The Kenai Peninsula
“NEWS FROM THE OIL CENTER OF ALASKA”
third year
NOVEMBER 3, 1961
10c PER COPY
NUMBER 53
3 KENAI BOATS SET ADRIFT-2 SINK
Methodist Men
Will Hear Talk
By AMU Chaplain
Prof. Richard R. Gay, chaplain
of Alaska Methodist University,
will ie the speaker at a gather
ing of Methodist Men at River
side House, Soldotna, next Wed
nesday evening at 6:30.
The “no-host” dinner meeting
will launch a Methodist Men’s
group for laymen of the Kenai
church, the Methodist Church of
Christ the Victor, Tustumena. and
the Church of St. Peter the Fish
erman, N'inilehik.
RICHARD R. GAY
The purpose of the new parish
wide organization, according to
Jess Nicholas, chairman of ar
rangements, is to draw together
the men of the three sister church
es for Christian fellowship, joint
projects of worth and discussion
of vital issues.
Prof. Gay came to AMU from
Ohio Wesleyan University. He
teaches religion and philosophy
at the Anchorage school and has
been in demand as a speaker
since his arrival in Alaska fifteen
months ago. Last year he served
as dean of the Greater Anchor
age Christian leadership school,
arid is presently chairman of the
Christian Education division of
the Anchorage Council of Church
es, an incorporator and board
m ember of Anchorage Community
Chest, and president of Alaska
Mental Health Assoc.
Serving .with Nicholas on plans
for the meeting are Daniel Har
lan, pastor, Bill Steinauer of Ke
nai and David Cooper of Ninil
ehik. Reservations for the dinner
are to be made to some member
of the committee by this week
end.
Kenai PUD To
Lease Tidelands
Division of Lands will
lv to the Kenai Public Utility
D ict two parcels of tidelands
lo c.i on Homer spit. The par
cel are designated Tract A-50.4
acres, more or less, abutting Lot
7, Section 27, T6S, R13W, SM„
approximately 2% miles south
easi. of Homer, and Tract B—8.8
acres, more ©i less, abutting Lots
25 .-tv? 25 Sen 1, T7S, R13W,
SM, approximately five miles SE
of } s mer.
The minimum annual rental for
oac - tn e will be $25, with the
property s d t>et to review at five
yea in." says Roscoe E.
Bcb, director.
THIS NEW Bl ILDING being constructed adjoining the Kenai
Hi-School grounds will house the Kenai Branch of the City
National Hank when it is completed. Drilling has just started on
the water well with Art Wells of Soldutna operating the drill rig.
Ambulance Corps Names
Committee Appointees;
Sunday Meeting- Planned
Committee appointments for
the newly organized ambulance
corps have been announced by
Charley W. Griffin, superinten
dent Soldotna school, who is serv
ing as organization chairman.
The ambulance corps, as yet
unnamed, will serve the North
Kenai Peninsula area.
Appointments were made fol
lowing a meeting held on Oct. 27
at the Soldotna school. Those in
attendance were George Denison,
K. K. Condict, T. V. Grainge,
William S. Olsen. Button Carv
er. A1 Morasse, Chet Allen, Dick
Hardin, Lyle Johnson, Jim Ren
f>-o. M. L. Grange, Bill Hall, Ron
Harper, Arthur Jess, Clarence
Goodrich and Charley Griffin, all
of Soldotna; Allen Hamilton and
Bing Brown, both of Sterling;
Dick Mommson anti James Hall
ingsworth, both of Kenai, and
Stanley S. McLane, Ridgeway.
Those appointed to the ambu
lance committee are M. L. “Red”
Grange, Dick Hardin, Burton
Carver and Harry Reger, all of
Soldotna.
The finance committee will con
sist of Chet Allen, W. S. “Red”
Oisen, both of Soldotna; Bing
Brown of Ste: ling anti Stanley
McLane, Ridgeway.
Named to the first aid com
mittee are Arthur Jess, Bill Hall,
Jim Renfro and Lyle Johnson, all
of Soldotna.
The publicity committee will be
comprised of Loren Stewart of
Ridgeway, Jim Hollingsworth of
Kenai, and Clarence Goodrich of
Soldotna.
A class in first aid instruction
will begin soon. Ambulance driv
ers and attendants accompanying
them must qualify for first aid
certificates. Several members of
the corps are employees of the
Division of Public Roads and re
cently were required to take such
a course, lacking only the success
ful passing of an examination to
qualify for a certificate.
The corps recently acquired two
ambulances through aid of the
Civil Defense program and is
raising funds now to reimburse
the purchase price. Voluntary con
tributions of $27 was raised at
Thursday night’s meeting.
Teenagers of the community
recently presented Burton Carver
with a contribution of $105 raised
at benefit dances to support the
ambulance corps. These dances,
held at Soldutna community hall,
were sponsored by Vera Frank
lin.
Another meeting has been
scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Sunday
at the Soldotna school building
at which time a name for the or
ganization will he chosen, a def
late decision reached on the ex
tent of territory to he covered
by the ambulance corps, and fur
ther information presented re
garding a first aid training pro
gram.
Bankers Visit
Area Holdings
Representatives from the hoards
of directors of the City National
Bark of Anchorage and the Al
aska State Bank, Fairbanks, were
in Kenai and Soldotna Wednes
day looking over property in
which the banks have investments.
The two banks are jointly fin
ancing Jack Johnson in his Vil
lage Shopping Center venture in
Soldotna, The new building under
construction at Kenai will house
the Kenai branch bank of the City
National Bank.
Included in the group were
Mrs. Ben Crawford, Anchorage,
chairman of the hoard of direc
tor.- of the City National Bank;
I.dward .Merries, ruciints utter*
ney, legal counselor and member
of the board of directors of the
Alaska State Bank, and Forbes
Baker and Marvin Paul, both di
rectors of the same bank.
Me'ties said that in a conver
sation earlier Wednesday with
Sen. Ernest Gruening, he’d been
advised that he had been appoint
ed to the Rampart Dam advisory
committee to succeed Frank
Mapleton, who recently died.
All members of group expressed
interest in the rapid growth and
development of the Peninsula and
agreed that potential economic
development showed greater pos
ihilities in the Kenai than in
mo-, other Alaska areas.
Read News wan tads for profit.
Two fishing boats sank in the Kenai river and a third broke
from its moorings and drifted out of the river into Cook Inlet in
series of accidents occurring in Kenai Tuesday and Wednesday night
of this week, not fair from the Army docks.
1 ne '’oats, well known to area fishermen, are the “Rose
Mane, ’ and the “Two Brothers,” both of which sank, and the -Seal
which was rescued and brought back to the dock. The three boats ha
Nov. Clinic
Schedule Set
The schedule for the Kenai itin
erant nurse. Miss Ruth Tewes,
has been announced for the month
of November.
Immunization clinics for Clam
Culch, Cohoe and Kasilof will
be held at the Tustumena school
on Thursday, Nov. 9, from noon
to 12:30 p.m. There will he no
further visit to Cooper Landing
until spring.
Other locations and dates o-n
the schedule include Kenai Health
Center on the second ami fourth
Wednesdays, Nov. 8 and 22, from
1:30 to 3:30 p.m., other times by
appointment; Ninilc'nik, at the
school on Friday, Nov. 3, noon
to 12:30 p.m.
Soldotna, at the school on Tues
day Nov. 21, from noon to 12:30
p.m,'; Sterling, Friday, Nov. lu,
at 10 a.m. at Reading and Bates
camp and noon to 12:30 p.m. at
Sterling school; Tyonek, Nov. 15
through 17.
The mental health team will
visit the area on Nov. 6 and 7,
Miss Tewes said. The speech ther
apist is scheduled to return on
the last week in November or
the first week in December.
Anyone wishing to see I>r. Hel
en Dittman, who is in charge of
speech therapy work, is advised
to see the public health nurse for
• an appointment prior to Doctor
Dittman’s visit.
Hospital
Site Survey
Underway
A plan for investigating poten
tial sites for a hospital on the
North Kenai Peninsula was an
nounced Wednesday by James E.
Fisher, chairman of the site com
mittee of the Central Kenai Pen
insula Hospital association.
"The site committee will at
tempt, to determine how residents
of each of the communities o n
tiie North Kenai Peninsula re
gain the location of a hospital,”
says Fisher. "The particular com
munities involved will be re
quested to give their opinions on
location of the proposed hospital
and reasons for such location,”
It is expected that the commit
tee will have as active, participat
ing members, a representative
from each of the communities
gonerally recognized on the North
Kenai Peninsula, such as Cohoe,
Kasilof, Kenai, North Kenai, Sol
dotna and Ste.ling, the chair
man said.
"It is my hope,” Fisher says,
• that the hearings will arouse in
terest in the hospital project as
well as disseminate as much in
formation as is available so that
we will all be fully informed of
factors affecting location of a
hospital.”
Members of the committee oth
er than the chairman are not yet
known and will be recommended
by the 'Board of Trustees at its
next meeting.
logeiner.
fhe Rose Marie,' a 60-footer
owned by Bill Seeley of Rena .
broke from it? moorings somethin
late Halloween night and sank
directly in front of the Army
dock. The boat, purchased only
thi- past summer, was partly
loaned with era’) fi:shin<>• equip
ment in preparation for a trij
scheduled to begin early next
wet*k, Seeley vab es the boat am.
contents at approximately $15
thousand.
I i;e 1 wo Brothers," owner
and operated by Tony MeGahar.
■ hipped considerable water when
the Rose Marie broke loose an
was pumped out Wednesday, Me
Gahar. said. Early Thursday morn
ing he was notified the T w
Brothers and the Seal had brok
en loose from their moorings and
w re drifting out of the mouth
of the river. Buoy kegs and drum
were observed floating all ove
the water.
I'jjf Two Brothers sank at the
mouth of the river Thursday noor.
with only the top of its cabin re
maining visible. The bottom evi
dently settled on a sandbar am
attempts are being made to sal
vage it. The boat, a new ship-n -
chore radio and other epuipmen*
are estimated by McGahan to b
worth at least $15,000. His crab
fishing gear had not been brought
aboard at the time it broke loose.
“Bunk’’ Hoyt’s boat, 1 he Sea
or iginally had been tied next t
Seeleys Hose Marie, and evident
ly roke loose at the same tim
a the Two Brothers. When dis
covered, it had drifted to th
mouth of the river, but had no:
sunk.
A dory manney by McGahan
H>.vt, Hoyt's son Bruce, B i 1
Seeley. Dwayne Johnson and Ma
McGahan, Tony’s brother, wen
after 1 he Seal and managed t
bring it back to the dock. .\.
visible damage to the boat coub
be ascertained.
All three boats had been se
curely moored and lines had hel<
them in place throughout t n
strong winds of the weekend, ou
of the owners said. Winds were
relatively calm on the nights th
accidents occurred.
Salvage attempts are in prog
ress now to raise the Rose Maid
which is completely submerged
and The Two Brothers, the cahi:
of which is still above water
They will be brought back to th
riven bank, their motors over
hauled and other reconditioning
completed before being put int
use again, Tony McGahan said.
Work Begins
On Kenai
CAP Hangar
Construction is underway or
the new hangar at Kcnai to house
the 1,-20 Beaver, the plane used
by the Kenai squadron of the Civil
Air Patrol in local search and
rescue missions.
Concrete for the foundation has
been poured and a portion of the
timbers and lumber for the build
• SEli— WORK BEGINS
(Continued on Page 12)