News of 'America \ Last rrontier
VOL. 16 NO. 29
KODIAK. ALASKA JULY 21, 1956
PRICE 10 CENTS
New City Clerk
Assumes Duties
Nick Frost, the new City Clerk
took over his duties last Monday
He arrived from Pontiac, Michi
gan, Saturday.
Frost is no newcomer to Kodiak
He was born here in June of 1923
He is the son of Tom J. Frost and
has four brothers residing in Ko
diak. He was accompanied here
by his 'wife, Margaret, who was
formerly Miss Margaret Sharpe ol
Royal Oak, Michigan. They were
married in Royal Oak in 1953
They have a daughter, Lynette,
aged 1 year and 3 weeks.
Nick received his early educa
tion at the Kodiak High School
< in the period from 1937 and 1942.
He spent three and a half years
in the Army, most of which time
was spent along the ' Aleutian
Chain and Nome.
Following his stint in the.ser
vice, he enrolled at the Marin Jun
ior College at Kentfield, Cali
fornia.. He continued on to the
San Francisco State College, a
teachers college, where he com
pleted his business training.
Following his education, he se
cured a position with General Mo
tors, in 1951, in their truck and
coach branch at Pontiac, Michigan.
He was in the accounting section
of the automotive company.
Frost states he has no previous
experience in City government.
He is being indocrinated by the
present acting City Clerk, Mrs.
Margaret Harding. He thinks he is
going to like the work. He likes
Kodiak and It is just like coming
home to him. He states his wife
Margaret likes Kodiak, too, in the
short period she has’been here.
John Lawhead Dies
Has Heart Attack
John Q. Lawhead, aged 70, died
at the home of his son, Donald,
Wednesday morning following a
heart attack.
The deceased was formerly a
farmer, but had retired about ten
years ago. He was born in 1885 in
Cainesville, Missouri. He and his
wife Minerva were visiting their
sons here the past several weeks.
The body was taken to Van
couver, Washington, Thursday af
ternoon for burial. Mrs. Lawhead
accompanied by her son Harold
and his wife, Vivian, left for the
Washington city.
He leaves to mourn his passing
his wife Minerva: two daughters
Mrs. Hazel Clark of Vancouver
Washington and Mrs. Nell Callen
der, Lima, Peru; four sons, Har
old and Donald of Kodiak; Roger
Ridgefield Washington and Nor
val residing at Vancouver, Wash
ington. A brother, Wilbur, and a
sister Mrs. Nellie Cook, also of
Vancouver, survive the deceased.
KITTY BRIGGS IMPROVING
Mrs. Kitty Briggs, wife of Post
master Maurice Briggs, was taker
to Griffin Memorial Hospital late
Sunday night.
Mr. Briggs stated that she is suf
fering from nervous tension and
high blood pressure. Her condition
has improved and she may return
to her home today or tomorrow.
First Award Made
For Safe Driving
A safe driving award was given
to Andrew E. Deason, 1380 Pine
Crescent, Aleutian Homes. This is
the first award made in the recent
ly announced safe driving cam
paign.
Deason drives a 1956 Ford, Ala
bama license 1A-25229. He is a
serviceman. Chief Vickery says he
is one of the few that observe safe
driving.
The campaign is jointly support
ed by PNA, the Orpheum Theatre
and the Police Department. The
cited driver can claim his award
at the Police Station at any time.
• '-r
City Garage Burns
The City Garage, located near
the City Dock, was almost com
pletely destroyed by fire Tuesday
evening. T%e«fire-broke out about
5:35 p. m. and was believed caused
by an electrical short.
Immediate response by the Fire
Department saved much of the
equipment in the building. The
Defense pumper, erroneously re
ported as destroyed in an Anchor
age paper, was saved. The wiring,
tires and equipment on it are all
in good condition, requiring main
ly a coat of paint to put it back in
good condition.
Another truck was also saved.
The stockroom suffered little dam
age. The main loss was personal
tools belonging to Mill Vokacek,
City Water Superintendent.
Danger to nearby warehouses
and the City Dock were great, be
cause of their close proximity.
2200 feet of hose were used, and
the main source of supply of water
was pumped from the ocean.
Nine Year Old
Has Bad Fall
Michael O’Reilly, age nine, was
hanging onto a rope tied to a tree
branch, swinging out over a 10 to
12 foot cliff, when the rope broke
and he plummetted to the jagged
rocks below. A group of playmates
witnessed the accident, which hap
pened Monday noon along the
beach back of Holman’s Garage on
Mission Road. His younger broth
er, Danny, rushed to the nearby
home of the boys’ parents, Mr. and
Mrs. James O’Reilly, to tell their
mother of the mishap.
Mrs. O’Reilly immediately called
the city police for assistance. Due
to mechanical difficulties with the
police patrol car radio, Chief
Vickery was unable to talk to the
patrolmen, John Boucher and Joe
Taylor.
Chief Chew and Richard Wells,
being on duty at the Shore Patrol
office, at once set out for the
scene of the accident in the Shore
Patrol ambulance.
In the meantime, Boucher and
Taylor had arrived at the police
station and followed the ambu
lance within minutes.
At first, it was thought Mike’s
back was broken, and it was de
cided not to put him in a prone
position. He was wrapped in
blankets and placed in the bed
of a pickup truck, and rushed to
(Continued to Page 9)
Mayor Johnson
Returns to City
Ole Johnson returned from Chi
cago, where he attended the Elks
Convention held there July 8 to
12. He is Deputy Grand Exalted
Ruler, and attended in that capaci
ty.
Ole reported that Kodiak had the
largest representation from Alas
ka at the Convention. Among those
attending from Kodiak were Jay
and Martha Wolf, Herb and Flora
Speigel, Bud and Nita Metzgar.
Bud is Exalted Ruler of the local
lodge.
While in Chicago, Ole appeared
on the radio program, Don Mc
Neil and His Breakfast Club. He
managed to work in a little pub
licity for Kodiak, he said,
Following the convention, John
son visited his father in Minne
sota. On the West Coast he visited
with the Roy Madsens and Lee
Bettinger, Jr. The latter is con
nected with the Coastwise Steam
ship Line.
The Mayor stopped off in Juneau
enroute home and conferred with
Thomas Mooney, head of APW, on
the construction of the addition to
the City reservoir. He said an at
tempt is being made to get the
project on this years budget of
APW. Johnson also conferred with
Governor Heintzleman while in
the capital city.
More Buildings
To Be Torn Down
Capt. R. B. Krum of District
Public Works has announced an
invitation to bid on the removal
of several buildings on the Naval
Station.
Description of the work is as
follows: Demolition and removal
of one 4-family dwelling, 1 mess
hall, 1 dry cleaning plant and 7
one-story warehouses.
All buildings are of wood frame
construction supported on concrete
foundations, concrete pier founds
tions or wood blocks.
Bidding information may be ob
tained from the District Public
Works office. Bids will be received
until 3 p. m., August 8.
Game Regulation» To Bo Available Soon
The new Alaska Game and Game
Fish Regulations have been ap
proved by the Secretary of Inter
ior and will be available for dis
tribution in the very near future,
according to Will Troyer of the
FWS.
This year Alaska has been divid
ed into 26 Wildlife Management
Units. These were created to fa
cilitate the Fish and Wildlife Ser
vice in managing the wildlife more
intensively. Unit number 8 will
consist of Kodiak Island, Afognak
Island and that portion of the
mainland between Cape Douglas
and Kujuluk Bay. No changes
have been made in last years
game-fish regulations and last
years seasons and bag limits on
fish for this area will remain in
effect. Some big game seasons
have been relaxed. The deer sea
son in this unit Will be open from
Hardings To Leave
On The Expansion
Ernie and Margaret Harding will
leave over the weekend after
three and a half years residence
here, and will vacation for the
next three months. They will leave
tomorrow or Monday on the Ex
pansion for Seward, shipping their
car to that point. From Seward
they will drive to Seattle, where
they will visit their families for
two or three weeks.
They will then drive to Detroit,
Michigan to attend the Toastmast
er* Convention the latter part of
August. From Detroit they*plan
to go to New York City and Wash
ington, D. C. Next on their itiner
ary is a visit with Capt. and Mrs.
Walter Lang in Virginia.
The Hardings’ plan to spend a
few weeks in Florid# before re
turning to the West Coast.
Tentative plans have been made
to drive to San Salvador, El Sal
vador, South America, to visit
Jerry and Phyllis Dodd, who re
cently went there from Kodiak.
Ernie has been in charge of the
Insurance Department of the
Bank of Kodiak since their arrival
here. Margaret has been employed
by the City of Kodiak as Junior
Accountant the past two years.
She has been Acting City Clerk
the past few weeks.
Ernie and Margaret stated they
have made no definite plans as to
where they will live after they end
their vacation.
PAST OFFICER OF LEGION
VISITS LOCAL POST
i Walter W. Smith of Juneau
Spent a few days in Kodiak this
week. Smith has been Department
Service Officer, Adjutant and Fi
nance Officer of the American Le
gion the past two years.
He came to Kodiak at the re
quest of the newly elected De
partment Commander, Wardic W.
King, to confer with officials of
the local Legion Post.
Smith, who is a former news
paper man, hopes to begin writing
a series of articles on the histori
cal background of some of the old
er Alaskan towns, including Ko
diak and Sitka. He stated that he
has been doing research on the
subject for a number of yearsfc
August 20 until October 15 giving
a two weeks extension over last
years season. Another five days
were added to last years open elk
season, which will make this
years season from Sept. 1 to Sep
tember 20.
For those interested in hunting
moose in the Anchorage and Kenai
areas, most of the early seasons
will start on August 20 and dose
Sept. 20. A late season will be
held in the Kenai area from Nov.
20 to Nov. 30 and in the Anchor
age area from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30.
Most of the sheep seasons if! the
Interior will start on Aug. 20 and
close on Sept. 10, with the ®4 curl
law still in effect. No open sheep
season is scheduled on the Kenai
Peninsula. For any further infor
mation on this years regulations,
call the Fish and Wildlife Service
at 4294.
Along The
Waterfront
Canneries along the waterfront
are having small spasmodic activi
ty, but so far the fish picture is
not too bright. Most boats are out
on the grounds, with some leaving
every day.
King Crab, Inc., had mild activi
ty with 8000 chums on Tuesday
and 6000 fish processed on Friday
The Majestic and the Totem were
the two boats in.
Pete Deveau at the Island Sea
foods reports three boats in with
a small quantity of fish. These
were the Seldovia, - the Eldorado
and the Eskimo. The Eldorado re
cently returned from the .States,
and is now equipped with new
steel tanks and radar. Pete'says it
is nice to be able to walk along
the dock without the fear of fall
ing through, now that the new
planking has been put in.
Jack Johnson, wharfinger at the
City Dock is looking forward to a
busy week. The Expansion is due
in Sunday or Monday, heading for
Seward. Wednesday he expects the
Coastal Rambler in with about
580 tons of freight. The Lucidor
will follow close behind. She will
pull in the following day with a
big load of freight. On the 27th
Jack expects a scow with a big
load of materia! and equipment
for the contractors.
The warehouse at the City Dock
is getting stacked with cases off
salmon, but of course, is by no
means bulging at the seams as yet,
The Alaska Standard, Standard
Oil Company tanker pulled in at
the Company’s dock yesterday, and
is now unloading fuel.
The Columbia, an American hal
ibut boat, is in for radar repairs.
The Margaret No. 1 was in over
the weekend. Pete Parkvold is
skipper of this Canadian boat,
which came in for fuel and need
ed supplies. Crew members report
sea lions taking a heavy toll of
halibut, with as much as 75% of
the fish having been partially eat
en by these residents of the sea
They were reported by several
boats, some of them going down
90 to 130 fathoms to get their hali
DUt.
The Logger, a San Juan Cannery
barge, was in over the weekend
Capt. Larsen is the skipper. He de
parted with a load of Filipinos
aboard and needed supplies for
the cannery. The Paragon was tied
up on the weekend. This is the
boat carrying a staff of biologists
making a fisheries study.
‘‘Nothing exciting” is the way
Frank McConaghy : t Halferty’s
Cannery sums up the fishing oper
ation this year so far. There have
been a few boats in with fish but
of course, nothing like last year.
He. along with othe’- cannery op
erators, have adopted a wait and
see policy.
Leo and Ray Sears left for the
fishing grounds in their c ly con
structed jitney. This is a new
"humpy hearse” added to Kodiak’s
fleet. It is equipped with a jet
propelled pump, and the crew is
gradually getting the bugs out
She is called the Falcon and fish
ing will be done using Bill Polands
(Continued on Page 12;