HIGHLIGHTS OF 1962
(Continued from Pape 4)
JUNE
• Three separate petitions from
the SHkok Valley area near Sol
dotna and the Sterling and Funny
River areas were filed asking re
moval of Alaska’s free grazing
law. These were subsequently
passed.
The State Highway Commis
sioner recommended that more
roads of the Class C type be built
on the Kenai Peninsula.
Standard Oil Co. of Calif, began
construction on its $10 million re
finery at Nikiski on June 19 fol
lowing a ground breaking cere
mony attended by top state and
company officials.
The Cheechako News installed
a Fairchild Scan-a-graver to re
produce pictures in the paper. It
was the eighth such machine in
the state and the only one on the
Peninsula.
The somewhat controversial is
sue as to possible location of the
proposed high school was discus
sed at length by advisory board
members and representatives of
the State Department of Educa
tion.
The Area Redevelopment Ad
ministration gave provisional ap
proval to the over-all economic
development program for the Ke
nai Peninsula-Cook Inlet Redevel
opment Area.
Pan American’s exploratory
well Middle Ground Shoal No. 1
blew out and natural gas contin
ued to escape in increasing vol
ume until bubbling water formed
a geyser.
A petition to incorporate the
Peninsula into a borough of the
second class was vetoed and more
study recommended before the
Borough Study Group makes a
decision.
New or improved airports at
Kasilof, Ninilchik, Swanson Riv
ID
WITH YOUR LOCAL
INSURANCE AGENT
LEO T. OBERTS
Phone 28$7591
Oberts if-j: !
Box 458 Kenai, Alaska
f
er, Homer, Kenai, Seward and
Soldotna were listed in the 1962
Federal Aviation Agency plan for
Alaska.
Kenai’s 20-year plan for city de
velopment was in the completion
stage.
A total of 986 commercial fish
ing licenses were issued in Cook
Inlet area. Commercial salmon
fishing began June 7 at 6 a.m.
without the expected trouble over
fishing sites.
JULY
Soldotna got its first drug store
with the opening of Soldotna
Drugs in the Viilage Shopping
Center with Toby Buckler as
owner-manager.
Top officials of the Interior
Department visited the Kenai
National Moose Range in response
to suits being brought by oil men
to open the area for drilling.
The Ninilchik Rocreo Associa
tion once again staged a top
notch entertainment on July 4.
Unusually high and swift wa
ters of the Kenai River presented
threat of isolation and possible
flooding to homes of several Sol
dotna area families.
Application for 57 building per
mits in Kenai in recent months
reflected increasing construction
activity.
A crackdown on reckless driv
ers was announced by local troop
ers and 13 juveniles were cited
for speeding. One teen-age driver
faced reckless driving charges af
ter a car-tanker crash at Mile
105 on the Sterling Highway.
F and W Construction Co., An
chorage, entered the low bid of
$188,090 for construction of a
six-classroom addition to the Sol
dotna school.
Ground was broken in Soldotna
for erection of a rustic type tour
ist center.
The state’s veteran’s prefer
ence land auction of lots in the
newly developed Slikok Creek
Subdivision garnered $26,775 for
Alaska schools. The state’s first
venture in the real estate busi
ness was developed on a school
section.
In the same sale and lease auc
tion, Farmers Feed Milling: and
processing cooperative assoc.
purchased a commercial-industri
al lease on 25 acres in Sports
Lake area.
Over 100 homes and businesses
in Soldotna were already convert
ed to natural gas.
Salmon were jumping on beach
es and streams and a banner year
catch was predicted.
First Federal Savings and Ixian
Association opened its new Kenai
branch with Ray Hartlieb as lo
. cal manager. Wildwood Motors,
the Peninsula’s newest automo
tive service establishment, also
opened in July.
Soldotna observed its annual
* {prcKfress. celebration with a
mile long parade led by a 30-piece
Air Force band and Gov. William
l
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RIDGEWAY __
A. Egan. The Soldotna Public Li
brary held an open house and be
gan service to the community.
The man-powered boat race down
the Kenai River was another at
traction of the busy weekend.
AUGUST
Federal funds amounting to
nearly $88,000 were approved for
extension and expansion of the
Soldotna Airport.
Increased activity was reported
in Kenai Peninsula oilfields with
three new locations staked in ad
dition to reworking of other wells
by Santa Fe Drilling Co. in Swan
son River Field. Exploratory drill
ing was underway in the Beluga
River area across the Inlet.
Fire claimed the life of a Ke
nai fisherman, Robert Pederson,
in his cabin home. Across the
Inlet a 13-year-old boy, William
O’Neill, brother of Mrs. Bill Card
well of the Soldotna Theatre,
drowned when rough water in
Kvichak River threw him from a
skiff, while at Seldovia another
fisherman, Phillip Lee Bowen,
was drowned.
Kenai was busy renovating an
ancient hand-hewn log cabin, dat
ing to days of Russian occupation,
into a tourist information centei\
In Soldotna, the Farmers Home
Administration opened n field of
fice on Aug. 20 and in Kenai the
City of Kenai received approval
of a $22,000 advance for the pre
liminary planning of a senior
high school estimated to cost
$1,800,000.
At Seward, improvement of the
water system and the small boat
harbor took place while Homer
staged its annual fair.
The 1062 Kenai Days Fair with
its theme of “Black Gold” was
rated one of the most successful
events held in the area.
The primary election was held
Aug. 14 with Peninsula voters fol
lowing the general state trend
favoring party nominees.
A natural gas blowout on a se
cond well in Cook Inlet w’as still
out of control and drilling opera
tions halted. Oil eruption alarm
ed area fishermen, who pressed
action for tightened drilling re
strictions on offshore wells for
(Continued on Page 6)
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