I Poem
THE INDEPENDENT
■it may be,” said he, "I was
jj gifted with it,
I ike a doubtful blessing at birth
bestowed.
lit I must dispute if I do not
favor.
I a-m not a man for the
middle road.”
[t is true,” said he, WI am out
of fashion,
ttke no side and prosper is now
the mode.
ut I will not choke on a gag of
dollars.
I am not a man for the
middle road.”
Phev can sneer and call me the
windmill fighter,
ike old Don Quixote with his
knightly code.
at I do not crouch and I wear
no collar.
I am not a man for the
middle road.”
—By SHAN FARR,
North Kenai ■
Read the Classified ads—'it pays
Harry says:
REPUTATION IS
PRECIOUS,
BUT CHARACTER IS
PRICELESS.
-000—-—
HARRY WEST
INSU R A NCE A G ENCY
Call Collect
CA 4-3021
Seward
Ice Classic Continues
To Interest Alaskans
Now that Alaska is coasting
toward spring, it's time for Alas
kans’ favorite day dream to take
hold.
It’s the Nenana Ice Classic.
This guessing game started 44
years ago in the little town of
Nenana at the confluence of the
Tanana and Nenana, GO miles
southwest of Fairbanks. It was
then, and still Is, one of the fron
tier’s favorite antidotes to cabin
fever.
From a $500 pot that year it
has grown so large that running
the classic is a full time industry
in the little river town. The big
guess is this—when will the ice
“go out” on the Tanana river?
The minute of the breakup is
Ninilchik Rodeo
Group Announces
Plans for Season
Stockholders of the Ninilchik
Rodeo Association, Inc., have
elected new officers and directors
and made plans for the 1962 sea
son.
Harry Cummings ia newiy
eleeted president; Elton Ander
son, vice president, and Inez Clen
denen, secretary-treasurer.
New directors elected are Har
ry Cummings, Ella Mae MeGann
and Walt Crow, all elected for
three-year terms; Larry Clenden
en and John Hansen for two-year
terms, and Jim Wilson for a one
year term. Holdover- directors are
Elton Anderson, two-year term,
and Bud Reina, one-year term.
Shows for the coming season
were discussed and arrangements
begun for a Fourth of July show
at the Ninilchik Rodeo Associa
tion grounds at Happy Valley. Al
though this is the only definite
date set as yet, several other
show's are tentatively planned, in
cluding a possible rodeo in the
Kenai-Sokiotna area.
Rubber Rain Boots
«..■****“ *. (Men’s and Children's)* —— *•* ,
Sfett’S Work Shoes (Ail Si^ejO ■
Delta Blankets (Rayon kcrUon)
BATH TOWELS <
5-Gal.Gas Cans..$4.25 I
Gas Can Spouts.. $1.50
Bunk Beds and Mattress — $15.95
Complete Set
JEANS’ SURPLUS
(FORMERLY UNITED SALES) SOLDOTNA
j WHITE'S]
.r
M f||
SERVICE
Complete Automotive Service
and Motor Rebuild
TUNEUPS A SPECIALTY
‘Don’t fight ’em, let us fix ’em’
—0—•
NATIONAL CAR RENTALS
OPEN DAILY 7:30 A M. TO 9:00 P.M.
SUNDAY’S 8:00 A.M. TO 8:00 P.M.
Phone 283-7656 Kenai
Harry White, Prop.
clocked by mechanical devices
placed on the ice cm the shore. To
a tripod in the Tanana river is
attached 100 yards of slack wire,
the other end of which is fixed
to a clock on the bank.
During the thaw the moving ice
must carry the three-legged stand
100 yards until the wire trips the
clock, thus establishing the offi
cial minute of the breakup.
The ice .has never gone out ear
lier than April 20, 1040, nor later
than May 16, in 1945.
One dollar tickets are on sale.
When the contest closes at mid
night on April 7, these tickets
are expressed to Nenana. Almost
all of the adult population turns
out to the town's community cen
ter to sort tickets and handle all
•the uoutines of the big game.
Guesses, with date, time and
name of person submitting — are
printed in a big catalog.
Net pay-off for the winning
guess for the last seven years
goes like this: 1955, $104,500;
1956, $106,000; 1957, $118,500;
1958, $104,500; 1959, $98,000;
1960, $$0,000; 1961, $75,999.
hast year the -winnings were
split by just a dozen winning
tickets. Eleven of these were for
individual pools or “companies.”
For one man, the golden dream
of winning a fortune really did
come true. He was Mervin Ander
son, Fairbanks, who took the
whole purse of $102,000 on an
individual ticket. Charles R.
Mont joy of Juneau won $102,000
in 1952.
The grand old man of the Ice
Classic, Oscar Nielsen, formerly
of Anchorage, won twice. In 1932
he won $16,000 of a $65,000 pot
and in 1958 a little over $3,000
from a $104,500 pot.
Moreover, the Ice Classic is one
thing that Wall Street will never
he able to cash in on. It's illegal
to sell tickets outside Of Alaska
or the Yukon Territory,
Total take last year Was $140,*
000, but out of this came admin
istrative expense, taxes, licenses,
labor and scholarships. Each of
the last ten years the Ice Classic
has given a $1,000 scholarship to
the ’University of Alaska. The
federal government takes a flat
10 per cent cf the gross. Other
expense is for upkeep of the Ne
nana Civic Center, which was
built by the Ice Classic commit
tee.
There are two main systems in
this business of placing a guess.
Most people play a hunch or a
favorite anniversary date, per
haps tempering It slightly with a
smattering of the temperatures
that winter.
Others have mathematical sys
tems. Bast known of these was
an old-timer name of Calhoun who
lived in the Nenana area. He set
up books like an accountant,
keeping track of ice thickness at
different points all winter. But
he never won, although his edu
cated guess came close.
At any rate, past events show
that even without a mathematical
system, the average citizen prob
ably has as good a chance of win
ning the Ice Classic as anybody.
Those hunches have paid off in
the past!
Ninikhik Fair
Plans Underway
The Ninflchik Fair Association
has been holding a series of meet
ings recently to get plans under
way for the Ninilchik Fair sched
uled for Sept. 8-9,
A board meeting was held on
Feb. 27, followed by a meeting at
the home of Mrs. Floyd Blossom
on March 6, The biennial mem
bership drive meeting was at the
Ninilchik school on March 4.
Any community or persons in
terested in displaying commer
cial products or anything to fur
ther agricultural, crafts or home
making at the fair are advised
to contact the publicity chairman,
Mrs. Ruby Bishop, P. 0. Box I,
Ninilchik, or any other officer or
member of the association.
Cheechakr, News, mailed any
where, only $5 per year,.
THE INAIJGURAL FLIGHT of Cordova’s DC-3 evening flight to
Soldotna and Seward landed at the Sotdotna airport at 4:25 p.m,
Feh. 26 with 15 passengers aboard. Pictured here are flight crew
members Gene Effler, pilot; N. C. Simonson, co-pilot, and Dana
Wiese, stewardess. That’s “Red” Grange, Cordova’s Soldotna
manager, in the doorway.
Alaskan Aircraft
Sets New Safety
Records in 1961
A record low in aircraft acci
dents was set by general avia
tion during 1961, according to
the Federal Aviation Agency.
Although general aviation flew
300,000 hours, or 50 per cent
more than the 200,000 hours
flown the previous year, the
number of accidents dropped
from 230 to 193, officials report
ed. General Aviation includes air
craft operations ether than sche
duled airlines and military fly
fog.
In congratulating private pil
ots, bush pilots, air taxi oper
ators, and all others in the gen
eral aviation industry which set
the new safety record, FAA of
ficials pointed out that a record
breaking low in fatalities was
also reached.
During 1961 fatalities dropped
to 13 from 28 the previous year.
In 1958, the first year for which
records are available, total fat
alities were 37, and in 1959 they
were 35, The percentage of fat
al accidents to total accidents
also decreased to a new low of
4.14. In I960 the figure was 5.35
while in 1959 it was at 8.9 and
in 1958 was nine.
In 1961 a total of eight acci
dents involved fatalities while
the year before the figure stood
at 13, In 1959 it was 19 and in
1958 there were 16 fatal acci
dents,
“We feel that remarkable pro
gress in safety has been made
by those in general aviation,
This is a -record to be proud of
and one that all should strive
to better next year,” W. H. Bru
baker, chief of FAA’s Flight
Standards division, declared.
COMMERCIAL PRINTING A'fCHEECRAKO NEWS
CALL 262-4624 AND A$R FOR JOE .
NECCHI-ELNA "
REVOLUTIONARY NEW SEWING MACHINE
Demonstration March 15,16 & 17
at Big K Market
You will be amazed at what this machine can do!
ALSO SEWING SUPPLIES ON SALE
NECCHI-ELNA SEW & SAVE OF ANCHORAGE
FOR SALE
New 3-Bedroom Home
Aspen Wav and Binkley Streets
SOLDOTNA
OPEN FOR INSPECTION
Saturday and Sunday Afternoons
Noon ’till 6 p.m.
★ Heated Insulated Garage
★ Hot Water Heat-Gas
0
★ Built-in Gas Range & Oven
★ Birch Kitchen
Built to F.H.A. Specifications
HOEKSZEMA & BONIN CO.