Valdez News
VOL. 1. NO. 21
VALDEZ. ALASKA. FRIDAY. AUGUST 4. 1950
PRICE 10c
Sourdough Miner,Fisherman Found Dead In Skiff
North Star Cafe
Reopens, Pinzon Is
Newly Modernized
One restaurant re-opened in
Valdez recently, and another has
just been rejuvenated with a
$1,000 job of face-lifting. Mrs.
Les Sievers again has opened the
North Star Cafe, across from the
Dieringer Garage, and co - pro
prietresses Mrs. Jo Berry and
Mrs. Sue Sauers have sparked a
very thorough job of remodelling
and redecorating at the Pinzon
Lunch Counter.
The North Star also has been
newly painted and decorated. The
Cafe has a six-stool counter, as
well as tables for its customers.
The cafe opens at six each morn
ing and closes at seven in the
evening, every day except Sun
day. The North Star is closed all
day on Sunday.
Work at the Pinzon started with
the floor and ended at the ceil
ing. Inlaid linoleum went down
on both kitchen and lunch room
floors. A modern restaurant sink
was installed in the kitchen.
Counter and stools now are the
latest thing in restaurant equip
ment, sparkling with veneer,
chrome, leather and black tile.
Walls and ceilings were re
painted and varnished as the final
touch. Bill Zook was the carpen
ter in charge of the remodelling
at the Pinzon Lunch Counter.
Santa's Whiskers Apt
To Get Wet Making
Far North Deliveries
Someone in the far north is
going to get some pretty soppy
Christmas presents this year. The
Coastal Monarch, freighter which
reported a fire in its hold while
off Sand Point, was the only ves
sel scheduled for a sailing north
of the Arctic Circle in 1950. No
other ship will go further north
than Nome. The Coastal Monarch
carried Christmas merchandise
for Wales and for Shishmaref and
Kotzebue Sound villages.
tAll merchandise in the hold
where flames broke out was con
siderably dampened, when sea
men had to use water to fight
the blaze. Extinguishers of chem
ical fire-fighting liquid were not
sufficient to quench the fire.
DRIVER BADLY CUT
IN TRAIL ACCIDENT
Clifford Jarrett, driver of the
automobile which plunged over
an embarkment out on the
Richardson Trail early last
Saturday morning, suffered
serious facial cuts in the ac
cident. Neither of his two pas
sengers was injured.
Mr. Jarrett was badly cut
about his eye and right cheek.
He was hospitalized at Valdez
Community Hospital, where
Dr. Kenneth Ham took many
stitches in his face. The man
was confined to the hospital
for three days.
Jurgens Family
Arrives From Seattle
Gordon Jurgens, butcher at Gil
son’s Mercantile Store, was joined
here by his family last week.
They arrived in Valdez from Se
attle, coming by plane. Members
of the family, in addition to Mrs.
Jurgens, include a son, Ronald,
and a daughter, Sharon.
The Jurgens are at home in the
former Gilson residence.
JUNEAU.ITES BECOME
PENNY-CONSCIOUS
Juneau citizens began digging
for pennies on Tuesday of this
week, when the city’s one-percent
sales tax went into effect. The
tax was voted to create a fund
for paying off Juneau’s bonded
indebtedness. As soon as that in
debtedness is cleared, the tax
will be revoked.
With more money coming into
city coffers, Juneau councilmen
last week voted to put a little
more of it into circulation. Coun
cilmen unanimously decided on a
25-cent hourly wage increase for
city laborers, truck drivers and
street maintenance men.
CORDOVAN VISITS
Mrs. W. Ekemo, former Valdez
resident who is now a Cordovan,
is visiting here this week with
her daughter and son-in-law, Mr.
and Mrs. Elmer White. Mrs. Eke
mo arrived by plane from Cor
dova on July 31, planning to
spend a week with the Whites.
Visit From Anchorage
Mr. and Mrs. James Shelton of
Anchorage are visitors here this
week. They also stopped in Cor
dova for a time.
Civilians Won’t Be Evacuated Because They’ll
Be Needed in War Effort, Alexander Says
Juneau’s Chamber of Com
merce got some firsthand infor
mation on civil defense recently,
when Col. Joseph D. Alexander,
director of civil defense for the
territory, outlined plans formu
lated thus far.
Colonel Alexander said that
there is no evacuation planned for
Alaska’s civilians for three rea
sons: (1) There is nothing to be
gained by sending permanent
Alaskans out; (2) people already
established here will be needed
in Alaska for the war effort,
should there be a war; (3) resi
dent Alaskans would have no
piece to go, if they were evacu
ated. . ., . ,
The same reason, furthering ot
the war effort, is called upon to
support the plan for evacuation
of military dependents. Colonel
Alexander said most dependents
lived on the target, and that in
the event of war, they would
couse confusion and impair ef
ficiency of the fighting forces—in
short, they would be in the way.
The defense director said he
was preparing a Civil Defense
Manual for Alaska, “complete
with dos, don’ts and diagrams.”
He emphasized that cities must
be self-sufficient in their plan
ning—that National Guard units
will be utilized as units only, and
cannot prop up civilian defense
plans.
4
Monitor Writer Sees Valdez Trucks as
Important Defense Link, if War Comes
The trucking operation out of
Valdez is hailed as one of two
possible means of keeping Alaska
in communication with the states,
should war develop here, in a
story appearing in a recent edi
tion of the Christian Science Mon
itor. Although the Monitor erro
neously states that Alaska Freight
Lines soon will “extend its oper
ations to Valdez,” the article does
give a good picture of the place
of the ocean freighter-truck in
dustry in the supply line to vital
spots in the territory.
It is pointed out that the sea
transported trucks can count on
1,000 miles of island-sheltered
travel to Alaska, before they em
bark on the exposed 450-mile
crossing of the Gulf of Alaska to
reach Valdez (or Whittier).
The Monitor article reports that
Alaska Freight Lines now has a
million dollars worth of trucks
and refrigerated trucks operating
to and within Alaska, and that the
firm recently has leased both tugs
and barges to extend its ocean
operations.
The second suggestion for main
taining communication with the
states in the event of war is a
“sea train.” That train would be
composed of half a dozen ocean
going tankers, each capable of
carrying 92 loaded railroad cars
in its hold. This “train,” of
course, would tie up at the ports
served by The Alaska Railroad.
The Monitor says the sea train
idea has so many attractive fea
tures, from a military standpoint,
that it may “call for shelving of
proposals for a railroad to Alas
ka.”
The article quotes an unnamed
Alaskan official, who says that
one well-placed bomb could put
the railroad out of commission for
months, even as it could the Alas
ka Highway. “The sea train
would be indestructible,” he
states. “Each one could be con
voyed and even if trains were
sunk, replacing them would be
comparatively easy.”
Both measures will do much to
cut the high cost of transporta
tion to the north, in either peace
or war, experts agree.
Officials of The Alaska Rail
road, which hasn’t been doing too
well in its efforts to make rev
enues meet operational costs, hail
the idea. They think the pro
posed sea trains would go far to
ward putting the Railroad square
ly on its feet again.
Sea trains have been operated
successfully on the East coast in
the United States. The Monitor
says the Department of the In
terior, which operates The Alaska
Railroad, is dickering with a car
rier in that trade to make an of
fer for a similar project in Alaska.
Craft Shop
Opens This Week
The craft shop, sponsored by
Rev. Richard Teeter, plans for
which were announced earlier
this spring, is to open here this
week. The shop is still unfinished
and still unnamed, but Reverend
Teeter has decided that craft
work, carpentry and name-calling
all can proceed at the same time.
Project work in the shop is to
begin at once. Young people are
invited to come in and sign up
for the handicraft course in which
they’re interested.
Plans for a contest to select the
name of the shop were outlined
tentatively by Reverend Teeter.
The contest will be open to all
young people between the ages of
10 and 21 years inclusive. # A
| judges’ committee will be select
j ed to choose the winning name.
! Prizes will be offered to those
i submitting the top - ranking
\ names.
Reverend Teeter promises a
complete outline of contest plans
in a future edition of the Valdez
News. He asks everyone inter
ested to watch for the announce
ment, which will be appearing in
a week or two.
VISIT IN ANCHORAGE
Mrs. Deane Jennings and son,
Dennis, made a business trip to
Anchorage last week. While
there, they visited with Mr. and
Mrs. Ralph Seaman and with Mr.
and Mrs. John Riley. Both the
Seamans and the Rileys sent
greetings to all their friends in
Valdez.
JOHN BAKER FAMILY
WILL MAKE VALDEZ
THEIR HOME
The John Baker family, for
merly of Yakima, Wash., has de
cided to make Valdez a perma
nent home. Mr. Baker and his
son have purchased one of the
Segerquist houses. The family,
which includes a son, Jim, twin
daughters, Marlene and Darlene,
and a young daughter, Sharlene,
has been living in a trailer here
in Valdez.
Wesley Pendleton of Tok will
make his home with the Bakers,
while he is employed in Valdez.
City of Cordova Moves
To Buy Telephone System
Because the contemplated pur
chase of properties of the Alaska
Public Utilities at Cordova can
not be covered by the sale of rev
enue bonds alone, the Cordova
council recently voted to pur
chase the telephone system out of
the city’s general fund. The sys
tem is valued at only $3,000.
The Cordova council has been
informed by Seattle underwriters
that the water and telephone rev
enues are not adequate for the
support of a revenue bond issue.
The underwriters suggested that
general obligation bonds be is
sued instead. This calls for a
general election, and the Cordova
council is unwilling to wait for
that formality, since option on the
Public Utilities property expires
on Aug. 31.
JERRY O’LEARY
IS STRUCK DOWN
BY HEART ATTACK
Jerry O’Leary, an Alaskan
since the turn of the century, was
found dead in his skiff Tuesday,
July 25. The boat was found float
ing near his Glacier Island home,
and it is believed the elderly man
died of a heart attack brought on
by over-exertion. He had been
fishing during the present salmon
season.
Mr. O’Leary, “Jerry” to all of
his many friends throughout the
Third Division, was nearly 69
years old at the time of his death.
He was born in County Cork, Ire
land, on Aug. 15, 1881.
He left Ireland as a youth, and
travelled widely over many parts
of the world. He came to Alaska
in the early 1900s and settled here
to work as a prospector and con
struction worker. He mined and
prospected in the Chisana and
McCarthy country for many
years, and later was employed on
the Copper River Railroad during
its construction.
In 1920, Mr. O’Leary bought a
blue fox farm o’n Glacier Island,
near the Columbia Glacier. His
home was a welcome stop for
travellers on Prince William
Sound. He will be sorely missed
there by his many friends from
Valdez and Cordova.
Until the time of his death, Mr.
O’Leary lived on the fox farm,
supplementing his income by
salmon fishing each summer.
The dead man had no immedi
ate family. He is survived by a
nephew, Thomas O’Leary of Se
attle, a niece, Miss Margaret
O’Leary, of Concord, New Hamp
shire, and by other relatives who
still live in Ireland.
A Rosary was recited for Mr.
O’Leary last Wednesday. The fol
lowing morning a funeral mass
was said by Father D. A. Mel
bourne, at the Church of St. Fran
cis Xavier at Valdez. Burial fol
lowed in the Valdez Cemetery.
Worker on Gannery
Ship Shoots Two
In Card Game Row
Freddie Valoroso, 33-year-old
Filipino worker on the floating
cannery Neva, was arraigned in
Anchorage last Monday afternoon
for a double murder that took
place on the ship last week. Va
loroso allegedly shot and killed
John Sanute, another Filipino,
and Theodore Frazier, a Negro.
The attack took place in the
Oriental quarters of the Neva,
while the ship was anchored in
Thumb Bay off Knight Island.
An idle remark voiced by an on
looker at a card game is reported
to have set Valoroso off on his
murderous rampage.
Witnesses said that the dead
Sanute attempted to knife Valo
roso. A gun was drawn and sev
eral shots fired. When the Filo
pino finally was overpowered his
assailant lay dead and Frazier,
merely a bystander at the card
game, also was killed.
U. S. Commissioner Margaret
Harrais of Valdez notified the of
fice of Marshal Paul Herring in
Anchorage and representatives of
that office, and of the FBI, flew
to the scene to take Valoroso into
custody.