DR. JOSEPH HERMAN ROMIG, PIONEER SURGEON
BRIEF HISTORY OF
DR. J. H. ROMIG,
PIONEER SURGEON
DR. JOSEPH HERMAN ROMIG
was born at West Salem, 111., Septem
ber 3, 1872. The Romig family are
among the early settlers of the Uni
ted States, Dr. John Adam Romig ar
riving at Philadelphia, September 30,
1732, on the ship Dragon. The family
settled in Pennsylvania as Moravian
colonists under a grant from William
Penn, and since those early pioneer
days have ever been at the front of
the western growth of the country.
There are many Romigs in Pennsylva
nia, Ohio, Iowa and the states west
to Oregon and Alaska.
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Dr. J. H. Romig was educated by the
Moravian church and had his school
ing in Philadelphia; graduated in
1896 and married Miss Ella Mae Ervin
of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, and
shortly thereafter sailed for Alaska
on the Alaska Commercial Company’s
steamer Bertha. He sailed from Una
i laska on the schooner Pearl to the
| Kuskokwim, where he remained seven
years, and during that time was the
only medical man on the coast from
St. Michael to Kodiak, and had to
cover the region from the Yukon to
Bristol Bay. During this period he
forwarded the first news and official
mail announcing the discovery of gold
at Nome. He made many trips over
this section of the coast as superin
tendent of the Moravian Missions.
Mt. Romig, just east of Bethel, was
named after him by the Spurr and
Post geodetic survey party. In 1904
i he was sent to the Bristol Bay dis
trict, where he went out of Church
service in 1905, and located in San
Francisco, but in the spring of 1906
was burned out by the fire. During
the fire he was acting assistant sur
geon of the California National Guard
under Majpr Hanna and in charge of
the First Reserve Hospital at Gough
and Eddy Streets.
Losing all, he returned to Alaska
with his family, and lived on the
Nushagak river for three years, dur
ing which time he was United States
Commissioner. In 1909 he was ap-s
pointed Superintendent of Schools
and Physician for the Bureau of Edu
cation for the Southwestern District
of Alaska. Through his efforts and
the influence of Judge Glover of the
Department of Justice, the Floating
Court was established. In 1910 he
was Chief Special Agent for the Cen
sus, Second Division of Alaska.
In 1913 Dr. Romig was stationed at
Seward in charge of the surgical work
for the Alaska railroad, and since
that date has been stationed at Nena
na, Fairbanks and is now in charge
of the Anchorage hospital, where he
attends to the surgical work for the
entire railroad.
Dr. Romig is widely known all over
western Alaska, not only for the good
work he has done, but for being the
pioneer surgeon in point of years of
service in Alaska.
He is a member of the Territorial
Medical Board and President of the
Territorial Medical Association. He
was the medical member of Local
Board Number 13 during the war.
Born to Dr. and Mrs. Romig were
Robert Herman Romig, born at Beth
el, Alaska, January 26, 1897, and at
present located at Anchorage where he
is a successful business man, Mary
ette M. Romig, born at Bethel Nov.
6, 1898, at present the wife of City
Clerk John P. Hannon of Seward;
Hellen Elizabeth Romig, born January
2, 1901, at present in charge of the
laboratory work at the Anchorage
hospital; and Howard Glenmore Ro
mig, born at Seward, January 28,
1911, and at present a student of the
Anchorage schools.
Dr. Romig is one of the foremost
| surgeons of Alaska, haying kept up
with modern methods, and taking
many post graduate courses in East
ern hospitals. He has a record of
many cures and few failures, and is
one of the solid, substantial men of
Seward, in the van in every proposi
tion advanced for promoting the Ter
ritory’s interests.
THIS REGION IS
LOGICAL POINT
HALIBUT FLEET
Referring to the discovery of new
halibut banks in the Aleutian Islands
which may again make Seattle a clear
ing house for the vast amount of hal
ibut caught in the North Pacific, Jo
seph Kildall, president and general
manager of the Alaska Consolidated
Fisheries, Inc., a business visitor in
Seward, states that this plant at Port
lock with a storage capacity of one
and one-half million pounds, together
with the facilities at the local San
Juan cold storage plant, the two local
concerns should be right in line for
handling the catches of this and the
Westward districts.
Most of the halibut are caught on
the present banks, the Portlock banks,
reputed to be the largest in the world.
The U. S. Coast and Geodetic survey
bulletin reports there are 7,000 square
miles of fishing banks at a depth rang
ing from forty to seventy fathoms
deep, and 10,000 square miles of banks
ranging from forty to 125 fathoms
deep. The halibut from the Portlock
banks are landed at Prince Rupert
and shipped to American markets via
the Canadian National railways. The
British Columbia port captured this
business because of its close proxi
mity to the fishing grounds, being
much closer than Seattle.
Eighty thousand pounds of halibut
were recently landed at Prince Rupert
by the American fishing vessel Scan
dia of Seattle, which vessel was in
Seward some time ago. The fish were
caught south of Unimak Island in the
Aleutian group, 1,259 miles west of
Prince Rupert—the farthest point from
which halibut has ever been brought
to that port.
Halibut fishermen, providing the
price paid them was fair, in compari
son to what they receive in Prince
Rupert and Ketchikan, by disposing
of their catch at the local plants,
could make probably three or four
more tritfs to the banks, where if they
made the long run south, a big ex- *
pense accrues in time lost, icing and
in general expense. From the local
plants the fish would be shipped di
rect to the southern markets.
Providing the transportation of the
thousands of tons of fresh halibut from
these banks can be made to Seattle
thru the local plants it would mean
this district would forge ahead with
great strides. The new fishing banks
are practically as close to Seattle as
to Prince Rupert and railway trans
portation is quicker from Seattle to
New York and Chicago than it is from
Prince Rupert to those points.
It is reported that the United States
tariff commission now has under con
sideration the request of the Canadian *
government for a reduction of the
tariff on halibut shipped into the
United States.
During the past season at the Port
lock plant, progress has been satis- *
factory, Mr. Kildall said, by next
spring the company will be in a posi
tion to start operating. It is planned
to begin operations by first packing
codfish; later summer herring will be
packed, and also salmon will be mild
cured providing trollers can be ob
tained. It is believed a twelve months
a year fishing industry can be sue- >
cessfully carried on, under the pres
ent plans of the company.
Mr. Kildall’s company has six cod
fish stations in the Aleutian Islands,
and it is their intention to give thesa
stations to fishermen who, in turn will
ship their catches to the Portlock
plant where they will be prepared into
finished products ready for the mar- \
kets of the world.
Extra copies of the Prosperity Edi
tion at this office, mailed, for 25 cents.
-r cr
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