Knout fljo4isi Vtuue/Uitif,
If you want to roll back the
pages of history a third of a cen
tury, let John O’Shea, president
of the University of Alaska Alum
ni Association and territorial as
sayer in An
chorage. tell you
about the "good
ol* days.”
“One of the
first recollec
tions of Hallow
e’en as a young
s t e r in Fair
banks was when
one of our gang.
Johnny Butro
John O'Shea vich, tipped
over Luther
Hess’s woodpile, at Ninth and
Cushman,” O’Shea reminisced.
"All of us ran like Indians and
ended up at our house for a piece
of cake. We lived in the house
now occupied by John B. “Dixie”
Hall.
“The Fairbanks Public School
was a big wooden building in
those days and when every boy
and girl was in attendance, we
could barely count 150 heads,” he
continued.
“Ben Eielson was high school
basketball coach when Howard j
Romig and I were in school. Eiel- :
son taught science subjects before
he went into flying,” O’Shea said, j
“Ira Farnsworth was a World War !
I aviation mechanic and when
Eielson decided to become an avi
ator. Farnsworth helped Ben as-i
semble his first Jenny. We kids :
were fascinated by this airplane j
and hung around the field all the
time.”
The biggest event in the mem
ory of young O’Shea was Presi-!
dent Harding’s visit to Fairbanks.
“I’m sure the president thought i
Fairbanks had more than its;
share of youngsters,” the Alumni :
prexy recalled. “Practically every
kid in town went through the line
four or five times to shake hands
with the president. I remember:
Herbert Hoover, wearing his very
high collar, standing alongside of j
Harding and grinning broadly j
when he saw us kids doubling j
back through the hand-shaking!
line.
O’Shea’s first visit to the Uni
versity was to see the cornerstone
laid, on July 4, 1915, when the
Hon. James J. Wickersham, then
delegate to Congress from Alaska,
made the address for the occasion.
Wickersham predicted an illus
trious future for the farthest
north College of Agriculture and
School of Mines.
It was logical for O’Shea to
enroll in the University, since he
was born in Fairbanks and re
ceived his grammar and high
school education there. He en
tered in 1933 and was a three
year basketball player. He was
on the same barnstorming trips
as Regent William O’Neill.
O’Shea was president of the
student body, editor of the Denali
yearbook and engaged in many
other activities. Upon graduation
in 1939 with a B.S. in general
science and a major in chemistry,
O’Shea started the “F. E. rou
tine.”
In those days the Fairbanks
Exploration Company was the de
pendable source of employment
for top-level students and O’Shea
acted successively as assayer, gold
clean-up foreman and foreman in
charge of gold-recovery experi
| mental work.
He worked for the F. E. Com
pany from 1929 to January 1,
| 1943. With the wry smile of a
| good Irishman, O’Shea said, “Dur
; ing these years Roy Earling was
quite helpful in making the F. E.
i a paying operation.”
In January, 1943, O’Shea donned
the two-piece suit presented to
him by Uncle Sam and until
Japan quit, he was stationed at
Fort Richardson.
His first job after the war was
as chief coal sampler and analyst
for The Alaska Railroad, a posi
j tion he held until 1948 when he
i accepted the appointment of ter
i ritorial assayer in charge of the
Anchorage office of the Alaska
Department of Mines.
O’Shea is decidedly in favor of
| co-educational institutions. “Be
sides the fine education I got at
the University of Alaska, I also
got a very fine wife,” he said.
Florence Walker, daughter of
the late Norman Walker of
Ketchikan, became Mrs. John
| O’Shea on Thanksgiving Eve in
1938 at St. Joseph’s Chapel. They
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KEN'S ELECTRIC SUPPLY
Corner Valley Street and Glenn Highway
ESSLINGERS TO RETURN
FROM SEATTLE TODAY
Mr. and Mrs. Clayton Esslinger,
who spent a brief visit in Seattle
this week were expected to re
turn to Palmer today. The couple
left here last week end when Mr.
: Esslinger went to Seattle on busi
I ness. He is the Co-Op accountant
j here.
j were graduated together in 1939.
j Daughter Mary Jane was born in
j St. Joseph’s hospital like her fa
ther before her.
While living in Fairbanks and
more recently in Anchorage,
O’Shea has been prominent in
alumni circles. He was the logical
man to head the newly-formed
Territorial Alumni Association.
“I want to compliment the
members of the Board of Regents
for the progressive steps they are
taking to bring the University of
Alaska to the people,” O’Shea
said.
"The authorization of adult ed
I ucational programs in Alaskan
cities, the approval of junior col
, lege courses for university credit
i and the establishment of graduate
j degrees for summer school on the
' campus, tremendous steps toward
making the University of Alaska
a truly territory-wide school of
higher learning.
"These steps will receive the
heartiest cooperation from the
■ alumni,” O’Shea concluded.
CONSERVATION
NOTES
By Lew Hanks
The Palmer Soil Conservation
subdistrict directors held their
monthly meeting at the Soil Con
servation Service office Tuesday
night. Robert Webb and Leonard
Kygger were installed as new
members of the board. The first
order of business after canvassing
the ballot and verifying the elec
tion of the new members was a
revision of the annual work plan
of the subdistrict.
The district is charged by terri
torial law with the responsibility
of providing assistance to farm
ers of the district in conservation
methods. The board really went
to work .mostly on me I think.
They said prevention of wind
erosion was of first importance in
the Valley. Other conservation
practices such as crop rotations,
grass and pasture management,
drainage, irrigation and fertilizers
are fine, but what good were they
if the wind blows away your
farm evry time you plow it up?
Bluntly I was told “to get out
among’em” and see that a few
good demonstrations of wind
breaks and wind strip cropping
were stablished in the Valley.
There is no fooling about it—
wind erosion is serious. It is the
one thing that can permanently
ruin agriculture in the Matanuska
JUNIOR-SENIOR BALL
PLANS ARE STARTED
Plans for the Junior - Senior
ball, always a highlight in high
school activities, are already un
der way here. The Junior class
met this week to discuss plans
for the annual affair, which is
put on by the Juniors for the
Senior class. A date has not yet
been set for the ball, according
to the announcement, but will be
decided upon soon.
On February 1 the decoration
committee met to work out the
theme for the ball. Members of
the committee include Miss Wan
da Lindsey, chairman; Betty
Harris, Gloria Lepak, GenevieVfc
DeLand, Bob Lacher and Chuck
Milles.
Joe Hudock of the high school
faculty is Junior class sponsor.
Mr. Hudock will assist the Jun
i iors in putting on the ball, ac
cording to the announcement.
! Valley. I’ve seen devastated areas
in the States a lot bigger than
' our present farming area all
ruined by wind and water ero
sion. Sure, it may take 50 or 100
! years to do it. Take it from a lad
j approaching middle age — those
j years are going by faster all the
i time. Erosion damage is perma
! nent. Think it over.
Coffey Insures Everything—
Remember?
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