. i Kodtcrkmmmz
Published every Saturday at Kodiak.Alaska
Yearly Subscription Rate$5.00 Ji 's
Entered in the Pc> toffice at Kodiak, Alaska as Second
Class matter under act of Congress of March 3, 1878
THE ISLAND PUBLISHING COMPANY
Si" J. 1 igree. Editor and Publisher
Betha Digree, Associate Editor
MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
he Associated Press is exclusivel. entitled to the use or republics
;on ui all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in
this paper and also the local news published herein.
a of (America s Last 'frontur
Fun And Prizes
Its not too early to think about
your plans for the 4th of July.
Tile various committees arranging
the ft vents are working hard and
long these days to make the cele
bration* the biggest ever in Kodiak.
That’s a high mark to shoot at
with last years celebration fresh
itt otfr minds. The combination of
*n excellent program of events
and a glorious day as far as weath
er made it truly memorable.
This being kids day, and design
ed mostly for the youngsters pleas
ure, its up to as grownups to see
that the day is packed with fun
for them. There is a lot of ex
“WPA For Misinformation”
s' The rafters of the “Cradle of
,Liberty,” Boston's historic Faneuil
•Hall, rang again the other night
With impassioned protest as Eu
t&he W: Castle, reporter, world
traveler and contributing editor of
• Afherican Mercury sounded off—
tfpf against a cruel monarch, but
a bungling Administration: and
odt against a tax on tea, but the
tax of 700 million dollars over the
past decade for foreign propagan
da that has also “cost us the re
spect of tens of millions of foreig
ners who were once our friends.
“Now,” declared Mr Castle, re
ferring to the US Information
Agency, “new demands are being
pade to enlarge our g ’.eminent
WPA for Misinformation. The
propaganda campaign that has
failed us so miserably in Europe
is now to be enlarged and trans
ferred to the Near East and Asia.
For this the Executive Depart
ment has the effrontery to demand
that the Congress appropriate tn
I increase of nearly 50 million dol
lars (the 1955 appropriation was
A7 million) for a useless project
that is already over-budgeted by
more than 50 million dollars.”
But, as indicated by the title of
his address, “Are We Headed for
Don’ts On Persons Going Swimming
The warmer weather prevailing,
the young fry, at least many of
them, are heading for the ole’
iwimmjn’ hole. Here is some time
ly advice on swimming from a
man who knows. Chief of Police
Vickery, who served as lifeguard
on several Eastern beaches, has
submitted the following entitled
“Dotl’ts On Persons Going Swim
ming."
1. After strenuous exercise,
rest* and cool off before going
swimming.
2. Know your limitations and
stay within them
3. Never swim alone: Always
have another swimmer with you.
4. Obey all warning signs. They
ire there for your protection.,
5. Don't attempt a rescue in the
pense connected with arranging
events, and one in particular is
prize money Everyone can have
a hand in seeing that the commit
tees have sufficient funds to* put
on a celebration worthy of the
name. Merchants have given gen
erously to this end, but we would
like to call to your attention the
many jars scattered around town,
where those nickels and dimes can
be deposited—they might just add
up to the right amount to make
this event in a child’s life a pleas
ant one. Whether nickel, dime or
quarter—they'!! all help.
Bankruptcy and War?", Mr. £astle
is equally concerned with the 57
billion dollars we have given to
foreign nations in the past eleven
years, and the desire of the Ad
ministration to continue foreign
aid indefinitely—as indicated in
the President’s request for Con
gressional authority to make "long
term” committments in this field.
The speaker cited a long list of
our ridiculous extravagances in
foreign aid, and summed up with
words that somehow seem especi
ally appropriate to Faneuil Hall.
"And so it goes merrily on, while
our Federal debt sours to the
skies. Today our indebtedness
equals the value of all the land,
homes, factories, machinery, cars,
every thing of tangible value with
in the United States. And that is
the best reason I can give you
why we can no longer uphold the
world and hold ourselves together.
And it is the best reason l can
give you why no more billions
should be appropriated for for
eign aid. It should be ended with
the seven billion dollars already
in the pipeline, in Washington.
‘‘After that we should remove
the pipes!”
water unless you're a strong swim
mer, skilled in life-saving
6. Stay out of small boats if you
can’t swim.
7. If you have to race in the
water, be sure you race towards
shore, because if you become ex
hausted you will then be able to
stand.
8. Don’t try to swim against
strong currents. Swim across
them, toward shore.
9. Don’t go swimming where
there are heavy growths of weeds,
lily pads, or kelp, they’re danger
ous entanglements.
10. Never dive into unknown
waters. Fatal dangers may ludk
there. Know your water before
you dive.
Kodiak’s raa&»
Being Neglected /!
By William La to me
Kodiak's past, especially it’s
rich archeological background is
remaining woefully uriexplored;
)he ocean is/washing away valu
able digging sites; old-timers in
local villages, who have memories
of a different culture and who
know the old myths, are rapidly
dying off without a record of then
knowledge being made; reports of
burial caves and mummies on the
island are not being investigated;
strange rock carvings at Alitak
and Afognak have been only frag
mentarily reported on: nearly 200
old village digging sites go unex
plored, with many secrets of the
reportedly cannibalistic ancient
race of the island locked under
ground.
These were the charges advanc
ed by Donald Clark, recent gradu
ate of the University of Alaska
and son of Mr. and Mrs. Basil
Clark of this city, at the regular
meeting of the Kodiak and Aleu
tian Islands Historical Society
Tuesday night at the high school.
What makes it worse, he said,
is that so much dependency must
be placed on the excavations of
Dr. Ales Hrdlicka at Uyak Bay
which are reported in his famed
book “The Anthropology of Ko
diak Island.” Quoting other ex
perts in the field to back his con
tention, Mr. Clark said Dr. Hrd
licka's methods of uncovering
sites and recording information
during his explorations on Kodiak
Island did not meet the present
exacting standards of archeology,
with the results that much of the
facts were not properly related.
Also Dr. Hrdlicka’s habit of attach
ing imaginative labels and guesses
to many of his finds may be mis
leading.
The local historical society, Mr.
Clark said, should adopt a long
range plan to make surveys, in
cluding photos, of all the island
sites so as to interest digging par
ties from the major universities
to come to this area. He also ree
ommenaea salvage excavations m
partially destroyed sites to acquire
artifacts for the proposed muse
um. He said, further, excavations
shouid be made on the north, mid
dle apd south ends because of the
differences of culture within the
Kodiak Island area. As an example
he cited the discovery of pottery
in old sites on the south of the is
land, while none has been found
further north here.
Interviews should be made with
old inhabitants, especially in the
more remote villages, to obtain
racial and folklore history, and
early place names, he said He
quoted Dali, who reported around
1870 of seeing a mummy on Ko
diak Island, dressed in a gut skin
suit, and other reports of cave
burials, known in the Aleutians,
but so far unestablished here, as
being among the things to be in
vestigated.
Speaking of lack of funds for
such work, Clark said strong ^ef
fort should be made locally , to
ease the economic strain on arhy
expedition coming to Kodiak. He
mentioned the possibility of army
and navy aid, especially in provid
ing transportation for field par
ties
In connection with his talk, Mr.
Clark presented a display of his
own collection of artifacts, rang
ing from early harpoon points, lip
ornaments, lamps and Alitik pot
tery to objects introduced into
the area by the early Russian set
tlers.
The historical society will ob
serve its annual summer vacation
and the next meeting will be held
on the third Tuesday in Septem
ber, President Zora Wilson an
nouaced,
Mailboat Crew Edits
Nfew Chain Newspaper
Congratulations are in order.
When a new enterprise is start
ed, and a good job is made of it,
we like to voice a hearty congratu
lations. The M/V Expansion’s
Skipper, Capt. Neils Thomsen, is
the Editor, and he and members
of his crew have done an excellent
job on the first issue of a news
paper for the Aleutian chain. It
is entitled 'The Mailboat Moni
tor.”
The little four page paper is
crammed full of news of the Aleu
tian Island villages, and is writ
ten in a spritely manner, with a
laugh here and there. Its general
tone is one of hom^y friendliness,
even to the point of a lovelorn
column.
Page three, entitled ‘‘Chain
Gang” covered the Aleutian quite
well with news of people in the
remote areas of Chignik, Perry
ville, Sandpoint, Unga, Belkotski,
Paulof Harbor, Aktutan, Shernof
ski. Cold Bay and Nikolski. It was
interesting to read about these
places, many of which we have
become familiar with from our
own mailing list.
Many of our subscribe.* in
these remote villages are going to
be surprised to learn the Kodiak
Mirror is no longer published, and
still, more than likely, receive
copies of same along with the
Monitor, it was either wishful
thinking on someones part, or neg
ligence in checking the facts, but
the Monitor gave out the informa
tion the Kodiak Mirror has sus
pended publication. This is about
as far from the truth as one can
get, as our staff has been working
a little harder than usual this
past month or so with two to four
extra pages to each addition. The
Monitor staff, we know, will en
joy putting out a paper but
they will also find writing the
news isn’t enough. Separating ihe
facts from the hearsay is as much
of the job of a reporter as the re
porting. Anyway, ‘^s Mark Twain
once said, when he read his own
obituary, the rumor "has been
grossly exaggerated.”
A “Friendship Club” has been
started by the crew of the Expan
sion. Pictures of single men and
women, eligible for matrimony,
are being taken in the various vil
lages along the mailboat course.
These in turn are put in a folder
with the names, ages and villages
under each picture. The folder is
posted in the salon on board the
ship, for all to see and get the nec
essary information to start corres
ponding. Instead of wedding bells
to beckon you„ listen for three
long blasts of the ship’s whistle,
go down to the ship, and pick
your future mate.
The first couple to be married
by this means will have little ex
pense connected with it, as the
Expansion’s owners will pay all
the wedding costs. The Club has
just been started, and already has
about twenty-two people in, divid
ed evenly between girls and boys.
The Club was started, according
to the paper, because some vil
lages have more girls than boys,
and in others the situation is re
versed.
The paper started, according to
the Editor, to save answering
questions about people in other
villages along the route. After
reading the first edition, it seems
there are going to be more ques
tions asked and answers to be giv
en than heretofore.
NOTICE
The Fourth of July Planning Committee of the Kodiak
Chamber of Commerce announces that neither the Chamber of
Commerce nor any individual Or committees can assume any
responsibility or liability for damages or injury to any specta
tor, participant or contestant. Everyone is urged to exercise
care and good judgement in celebration of this great day, and
while we join in commemorating our Declaration of Independ
ence, let’s resolve to keep Kodiak out of the fatal statistics
throughout the nation. A real holiday Fourth tan be just as
glorius without death or serious accident—Have fun, but be
careful.
Thrifty McBear Says.
Money isn’t everything but it is
the best thing we know of to help
you enjoy:
The Best Years of Your Lives
A growing savings account here
will be found most helpful.