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rrNew$ of oAmencas Last FrontierJ
VOL 12 NO 15
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KODIAK, ALASKA JUNE 14 1952
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PRICE 10 GENTS
Young Marine Shot
While Standing Guard
An 18-year old Marine was
killed in a gun accident while
standing guard duty at the
rear (Ghiniak) gate at Kodiak
Naval Station Saturday night.
He was shot through the chest
by a 39-year old companion
who was attempting to un
cock his .45 automatic.
PFC Dean M. Fagyal, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen V.
Fagyal of St. Louis, Missouri,
died instnntly when the heavy
slug entered his chest.
* Lt. Col. Milton G. Conkin,
commander of the Marine
Detachment, said there were
three Marines on duty at the
gate when the incident oc
cured. One of the Marines
called anothers attention to
his open holster flap, accord
ing to Col. Cokin, and when
he withdrew the automatic to
uncock it, the gun fired kill
ing PFC Fagyal instantly.
A Marine Board of Investi
gation to examine the circum
stances surrounding the acci
dent was held.
The body was sent to the
stares and at the request of
the parents will be buried in
the National Cemetery at Ar
lington, Virginia.
Walls Installed
On Building
The “pre-fab” concrete
sections of the Kodiak Clean
ers building were erected this
week by workmen of the
Shupp, Chase and Tolbert
Construction Co.
The nine by twelve foot
concrete sections are six
inches th’ck and were poured, j
allowed to harden and then J
hauled to the site of the new I
building.
This is the first “pre-fab”
concrete building to be con
structed here. Several regu
larly poured concrete buildings
have been built here by the
company.
Local Business
Gets RFC Loan
The RFC has approved the
following loans in the month
of May: Marshall and Agnes
Crutcher, dba. Kodiak Hotel,
Kodiak, Alaska, alterations,
$15,000; James D. Madsen and
Leroy Johnson, dba Taku
Fisheries, salmon cannery,
$20,000.
Others are The Pioneer
Hardware, Homer, Alaska,
fora new building, $28,000;
Buffalo Coal Mining Co., An
chorage, to rehabilitate and
equip mine, $425,775.
I
Health Nurse
Resigns Position
The Town of Kodiak badly
need* the services of a trained
sanitarian, Miss Virginia Mc
Mullen, public health nurse,
told the city council Thursday
night.
Miss McMullen earlier an
nounced that she was resign
ing her position effective
August 1. She informed the
council that the health nurse
| job here was big enough for
two nurses.
“Almost every person who
visits my office has complaints
that are entirely outside those
duties required by my office, ”
Miss McMullen said.
She said she also receives
numerous complaints about
indiscriminate garbage dump
ing and that poor sanitary
I practices have been observed
in many restaurants and eat
ing establishments in Kodiak.
In urging the city to employ
a sanitarian she was emphatic
in pointing out that one be
1 hired as soon as possible. She
urged the council to continue
the rat control problem as one
of the prime safeguards to the
neaitn oi tne community.
Miss McMullen plans to sub
mit a copy of her quarterly re
port to the council. She also
pointed out the great need for
suitable quarters for transient
TB patients who arrive here
from around the island. Many
times a patient must wait in
Kodiak for several days before
transportation is available for
the trip to a sanitarium.
Former Teachers
In Town
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Ko
gan and son stopped briefly
in Kodiak this week. They
have been at Perryville, A
laska, on the Alaska Penin
sula, teaching the past year
for the Alaska Native Ser
vice.
They were enroute to Se
ward aboard the Garland,
westward mailboat, and will
go to Koyuk, Alaska, for
another ANS assignment.
The Rogans are former
teachers in the Kodiak Public
School.
Miss Lorraine Magnusen
gave a bridal shower at her
home yesterday evening for
Miss Gail Blankenburg who
will be married on June 19.
Mrs. Anna Marie Mitchel
is working as a waitress at the
Polar Bear Cafe.
t
Marti installed
As C of C Head
J. G. Martz was installed as
president of the Chamber of
Commerce Thursday. He re
places Merrill Coon who has
been president of the group
for the past two years.
Martz pledged himself to
reducing- the “long boresome
talks which have taken up so
much time during some of the
past meetings.”
During the discussion period
the members discussed the
need for additional nursing
service and doctor service in
Kodiak. It was pointed out
that one health nurse was not
enough and that with the in
crease in population another
doctor was needed.
A motion to give the full
support of the chamber to the
Health and Welfare Council’s
investigation to the nursing
and care needs of the com
munity was approved by the
members.
Local Woman
Dies Saturday
Mrs. Mary Cope Wills, 73, a
Kodiak resident for the past
ten years, died Saturday at
the home of her daughter,
Mrs. William Fitzgerald.
Mrs. Wills had been in
poor health since a fall over a
year ago, and had planned to
leave this week to enter a
nursing home in Seattle.
Funeral services were held
Tuesday afternoon at the Rus
sian Orthodox Church, con
ducted by Father Alexander
Popoff.
Mrs. Wills was born on
April 3, 1879, at Kenai, the
daughter of Henry Proctor
Cope, who owned a trading
post there.
As a child she went to San
Francisco, and attended school
there, but came to Kodiak to
join her family when she was
12.
In 1900 she married Capt.
W. J. McDonnell. She later
married Frank Wills.
Mrs. Wills lived in the in
terior, at McCarthy, for many
years, in Idaho and California,
and came to Kodiak about ten
years ago.
She is survived by the fol
lowing children: Mrs. Verna
Hardy of Oak Harbor, Wash.
Mrs. Tom Gilmore, Cordova,
Arthur and Walter McDon
nell of Anchorage, Mrs. Fitz
gerald and Mrs. Barney Cor
gatelli. Kodiak, and Frank
Wills, Jr., of California. Also
surviving are 16 grandchildren
and one great-grandchild.
Pallbearers for Mrs. Wills
were Paul Swanson, Jess
Blinn, George Magnusen, and
Bryan Thorsheim.
Strike Hurts Business;
Emergency Vessel Asked
Reds Run Heavy
At Cordova
Cordova is having one of
the heaviest salmon runs in
28 years. Almost every resi
dent of town has helped in
the catching, canning and
shipping of the salmon.
Late figures set the take of
salmon at around 900,000 from
the Copper River area. Most
of the salmon are taken by
gill net. The reported price of
the red salmon on the fishing
grounds is $1.15.
The catch will give can
neries around 80,000 cases
which has been estimated to
worth two million dollars.
The run at Cordova is the
greatest since 1921. Thursday,
Roy Lindsley, U. S. Fish and
Wildlife Service representa
tive, received notice that the
fishing season in Cook Inlet
has been lengthened.
The closure in the inlet is
now from 6 am Saturday to 6
am Tuesday.
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Sales Tax Again
Anchorage—The city and
the school district sales taxes
were both again defeated in
Tuesday’s special election.
Although both measures re
ceived a majority of “yes”
votes inside the city, the city
sales tax for street and build
ing improvements lacked 27
votes of the 55 per cent neces
sary to carry.
The school tax passed by a
large majority in the city but
was again defeated by an
overwhelming number of
“no” votes outside the city
limits but inside the district.
In the April 29 election the
city was nine votes short of
passing its sales tax while the
school district lacked 1411
votes.
The city proposition asked
for a one per cent tax on sales
and services in the city to
raise money for street im
provements, municipal build -
ings and a civic center.
M K/n Ullitiai I ■ ci c
Miss Anna Caldaris, district
nursing supervisor for the A
laska Department of Health,
headquarters Anchorage, was
in Kodiak for several days.
She was here to confer with
Miss Virginia McMullen, pub
lie health nurse, and to dis
cuss with the city council mat
ters concerning the Health
Center building.
a special committee nas
been organized as a nucleus
of a Seattle citizens group to
work out a program of relief
for Alaskan cities suffering
because of the shipping strike.
Thomas W. Pelly has been
named chairman of the Se*
attle-Alaska Lifeline Com
mittee.
The immediate objective is
to get ships moving to and
from Alaska pending the set
tlement of the Pacific Mari
time Association and the
Sailor’s Union of the Pacific
negotiations.
Meanwhile, the strike ha.11
resulted in a shortage of
potatoes and other commodi
ties in Kodiak.
While no serious shortage of
drugs and medical supplies is
evident here the two local
drug stores have been receiv
ing merchandise by air.
In Nome, business men
struck bacK at Harry Lunde
berg, SUP boss, for his ques
tioning of their sincerity in
asking for the release of a
ship for Nome cargoes.
Anchorage business men
appealed to the government
to take action to cut short the
strike which threatens the en
tire construction season in A
laska.
Boy Scout Troop
Holds Meet
The committee of Troop
526, Boy Scouts of America,
met at the home of Walter Se
well on the Naval Station Fri
day evening to discuss plans
for a summer camp and the
establishing of a troop pro
gram.
Tony Perez, new committee
member, was appointed ad
vancement chairman.
A reception immediately
following the wedding of Miss
Sonja Sue Thorsheim and Wil
liam Downhour will be held in
the basement of the Russian
Orthodox Church tomorrow.
Earlier it was announced
that the reception would be
held at the home of the bride’s
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bryan
Thorsheim.
An earthquake was felt iib
town and at the Naval Station
around 4 pm. yesterday.
No serious damage was re
ported.
The Elk’s Club baseball
team will play its first game
of the season tomorrow at Ko
diak Naval Station. The game
is scheduled to start a'; 3 pm.