Valdez News
VOL. 1, NO. 15
FRIDAY. JUNE 23. 1950
VALDEZ. ALASKA.
PRICE 10c
Valdez Will Have Telephones By Late Fall
Lady Homesteaders
Find Life Can Be
Different on Fox River
It’s a far cry from punching
typewriter keys for a living to
felling trees in the Kenai back
country, but there’s certainly va
riety in the exchange, two wom
en homesteaders in the Fox river
country say. The pair, Mrs. Ethel
Kavanaugh and her daughter,
Dorothy, left the easy, carefree
life of a Fort Richardson office
desk for the rugged existence of
a/l^omesteader in some of the
Kenai’s ruggedest country.
Now the elder Mrs. Kavanaugh
is augmenting a homesteader’s in
come with a book about the ex
periences of herself and her’
daughter. Those experiences in
cluded a 35-mile pack from Ho
mer to the site of their new home,
a grueling six miles of slash
ing road into their new land, and
summer work in canneries to pro
vide the necessities of winter liv
inng.
During the several years the
Kavanaughs have lived in the
Fox river country, 24 would-be
neighbors have staked out home
steads in the surrounding area. To
the last man, all have returned to
an easier, more civilized exist
ence. Only the Kavanaughs re
main.
ALASKA'S ROADS ARE
AT THEIR PRIME NOW,
ARC ENGINEER REPORTS
Alaskans will find no better
driving conditions in the territory
this year, than right now, it was
announced recently by A. F.
Ghiglione, chief engineer of the
Alaska Road Commission. Mr.
Ghiglione had just completed a
driving survey over all of the
territory’s highways.
The Haines Cut-Off was report
ad in excellent condition, with the
trouble- giving slide area inside
the Canadian border said to be
“very passable.”
Local residents who motored
over the Willow road this last
weekend, found driving condi
tions were very good. They re
ported no snow at the summit,
and dry roads almost all of the
way.
Some “frost boils” remain on
the southern end of the Richard
son Highway, making for some
rough driving on the way to Val
dez.
THIRSTY HOMESTEADER GETS IDEA
THAT MAY LEAD TO NEW INDUSTRY
A Fairbanks area homesteader/
John Olsson, has discovered what
he thinks may be another poten
tial Alaskan industry. The home
steader, being thirsty one day and
without a well, decided to tap
birch trees for his drinking water
supply.
Then one morning, he improved
upon his idea, when he found the
resulting liquid somewhat sweet
to the taste. He boiled down the
•‘water,” added a bit of sugar, and
got an excellent, crystal - clear
syrup for his hot cakes.
I
Alaska Freight Gets Mail Contract
For Interior; To Haul Through Valdez
Alaska Freight Lines, Inc., will
begin hauling United States mail
from Seattle through Valdez on
July 1, agent Arnold Persinger
announced this week. The line
has been granted a one-year con
tract, with the possibility of fur
ther extensions at the end of the
year.
The mail will come north by an
Alaska Freight Lines barge and
will be trucked from Valdez to
Anchorage, Fairbanks and Haines.
All classes of mail will be carried.
Outgoing mail from these points
also will be routed through Val
dez. One barge a week will be
scheduled, at present.
Mr. Persinger said 26 trucks
will be engaged in the mail haul.
The company will carry a blanket
The company will carry a blank
mail.
This is not Alaska Freight’s first
experience in hauling mail. The
line formerly held an 18-months
contract for mail, which was
trucked over the Alaska Highway.
The contract had to be cancelled,
when the highway regulations of
Alberta Province refused to allow
the heavy trucks to pass over the
roads there.
Fairbanks postmistress Maud
Boyle hailed the announcement of
Alaska Freight’s new contract.
“They surely gave us wonderful
service before,” she stated.
Alaska Freight Lines, which is
headed by Alfred Ghezzi, has
been pioneering in the Alaskan
trucking industry since 1940,
when the territory’s road system
was very sketchy. The company
began operations, as a small firm,
in the summer of 1940. It hauled
Army materials primarily, during
Kodiak Plans Long-Lasting
And Gala Fourth Celebration
Kodiak is planning a four-day
Fourth of July celebration, it was
announced at that city last week.
Events on the holiday schedule
are headed by the annual Kodiak
to Naval Operating Base mara
thon. There will be a junior
marathon this year, in addition.
Other plans include a parade,
track meet, softball games, a pis
tol shoot, races and games for
children, a carnival at the com
munity center, and a culminating
display of fireworks on the eve
ning of the Fourth.
1 Olsson is now having the syrup j
analyzed, to determine its ingre
dients. He feels there may be a
possible future industry in the
development of an Alaska birch
syrup that can rival Vermont’s I
maple syrup.
Meanwhile, Alaskan old-timers
say that Olsson hasn’t discovered j
a thing that v/as new to them, j
They’ve been drinking the birch
sap for years, as a spring tonic.
Some have investigated its pos
sibilities in other brews. They re
port it makes a quite palatable
wine.
all of the war years.
From its modest beginning of
10 years ago, the firm has grown
to its present position of fore
most trucking concern in Alaska.
It has a monthly payroll of ap
proximately $40,000 and employes
75 men. Trucking operations
still are devoted to Army needs,
principally. The line holds a con
tract for delivery of materials to
Fort Richardson and Ladd Field,
for redistribution to all other
bases in Alaska.
It was due to the efforts of Mr.
Ghezzi of Alaska Freight that the
Richardson Highway was open
on a year-round basis this year.
Normally Valdez at the southern
end of the-road is cut off from
the Interior through the winter
months, when snow seals Thomp
son’s Pass at the summit.
Alaska Freight Lines agreed to j
maintain the summit portion of
the highway, if the Alaska Road
Commission would maintain the
other part of the road. More than i
$200,000 worth of snow removal !
and road maintenance equipment1
was purchased for the winter op- ;
eration. and the road was open
for a full 12 months, for the first ,
time in the history of the high
way.
The longest period it remained
closed, at any one time, was four
days, when snowstorms peppered
down on the high mountain
slopes. Removal equipment does
not operate when it snows.
Although this winter’s test pe
riod never met the severest con- :
ditions possible on the highway, j
since there was not a great deal
of snow, Mr. Persinger said the
company felt the trial had proved
WORK HUMMING
ON VALDEZ HOMES
The summer construction sea
son has hit full stride in Valdez
during the past week.
Local residents are planning
new homes, additions to their
homes, extension of their business
quarters and construction of
rental houses, for the work weeks
just ahead.
The Gilson family’s planned
four new houses were begun on
Thursday of inis week. The
houses are being built under Fed
eral Housing Administration fi
nancing.
The Dale McClintics are also
new builders in Valdez, as are
Earl Stone, the William Blakes
leys, the Larry Pages and the
Don Johnsons.
Work is now nearing comple
tion on the planned improvements
at the Golden North Annex, man- i
aged by Mr. and Mrs. “Slim”
Lancaster. Mr. Lancaster is put-!
ting a new foundation under the
hotel, adding two rooms at the
fi-ont. and is planning for an im- j
proved exterior of the establish- i
ment.
that the highway can be main
tained satisfactorily on a year
round basis.
“It is hoped the ARC will con
tinue to keep it open on a year
round basis,” he continued. “It
added a great deal to the economy
of the highway area—both from
the point of view of roadside inn
keepers and Alaskans, generally.
It made it possible for the small
roadhouses along the Trail to
build up a business on a year
round basis, and this in turn made
it possible for them to charge
lower prices and reduced rates
to all highway travellers.”
Alaska Freight Lines has been
operating out of Valdez for the
past several years. This winter
approximately 22 trucks made
the run between Valdez, Anchor
age and Fairbanks. At the peak
of the winter’s operations, trucks
made several round-trips a week.
This operation makes a simple
business of carload lot shipments.
Loaded vans are hauled aboard
Alaska Freight Lines ships and
barges at Tacoma, Wash. The
vans are sealed at the time of
loading and are not opened until
they reach the point of consign
ment, thus eliminating pilfering.
When the ship reaches Valdez,
vans are loaded off the ships, at
tached to the trucks and dis
patched to their destinations in a
very short time.
All of the asphalt for the ter
ritory’s highway and airport proj
ects was trucked through Valdez
in this manner, last summer.
The average ton cost of freight
hauled from Valdez to Fairbanks
is S40.
SEWARD RESIDENT PASSES
Olaf “Ole” Hult, long - time
Alaskan miner, died at Seward
recently. Mr. Hult had lived at
Kodiak, had mined for several
years in the Willow Creek dis
trict, and had been a resident of ‘
Seward since 1926. He is sur- l
vived by four brothers, all living
in the states.
Gov. Gruening Outlines Most Important
Points in Revised Statehood Bill
The state of Alaska will get
one-ninth of the puplie lands in
the territory, and will have five j
years in which to select the par
ticular lands it wants, under the
new statehood bill now in prep
aration in Washington, D. C. That
was the report that Governor ;
Ernest Gruening, only recently !
returned from the nation’s cap
itol, brought to the Juneau Cham
ber of Commerce.
Other allowances to be made to
the state, under provisions of the j
new bill, were:
Thirty-seven and a half per |
cent of all oil royalties taken from |
the public domain;
CITY COUNCIL
ALREADY APPROVES
PHONE RATES
Valdez will have a telephone
system by late fall, owner Owen
Meals reported at last week’s
council meeting. Mr. Meals is
working on pole installation now.
He submitted his proposed rate
schedule to the council, and re
ceived the city stamp of approval
on his charges.
Mr. Meals expects to charge
$6.50 a month for a one-party
business telephone. One - party
residence phones will cost $4.50
a month.
Councilman Stuart Starbuck
was appointed by Mayor Guy
Stith to fill the unexpired term
of A. Jarvi, resigned. City clerk
Halley Gates swore in the rookie
councilman at Monday’s meet
ing.
A property owner from west
Valdez registered a formal com
plaint with the council concern
ing the tents and trailer houses
being set up on a lot near his
property. Councilmen searched
the city ordinances and found
that Valdez has no ordinance
against trailers.
A removal permit was issued to
Wayne Martin, who asked to
transfer a house he has purchased
to property he owns in west Val
dez.
City clerk Gates was instructed
to write to the territorial cadas
tral survey and ask that a man
be sent to Valdez to establish of
ficial markers of the city. The
last survey of the city was made
in 1910.
Mayor Stith issued a proclama
tion declaring Monday, July 3,
an official holiday in Valdez.
To give further color to the
Fourth of July holiday plans, it
was voted to contact the Army’s
public information office and ask
for a flight of let planes over Val
dez for the Fourth.
Returns for Universiiy
Summer School
Miss Frances Jensen, formerly
a staff member of the University
of Alaska, will return for this
year’s summer session, it was an
nounced last week. Miss Jensen,
who has just completed work at
Cornell for her doctor’s degree,
will teach courses in weaving,
crafts and clothing.
Thirty-seven and a half per
cent of all money received from
the sale of national forest timber;
A grant of 200.000 acres of na
tional forest land, to provide for
the expansion of cities:
One-half of the net proceeds of
the Pribilof seal herds (with the
management of the seals remain
ing in the hands of the federal
government).
Governor Gruening expressed
confidence in the new bill, which
he said had overcome most of the
objections of the former statehood
bill. He characterized the feeling
in Washington. D. C., toward
Alaskan statehood, as “friendly.”