Cordova Honors Dr. Will H. Chase
Who Recalls Nome Nugget Founder
And Others In Distinguished Career
JUNEAU—An early Alaskan
newspaperman'and governor was
recalled here recently by Dr. Will
H. Chase, life historian for the
Pioneers of Alaska. Dr. Chase
was being honored by his fellow
Cordovans last week, which was
dedicated to observing his distin
guished service to Alaska.
Recalling Major J. F. Strong,
early Alaskan, Dr. Chase said:
“He died in July, 1929, a great
newspaperman and one of Alas
ka’s early governors. Went to
Skagway in 1897 and to Dawson
in 1898. He established the- Nome
Nugget and in Juneau he operated
the Daily Alaskan Empire, which
he sold in 1913 when he was ap
pointed governor, an office he
held until 191S.”
Others who were- met during
the doctor's 57 years in Alaska in
cluded President Warren G. Hard
ing, then secretary of commerce,
Herbert Hoover, Author Rex
Be-ach and Actor Fred Stone, Big
Game Hunter C. E. Sykes, Anthro
pologist Alex Hrdlicka, Yukon
River Pilot Captain Billy Moore,
ami Pioneer Photographer E. A.
H- gg.
As a member of the Alaska
Game Commission, Dr. Chase was
in. • timen.a! >i exchanging Alas
ka mot : i . for S t< of
• V siting:on elk.
hewer and musKxai vvnieh were
transplanted from the Copper
River area to Kodiak, handling as
many as 60 beaver at a time. Only
last year he discontinued pro
curing wolverines for stateside
zoos. He- is considered a world
authority on the wolverine and
the Alaska brown bear, an out
standing trophy of which has been
widely publicized by Robert Rip
ley's “Believe It or Not.”
Dr. Chase began his first term
as Cordova’s mayor in 1912 and
has since served a total of 20
terms, including the current one.
?•-—
. In 1912 the first Republican con
vention ever held in Alaska was
held at Cordova. Dr. Chase has
i been active in his party work
i ever since that date, sometimes
; with turbulent results.
He was outspoken in his beliefs.
] In the mid-twenties he appeared
! before a committee of territorial
i legislators and condemned the
1 condition of the Pioneer Home at
: Sitka, then a rickety old building
i with a single entrance, beneath
which was a worn-out, hazardous
heating plant. A fund set aside
annually toward a new home was
found to have been used for long
term loans, according to Dr.
Chase, and this prompted a legis
lative- investigation that shortly
afterward resulted in the present
modern fire-resistent Pioneers
Home at Sitka.
In Juneau he once addressed
•he chamber of commerce on the
•deplorable condition” of their
s reels—and discovered the same
day that sawdust had been strewn
■. the crosswalks with the report,
Ve don’t want Doc Chase to get
As fc-et wet.”
At the same time he went he
re a commit ee of legislature to
ig it iA- new space for the Alaska
j museum, then housed in a frame
/lidding which was a fire hazard.
! Ho provision for the museum had
ueen made in the new federal
building. On Dr. Chase’s instiga
tion the museum was established
:n its present location and the
great collection of Alaska histori
cal lore was preserved from the
threat of destruction.
Dr. Chase is one of the discov
erers of the present Katalla- Yak
ataga oil fields and an original
leaseholder on the properties of
Alaska Petroleum, Inc., of which
he is a founder. The property is
presently being explored by the
Phillips Petroleum Co. of Bartles
ville, Okla., with Kerr-McGee
1WjM
^tl ®n all utl]n sl|all see tlfese presents, greeting: t
(Etjis is to (Eertify, ^hat during the <HEar
between the United States of America and the Empires
of (Germany and of ^nstria-|dungary,
y, H. CH/gJ, M, p..
was a member uf the iCnral Soarh so. n. cny of coraov*,_
____Cordova., /.leak*._
rendering faithful and efficient seruice, and that
by reason of the discontinuance of all boards of the
Sclectiue Seruice System pursuant to the £Vct of Congress
of f$lay 18, 1917, he is, by direction of the president,
honorably reliened from the duties of that office this
thirty-first day of JJlarch, one thousand nine hundred
and nineteen.
<7~
JmadirBignrS: 7
O ' *——w*—
Saturday Night Will Be
Youth Night In Special
Methodist Church Services
Saturday evening is “Youth
Night” at the special services
being held at the Community
Methodist Church. The entire
service will be directed to the
youth.
Rev. Bradley Havens will show
colored slides he took while on a
summer tour of Europe and Pal
estine recently.
The service this evening will
include a translated song by the
Sisterhood, a vocal solo by Robt.
Heath, and the message by Rev.
Bradley Havens.
The closing services of the cru
sade will be held Sunday at 11
a.m. and at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Don A.
Morris will preach in the morning
and Re*v. Bradley Havens will
preach in the evening.
handling drilling operations.
Dr. Chase was born at Warsaw,
Now York, in 1374 and arrived in
Skagway in 1897. His early travels
covered the length of the Yukon
before he settled in the Cordova
area. From 1912 to 1926 he was
with the U.S. Indian Medical Ser
vice. Ho was a member of the
Alaska Game Commission for six
years, serving ,as chairman for
four years. A member of the
Northwest Medical Association, i
Alaska Territorial Medical Asso-1
ciation, Elk, Mason, past grand j
president and now life historian I
for the Pioneers of Alaska and a
lifelong Republican.
For 50 years he collected mu- j
scum pieces, assembling a remark- :
able private collection of Alaska
lore. The entire collection was de
stroyed by fire two years ago.
Several trophies and some live
animal exhibits which he collec
ted are now in the nation’s lead
ing museums and zoos.
Doc Chase shows the way to
grow young after 70. He leads an
active life, rises early, makes his
frequent visits to the postoffice,
the small boat harbor, his many
friends. Often during the day he
will be out on a call; and even oc
casionally at nighttime.
Two years ago, at an age when
many men are unable to travel,
Dr. Chase was visiting relatives
in California. One evening, open
ing a door for his wife, he stepped
off a ranch-house porch and frac
tured his skull. His mental and
physical condition today, two
years after an accident of such
severe nature, is an example that
should give hope to thousands of
old folks, for it is truly inspiring.
“I’ve got a few years in me yet,”
he says, and those who have met
him can well believe that Cor
dova’s Grand Old Man will keep
right on going for some time to
come.
LOME IN COMMERCIAL COMPANY
NOME, ALASKA
WHEN IN THE MARKET FOR EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS,
It Will Pay You To Investigate The Many Lines Which We Represent—
Allis-Chalmer Mfg. Co.—Tractors Pumps, Belt
Drives, Electrical Equipment
Baker Manufacturing Co. — Dozers and Plows
DcLaval Steam Turbine Co. — Pumps
Detroit Diesel Engine Die. — Diesel Engines
Gar Wood Industries — Dozers
Gates Rubber Company — Belts
Hobart Manufacturing Co. — Welders
Hydraulic Supply Mfg. Co. — Pipe
Jaeger — Compressors
Jaeger — Concrete Mixers
A. Leschen & Sons Rope Co. — Wire Rope
Jaeger — Pumps
1 Lincoln Engineering Co. — Greasing Equipment
Mallory — Blocks
Onan — Light Plants
Owaionna Tool Co. — Hand Tools
j Power Machinery Co. — Power Saws
S K F Industries — Bearings
Smith Welding Equip. Corp.—Welding Euipment
Thor — Pneumatic Tools
Thew-Lorain Shovel Co. — Cranes & Shovels
Timken Roller Bearing Co. — Bearings
Willard Batteries — Batteries
Thor — Electric Saws
Wisconsin Motors
ALSO DEALERS IN LUMBER, STANDARD OIL PRODUCTS, LIGHTERAGE AND
COASTWISE WATER TRANSPORATION
__________________————I—
Atomic Cannon Tested i
Under Arctic Conditions
At Canadian Base
FORT CHURCHILL, Man., UP)—
—An atomic cannon is being test
ed by the United States under
Arctic conditions at a Canadian
military base near the Hudson
Bay port of Churchill. The Can
adian army said Wednesday the
tests do not involve the firing of
atomic warheads, however.
The presence of an atomic .can
non in the Canadian north be
came known following a tour of
Fort Churchill by 26 military at
taches and advisers.
The province of Ontario, Can
ada, extends across ohe-third of
the North American continent.
j-:
ater From
Bronson
ater Deliver!]
Is Softened and Tempered
by the
Northwest Water
Softening System
"The Best In The West"
By the Bucket or by the Tank
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