Historical Museum 8c Library
Box 205
The Kenai Peninsula Juneau'Alaska
Chmhako Hews
“NEWS FROM THE OIL CENTER OF ALASKA”
THIRD YEAR FEBRUARY 9, 1962 PRICE 10c PER COPY NUMBER 66
Kenai-Soldotna Races Planned
A two day sled dog1 racing
event, offering a purse of at
least $2000 is to be jointly spon
sored on March 2 and 3 by Kenai
and Sbldoina. Races are to be
run over a course about 12 miles
in length between the two towns.
The first day’s race will start
in one town with the race on the
following to start in the other.
The event, timed to occur after
the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous
and before the North American.
Championship races at Fairbanks,
is expected to attract many top
ranking mushers.
The races will be run under
auspices of the Anchor River
Sled Dog Racing Assoc., which
also plans to conduct a sweep
stakes event in connection with
the races. Several teams from
the association are expected to be
entered.
Arrangements are being made
for the mma to be run along the
power line right of way between
Soldotna and Kenai in order that
the Kenai Spur road may remain
open to traffic.
Plana were finalized Thursday
noon at a mooting heki in
George’s Cafe in Kenai, which
was attended by representatives
from both communities. A simi
lar meeting' is, called for next
Thursday noon in the same loca
tion at which time a coin will be
tossed to determine which town
will be the starting point for the
first race.
Kenai Chamber of Commerce
at its noon luncheon meeting on
Wednesday voted to contribute
$100 to start the fund.
Jack Johnson, temporary chair
man of the committee in charge
of the event, has announced an
estimated $1000 has been pledged
to date.
Johnson, proprietor of the Vil
lage Inn and Soldotna Shopping
Center, is working with mem
bers of the planning committee.
Billy McCann, ami Mr. and Mrs.
They are Raye Mullin, A1 Lee,
Monty Coleman, all of Kenai;
Jack Farnsworth and Jack John
son, both of .Soldotna, and Loren
Stewart, Ridgeway, publisher of
Cheeehako News,
Various subcommittee heads
were also named Thursday by the
chairman.
Plans for other activities are
being made in Kenai and Soldotna
to be held in connection with the
races. Reports of these and the
fund raising drive will reported
at the next weekly meeting.
Has Good Fishing
South of Border
M. L, Grange, Soldotna, en
joyed his Mexican vacation s6
much that he has already made
reservations for a similar t w o
weeks next year.
Grange spent three days in
Mexico City before going to Aca
pulco. A chance encounter with
Gene Effler, chief pilot for Cor
dova Airlines, while registering
at a hotel in Acapulco brought
Grange a fishing companion for
the remainder of his stay.
The two pulled in six sailfish,
a dolphin, a shark and a sea
tuitle measuring five feet dia
meter from which they had a
special meal prepared.
Grange is having one of the
sailfish he caught mounted and
it will be on display at Riverside
House until he completes a
proper setting for it in his own
home.
The fish, a beauty measuring
9 feet in length and weighing 149
pouns, took hrm an hour and 15
miutes of hard work—plus the
aid of the skipper—before he
landed it.
UNIFLflME
24-Hour Delivery
Call 262-4544
Alaska Oil Sales
& Service, Inc.
Exclusive Distributor of UNION OIL Products
FOR KENAI DELIVERIES
SEE
Carl Rodgers
BIRCH DRIVE
KENAI, ALASKA
BULK PLANT. SOLDOTNA
PAUL FRICKEY, MGR.
Phone 262-4544
Greater Soldotna C of 0
Has First Annual Meeting
A motion was made, seconded
and unanimously adopted at the
Greater Soldotna Chamber of
Commerce’s first annual dinner
Saturday night that the Cham
ber's road program he recom
mended for study to the Dept
Of Public Works. Dr. Paul Isaak
officiated at the meeting held at
Riverside House.
Dick Midyett, chairman of the
Roads and Causeway committee,
outlined the program for con
sideration of the group. A map
showing the recommended roads
is on display at M-K Realty in
the Village Shopping Center.
The 1961 activities of the Sol*
o-tna C of C were presented by
Clarence Goodrich in the first
annual report. The organization
only recently voted to include the
surrounding areas and to change
the name to Greater Soldotna
C of C.
Projects for the .current year
were announced by Goodrich and
included supporting the proposed
load program, spearheading the
local farmers’ milling and pro
cessing project, establishing an
agricultural experimental plan
far the Central Kenai Peninsula,
building a tourist information
center, construction of at least 25
new non-farm homes in the area
under revised FHA provisions,
i ©commending that six additional
rooms be made to the Soldotna
school and that a site be obtained
for a future high school.
Joe Scaranhino, chairman of
the tourism and park committee,
also addressed the group describ
ing the proposed sod rooofed log
tourist i nf or mati n cent er to be
constructed near the Y and ask
ing for volunteers to help in se
curing the logs.
J. S. Smith, representing the
Crown Construction Go, of Sol
dotna offered the Chamber its
selection of dogs being cleared by
him on a current construction
project. They will be converted,
to three sided building logs of
desired dimensions by the Greary
Brothers sawmill.
The dinner also served a» a
kickoff drive for a membership
campaign being conducted under
co-chainnanship of Red Grange
mid Dick Hall.
Dark Horse Candidates
Win HEA Director Posts
Three new members of the
board of directors of the Homer
Electric Assoc, Inc., ail nomin
ated from the floor, were elected
Tuesday at the annual member
ship- meeting held in Homer.
Newly elected to serve for
three year terms are Richard T,
(Dick) Hall, Soldotna; Per Osmer
of Clam Cxulch, and Harry Drew
of North Keriai.
Current officers of the Associ
ation are Burton Carver of Soi
dotna, president; Ed Rehder of
Homer, vice president, and Mar
garet Pate, Homer, secretary.
All three are hold over mem
bers of the nine member board,
Other hold over directors are
Charles Lewis, Cohoe; Marion
Bounds, Homer, and Dale Rori
son of Soldotna.
A total of 438 votes were cast,
with 431 of them being valid.
Hall received 287, Drew 200 and
Osmer 192. Other nominees and
total votes were: A, R. Cronin,
Homer, 189; Charles Parsons, of
Rural Route, Anchorage, 118;
Howard Myhill of Homer, HEA.
president, 93; Jim Allen, Homer,
70; Wes Beitman, Homer, 17, and
Russ Coleman, a write in candi
date. 3.
In other business at the meet
ing, support of the Bradley Lake
project was reconfirmed. It was
also voted to support legislation
for appropriation for engineer
ing study of the Turnagain Ann
causeway. All amendments were
passed.
Larry Parnum of Homer, HE A
manager, reported that the num
ber of consumers had doubled
within the past four years and
that a total of 1230 consumers
now receive power from the as
sociation, 211 of them added in
1961. More than 200 applications
are currently on the books, he
said.
Farnum also reported a kilo
watt increase from 7,902,781 in
1960 to 11,860,440 used in 1901,
a gain of 40.2' v and an approxi
mate increase of 50% in revenue
in the 1980-61 comparison.
Date Set to Open
Soldotna P.O. Bids
Soldotna post office bid opening
date has been set for March 0
at Seattle, USA, office of re
gional estate manager of the Post
Office Dept., according to a tele"
gram received last week by Dr»
Paul Isaak, president of Greater
Soldotna Chamber of Commerce,
An identical telegram signed by
Sen. Ernest Gruening, Sen. Bob
Bartlett and Rep. Ralph Rivers,
was received by the Cheeehako
News.
The Boldotna postmaster re
ceived the following communica
tion from the Seattle office on
Feb. 5:
“Postmaster General J. Edward
Day announced: today that during'
the period Feb. 1, 1962 to March
3, 1962, the Post Office Dept,
will advertise for bids to build
and lease a new post office build
ing at Soldotna.
"Specifications call for a strut."
lure containing approximately
2067 square feet of interior floor
space with a 180 square foot
plaU and 16,000 square feet
of paved area. Bids should lx*
submitted tr> the Real Estate
Officer, W, L. Robinson, P.O. Box
3900, Seattle, Wash.
“A site option <m Kenai Spur
Road containing 19,600 square
feet, presently held by the Govt,
will be transferred to the success
ful bidder who will purchase the
prop®, tv, construct the building
to government specifications and
lease it to the Post Offie Dept,
or we will consider other sites
and buildings of approximately
equal utility.
“Eleanor <M. Faa is postmaster
at Soldotna.-’
The telegrams included the
additional information that the
basic period of lease is 10 years
with options to renew.
The site upon which the gov
ernment has an assignable option
is owned by Jack Farnsworth
and is located near the Big K
Market in Soldotna.
Demo Club Elects
Fritz Hall, Sterling:, was
elected chairman of the Central
Peninsula Democratic club at
the annual election meeting held
on Jan. 22 at the North K c na i
Community club.
Other new officers are Archie
Ramsell, Cohoe, vice chairman;
Rusty Lancashire, Ridgeway, sec
retary, and Art Tuuriainen, No.
Kenai, treasurer.
Dinner Benefits Corps Fund
Profits from a benefit dinner
held Wednesday night at River
side House will !>e used by the
Soldo in a Volunteer Ambulance
Corps to further equip and ov
erhaul the two ambulances they
obtained a few months ago.
Pending payment of expenses,
the exact amount of profit could
not be learned Thursday but half
of each $5 ticket goes to the
fund and the dining room was
overflowing.
The vehicles, obtained through
military surplus largely due to
efforts of George Denison, Sol
dotna area CD director, and by
Burton Carver, mayor of Soldot
na, have been undergoing repair.
With the exception of a coat of
paint, one of the ambulances is
r.ow in good running order.
Harry Reger of Reger’s Gar
age, Carver and Don France do
nated their time and work in
making repairs, B and C Auto
Electric donated many of the
p*:ts for repairs. Tires for the
ambulances were donated by T.
C. Whitney Jr. of.Coastal Drill
ing Co. and the siren from l>r.
Paul Isaak. All were acknowl
edged at the meeting.
Special thanks was given to
Vera Franklin and the Teenage
club of which she is sponsor for
SI05 raised at benefit dances.
Also acknowledged were Dan
Bartell of kartell’s Service Sta.,
•who sold the largest number of
tickets for the dinner; the Natl.
Bank of Alaska, Soldotna branch,
for a $25 donation; Mrs, Roy
Johnson for her efforts in mak
ing the tickets, and to the Chee
chako News for publicity.
The need for qualified drivers
was .stressed, with at least 20
needed for standby purposes. A
Red Cross first aid course
will be given to those volunteer
ing for such service in order they
may qualify.
A similar fund raising dinner
is planned for Match 1 at Park
er’s in Ridgeway.