THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME. ALASKA
Telephone Main 125 $1.50 PER MONTH
P.O. Box 610 $16.00 A YEAR
E. P. BOUCHER . Managing Editor
CLINTON GRAY . Production Manager
Subscribers not receiving their paper by 5:30 p.m. cal',
taain 125 for special delivery. After 6:00 call Black 125.
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the
post office at Nome Alaska, under Act of March 3, 1879.
LET’S NOT OVERDO IT
s' )‘i
r
New Chamber Chapter at
Unalakleei Will be Active
John Moore, teacher for the
BIA school in Unalalkleet was a
visitor here and expressed ap
preciation to the Chamber of
Commerce for their cooperation
in the starting of a Unalakleet
Chapter of the Chamber which
he believes will be very active.
SOC,AR ECLIPSE TODAY
ROME, (ypt — The moon slipped
in front of the sun today, produc
ing a spectacular total solar ec
lipse that was probably watched
by more millions than any other
in history.
The path of totality—the area
directly in the path of the moon’s
shadow—was in almost complete
darkness for more than a minute.
Rosters crowed for the second
time this morning. Motorists go
ing to work switched on their
lights. Stars sparkled.
The 150-mile-wide path of to
tality fell across southern France,
northern Italy, Yugoslavia and
the Soviet Union.
About 60 total eclipses of the
sun occur every century, but most
are at sea or over remote land
areas. Today’s came over a heav
ily populated area, and more mil
lions could see it as a partial
eclipse in other areas of Europe,
Africa and Asia.
NOME SANITARY
SERVICE
Phone Main 1
P. O. Box 460
KAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT
ALLOTED $12,856 IN FUNDS
JUNEAU (if) — Wayne O. Reed,
acting U. S. Commissioner of
Education, notified the Alaska
Congressional delegation Tuesday
that $12,856 has been certified for
immediate payment to the Kake
School District.
Sens. Ernest Gruening and E.
L. Bartlett, and Rep. Ralph Rivers
advised the Associated Press of!
the certification in a telegram
from Washington, D. C.
The funds are available under
Public Law 874, which provides
financial assistance for schools in
federally affected areas.
REPAWING ARTICLES
DRAWS A SIX-YEAR TERM
BUDAPEST, Hungary UP)—Mrs.
Josef Kovacs, operator of a state
owned hock shop, got a six-year
jail term from a Communist
court for taking pawned articles
out the back door, into the front
door and repawning them. The
court said she pocketed $16,500
in three years of such manipula
tion.
KEARNS PICKS JOHANSSON
OVER PATTERSON
PALM BEACH, Fla. UP) — Jack
Kearns picks Ingemar Johansson
to knock out Floyd Patterson in
side five rounds when the fight
ers meet for the world’s heavy
weight championship in Miami
Beach March 13.
The veteran fight manager who
has handled Jack Dempsey, Ar
chie Moore, and many others dur
ing his long career made the pre
diction Sunday on a visit to Jo
hansson’s training camp.
FOR ESTIMATES ON .. .
• Your Special Sheet Metal Work
# Tanks # Stoves
# and Custom-Built Items
CALL
Northern Metal Works
Black 115 after 5 pan. —phones— Shop: Main 115
Why The Vocational School
Should be Located at Nome
The Vocational School Steering Committee of the
Northwestern Alaska Chamber of Commerce and the
City of Nome have completed a 27 page brochure on the
proposed state vocational Hoard
ing School, its location and why
it should be in Nome.
A portion of the report is here
with published and the supporting
charts and maps are available at
the Nugget or the M and M Bank.
Everyone interested in having
this school in Nome should avail
themselves of the opportunity of
knowing what is being done to
have this school built here, where
it will be located, and why Nome
is the only possible site for this
importance institution.
This report has been submit
ted to the State Board of Educa
tion.
• • •
People—Nome is a bi-racial
community with the Eskimo
people consisting about 70% of
the population. English is spoken
almost exclusively. The major
groups of people cooperate well
in Nome and discrimination is
non-existent as far as the general
public is concerned. The white
people of Nome reflect many dif
ferent nationalities and the people
of Nome reflect the informality
that is characteristic of a frontier
land such as Alaska.
Business — The businesses of
Nome include a bank, two hard
ware stores, three grocery mar
kets. three clothing stores, an army
surplus store, three hotels, a
bakery, a number of eating houses
(including one of the finest and
most modern in Alaska, a bar
bership, radio repair shop,
jewelry store, a drug store,
several shops selling native arts
and crafts, a newspaper, bars,
liquor stores, a pool hall, and a
theater. Nome has one closed TV
circuit station (KNOM-TV) and
one radio station <KICY>. There
is a modern electric light and
power system, a telephone system,
three gas stations, and three oil
retailers who supply fuel oil with
which 95% of Nome’s buildings
are heated. There is a cold
storage plant, two water delivery
companies, two laundries, a dry
cleaning establishment, two sani
tary service companies, a beauty
shop, a paint store, and an appli
ance repair service. Nome is
served by two major airlines and
several independent bush air
craft operators who, together with
steamship freight offices, handle
intra-Alaska and Alaska—States
transportation needs. Garages,
several cab companies and private
vehicles provide for local trans
portation.
Civic Groups—For a town of
2,300 Nome is generously endowed
with civic groups and service or
ganizations: Rotary, Lions, Cham
ber of Commerce, Jaycees, Ma
sons, Eastern Star, Home Arts
Club, Beta Sigma Phi, The Arctic
Club, the Alaska Pioneers, and
the Arctic Native Brotherhood are
the adult groups. Girl Scouts, Boy
Scouts, Civil Air Patrol Cadets,
Sky Pilots of America, and var
ious school groups and activities
are the children’s groups.
Recreation—Nome is an ideal
place for the sportsman, primarily
in summer, spring, and fall. Ptar
migan are the most sought-after
game birds. Fox, wolf, wolverine,
ground squirrel, and an occasional
bear and moose are game animals.
Polar bears are hunted, often by
air, to the north of Nome. Seal,
walrus, oogruk, and an occasional
beluga whale are also found in
the area. Fishing is excellent,
especially for trout, salmon, smelt,
grayling and tomcod. Fishing for
crab and tomcod is a favorite
winter occupation. Dog teams and
racing are usually a part of win
ter events.
Many people try gold-panning
in the summer, and hiking is also
popular as a recreation. There are
I many hills within walking dis
| tance of town and in the summer
I months these are covered with
j many varieties of small wild
flowers and berries. A growth of
willow brush covers portions of
i the hills, although the town it
! self is treeless.
For those who prefer indoor
recreation during the winter
months, there is television, radio,
the theater, frequent basketball
games, a very active bowling
league, and dances. Ice skating
and skiing are popular outdoor
winter sports. Various civic and
social organizations sponsor many
gatherings and functions during
both winter and summer, and
there is much friendly visiting
and entertainment in private
homes, especially during the win
ter.
Communication—It is possible
to call any point in the United
States or Canada—or the world—
from any place in Nome. Excel
lent telephone and telegraph com
munication is provided by the
Alaska Communication System
through the “Wlyte Alice” system.
Mail is received from Outside and
most local points every day ex
cept Sunday. All mail and parcel
post between Nome and Fair
banks and Anchorage (and iso
lated villages) is sent via air at
regular parcel post or first-class
rates as no other method of trans
portation is available. Also, the
elusive and impossible-to-define
system of information known
throughout Alaska as “mukluk
telegraph” is quite real to many
of us, and is often amazingly ef
fective.
Transportation — For heavy
freight. Nome is served directly
from Seattle by the Alaska
Steamship Company with three
ships (sometimes four) each sum
mer—late in June, mid-August,
and early or mid-October. No
passengers are carried by these
ships. Nome has no harbor and it
is necessary to trans-ship freight
from where the ships anchor, a
mile out, to the Nome jetty and
wharfage facilities. There are
several hundred miles of roads in
the area connecting mining camps
and villages, although most of
these are closed by snow in the
winter. There is at present no
road connecting Nome with the
population centers of Alaska, and
all persons coming here must
necessarily travel by air.
Churches—The four larger de
nominations at Nome include
Methodist, Catholic, Lutheran,
and Covenant. The smaller
churches include Church of the
Nazarene, Assembly of God. Nome
Gospel Home, and the Bible Bap
tist Church. All churches have
adult and youth programs in ad
dition to their regular services, j
Medical—Nome has a splend
idly equipped 29-bed hospital
with an approved rating by the
American Medical Association.,
The Maynard-McDougal Mem
orial Hospital is operated by the
Methodist Church and is a parti
cms-d in the Blue Cross and Blue
Shield medical plans. Although
poliomyelitis is practically non
existent in the Nome area, an
iron lung has been added to the
wide variety of modern, up-to
date equipment at the hospital.
Education—The only schools in
Nome are part of the public
schools operated by the Nome j
Board of Education. The Catholic
Church operates a kindergarten
on a limited scale. The high school
is fully accredited with the North
west Association of Secondary and
higher schools. A full college pre
paratory course is provided. Band
and chorus are important facets
of the curriculum. Students are
active in many fields and various
faculty members offer additional
training in fields of their special
interests. Basketball is the major
sport.
Government—Nome is a city of
the first class and is governed by
a common council elected by all
citizens over 19 years of age. The
executive officer of the city is
the mayor. Most community ac
tivities and services center in the
city hall and include the public
library, the fire and police de
partments, the offices of the city
clerk, and the council chambers.
Such little lawlessness as exists
in Nome or the area is effectively
handled by an efficient city police
force and state law enforcement
agencies. Nome is the headquarters
of the Northwestern Area Office,
Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the
District Office of the Department
of Health and Welfare. Nome is
also the headquarters of the Sec
ond Judicial District of the State
and has a resident Superior Court
Judge.
Area Student Enrollments—For
purposes of this report it was as
sumed that the student service
area for the proposed school might
be the area north and west of
the Alaska Range including, per
haps the Aleutian Chain.
Student-Personnel Transpora
tion—At the present time air
travel is the only available means
of rapid, inexpensive travel for
students and personnel to and
from any site selected north of
the Yukon River. Nome is serv
iced by Alaska Airlines, Inc. be
tween Nome and Anchorage. Wien
Alaska Airlines provides service
between Nome and Fairbanks.
Bush aircraft connect the many
villages of the Seward Peninsula
with Nome and with St. Lawrence
and Little Diomede Islands. Bush
lines from nearly every village in
Western and Northwestern Alas
ka connect with the two major
airlines into Nome.
The Actual Site—Two proposed
sites for a Vocational Boardfing
School, offered to the State of
Alaska for the minimum legal
amount to transfer title ($1.00».
One is located within the
limits of the City of Nome
and is three-fourths of a mile
rom the city center. This
area was formerly a portion of
the housing, recreational, and of
fice area of Marks Air Force Base
during the years 1942 and 1952.
The area or acreage available is
dependent upon requirements of
any proposed installation, or ap
proximately (201 acres, with no
further landscaping necessary.
There are several buildings on
the site but plans are in process
for their removal by spring. This
area is all on ground % thawed
from mining dredging operations,
and settling of the ground has
been stabilized during the past
eighteen years by natural settling
and mechanical compacting mak
ing it suitable for any type con
struction, including basements.
Electrical power lines exist in
this area with power supply from
the Nome Light and Power Co.
which serves the rest of the City
of Nome. Adequate sewage facili
ties can be constructed at a min
imum cost due to this being on
thawed ground of permeable
composition. Water for all uses
except human consumption is
(Continued on Page Three!