Kotzebue Report
• • •
By
KOTZEBUE CORRESPONDENT
The Kotzebue City Council met
1 hursday evening. Oct. 3, for the.r
bi-monthly meeting. Sam Lauser
anr* Alex Melik were appointed by
the Council to fill out the terms of
Pootoo Vestal and Mike Viverous
who have resigned. Their term
ends January l.
Two petitions were presented Lo
tlie Council which will be put on
the ballot for November 12th elec
tion. First petition: For sale of in
toxicating liquores — yes or no.
Second petition: Shall Kotzebue
Liquor, Inc., a non-profit corpora
tion, continue as the only licensed
agency to sell intoxicating bevei
ages in the City of Kotzebue, with
all profits therefrom given to the
city for youth activities and other
projects — yes or no
George Conwell was appointed
airport manager by the Council.
The city has had 22 additional
mercury street lights installed,
bringing the total to 35. With ail
these bright lights, Kotzebue now
looks like an enterprising metropo -
Iis. Front Street, which almost
washed away in the Aug., 1962,
storm, is being rebuilt and back
filled. Funds for hauling of gravel
are from the funds derived from
Kotzebue Liquor, Inc. These funds
have also been used to purchase
playground equipment, build an
ice skating rink and warm-up
shack, and many other improve
ments in the community.
The B.I A. School at Kotzebue :
is now’ headed by two former
Nomeites. Warren I. Tiffany is
principal and Horace Schnare is
department head. There are 16
other teachers — 12 classroom
teachers, a librarian and a music
teacher plus tw’o teachers who are
directing a special program for
secondary level pupils. This spe
cial program is new this year, and
is for high school and adult educa
tion.
There are 20 enrolled in this
program, which is headed by Mr.
McClain and assisted by Mr. Blas
ingame. Social studies and English
are taught in this program and
students are assisted in the corres
pondence courses. There are more
than 400 pupils enrolled in B.I.A.
School this yar. In 1954-55 school
year there were 225 pupils Miss
Eunice Logan of the B.I.A. Juneau
office and Miss Canata of USDA
head the team who are coming
through to investigate school lunch
programs. They planned to be in
Kotzebue from Oct. 6 through Oct.
8, and then travel to Noorvik and
Kivalina to observe the school
lunch programs there.
The State Dept, of Health X-ray
unit is now working in this area
and have visited Kobuk. Ambler,
Shungnak. Kiana, Noorvik, Point
Hope and Kivalina. They plan to
go to Noatak this week and then
will X-ray Kotzebue people Thurs
day, Friday and Saturday, uct.
10, 11 and 12. Fran Pagenkopf,
PHN, is accompanyisg the unit to
as many villages as possible. She
is to go to St. Lawrence Island for
two weeks’ nursing duties the last
part of October.
Dr. Takach, PHS physician, plans
to go to Kivalina Monday for a
medical field trip. He was at Ko
buk. Shungnak and Ambler two
weeks ago. Dr. Harrison, PHS
Medical Officer in Charge, just
returned from a field trip to Ur.a
lakleet. Dr. and Mrs. Robert La
throp, local PHS dental team, wen
to Selawik Monday, Sept. 30, on ;
i field trip until Oct. 22. Old timer
. were happy to welcome Miss Si
. monson back to Kotzebue. She i
, the assistant director of nurses a
, the PH Hospital here. She was ;
. nurse at the old hospital in Kot
zebue in 1935, so she sees main
; changes. Olga Androynyk, PHS
, nurse, left Tuesday, Oct. 1. 3h<
plans to take a position at Liu
new Ketchikan Hospital.
The Tug AVIK has departed foi
Nome to meet the last boat of the
season. Ray Heinrich, of B&R, anc
family, left for Nome last Friday
j so Ray could supervise loading ol
the tug, and Marie and Kelly will
take in the sights of Nome. Gust
Carlson, well known old timer in
I Nome and Kotzebue, left Oct. 1
j for Seattle to join his wife Helga
after spending the summer working
for the B&R Tug and Barge Co. in
| Kotzebue. Also heading south far
the winter on Tues.. Oct. 1, was
Archie and Linda Ferguson cf
Candle. Recently arrived in Kot
zebue from Candle was John Belc
braidich.
xncic nas ueen extensive work
| done on the Kotzebue airport tie
last several weeks. The American
Srvices Inc. of Anchorage is the
contractor doing the job. They
| have almost completed the new
parking apron and have extended
and widened the east-west run
way. The job closed down last
week due to bad weather and
freezing conditions but they plan
to return as son as possible after
i spring breakup to complete the
work — which includes extending
the east-west runway 1,750 feet
and widening it 50 feet.
The Arctic Circle Chamber of
Commerce held their annual elec
tion at the monthly meeting Tues.,
Oct. 1. The officers elected were
Rex Bowen, President; Fr. Bob
Jones, Vice President; Edith Bul
lock, Secretary; Mabel Johnson,
Treasurer. Board members are
Steve Smith, Alfred G. Francis and
Ray Heinrich. Plans were dis
cussed for the annual Chamber
Open House to be held in the mul
ti-purpose room at the B.IA. school
Tuesday evening, Oct. 8, at 7:30
p.m. This annual affair is so all the
newcomers to Kotzebue can meet
all the oldtimers, and visa versa.
Mr. Tiffany, B.I.A. principal, ad
vised that plans were under way
for the volley ball games again
this year. The games and tourna
ment last winter were a roaring
success, anl it is hoped there will
be even more interest this year.
Rex Bowen and Edith Bullock will
attend the State Chamber of Com
merce meeting to be held in Ju
neau next week.
Hunting has been good so far this
fall, with the hunters getting nu
merous seals and oogruk, along
with caribou and moose. There
were three lucky sheep hunters I
know of offhand, Lee Staheli and
Ted Anderson of Wien Airlines and
Petey Lathrop, dental assistant at
PHS. Petey got a polar bear last
year and a full curl sheep this
year.
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Northwestern
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News Briefs
Unalakleet Report
By UNALAKLEET
CORRESPONDENT
A new teacher arrived to com
plete the staff at the BIA High
School. Mr. Janka hails from Cape
Coral, Fla., is married and has a
little boy almost two years of age.
He will be teaching math and
science.
* • *
Two BIA officials from Juneau,
Mr. Jackson and Mr. Kowalckzyk,
were here this week to evaluate
the High School program and .see
what could be done to improve the
present program.
* • *
Mr. and Mrs. David Trantham
are leaving Monday for Noorvik
where Mr. Trantham is employed
with the maintenance department
of the BIA. The move will be a
promotion for Mr. Trantham, and
we offer our congratulations and
best wishes to them in their new
home.
* * •
Sunday was Marian Gonang
nan’s birthday and many of her
friends helped her celebrate the
occasion with coffee and cake at
her home. ‘‘Gramma Miles,” as
she is known to most of us.
wouldn’t comment on how old
she is.
♦ ♦ •
Mr. and Mrs. John Moore gave
a staff dinner in their home Fri
day evening to give all the mem
bers of the BIA staff a chance to
get to know each other better.
Looks like Old Man Winter is
here at last, ’cause Unalakleet has
a white blanket covering its hill
sides. The villagers are making
preparations for closing their camps :
up river and coming in for the
winter.
Dr. Harrison came down from
Kotzebue, Wednesday, and he:d '
clinic until Friday morning, when
he had to return to his post at the
ANS Hospital.
Fine Job Printing at the Nugget
Where to Buy
The Nugget
Kotzebue —
N. G. HANSENS
Nome —
NOME DRUG and
U. S. MERCANTILE
Shishmaref —
WALTER NAYOKPUK’S
Teller —
TELLER COMMERCIAL CO.
Unalakleet —
LI FLICK'S JEWELRY
Kiana —
BLANKENSHIP TRADING
Barrow Report . . ,
By BARROW CORRESPONDED
Barrow is slowly recuperating
after the storm of October 3. It
will take a long time before the
village resumes a normal look, for
the damage was severe and in
many cases permanent. The hurri
cane was entirely unexpected,
catching Barrow inhabitants by
surprise. The winds rose to such
force that the people are still
slightly shocked. Even the oldest
man cannot remember when na
ture has been so savage. Terrible,
yes, but not vicious.
It is now quiet, with only nor
mal winds to ruffle the sea. But
a walk through the village reveals
the hand of destruction.
Tom Brower’s restaurant, a pop
ular tourist attraction, faces the
ocean with no wall, the interior
stripped clean. Guy Okakak’s home
lies a shattered hulk. Guy is a
well-known Barrow correspon
dent. Bill Leavitt, who is employed
by the nearby Air Force base, lost
his garage, as did Bob Brower, who
works for the PHS Hospital. Sam
Taalock who last week captured
a 42 foot whale, lost his two boats
to raging surfs. Tony Krier, a local
businessman, is minus three
houses. One of them, a two-storied
structure, was swept inland and
uphill for a hundred yards before
it broke in two and was carried
away by huge waves. Sadie Nea
kok’s house, also two stories high,
moved a dozen feet, but it was
anchored to a heavy tractor and
saved. Sadie is the magistrate for
Barrow.
The ravages of the storm are vis
ible everywhere: Wien Alaska Air
lines lost their radio tower; Cen
tral Construction Co., contractors
who are building the new air field
lost about 150,000 gallons of fuel.
The large tank containing the fuel
was shoved several hundred feet
by repeated blasts. It remained up
right, but the seams burst and out
poured the contents, soaking into
the gravelly soil. The air strip,
though not completed, has been
put to emergency use, since the
Air Force strip five miles away
is out of commission.
Upshore, the REA electrical
plant which had been undergoing
the finishing touches has disap
peared completely, along with
much of the equipment. The power
units have been so soaked and
scored by salt water that a thor
ough overhaul will be necessary
before they can be used. A natural
gas line leading to the Bureau of
Standards about a mile from town
was partially destroyed, its sec
tions twisted and bent like wet
spaghetti. One of the most serious
l losses to the community as a whole
was that of stove oil. Barrow,
never suffering from an over
abundance, lost half a year’s sup
ply. This can spell hardship in
the late winter months to come.
A full list of damages would take
columns. Most of the harm occurred
among the w'aterfront buildings
and structures where the brunt of
the storm was centered. Those
farther in were on higher ground
and escaped major injury. The
more fortunate citizens are now
helping the others, and Barrow is
f
Pi. Hope Report
By PT. HOPE CORRESPONDENT
The village of Point Hope was
flooded on Oct. 3 as far as the air
strip. Waves caused by northwest
winds pushed water over the
beach and into the village. This
! was identical to the flood in Point
Hope on Aug. 30, 1962.
1 By 7 p.m., the water had begun
I to go down. Snow fell after th?
| flood, and covered the ground
I where there is no water.
☆ ☆ ☆
On Oct. 3 the village began its
; Rural Development Project, using
i $4,500 from the State of Alaska,
j Empty oil drums from the old
■ Army site are placed along the sea
! wall and filled with gravel to form
a dam to keep out future waves of
water which flooded the village
this and last year.
The drums should be effective,
because the large waves from the
ocean will not hit them. The water
which floods the village gent y
rolls over the high beach. The
drums will be placed in such a
way that they will prevent this
water from rolling over the top
of the beach.
☆ ☆ ☆
Mr. Kenneth Cohen, BIA Em
ployment Assistance Worker from
Fairvanks, planned a visit to the
village on Oct. 7 to counsel with
those interested in jobs or job
training.
☆ ☆ ☆
Archie Harrison, construction
foreman, says the new school
should be finished by Oct. 11. Be
fore classes can be moved to that
building, approval must be given
by the Juneau BIA office.
Titus Nashookpuk built see
saws in three different parts of the
village beside swings he built
earlier.
☆ ☆ ☆
Water and sand covered meat
in some caches and washed some
out to sea. The old Tigera village
subterranean houses are used as
meat caches. That old village is
being washed into the sea more
each year.
Dan Lisbourne, village council
president, states that there is less
meat in the village at the present
than at any previous year. Hunting
has not been good for caribou,
seals, and oogruks. If the cari
bou don’t come down this fall,
many will have a difficult time
this fall and winter.
Four village midwives in Point
Hope are: Lydia Nashookpuk,
Lilly Oktoilik, Daisy Oomittuk,
Beatrice Vincent. They deliver an
average of about one baby per
month.
beginning to find itself again.
Some good, it is said, comes of
everything, and even the' Barrow
gale brought a measure by piling
clear, blue glacier ice along the
shore. The water situation is crit
ical, because fresh water sources
have been contaminated by over
flowing seas. The Eskimos have
filled their kegs with glacier ice
to hedge thirst until the more dis
tant lakes can be utilized.
Said one man, -‘This glacier
water is the sweetest in the world.”
And, it can be added, mighty
welcome.
Miners & Merchants Bank of Alaska
"The Friendly Bank"
FULL BANKING SERVICES
To Northwestern Alaska Since 1904
— BRANCHES IN KOTZEBUE and BARROW