THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome, Alaska
Telephone 443*2381 $1.50 Per Month
P.O. Box 66 $16.00 a Year
James F. O'Sullivan, Publisher & Editor
Ed Jocius, Foreman
Entered at second class matter October 14, 1943, at the
post office at Nome. Alaska, under Act of March 3, 1879.
SHRUNKEN!
Hit em Where They Ain’t
/"|NE OF THE GREAT rules of baseball was stated for all time
^ by the noted slugger who gave this as the secret of his success:
*'I hit ’em where they ain’t.”
Oilmen must, of necessity', follow’ pretty much the same rule.
They know' they cannot depend on meeting present and future
energy demands with the existing wells, because the moment any
well starts producing, it starts running dry. Many wells last for
^years, but none last forever.
That being the case, oilmen have to look for new petroleum
reserves in areas where oil and gas have not previously been found.
The search takes them to some far-flung places. On oil com
pany, for example, is currently drilling exploratory wells nearly
as widely separated as the borders of the nation will permit.
These projects — known in the oil business as rank wildcats
— are on a rocky, mountainous Alaskan peninsula; near the Mex
ican border in Southwest Texas; near the Everglades on the west
coast of Florida; in rolling farm country' in upstate New York;
and in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Each of these five tests is at
least 1,200 miles from the others.
Prospecting for oil is a lot different from saddling up a burro
and going off alone to look for gold nuggets. Despite some help
ful clues frob geologists and geophysicists, the only way oilmen
can be sure of finding petroleum is to drill a well. That means
investing in tremendously expensive machinery and equipment.
The average well on land, whether productive or not, costs nearly
$55,000, while offshore wells cost an average of $392,000.
When they drill a well — which may probe as far down as
four or five miles below the earth’s surface — oilmen have no
guarantee of success. Of every 100 wells drilled in untested areas,
only three find commercial quantities of oil or gas.
Despite those odds, oilmen drilled some 10,800 exploratory
wells in this country last year. This is the kind of determined
effort which has made petroleum-producing areas out of 33 of our
states. This is the kind of work it takes to supply nearly 75 per
cent of America’s energy needs.
t
Miners & Merchants Bank of Alaska
"The Friendly Bank”
RJLL BANKING SERVICES
To Northwestern Alaska Since 1904
— BRANCHES IN KOTZEBUE and BARROW —
3
ASHA Applies for
Housing Approval
Throughout State
Formal application for 25 hous
ing units in Juneau and for 25
housing units in Ketchikan were
submitted to the Public Housing
Authority on October 30. 1063.
Approval for the 25 units in
Juneau was received from PHA on
December 5. 1963. As in the case
of Anchorage, PHA approval
means that the Alaska State Hous
ing Authority can proceed with
site selection and drawings for a
development program.
PHA has also authorized the
construction of 12 units in Peters
burg. A formal application has
been prepared and will be sub
mitted to PHA when the required
documentation is received from
the City Council of Petersburg.
The Sitka low-rent project is in
the acquisition stage. A suit has
been prepared by ASHA’s legal
staff to clear up land title prob
lems. Options have been received
for all properties within the pro
ject area. An affirmative decision
by the court clearing these land
title problems will mean that
ASHA can proceed with working
drawings which should in turn
permit the commencement of con
struction this spring. ASHA’s ap
plication to PHA for additional
units in Fairbanks is still pending.
A low-rent survey has just been
completed for Metlakatla. The sur
vey results will be submitted to
PHA for review and comment.
Additional surveys are panned
for the following communities at
their request: Juneau, Seldovia,
Nome, Kodiak, Dilingham, Yaku
tat, Cordova, and Skagway. A6
soon as time permits, the Author
ity’s Development Officer will
survey these communities.
The Native Housing Program
at Grayling is at a standstill until
the logging operation resumes next
spring. During this construction
season, nine houses were built and
14 more will be started next
summer.
Nunapitchuk has been selected
as the site of the Eskimo demon
stration house and an application
has been made to PHA and HHFA
to increase this to 10 units. The
house or houses at Nunapitchuk
are expected to be finished next
year.
Letter-size and Legal File Folders
For Sale at the Nugget
OMAN’S
Bargain Counter
Dry Goods — Wolf Ruffs
9 A.M. io 6 P.M.
All Day Saturday
Send
The Nugget
for
Christmas Greetings
The Christmas Edition of
the Nome Nugget, to be
published on Dec. 24th,
will be mailed to anyone,
anywhere, with the sender’s
\£ name included, for 25 cents.
Anyone wishing to secure
this edition, is asked to
notify the Nugget office by
Saturday, Dec. 21.
5,509 State Checks for November
Shows a Drop of 107 In State
JUNEAU UP* — The State De
partment of Administration said
yesterday it mailed checks to
5,509 State employes, including
885 teachers, during the pay per
iod ending Nov. 15.
The Department released the
figure hard on the heels of a dis
closure by Gov. William A. Egan
that he had ordered an imme
diate freeze on new state hiring
and a reappraisal of a number of
recent hires.
William S. Brown, Director of
the State Division of Finance,
said the 5,509 figure did not repre
sent the exact number of em
ployes on the state payroll as of
Nov. 15. but only the number of
individuals receiving checks.
He expained that in a number
of instances, through resignations
and new hirings, checks were
mailed to two persons who held
the same position at different times
during the Nov. 15 pay period.
The 5,509 individuals who re
ceived checks for the Nov. 15 pay
period, Brown said, represented a
decrease of 107 from the number
of persons receiving state pay
checks during the Oct. 15 pay
period.
Brown said his records showed
that the 5,509 persons who re
ceived state pay checks in the Nov.
15 pay period were employed by
the following state agencies:
Office of the Governor: 109, in
cluding 71 employed at the state
Pioneer’s Home, Sitka.
Department of Administration:
113.
Department of Law: 45.
Department of Revenue: 135.
We are
expecting
Fresh
Polled
Poinsettias
and
Chrysanthemums
We also will have Fresh
Christmas Holiday Greens . . .
Such as
Holly, Mistletoe and Pine
A limited quantity only.
Polar Curio
Box 880 Nome Ph. 443-2661
1,405,
Department of Education:
including 885 teachers.
Department of Health and Wel
fare: 669.
Department of Labor: 210.
Department of Commerce: 43.
Department of Military Affairs:
22.
Department of Natural Re
sources: 135.
Department of Fish and Game:
302.
Department of Public Safety:
165.
Department of Public Works:
496.
Department of Highways: 1,381.
Department of Economic Devel
opment and Planning: 25.
Legislative Council: 78, incud
ing 60 members of the State Legis
lature.
Legislative Audit Division: 9.
State Courts System: 167.
IRVING BERLIN TUNE
IS TOPS FOR ALL TIME
NEW YORKH^ ~^~The show
business newspaper, Variety, has
said that the song ’’White Christ
mas,” written by Irving Berlin
is probably the most valuable
popular song — or any song —
copyright in the world. The tune
was introduced 21 years ago.
Records show it has sold 40
mil ion recordings and more than
four and one-half million copies
of sheet music.
“Freshen The Impression'' —
HAVE THAT PRESS
CLEANED TODAY!
Modern Laundry
Dry Cleaners
Phone 2491 for Pick-up
JIM & RUTH McLEAN
Oul of Town Orders
Handled Promptly — Box 691
SALE
SALE
CHRISTMAS
SALE
10 TO 50% OFF
EVERYTHING MUST GO!
Open 1 to 5 P.M.
ALL SALES FINAL — NO RETURNS
HAGEN’S JEWELRY STORE