THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME, ALASKA
fi. P. BOUCHER . Managing Editor
CLINTON GRAY .. Production Manager
Telephone: Main 125 $1.50 PER MONTH
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Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943 at the
postoffice at Nome, Alaska, under Act of March 3. 1879
Subscribers not receiving meir papers by 5:30 p.m. call
Main 125 for special delivery. After 5:30 call Black 102
Pilot Fought to Avoid Housing Area
Before Tragic Crash at Eielson
FAIRBANKS, (#)—The last few’
seconds of Lieut. Alfred M. Pound-1
er’s life apparently was spent in a
desperate and futile attempt to
keep his plane from plunging into
an Eielson Air Force Base housing
area.
The Monticello, Miss., pilot of
an F-84 jet fighter plane failed
and he and 12 other persons died
Tuesday noon in the flaming
wreckage of his' plane and six
multiple-family houses on the air
base. A fourteenth victim suc
cumbed to burns Wednesday.
The story of the pilot’s heroic
struggle came first from an un-1
identified Air Force sergeant, who
reported he was strolling by base
headquarters when he was sur
prised by the jet roaring overhead,
its wing dipping deeply in a sharp i
turn.
“The pilot was struggling with |
the controls,” the sergeant said.!
“You could tell he was trying to
avoid the buildings.”
Air Force investigators con
curred with this version. They
said the direction of the plane in
dicated the pilot had been fighting
-to maneuver it out of the housing
area. He missed clearing it by
only a few yards.
The toll might have been higher
if it hadn’t been for the quick
thinking of a Pittsburgh, Pa., bus
driver, Airman 2/C Norman
Stauffer, 19.
Stauffer was the driver of the
school bus bringing 35 school chil
dren of all ages home to lunch. He
was driving east toward the scene
of the accident from the school
when he saw the plane heading
toward the building with the right
wing extremely low.
“I knew the plane was going to
crash,” he related later. So I stopt
the bus and told all the kids to get
out and run back from the area.
The kids sure scattered.”
Air base officials said if Stauf
fer had continued on his normal
course and turned the corner he
would have been in the path of
the hurtling plane as it crossed the
road and came to a stop next to
an apartment building.
In Stauffer’s bus were the two
children of Army M. Sgt. Weldon
M. Rucker and his wife. The Dal
las, Tex., couple and Mrs. Rucker’s
mother, Mrs. Emma B. McBrayer,
all were killed.
Serious burns were received by
six persons in the explosive crash
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and two received lesser injuries.
The rescue operations in the bitter
cold 16-below-zero weather also
took their toll. Eighty-five persons
were treated for exposure, two for
smoke inhalation, and 18 for cuts
and bruises.
The Air Force continued the
grim task of cleaning up the
wreckage scattered over a two
block area and caring for the fam
ilies made homeless by the crash.
More than a thousand Air Force
and Army personnel worked at
the cold task of clearing away the
! debris. Members of the Officers’
j Wives Club at Ladd AFB, just out
side the Fairbanks city limits, 26
miles to the northwest, joined the
Eielson club in a wholesale dona
tion of clothing and food to the
victims.
Officers and enlisted men were
working side by side on the shovel
| and broom details. One of the offi
cers was Brig. Gen. John F. Rug
gles, commander of the Army’s
Yukon forces.
* * *
FAIRBANKS, 'The name of
Mrs. Juanita M. Jones was added
today to the list of the 14 dead in
Tuesday’s crash of a jet fighter
plane into housing units at Eielson
Air Force Base.
The Yukon Army Command
said her two-year-old daughter,
Connie, was in critical condition.
High School Honor Roll
For 2nd 6-Week Period
Frederick J. Chambers, Nancy
E. Davis, Virginia E. Doyle, Rob
ert L. Dunbar, Helen M. Glavino
vich, Paul S. Glavinovich, Ruth
Glavinovich, Charlene J. Hudgins,
Sigrid L. Olsen, Elin O. Waltersen,
PERFECT ATTENDANCE
SECOND SIX WEEKS
Sam Atuk, Peter W. Barber,
Virginia E. Doyle, Robert L. Dun
bar, Charles P. Fagerstrom,
Charles W. Fagerstrom, Lucie A.
Fagerstrom, Suzanne K. Fager
strom, Alice A. Glavinovich, Paul
S. Glavinovich, Ruth Glavinovich,
John C. Johnson, Lorene A. Lar
sen, Sigfred Larsen, Vivian K.
Larsen, Margie G. Lincoln, Janet
E. Muller, Donald R. Munz, Floyd
O. Nagozruk, Howard Nagozruk,
Sigrid L. Olsen, Lee R. Oman, Jo
seph E. Senungetuk, Stanley Se
nungetuk, Charles H. Snyder, Car
ol R. Tanner, Berda J. Tate, Bar
bara D. Trigg, Gerald Trigg, Gay
A. Weyer, Isabelle J. Walker, and
Patricia J. Yates.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Look ahead and plan, for sure,
But too far doesn’t pay;
While searching for tomorrow,
You may trip over today.
—Vera C. Siegwart
In the tiny neck of a sparrow
there are 14 vertebrae; in the
swan’s 23; while the neck of a
giraffe has only 7.
Educators Remind
Public of Great
i Teacher Shortage
WASHINGTON, Lfl—'The White
House Conference on Education
yesterday called on the American
public to remember there is a tre
mendous shortage of teachers who
“work with our most precious re
source—our children.”
The call for attempts to get
more teachers came on a day
when the conference seemed al
most certain to go strongly on rec
ord in favor‘of federal aid to
schools, particularly for buildings.
The report on teachers listed
three things in every community
to keep in mind:
1. Teaching must have prestige
comparable to other professions.
2. The salaries must be high
enough to keep teachers in the
classroom and not permit them to
be lured to other fields where the
pay is better.
3. The teachers’ job must be
presented in such a way so it will
attract talented people to the pro
fession.
The conference also came up
with this definition of what it is
looking for in the nation’s class
rooms:
“A good teacher is one who has
an active interest in children and
youths; has a broad educational
background; is qualified and com
petent professionally; possesses
good physical and mental health;
has a good moral character; mani
fests a desire for self improve
ment; can work constructively
with other professional workers,
parents and the community; and
is proud of teaching as a profes
sion.”
Connelly and Caudle
Blame Indictment on
Anti-Truman Politics
ST. LO;jIS, un—Matthew J.
Connelly and Theron Lamar Cau
dle, Truman Administration offi
cials accused of conspiracy to de
fraud the government, blame their
indictments on politics.
A federal grand jury investigat
ing alleged tax frauds during the
administration of former Presi
dent Truman returned the indict
ments yesterday.
Connelly, 48, who was appoint
ments secretary for Truman, said
in New York that the charge was
caused by “ a little group of will
ful men now in power in Wash
ington” who “have called Harry
S. Truman a traitor.”
“Now because of my association
with him they are calling me a
crook,” said Connelly, now a pub
lic relations man. Caudle and Con
nelly said they were innocent of
any wrong doing.
Swedish Youth Desires
Pen Pal In Alaska
November 22, 1955
To a Newspaper in Alaska:
Excuse my taking the liberty of
asking you for a Pen Pal in Alas
ka. You will be sure that such a
Pen Pal wi^l be to a great use and
pleasure for me. I’m a boy of Ger
man descent, living in Sweden.
I’m 16 years old and my interests
are: stamps, postcards, jazz and
photography.
Sincerely yours,
Wido Li tie
Rautwastarvagen 6
Froson, Sweden
BRING YOUR
WATCH
to the
Nome Drug Store
for
EXPERT REPAIRS
Constitutional Convention Approves
Two-House Legislature After Debate
FAIRBANKS, (^—Members of«
the Alaska Constitutional Conven
tion expressed a strong preference
for a two-house legislature in a
3Vt-hour public session Wednes
day night.
With 30 of 55 delegates speak
ing, a poll on that controversial
subject indicated a strong major
ity in favor of the territory’s pres
ent bicameral system. A few dele
gates were undecided and only
four expressed a strong preference
for the one-house (unicameral)
legislature. However, there was
no official vote.
Four members of the audience
were allowed to speak. The entire
evening was spent discussing the
topic. One delegate said the ques
tion had caused an uneasy “under
current” in the first weeks of the
convention. ,
John A. McNees of Nome led
the proponents of the unicameral
structure. He told the assembly
that the traditional two-house sys
tem was an out-growth of democ
racy’s progress against royal pow
ers and declared that a bicameral,
setup ua a modern democratic
state was ‘\inreasonable and illog
ical.”
McNees explained that both
houses are now elected “by the
same people of the same class.”
“There is no need,” he said, “to
give two blocks the same author
ity to do the same thing.”
He said a unicameral form
j would offer greater efficiency,
; better consideration of legislation,
increased prestige in membership,
closer relations between the gov
ernor and lawmakers, and elimin
ation of inter-house rivalry. Mc
Nees added that a one-house leg
islature would result in “substan
tial savings” to taxpayers by cut
ting out double staffs.
''The only state operating under
the unicameral system is Nebras
ka.
Delegate George D. Cooper of
Fairbanks spoke in defense of the
i " ■
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- 1
Silent Night! Holy Night! Zech. 2:13
Son of God, love’s pure light, I John 5:20 ^1
With the dawn of redeeming grace, I Peter 1:19 ||
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.’ Matt. 2:2 &
«
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bicameral legislature. He said that
system was preferable because it
makes possible the safeguard of
checks and balances.
Several delegates cited cases in
the Alaska legislature when, they
said, consideration of the same
subject by the House and Senate
had saved the territory’s citizens
a good deal of misery.
While Delegate Jack Hinckel of
Kodiak commented that a unicam
eral setup would “give us the -best
representation” throughout Alas
ka, other speakers disagreed.
Delegate Ralph Rivers of Fair
banks drew a parallel with the
federal government, where states
are equally presented by two sen
ators while the House of Repre
sentatives is elected according to
population. He said the bicameral
system would safeguard the lesser
populated areas with a senate.
Juneau Delegate Dora Sweeney
warned of another problem that
might confront the framers of Al
aska’s constitution. She said the
voters would have to decide on a
unicameral legislature and addedy
“and I’m not sure that it would
pass.” She asserted that “we need
a constitution that will be easily
passed.”
i ROOF GARDEN NUGGETS
ARE OF UNUSUAL SIZE
A special feature of the Pioneer
i Roof Garden and one of its tradi
j tions is giving away gold nuggets.
I This year, a half pound of gold
is being displayed in the form of
three huge nuggets which were
carefully picked during the min
ing season by Mike Walsh and
saved for the occasion. It is un
usual these days to find nuggets
Oi’ .his size.
f
WIEN AIRLINES
From Kotzebue: Gust Carlson.
To Fairbanks: Frank Whaley,
Ed Garrison, Robet Walraven, W.
C. Mcuvor, Peter Mayak, E. I.
Kroning.
BIRMINGHAM, England, UD —
Mrs. Lily Patten has won 2,500
pounds ($7,000) in damages from
a surgeon who cut off the wrong
i finger.
The 44-year-old woman was
taken to a hospital after the mid
dle finger on one hand was crush
ed in a press at the factory where
she worked.
The surgean, Dr. B. H Colman,
admitted in court he mistakenly
amputated the little finger of the
same hand instead of the injured
digit.
CALL
Thomas Tungwenuk
FOR STOVE PROBLEMS
Pipes and Carburetors Cleaned
Call White 128