Valdez News
VOL. 1. NO. 28
VALDEZ, ALASKA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22. 1950
PRICE 10c
Skating Resumed at Gym Under New Schedule
Boat Harbor Work
Nearly Finished,
Mr. Kelsey Says
Work on improvement of the
small boat harbor in Valdez is
nearly complete now, John Kel
sey of the Valdez Dock Company
announced this week. The Alas
ka Freight Lines barge which ar
rived on Sept. 8 found the new
dock ready for use, for the first
time.
Work at the dock, when com
pleted, will include the consturc
'’tion of a new 150-foot float, an
improved gangway and dock ap
proach, and dredging of the small
boat harbor area.
Authority for the job was first
received by the Valdez city coun
cil in early March. Bids for thd
work were opened on March 27,
with contractor George Date of
Cordova receiving the bid award.
Mr. Date bid SI 6.300 for the dock
improvements job.
Although not a part of this
year’s plans, the city council’s
next project at the Valdez Dock
is the construction of a seaplane
ramp. The ramp will greatly fa
cilitate handling of air traffic
there, the council hopes. Im
provement of the existing dock
approach is expected markedly to
improve the handling of motor
hauled freight handled over the
Valdez Dock, Mr. Kelsey said.
The volume of dock freight busi
ness has surged upward at a tre
mendous pace in the past year.
Cleaner Called Outside
By Wife's Illness |
Joe Davis, owner of Valdez
Cleaners was called to Lewiston,
Idaho, by the sudden illness of
his wife on Thursday, Sept. 14.
The summons was completely un
expected and Mr. Davies did not
know how long he would be
away.
During the owner’s absence,
Valdez Cleaners will be operated
by E. L. Silvertooth and Mrs.
Arnold Persinger.
ALASKA'S HIGHWAYS ARE ALLOWED
$30,000,000 FOR'51 PROGRAM
Alaska’s road construction pro
gram was allotted $20,400,000 in
cash and $3.000 000 in contract
authority for 1951, in the recent
general appropriation bill ap
proved bv C-mgr^ss. \n '■na
tional $2,600,000 was allowed for
road maintenance in the terri
tory.
According to Del. E. L. Bartlett
Vhe appropriations will permit
fhe following work next year:
(1) Continued work on the
Turnagain Arm Road.
(2) Further work on the Kenai- .
Homer highway.
(3) Continued construction on
the Eagle and Fortv Mile link
with the Alaska Highway.
(4) Continuance of construction
on the McKinley Park and Rich
ardson Highway connecting link.
(5) Further construction on the
Tok Cutoff.
(6) Continued surfacing of the
Richardson. Glenn, Tok and Alas
ka Highways.
V7) Construction of farm and
industrial roads in local areas.
(8) Surveys and plans for fur- j
ther road construction.
DA V Produces Thrill-Packed Movie
CINCINNATI — National Headquarters of the Disabled American
Veterans has announced an entertaining musical film short starring
Bob Hope and featuring 18 paraplegic veterans of World War II
who are confined to wheel chairs. The one reel film soon to be
released is titled “On Stage Everybody” and features a paraplegic
“walking” the high wires in a wheel chair (shown above) and other
dramatic and thrilling specialty acts. The film was produced with the
approval and cooperation of the Association of Motion Picture Pro
ducers and will be-previewed at the 29th National DAV Convention
in San Francisco, August 13-19. The convention will open with the
broadcast of the Original Amateur Hour over ABC.
SWEENEYS MOVE IN
FROM 47-MILE CAMP
Mr. and Mrs. John C. Sweeney
and son, Mike, recently moved
from their summer quarters on |
the Richardson Highway to a win
ter home in Valdez. The Sweeneys
spent the summer living in a
trailer at the 47-mile camp of the ;
Alaska Road Commission, where
Mr. Sweeney is foreman.
Grocery Clerk Resigns
To Spend Winter Outside
Howard Kile, clerk at the Val
dez Supply, resigned his position
last week and returned to the
states. He was a passenger aboard
Joe Golliher’s “Seabiscuit” which
left for Seattle last weekend.
Mr. Kile plans to visit relatives
in Missouri and then will return
to Moses Lake, Wash., where he
has business holdings. His final
dans were still indefinite when
he left Valdez. Local friends are
hoping that the future will have
some place in it for Valdez, where
Mr. Kile will be deeply missed.
Rain, Frost Hit Valdez Hard
Mrs. Katharyn Fawcett, Valdez'
own weather bureau, reported j
this week that the city suffered j
its first heavy frost on the eve
ning of Sept. 13. On Sept. 12, |
there also was an unusually heavy j
fall of rain for this time of year,
Mrs. Fawcett further reported.
S.S. Aleutian Goes
Into Hibernation
The S. S. Aleutian was bidding
a seasonal farewell to Alaskan
waters, when she arrived at Val
dez at 4:15 a.m. last Friday. The
Aleutian goes into winter retire
ment when she docks in Seattle
at the end of this voyage.
The ship discharged 32 pas
sengers and 216 tons of cargo at
Valdez. Six new passengers were
aboard, when the vessel steamed
out of the harbor late Friday
afternoon.
Officers said this final trip was
one of the finest of the season.
The crossing of the Gulf of Alas
ka was unusually smooth and the
sun shone every day, they re
ported.
DOCK WORKER
CRUSHES FINGER
Ivar Peterson of Beaver, a
worker at Valdez Dock, was
hospitalized last week to re
ceive treatment for an injury
incurred at work. Mr. Peter
son suffered an injury to the
ring finger of his left hand.
The member was crushed by
the automatic lift, operated by
Peterson during a freight-load
ing job on the dock.
EUREKA ROADHOUSE OWNER
SHOPS IN VALDEZ
Paul Waverick of Eureka Road
house on the Glenn Highway was
a recent Valdez visitor. Mr. Wa
verick was here on a short busi
ness trip.
FACULTY IS HONORED
AT WOMAN’S CLUB TEA
The faculty of Valdez School
was honored at a reception held
in the school Gymnasium on the
evening of Sept. 12. Planned as
a function at which local residents
might meet the school teachers,
the reception and tea was spon
sored by the Woman’s Civic Club.
Mrs. Arnold Persinger substitut
ed for Mrs. Jess O’Dell as hostess
for the evening, when Mrs. O’Dell
was unable to attend because of
illness. a
During the formal program of
:the evening Mrs. William McGray
introduced Miss Ruth Foy, Valdez
superintendent, who in turn intro
duced the teachers.
Mrs. William Egan sang two
selections, “Come to the Fair”
and “Without a Song.” Mrs. Ray
mond Huddleston was her accom
panist.
Civic club members, their \
guests of honor, and invited Val- j
dezans then sat down to enjoy a j
delicious lunch together.
MISS AHRENS IS WED
TO HOWARD BOWEN
Howard B. Bowen and Miss
Norma J. Ahrens, both residents
of Valdez, were united in mar
riage here on the evening of Sept.
14. Father Warner of the Church
of the Epiphany officiated at the
ceremony.
Following the church wedding,
the newlyweds greeted their
friends at a reception held at
Eagles Hall.
Mr. and Mrs. Bowen will make
their home in Valdez.
!New Office Man Arrives
i For Alaska Freight Lines
Lloyd Alkire arrived in Valdez
| from Outside on Tuesday, Sept.
112. Mr. Alkire drove north over
| the Alaska Highway, going first
j to Fairbanks before coming to
Valdez where be will be employed
in the local office of Alaska
Freight Lines. Mr. Alkire will
assist Jim Dolan and Arnold Per
singer in management of the local
office.
The Alkire family will arrive
i from the states to take up resid
jence in Valdez as soon as housing
j is available, _
Skate Captains
Chosen From School
Uniter New Plan
Roller skaters began wheeling
around the floors of Valdez Gyre
nasium again last Friday night.
That session inaugurated a new
skating schedule, announced this
week by Miss Helen Long, skating
chairman of the Women’s Civic
Club. The Friday skate period
also initiated a new plan of super
vision by student instructors, to
be known as skate captains. The
captains will be on hand at ev
ery session to help in any way
they can.
The skate captains will be chos
en from the student body of Val
dez School for their citizenship
and scholastic ability. The cap
tains will be named by Miss Ruth
Foy, superintendent.
They will have the privilege of
skating without charge at the
next regular session following the
one in which they act as captains,
Miss Foy said.
The first group of students rec
ommended by Miss Foy included:
Bonnie Kaser, Shirley Camp
bell, Darlene Baker, Elaine Alex
ander, Pat Brady and Earl George,
with Ronald Jurgens named as
substitute, in the event that any
of the first six are unable to
serve.
ROCK SLIDE CLOSES
RICHARDSON TUNNEL
A rock slide came tumbling
down from the roof and falls
of the tunnel at Mile 16 on the
Richardson Highway in the
early hours of the morning of
Tuesday, Sept 12, to seal the
north entrance of the tunnel.
Raymond Huddleston, Alas
ka Road Commission foreman,
immediately dispatched crews
to the area for emergency duly.
They installed temporary tele
phone communications and
then routed one - way traffic
over the former highway
abandoned when the present
road was opened.
ALEXANDER'S GOAT, DEAD, IS
AS ELUSIVE AS A LIVE ONE
First, Alexander got a goat,
jthen the goat nearly got Alex
i ander, and finally the whole busi
| ness of goat-getting almost got
Alexander’s goat—that’s exactly
! what happened when Patrolman
j Ev R. “Alex” Alexander went
I goat-hunting last week.
The hunter selected Snowslide
i Gulch as an area with goat ap
j peal, so he inched his way with
I infinite caution to the top of a
steep wall there. Just below the
top of the climb, “Alex” startled
’a herd of 12 goats, and he select
ed his trophy from among them.
The hunter’s shot was lucky
and he felled his animal, but the
goat’s dying leap carried him a
, full 300 feet down the cliff and
lodged the carcass firmly under
; a glacier.
; After an hour’s hard work Pa
! trolman Alexander dislodged his
goat and began his weary way
home. As he trudged along,* his
burden slipped away from him
to come to rest in a pool beneath
a very damp waterfall. Again the
patrolman tugged and pulled at
the trophy, and once again after
endless minutes of work, he was
ready to continue on his way to
ward home.
Again his burden slipped away,
and in an effort to clutch the
slithering carcass, Mr. Alexander
slipped, too. Goat and patrolman
slid down a .mountainside and
plunged into a mountain brook,
with the goat perched higher and
drier than Alexander from his
position atop the dunked patrol
man.
“Never again,” vowed Mr. Alex
ander as he reached his Valdez
doorstep at last. “There isn’t a
goat living that’s worth it.”