The murder of Miss Thecla Gerken remains a mystery to this day. She was buried in the family plot at the Catholic cemetery on the outskirts of Woonsocket, South Dakota. Her gravestone stands next to that of her father, John E. Gerken.
Permafrost is soil, rock or sediment that is frozen more than two consecutive years. In areas not overlain by ice, it exists beneath a layer of soil, rock or sediment, which freezes and thaws annually and is called the active layer.xceptions occur in un-glaciated Siberia and Alaska where the present depth of permafrost is a relic of climatic conditions during glacial ages where winters were up to 11 Â°C (20 Â°F) colder than those of today.
Water that occurs above the permafrost table (the top of the permanently frozen layer) and the active zone on top of this layer is extremely difficult to drain. So, in spite of low rainfall (in Interior Alaska, for example), poor drainage becomes extremely noticeable.n the discontinuous zone, it may be necessary to remove frozen material that is susceptible to frost action. (A good discussion of permafrost removal and treatment is given in the Foundation Chapter of the Alaska Residential Building Manual.