was held Thurs
day at KNS at which a film on
cancer was shown. Guests at
tending the meeting were
Captain W. K. Rhodes, com
manding officer KNS, Captain
H. J. Rickard, head of the
KNS medical department.
Posters pushing the drive
and jars for contributions
have been distributed in town.
All boxholders in Kodiak will
receive a pamphlet and other
literature on cancer. Persons
wishing to contribute to the
drive may do so by addressing
their contribution to P.0. Box
104, Kodiak, or giving it to
Mrs. Segner at the Bank of
Kodiak.
Late Bulletins
By Associated Press
Washington—The issue of
cost of living pay allowances
for Alaskans employed in the
territory by the federal gov
ernment came up when Dele
gate Bob Bartlett said he
would ask the Senate Appro
priations Subcommittee to kill
or revise a Defense Bill rider
which would wipe it out.
Washington—Warren Lam
port, managing director for
the port of Seattle, said fede
ral aid for bases in the Aleu
tians must be maintained for
the defense of the Pacific
Northwest. He told the Civil
Aeronautics Board hearing on
proposed transpacific and far
eastern commercial routes
that the Air Force has offered
“no facts or figures” to jus
tify its announced intention
to close Aleutian bases.
A letter from General Na
than F. Twining, Airforce
chief of staff, said the Air
Force cannot justify the cost
of operating or maintaining
two Aleutian bases on Shemya
and Thornburough (Cold Bay)
for commercial lines. Gen.
Twining confirmed reports
that the Air Force is limiting
its transpacific operation fo
the central pacific route.
Mrs. Rose Perkal of New
York and Los Angeles arrived
in town Wednesday by PNA.
She is a public stenographer
and is planning to do work in
Kodiak.
KNS Employee
Dies Wednesday
Kenneth E. Stoor, 35, died
at 1:30 pm Wednesday after a
short illness. He had been em
ployed on the Naval Station as
Personnel Assistant since
March of 1950.
Prior to his employment
here he had been employed as
Placement Assistant for Com
17 in Seattle.
Stoor was well-known in Ko
diak. He is survived by his
wife, Mary Ruth Stoor, a
daughter, Jeanne and a son,
Kenneth, of Tacoma.
Stoor was born in Seattle
and had served the Navy in
civilian personnel for over 13
years. Memorial services will
be held today at 1:30 pm at
the Hillside Chapel on Kodiak
Naval Station.
Former Kodiak CG
| Pilot DiesInCrasn
A Coast Guard ensign-pilot
! was killed Tuesday when his
plane crashed at the mouth of
the Mississippi River while on
a mercy mission.
Ensign Vernon Fleck, 32,
• former Aviation Pilot at Ko
diak CG Air Detachment was
j killed. His engineer and an
Air Force medic also died in
the accident.
Boy Scouts Stage
Big Encampment
Members of Boy Scout
Troops 625 and 626 are now
camping at Artillery Hill on
Kodiak Naval Station, Duane
Force, camp director, said
yesterday. There are 30 scouts
and six leaders in the gruop.
Boys from troop 626 include
Michael Bently, Burnell Bol
den, William Damery, Larry'
and Garry Findley, Kirby
Johnson, Roger Knight, Wil- ]
liam and Richard Knight, !
Robert Smith, Joseph Dunni-1
gan, Wickey Nachand, Robin!
Lund, Jerry Knight, Robert'
Melrose and James Lyons.
The members of Troop 625
are Gerald Clark, Billy Cum
mings, Mike Dailey, Merlin
Drinkall, Grant Hakenson, j
Robert Hartson, Richard Hux-;
table, John Kilgore, Nick Pop-j
off, Robert Smith, Ronald
Smith, Mike Swensen, Stanley
Thorsheim and Artie Torgram
sen.
Visitors Day will be Sunday,
July 12, during the afternoon
and evening.
Navy Cancels
Plane Search
The search for survivors of
the plane crash near Adak on
July 2 was abandoned late
Wednesday by the Navy. The
PBM Mariner is believed to
have crashed into the sea with ,
no survivors of the 12-man
crew. Evidence in the form of
life preservers and other e
quipment was found by sur
face craft searching the area. I
This was the scene on Chicago’s far northwest side
i (July 5) when 120 mm. shells exploded at an anti-aircraft
I site. The pyrotechnics display came one day too late to get in
| on the usual July 4th act. Capt. Clark Martin, duty officer of
I the anti-aircraft group, said a sentry reported lighting which
| hit a revertment started the fire and explosion.
(JP WIREPHOrt))
Discontinue Air Traffic;
Residents Sweep-Up Asii
Special to MIRROR
By Anchorage Times
Anchorage stumbled around
in darkness Thursday after
noon as ash from an erupting
volcano settled over Alaska’s
largest city.
A violent eruption occured
Thursday morning around 5:80
am at 11,050 foot Mount
Spurr, 78 miles west of Anch
orage. Smoke rose to 60 thou
sand feet and the wind carried
the ash over Anchorage where
it settled.
Between noon and two pm
Thursday “Anchorage was
blacked-out like a winter
night” Bernard Kosinski,
Anchorage Times editor, told
the Mirror by phone yester
day.
Three volcanoes were re
ported to be erupting. In the
Mount Spurr area there are
two other volcanoes shown on
most maps. They all tower a
round 11,000 feet.
Jet aircraft and other planes
based on Elmendorf Field
were dispersed to Ladd Air
Force Base in Fairbanks.
Commercial Airlines cancelled
all flights into and out of
Anchorage as the dust settled
on Elmendorf, Merrill and the
International Airport landing
strips.
A report from Anchorage
late Thursday said there were
Trident Also
Observes Fourth
Old Mount Trident didn’t let
down Alaskans over the
Fourth af July. We had fire
works but nothing spectacu
lar.
Reports of volcanic activity
in the Valley of Ten Thousand
Smokes alerted stateside resi
dents as well as local resi
dents.
Locally, night fireworks
were confined to a minimum.
A city.ordinance forbids (ver
boten) the use and display of
privately owned fireworks.
Reports early last week said
volcanic activity w^as increas
ing in the Valley of Ten Thou
sand’s Smokes. Late this week
volcanic activities was at a
low ebb from the International
famous peak.
Mrs. Bill Worth returned
home recently after spending
three weeks in the states. This
is her first trip outside in 1C
years. She visited her sister in
Richmond, Calif.
four inches of ash on Elmen
dorf runways and from one
half to one inch in the streets
of Anchorage.
The first report of the erup
tion was given by Major Mor
ris Crepeau of the Air Force
who said Mount Spurr “blew”
at 5:30 am. Thursday morning.
The Civil Aeronautics Admini
stration immediately issued a .
warning for all aircraft to
stay out of the vicinity.
Around 3^30 pm the CAA
reported another eruption.
Earlier the sun had broken
j through the cloud moraen
I tarily. Anchorage merchants
began “policing up” the ash.
Bob Reeve of Reeve Aleutian
Airways, shoveled a 10 by 7
foot area and said he got 34
oounds of dust. The U. S.
Fish and Wildlife Service at
Lake Hood Seaplane base re
ported 2,834 pounds of dust
per acre fell in two hours.
The native village of Tyo
nek, with 90 to 130 population
reported one half inch of dust
The village is the closest town
to the volcano.
Kosinski said there was a
slight sulphur odor in the air
at Anchorage which burned
the eyes and throats. Anchor
age health officials noted no
significant change in the city
water system and saw no dan
ger unless the eruptions con
tinued.
1 No ash fell on Kodiak. How
jever, longtime residents re
membered the famous 1912 e
ruption of Katmai.
Late yesterday the dust was
only faint in Anchorage and
the sun was shining, Kosinski
said.
Reports of the eruption rol
led into Kodiak over Pacific
Northern Airlines teletype all
day Thursday and yesterday.
They were planning to resume
Anchorage to Kodiak opera
tions as soon as conditions
permitted.
Northwest Airlines had a
6 pm flight scheduled yester
day out of Anchorage.
The grey volcanic dust cov
ered an area approximately
15,000 square miles. Military
planes were reported patrol
ling the area late yesterday
for renewed activity.
Navy Radio Station WVCQ
was flooded with information
requests following the in'tial
announcement of the eruption
Thursday. The station contin
ued to give bulletins and re
ports Friday.