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 610 $16.00 A YEAR
E. P. BOUCHER . Managing Editor
CLINTON GRAY . Production Manager
Entered at second class matter October 14. 1943, at the
post office at Nome, Alaska, under Act of March 3, 1879.
SORT OF HEMMED IN!
*»*£-*• ■
Winter Tourism
TB7E ALL ADMIT that Nome has a wonderful winter tourist
potential that is unique and could attract winter tourists and
organized winter tours. What good is a potential if we don’t do
something about promoting it? It doesn’t have to be subsidized,
it doesn't require a bonding issue, we don’t have to vote on it.
All it needs is a little planning and promoting.
This past week several people have passed through Nome
who wanted to do something different than they could do back
to the lower forty-eight and talk about and some of them couldn’t *
even get a dog team ride. Then there was one gracious white
haired lady, who wanted to accomplish something worthwhile
while on the farthest west peninsula of North America and being
the kind of a person she was, she planned her own tour and is
seeing things and doing things other visitors wish they might
have done, and has set an example of what should be available
for all visitors.
What did she do? She rented a Sno-Traveler and was taken
to Anvil Creek where gold was discovered at the turn of the
century; she had a dog team ride; she went fishing; she will see
the Iron Curtain from St. Lawrence Island; she went to Diomede
Island, but she did it on her own initiative.
There should be some place in our community where dog
team owners are registered, and prices set for dog rides to various
places; where Sno-Traveler rentals are available to the foothills
or on the Bering Sea; where a tom-cod line can be rented; where
information can be obtained on side trips to St. Lawrence Island
or Diomede, or Teller.
All this information must be available at some business house
in town if tourism is to be promoted. Dog rides mean income
for families that could use it. Oomiak rides mean extra income
for Eskimo families next month, but there must be a central place
for people who want to do things to make a contact.
Whose job is it? Why hasn’t it been done? Why don’t we
change this potential into pleased, enthusiastic guests who leave
Nome to tell of the exciting and unusual experiences they had
in the best known city of Alaska.
WHY ? ? ?
Got Any Wooden Nickels?
A NTICIAPATION OF A $12 BILLION deficit and a $20 billion
boost for the debt ceiling can hardly fail to make one ponder
the inflationary effect and with it, the durability of the paper
dollar.
Thus, the report of the American Institute for Economic Re
search that the U.S. Mint is working overtime to meet the demand
for hard coinage, the discover)' that collecting silver dollars is
becoming popular, together with increasing use of silver in in-,
dustry all help to explain the rising price of the metal.
At last report, the value of the silver in a cartwheel was only
a shade under the face value of the coin. If this trend continues,
it may yet be unlawful to possess this metal!
But we can console ourselves with the truism that fingers came
before forks.
Rain Is Where
You Find It and
Mt. Waialeale Has It
By James Lagier
HONOLULU (i'P) — Legend has it
that the rainiest spot in the world
—the top of Hawaii’s Mt. Waia
leale—once was dry.
But the menehunes — mythical
pygmies—put up a stone idol dedi
cated to their rain god on the
summit and then began the deluge.
Since the ancient Hawaiians
built a sacred temple there, not
more than a few dozen people
have dared the hazardous climb
to check the 471.68-inch dousing
the mountain averages each year.
The nearest inhabited area just
10 miles away has an average an
nual rain fall of slightly more
than 20 inches.
Mt. Waialeale, which means
“rippling water,” is the core of
the island of Kauai at the north
ern end of the Hawaiian chain.
I All seven of the island’s major
rivers radiate off its rugged,
spongy slopes like the spokes of
a wheel.
Its 5,080-foot summit is swept
by constant winds and usually is
veiled in a dense mass of water
soaked clouds.
The mountain had great spiritual
significance to the ancient Hawai
ians. Its summit was the site of
the most sacred of a chain of
seven Heiaus temples leading from
the shore of the island to the sum
mit.
Yearly treks were made to the
top by a U.S. Geological Survey
team to measure the contents of
a 900-inch rain gauge.
The federal agency discontinued
the annual rainfall readings in
1959 when a typhoon destroyed
the equipment.
Local officials, fearing Hawaii
might lose her title by default,
pressed for repairs to the equip
ment and the first reading in four
years should be made late this
year.
The difficult job of measuring
the rainfall and bringing data
down from the swampy summit
has been the task of the U.S. Geo
logical Survey’s Water Resources
Division for more than a half
century.
It involves a perilous climb,
rough even for a trained outdoors
man.
Forty to 52 feet of rain a year
has created a spongy bog one to
three miles wide on the summit
and extending down the northwest
slope for five miles.
The approach to the bog is
through some of the thickest
jungles in the islands.
The last part of the climb must
be made through knee-deep swamp.
Eddie Taniguchi, a Kauai cow
boy, acts as guide. He has been
to the summit about 25 times.
From 1930 to 1951, the average
rainfall was 510.91 inches with a
high in 1948 of 624.10 and a low
in 1951 of 335.45.
Measurements made over 34
years indicates an average yearly
rainfall of 476.34, about five inches
more than the figure given in
world almanacs.
Mt. Waialeale competes with
Cherrapunni in the upper Ganges
Valley of India which has aver
aged rainfall of 450 inches a year
over 74 years.
However, the Indians claim the
highest rainfall in one rainy mon
soon, 1,042 inches in 1860-61; the
highest for one month, 366 inches
in 1861; and the highest in one
five-day period, 12.5 feet in 1841.
The local U.S. Geological Sur
vey Office feels it has determined
to its own satisfaction that Mt.
Waialeale is the world’s rainiest
spot.
Did you ever see a pigeon
slip and fall down? —So walk
pigeon-toed on ice.
NOME
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2511 Days 2485 Nights
Gross Tax Collections for
First 9 Months Show
An Increase of $1,604,976
JUNEAU UP—Gross Tax collec
tions through the first 9 months
of the current fiscal year showed
an increase of $1,604,976 over col
lections during the same period in
fiscay 1962, the Revenue Dept, re
ported today.
Commissioner R. D. Stevenson
said gross tax collections during
the 9-month period ending last
March 31 amounted to $27,279,567,
compared with $25,674,590 during
the period July 1, 1961, to March
31, 1962.
Net income taxes produced $11,
824,744 during the first 9. months
of the current fiscal year, while
motor fuel tax collections amount
ed to $5,345,652.
By area, the Southcentral Dis
trict produced $14,023,429; the
Southeast District $6,519,756; the
Central District $5,129,767; and the
Northwestern District $690,895.
In addition, there were Fish and
Game tax receipts amounting to
$935,720 which were not attributed
to specific districts.
Mark 21st Anniversary
Of The Fall of Bataan
WASHINGTON (tf —Yesterday
was the 21st anniversary of a val
iant but bitter day in American
history—the fall of Bataan to the
Japanese, on April 9, 1942.
In a special message commemo
rating the Americans and Filipinos
who “struggled to the end with
magnificent valor against over
whelming odds,” President Ken
nedy said:
“For the courage of those brave
men we today express our grati
tude. Their spirit sustains us still.”
To mark the day, Philippines
ambassador Amelito Mutuc and
Capt. Tazewell T. Shepard Jr.,
Kennedy’s naval aide, laid wreaths
on the Tomb of the Unknowns in
Arlington National Cemetery.
Mabel Willebrant, Woman
Attorney, Passes at 73
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Mabel
Walker Willebrant, 73, who as
assistant attorney general of the
United States during the prohibi
tion era was the nation’s best
known woman attorney, died Sat
urday of cancer. Willebrandt held
the post eight years and became
famous for her prosecution of
cases involving the anti - liquor
laws.
i
Cubans Free Nine
American Skin Divers
MIAMI, Fla. UPl — New York
attorney James Donovan flew yes
terday from Cuba with nine Amer
ican skin divers and a missionary
jailed on espionage charges, and
said his next trip to Cuba would
be to secure the release of other
imprisoned Americans.
Donovan said he was very opti
mistic on the prospects of secur
ing the release of the remaining
Americans. He said there were 22
or 23 still behind held in various
Cuban prisons.
“On my next trip the Americans
will come out,” Donovan said.
The ten Americans flown to
Homestead Air Force Base appear
ed to be in good spirits and health.
The missionary, the Rev. Floyd
Woodworth, needed a shave. He
wore a white shirt and slacks.
Donovan said Woodworth had been
held in jail the past 20 days in
communicado.
Council Would Study
Maintenance of Service Roads
JUNEAU OP — A resolution di
recting the Legislative Council to
make a study of the problems of
financing construction and main
tenance of local service roads
passed the Senate Tuesday.
Also passed was HR64 asking
that Alaska’s exhibit at the New
York World’s Fair be designed
after the Tlingit Indian commun
ity house, and that the structure
be pre-fabricated in Alaska as
much as possible.
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