m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
64th Year No. 153
NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1963
Per Copy 15c
Kenai Lease Suit May .Hit High Court'
WASHINGTON Uf) — The soli
citor general of the United States <
is undecided whether to appeal to 1
the Supreme Court for review of a ]
suit involving oil and gas leases 1
on the Kenai National Moose 1
Range in Alaska. ]
The deadline for appeal is Jan- <
uary 1.
If the Sept, 19 decision of the
Court of Appeals here stands, 478
federal leases in the moose range,
including 21 producing leases, j
would be nullified.
Secretary of Interior Stewart L.
Udall informed chairman Henry
D Jackson, D.-Wash., of the Sen
ate Interior Committee on Nov.
14 that royalty collection through
July 31 of this year, amounted to
$7,296,922 on 23,506,519 barrels of
oil and 4.8 billion cubic feet of
gas.
Udall said the Sept 19 decision
in favor of a group of lease ap
plicants headed by James K.
Tallman, Anchorage attorney,
raises problems of great magni
tude.
Lease applications filed by Tail
man 4and his group were rejected
by the Anchorage Land Office on
the grounds that they conflicted
with leases issued earlier to major
oil companies.
Not Much Hope Held for
Man Lost Near Umiat
FAIRBANKS UPi — A search is
under way for a man missing
since Monday in sub-zero temper
atures and continual arctic dark
ness.
The man is Roy A. Gitzhoffen,
an employe of United Geophysi
cal Corp., a geophysical explora
tion firm. His hometown is not
known.
Arctic experts say there is little
chance for the man’s survival in
the isolated area 90 miles north
east of Umiat.
Gitzhoffen, whose age was not
available, was to get on a plane
Monday at the lonely arctic camp
to fly out for the Christmas holi
day with other employes.
He was told he could not take
his heavy luggage so he declined
to make the trip.
A snow storm hit the area soon
after.
Fellow employes at camp
thought Gitzhoffen had left on the
plane and those on the aircraft
thought he had gone back to camp.
The area is tree-less tundra
swept by a continuous wind. The
temperature has been 29 degrees
below zero.
RCA Will Get $15-MiUion
DEW-Line Contract
JUNEAU W) — The Air Force
plans to award a $15,676,000 con
tract to th<? Radio Corporation of
America, Camden, N.J., for oper
ation and maintenance of the bal
listic missile Early Warning sys
tem, Sen. Ernest Gruening said
today.
Gruening, in a wire to the As
sociated Press from Washington,
said the work is to be done at
Clear, Alaska; Offut Air Force
Base, Neb.; Riverton, N.J., and
Washington. D.C.
Tallman was overruled in fed
eral district court in his conten
ion that creation of the Kenai
VIoose Refuge in 1941 withdrew it
rom oil and gas applications un
il August, 1958, when revised
ules were published in the Fed
;ral Register.
The Court of Appeals overruled
he contention of the Secretary of
[nterior that the establishment of
;he range did not prohibit oil and
*as leases.
The Justice Department ob
:ained from the Court of Appeals
i stay of its reversal mandate to
the District Court pending consid
eration of possible further appeal,
rhe Court of Appeals, itself, re
fused to review its decision on
October 16.
Most of Wrangell Lumber ]
Taken by Japanese
WRANGELL UF> — The Wran
gell Lumber Co. reported today
in a year-end review of its opera
tions that it shipped 65,009,401
board feet of lumber and logs
valued at $4.5 million to foreign
markets in 1963.
Most of the firm’s shipments
went to Japan. The company is
affiliated with the Alaska Lumber
and Pulp Co. of Sitka and the
Alaska Pulp Co. of Tokyo.
Of the total amount shipped,
plant superintendent C. R. Neill
said, 43,534.855 board feet of
lumber was turned out by the
Wrangell operation. In addition,
5,682,120 board feet of logs were
shipped from here.
In addition, the company
shipped 10,321,744 board feet of
lumber from Ketchikan and 5,
792,426 board feet from Haines.
Nome Shows Highest
Jobless Percentage
JUNEAU UP) — The State Labor
Department reported today Alas
ka’s insured unemployment rate
during the week ending Dec. 21
was 13.5 per cent, unchanged from
the previous week.
The department said seasonal
layoffs were offset by temporary
employment i n manufacturing
and construction and the migra
tion of claimants to other states.
Insured unemployment was
pegged at 46,000, while the num
ber of persons filing initial claims
for jobless benefits was listed at
710.
The insured unemployment rate
by area included Anchorage, 13.2
per cent; Fairbanks. 12.1; Juneau,
12.2; Ketchikan, 14.7; Nome, 34.9;
Petersburg, 28.4, and Sitka, 6.2.
BETHEL SERIES IN DOUBT
The scheduled basketball games
with the Bethel High School team
may not come off this January 3rd
and 4th. Recent word from thal
school indicated some trouble
lining up a charter airplane and
the final outcome is still in doubt.
Nome school officials hope to have
a final word on this situation short
ly, perhaps today sometime.
CITY COUNCIL
MEETING TONIGHT
8:00 P.M. — CITY HALL
Beta Sig Active In
Full Christmas Program
Holiday activities come to a (
close with members of Beta Sigma
Phi having enjoyed the traditional t
Christmas party, doll raffle and ‘
Christmas caroling.
The semi-formal party was held ^
Dec. 14 at the Sea view Room of <
the North Star. Santa, acted by
Jim Blanning, came loaded, with
presents and jokes enjoyed by all.
Secret sisters were revealed at ^
this time. The room was dcorated ^
with many blinking lights and a
beautiful white tree trimmed with
red balls.
On the afternoon of the 23rd, (
Kitty Scott was announced as the 1
lucky winner of the Christmas
doll, raffled by both chapters of 1
the sorority. The beautiful doll <
was dressed in garments donated :
by members and could well have 1
been the best dressed female in ^
town. Her wardrobe included a
white rabbit fur hat and muff, a 1
red velveteen parka trimmed in i
white rabbit fur, rain coat and i
hat, many dresses and tops, a 1
red and white skirt and sweater l
outfit, tights and many more beau- :
tiful things.
The Christmas caroling, under
the direction of Rev. Bob Leight,
started around the tree in front
of City Hall with members and
town folks turning out. Later a
truck rigged with a microphone
took the singers to the King Is
land Village, around back streets,
and then to the lobby of the
1 M-M-M Hospital. A sincere thank
you goes to Bob Leight for his di
rection of the caroling, stated
sorority members.
I
VOR In Service
Ray Caudle, FAA Station Mana
ger in Nome, reports that the
Nome VOR is now functioning.
The VOR (VHF OMNI Range)
was fully commissioned as an air
navigational aid on December 26
at approximately 2 p.m.
An FAA aircraft with a crew of
four facilities flight check person
nel from Anchorage flew the
range yesterday and checked it out
completely. A complete ground in
spection was also made.
This installation, built in the
1962-63 construction season, has
lain idle up to this time due to
lack of federal appropriation
which would have provided funds
for its operation. The VOR is the
latest in aircraft navigational
aids and needs only to be linked
with Tacan to provide the com
plete Vor-Tac facility.
Weather Report
Considerable cloudiness today,
decreasing cloudiness tonight,
partly cloudy Saturday, and a little
colder tonight and tomorrow. Low
tonight 15, high tomorrow 25.
Nome data last 24 hours as of
7 ajn. today: Temperatures —
highest 24, lowest 15. Maximum
wind 14 miles an hour from the
North. Sunrise at 2:01 a.m., sunset
at 10 p.m.
Comparative Data — Tempera
tures year ago today: High 19,
low 11. Extremes on this date
since 1907: Highest 37 in 1937,
lowest -37 in 1961.
Alcan-Pacific Still Low for Teller Road
JUNEAU (Special) — Alcan Pa- I
cific Co., Seattle, Wash., is still
the apparent low bidder for con
struction of 20.877 miles of road
way and six bridges on the Nome
Teller Road, stated Acting High
ways Commissioner Robert E.
Sharp this week.
Alcan’s bid was $3,296,762.69,
slightly over the engineers’ esti
mate of $3,268,674.55. Although the
bid did not arrive in time for the
bid opening December 19, Sharp
said it was determined that it was
GEORGE AND CAROLINE
NELSON PASS ON
Masonic Funeral Services were
held in Steilacoom, Washington,
on December 5 for George W Nel
son and his wife Carilone Nelson,
who both died on the same day
in that city.
Sam Godfrey wrote and advised
the Nugget that George Nelson
was a mining engineer who spent
many years in the Iron Creek dis
trict. He also had a hand in the
building of the Iron Creek road
house.
Sam reports that he personally is
getting along fine and will soon
be well. His address is Box 158,
Steilacoom, Washington.
CITY LEAGUE BASKETBALL
ACTION TONIGHT
The City League resumes action
tonight with it’s usual two game
card. The seven o’clock game pits
the Merchants against the Polar
Hornets, while about 8:30 p.m.
the Nanooks tangle with the
league-leading Nome Insurance
five. Coach Tinjum said he would
suit up the following boys in an
attempt to derail the high-flying
Nome Insurance express: Stan
and Steff Andersen, John Bahnke,
Ken Okitkon, Andy Miller, Buddy
Walker, Joe Curran, Wendy
Smith, Jim Gillis, Jim Nershak,
Frank Outwater, Max Seetomona
and Lloyd Hardy. Tinjum listed
the Andersen’s, Smith, Miller and
Walker as his starting five for
this important City League fra
cas. Homer Hoogendorn and Bob
by Fagerstrom will miss the game
because of illness, while John
Bahnke is slowed somewhat with
a toe blister.
Wheat to Russia
WASHINGTON UP—'The United
States has authorized its first
sale of surplus wheat to Russia. The
Commerce Department yesterday
approved export licenses for two
cash sales worth more than 20
million dollars each. Practically
no other information das disclosed
a Commerce Department source
declared — “There are a number
of conditions which must be met
before the sale is consummated.
That’s about all we can say about
it.”
ICE SKATERS NOTE . . .
Thte Bering Sea ice in front of
town is fine for skating at this
time. Many young folks are taking
advantage of the ice while it is
relatively smooth and free of pres
sure ridges and cracks, sounds like
a good time for a skating party.
mailed in time, but that an un
reasonable delay in mail delivery
prevented it from being here
sooner.
The determination was made be
fore the bid was opened, Sharp
said.
Another bid, which also arrived
late but was timely mailed, was
opened December 23, Sharp said.
William A. Smith Contracting Co.,
Inc., Kansas City, Kans., sub
mitted a proposal of $3,643,896 for
this construction job.
All bids are being studied,
Sharp said.
Weather Three Days
In Stalled Snowmobile
FAIRBANKS UPi — A young
man from Porterville, Calif., to
day told how he and three com
panions survived 67 hours in a
stalled vehicle during sub-zero
temperatures.
The man, Robert Board, 21, is
in St. Joseph’s Hospital here being
treated for a frozen foot.
Board and three other employes
of United Geophysical Corp., spent
nearly three days in an unheated
snow vehicle when it broke down
while they were going from an
arctic work site to a camp last
weekend.
They were stalled only a short
distance from camp. They were
rescued by other employes.
HOOP BOARD OF
CONTROL TO MEET
The Nome City League Board of
Control is scheduled to meet at
6:15 in the high school gym to
night. The meeting will be very
brief, but each team manager
should be there, stated officials.
Mrs. Nina A. Lie has been ap
pointed acting postmaster at Kot
zebue.
29 Years Ago Today . . .
Christmas death toll al 163.
Train wreck near Hamilton On
tario claims 16. Balance in fires,
auto accidents, drownings. One
suicide left a note “Merry Christ
mas.”
Lincoln Ellsworth, Antarctic ex
plorer and pilot Bernt Balchen,
reported they flew their plane
across the Antarctic from Decep
tion Island to the Bay of Whales
— a distance of 2,400 miles.
The Arctic Brotherhood will not
throw its annual Bam Dance this
New Year’s, according to Chief
Andrew Sather.
Mr. and Mrs. Nels Swanberg
Sr. announced the engagement of
their daughter Grace to Mr. Axel
Edman. Wedding date not set yet.
A. Polet has Alaska Whole Cod
fish in brine — 2 pounds for 25
cents.
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Ernie Gustafson
"WALK THE DOG"