The Kenai Peninsula
THIRD YEAR DECEMBER 22, 1901 PRICE 10c COPY NUMBErIs"
'
Murder Charge
Faces Soldotna
Building Owner
Murder in the first degree Ls
the charge filed against Arthur
Vernon Watson, Soldotna, in con
nection with the Monday killing
of Marion T. Grissom, 57-year-old
Soldotna area homesteader, Wat
,'On is being held in federal jail
at Anchorage.
State police report Grissom
died at Watson’s home from a
gunshot wound caused by a slug
fired from a .300 Savage rifle.
The shooting occurred about 8:42
P-m., following a quarrel arising
during a drinking party.
Watson and his wife have been
living in a Quik-Log motel, new
ly constructed by them in Soldot
na, near the Y on the Kenai Spur
Road.
Wayne Morgan, of Kenai, state
trooper who investigated the kill
ing, says Watson notified him by
telephone and turned himself in.
The victim was taken to the Cen
tral Peninsula Clinic where Dr.
Elmer Gaede, attending physician,
pronounced him dead at about 10
p.m. Investigation concerning the
murder is not completed, the state
trooper said.
Grissom, who homesteaded al
one near Sport Lake, has a daugh
ter, Mi's. Pete Moralli, living near
Soldotna. His body was taken to
the Anchorage Funeral Chapel or
an autopsy, results of which have
not been (reported.
Funeral arrangements are pend
ing.
Moose in the Susitna Valley are
the same species as those on the
Kenai Peninsula but are regard
ed as more mean, combative and
generally ornery.
Kenas-Bound
Truck Burns
A large B & J Trucking Service
van truck delivering last minute
Christmas supplies from Anch
orage to Kenai caught fire and
burned early Tuesday morning at
Mile 38 near the junction of the
Seward and Sterling highways.
Most of the freight was assign
ed to the Kenai Pharmacy. Sev
eral cases of liquor, a furnace and
other freight for other business
concerns were also in the truck.
The va.i and its contents are re
ported to have been a complete
loss. The engine and body of the
truck, however, were saved.
Fire is believed to have origin
ated from a propane heater in
the back of the truck w-hich broke
loose and fell down into the cargo
starting the fire.
Phil Stetzer, Kenai Pharmacy
owner, said the trucking company
carried insurance on the freight
and that another truck was dis
patched to Kenai, arriving early
Wednesday- morning, with a dupli
cate load to replace arteries lost.
Store Robbed
Investigation is continuing into
the burglary of the Kenai Pharm
acy on the night of Dec. 15.
Charles “Red” Peavley, Kenai
police chief, said watches valued
at approximately $300 and cash
amounting to about $50, were tak
en. Guns, cameras and other it
ems were checked, but none did
seem to be missing, according to
drug store personnel.
Entrance was gained through
the adjoining cafe, where a lock
was broken off the door, Peavley
said.
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Carl Rodgers . .
HIROI DRIVE Phone
KFNAI. ALASKA
ESD Office
To Be Moved
To Soldotna
The local office of the Employ
ment Security Division, Alaska
Department of Labor, is being
relocated. The office, which has
been in Homer for a number of
years, is being moved to Soldot
na. It will be open for business
in the Village Shopping Center
effective Jan. 2, 1962.
According to Earl W. West
phal, local manager, the move
was occasioned by the desire to
give better service to more peo
ple. The majority of the workload
is in the Kenai-Soldotna aiea.
Those from Kenai, Soldotna, Kas
ilof, Naptowne, Sterling- and Co
hoe will be served locally.
Itinerant service will be main
tained on bi-weekly basis in Nin
iiehik at the Inlet View Cafe; in
Homer at the All Kite Cafe, and
in Seldovia at the Jack English
Insurance office.
18 Month Lease
Charles Pugh of Anchorage,
field supervisor for the Employ
ment. Security Division, spoke at
a public hearing in Kenai Monday
night regarding the proposed
move.
An 18-month lease for office
space has been signed, he said,
for office space next door to
where the new drug store is to
be located in the shopping center.
Kenai and Soldotna were both
considered for the office as hav
ing more claimants on file and
as being more centrally located.
Pugh said there are 165 claim
ants currently in the Soldotna
aiea, which includes Sterling, Co
hoe, and Kasilof as well as Sol
iotr.a, and 128 in the Kenai and
North Kenai area.
More emphasis is being placed
on Employment Service activities,
Westphal said, stressing the im
portance of full cooperation be
tween the local office and ail em
ploying units, large and small, in
,n effort to develop more jobs for
more qualified workers.
An invitation is extended for
lesidents to stop in and acquaint
themselves with the many serv
ices available. The new mailing
address is P. Box 323, Soldot
na, Alaska.
Judging of otna’s Yule
decoration e< • < t. sponsored by
the Soldotn.i :i ■••makers Club,
ill take urday. Millie
O: ■<•.- t iman, said
l< vvdi !: • t about 4 p.m. at
Mile 106 H : icr Highway,
ou.herm ii.m'i-iry, and will
i o c b ti • • • u • areas of the
. . ■■ ;, d i ■•!:,- i- • which -i re
orth a i a. i !.••<•; Road »>■ l
■ asi t.> R bj |,, op Road.
A to! of l;» l>usine-s establish
. ,e.'ts and 12 re.si.ir’ices and
• "ai ii‘i . iusi' • r entered in the
>nt( Ki ti a-, v m rii-ed Tues
day evening.
\ < * .Ha! <;» 'Old pi i/.e $10
:»nb will be swatd«d a. each of
three aU cm ies, residences. trail
er (muand business estahlish
i>'ir! -.
Civil Defense Urgently
Needs Area Storage Space
Storage space for fallout items
is being sought by George Deni
son, cavil defense director for the
Soldotna area. The storage prob
lem in the Soldotna area is acute,
Denison says. He is asking all
persons with such space available
to get in touch with him as soon
as possible.
The federal government is send
ing a survey team to this area
soon to survey possibilities of
establishing fallout shelters and
storage for fallout necessities in
case of nuclear attack.
Nearly all items are available
now, if storage can be obtained
fee such necessities as tents, cots,
blankets, food and utensils, em
ergency hospital supplies, cloth
ing, water containers, picks and
shovels, and other items.
The Soldotna CD organization
is expected to take care of all of
Soldotna, Ridgeway, Sterling, all
of the Funny River area and to
Mile 107 on the Sterling High
way, almost to Kasilof.
Arrangements are being made
to take care of at least 500 peo
ple, in aeec . dance with the num
ber set for the area by the state
organization. Before Anchorage
decided not to evacuate in case
of attack but to “dig in" there,
Soldotna area as well as other por
tions of the Kenai Peninsula
would have had to make prepara
tions for an influx from Anch
orage as well, Denison said.
The survival organization in
his area is functioning well, the
local director said. Of the 32 di
See—CIVIL DEFENSE—page 2
Anchor Point Sno-festival
Gets Nation-wide Notice
The Anchor Point Sno-Festival,
scheduled for Jan. 19-20-21, is to
be given national publicity by the
Alaska Division of Tourism as the
first event in the 1962 tourist
season.
Mrs. Elizabeth Aprill, secretary
of the Anchor Point Chamber of
Commerce, say she was contacted
last week via long distance phone
call by Mike Miller, who handles
publicity for the Division of Tour
ism.
A periodical is being put out
by the division to be sent to travel
agents over the nation. Miller
said. Anchor Point Sno-Festival
with it' led deg races, dog pull
ing events, queen coronation ami
Sno-Flake Ball will be given good
coverage in the publication.
Dan, the late and famous pull
mg dog owned by Larry Clenden
en of Anchor Point, is to be fea
tured on the cover of the period
ical. Dan’s picture appeared on
Vol. I, No. 1 Anchor Point Sno
Festival souvenir edition issued
in 1961.
Bom 'in February of 1948 at
Rocky Mountain lodge on Cana
da’s section of the Alaska High
way, Dan was a year old when
purchased by Clendenen who saw
the makings of a great sled dog.
Victor in many previous events,
Dan at the age of nine won the
one-dog weight pulling champion
ship at the Homer Winter Carni
val in 1957, moving a weight of
1350 pounds over the ice, the re
quired distance, on Homer’s Be
luga lake through four inches of
See— SNO-FESTIVAL— page 2
Local Oil Shipments
Exceed 5 Million Barrels
ota ■ ant ty of crude oil
loaded ard tankers docking at
Nikiski Co ,oh Mai ne Oil Ter
minal A ing the first year of
the tern’ ’s operation amounted
to 5 2*2.5: Uriels, according to
Jac' 1; ire, superintendent
f'w>' Tv T ce Co. operators
i' Kcnai !’ ne Co.
i a( t .. -id docks are on
ik ! ,lf- j I-.! about 10 tyiiies
■ t j . ena:. Pumping
atiou. tcrn.'.na! and docks, as
v, i , pipeline company
: h 11. * in the oil are jointly
owned I*,-. >ta dare! Oil of Calif,
and I:!--.,r * il Corp. Actual
handH _ • ••' mamsport^iti^n, etc.
initial load, almost completed the
year’s cycle in that - he loaded out
a cargo on Nov. 6, 1961.
W hen the first tanker was
loaded out, field production was
5,200 barrels per day. One year
1 t>r the production had increased
er 26,000 barrels per day,
c sard.
. ng of oil tankers has be
t routine chore at Nikiski
al and there is a tanker
i )n an average of every
ys. The Kenai Peninsula
u ei oil is piped by Kenai
i peine from wells in Swanson
River and Soldotna creek fields
ar currently is being shipped
f side to refine.ies.
dl zation of locally produced
•1 production of petroleum
S' < - LOCAL OIL—page 2
F & W Rescues Distressed Lady
fish ur, 'A ilife men were
, :■> San rritan roles last
..ck 1 ■ si ue. an adult cow
; i . .?ii: k -h . >s an icy death
u i Ki nui r!'-- ; near the Sol
• .Oil.i ' :• dec.
» 'i;i!']... Tac! If ... T; .hick Ft*.
I. • f|<u i{ it.. '■ . bridge. no
fjicif the noose t rapped in aai
a;*.} frozen slush aftci his mothei
called the m.iiujU’s plight to Ids
ttent.i n at about *.* a.m. Monday
• was standing m the same
i '.hree hours later so '' ach
ed the Fish and Wild
• r /mi at Kenai.
.1 ; It ,’alcala, refuge man -
hi i National M < - >*
U, ,'c. ' -1ii h to the (N r. -
a!; a othe ! \N \\
1 * a'. Ft i t . I * ke F
i« ''III; <! Mi S.
. • tt in the - : v
. \\ HF.SC» I — paui 1