Osborne Praises Pilot Richards
After Harrowing Ordeal on Ice
John Osborne, polar bear hunt-«s
er who is lucky to be alive, is
convalescing at home from frozen
feet and frosted fingers.
Osborne expressed the highest
‘praise for Tommy Richards, Wien
pilot and well known bush flier,
•for the way he handled the sit
uation after making a beautiful
landing on the ice, which from all
appearances was an ideal landing
field and within shooting range
of the polar bear which they had
been following not far from Pt.
Hope.
Osborne relates that he was the
first to get out of the plane, a
Cessna 195, after having some dif
ficulty opening the door, as there
was high ice near it. When he
realized that Richards and the
other hunter, Richard Wilson,
were still in plane he went back,
walking out on the surface of
the wing to help extricate them.
By this time the fuselage of the
plane was under water with only
the wings floating.
When they were all out and
realized that all their equipment
for arctic survival was gone, they
started to walk to Pt. Hope only
to find they were cut off by
water in all directions and drift
ing north.
They then decided that Rich
ards, the best conditioned of the
three, should attempt to get to
shore while Osborne and Wilson
would remain at the plane where
there was firm ice and where
search planes would find them.!
Wilson is a man about 60 years!
old. They found a protected area i
of about 20 feet long in the lee
of a pi'essure ridge, protected
from the wind and they walked
around this small area contin
uously for 20 hours to keep from
freezing.
They were spotted there by
John Cross who took them to Pt.
Hope, Osborne stated, where the
teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Sipes,
Mark Kinneveak, and Daniel Lis
borne, were wonderful in their
kindness and first aid and did
everything they could to make
them comfortable. “I wislv to ex
press appreciation also,” said Os
borne to the 74th Air Rescue
Squadron, the C.A.A., Wien Air
lines, all the Kotzebue bush pilots
who assisted in the search, and to
the staff of the Kotzebue hos
pital.”
“We’ll try to get a bear again j
next year,” said Osborne today, i
“with Tommy Richards as pilot,:
there’s none better.”
Safety Celebration Disastrous
AMAGASAKI, Japan, UP) —
Cited for their safety record by
the Japan Fire Prevention Society
Monday, Amagasaki’s seven fire
men celebrated. After the party
they ran their fire engine into a
tree. All seven wound up in the
hospital.
---- ~ ..i
ARCTIC SANITARY j
SERVICE
PHONE RED 181
*- ' ---
Modern Laundry & Dry Cleaners
FIRST AVE. & LANES WAY PHONE MAIN 113
EIGHT-HOUR SERVICE
_____J
#
>——-- ---
Record Number of
Travelers To and From
Alaska Last Year
Passenger travel in and out of
Alaska reached a new peak in
1954. During the year over a quar
ter of a million people entered and
left the territory, a total of 256,
026 persons actually being tabu
lated. This represented an increase
in total traffic of nearly 5 percent
since 1953, and an increase of
over 58 percent since 1950.
During the year the airlines
carried 57.3 percent of the total
traffic, while 31.6 percent trav
eled by highway and 11.1 percent
by steamship.
These figures were revealed re
cently by the Alaska Develop
ment Board. Each year the board
compiles statistics to determine
the volume, direction of flow, and
general trend of Alaska passenger
traffic.
Not included in the studies are
those persons carried by military
transportation services. It was
known, however, that during 1954
the Military Sea Transportation
Service carried approximately
38,000 military personnel and
their dependents to and from the
territory by steamship.
The 1954 tabulations showed
that for the first time iq many
years more people departed from
Alaska than entered. Arriving in
1954 were 125,825 persons; de
parting, 129,527; leaving a differ
ence in departures over arrivals
of 3,028 persons.
During the peak tourist travel
months of June, July and August,
total passenger traffic amounted
to 110,888 persons, or 43 percent
of the total traffic for the year.
Alaska’s Fish & Wildlife
Resources Are Major
Source of Income
Alaska’s Fish and Wildlife re
sources bring an estimated $115
million to the territory annually,
an income second only to govern
ment spending.
Of this amount $12V2 million
was spent on hunting and fishing
in 1952-53. By 1953-54 this sum
had risen to over $16 million.
These figures dealing with Al
aska were released recently in a
booklet titled “Wildlife in the
Economy of Alaska,” written by
Dr. John L. Buckley, leader of
the Alaska Cooperative Wildlife
Research Unit at the University
of Alaska. Dr/. Buckley wrote the
booklet to answer the recurrent
question: “How important is fish
and wildlife in Alaska?”
Dr. Buckley's research shows
that non-residents spent $3Vfc mil
lion on hunting and fishing in Al
aska during 1951-52. Residents
spent the remaining $9 million.
The amounts have increased sub
stantially since that time.
These figures are exclusive of
license fees.
Over half of this total, $7 mil
lion, was spent in the 3rd Divi
sion: $3 million in the 4th Divi
sion; 1% million in the 1st; and
the balance in the 2nd.
HARRY HAGEN DIED TODAY
Norvin Lewis received word
that Harry Hagen, pioneer jewel
er of Nome, passed away today
at 2:30 p.m. at a rest home in
Kirkland, Wash.
Hagen, a pioneer, had retired
about two years ago and had been
living on a farm at Kirkland,
when he injured himself in a
fall about two months ago, and
was living at the rest home.
Northwest Gets Authority
For Cold Bay-Tokyo Run
WASHINGTON, UR—'The Civil
Aeronautics Board Monday au
thorized Northwest Airlines to
carry passengers, cargo and mail
between Cold Bay, Alaska, and
Tokyo.
Northwest has used Cold Bay
since last June 30 for operational
stops on flights between the
United States and Tokyo, but has
not had special authority to op
erate solely between Cold Bay
and Tokyo.
Northwest informed the Board
that contracts are now being ne
gotiated which will require the
movement of passengers between
Tokyo and Cold Bay, mainly
during the spring and summer
months starting about April 1.
Nome Businessmen
Urged to Make Tourists’
Stay More Pleasant
The members of the Chamber
of Commerce devoted the better
part of their business meeting yes
terday to the problem of tourists,
as that season is soon to ‘be here
again.
Better cooperation among the
business people as well as a better
understanding and education of
the entire community on ways
and means of making the stay of
visitors in the community wel
come so they will be individual
advertisers for more tourists. . .
President Langsam appointed
Richard Benson Sr. of the N.C.
Store as chairman, with Paul
Mandeville, Barbara Martin, An
gelo Buffas and Charles Reader
as committee, to lay out a pro
gram and submit ideas.
It was announced that a dele
gate is needed to attend the All
Alaska Chamber meeting sched
uled for April in Juneau. Any
member planning to be there at
that time is asked to contact Dr.
Fred Langsam or Stan Morgan.
There is also planned an exhibit
which is being planned by Vice
President Stan Morgan.
Ice Pool Dates
Since 1917, when the Pool
was started, the ice has gone
out at Nenana as follows:
1917— April 30 ....11:30 a.m.
1918— May 11. 9:33 a.m.
1919— May 3. 2:33 p.m.
1920— May 11.10:45 a.m.
1921— May 11. 6:42 a.m.
1922— May 12. 1:20 p.m.
1923— May 9. 2:00 p.m.
1924— May 11. 3:10 p.m.
1925— May 7. 6:32 p.m.
1926— April 26 . 4:03 p.m.
1S27—May 13. 5:42 a.m. |
1928— May 6. 4:25 p.m.
1929— May 5. 3:41 p.m.
1930— May 8. 7:03 p.m.
1931— May 10. 9:23 a.m.
1932— May 1.10:15 a.m.
1933— May 8. 7:30 p.m.
1934— April 30 . 2:07 p.m.
1935— May 15. 1:32 p.m. !
1936— April 30 .12:58 p.m.
1937— May 12. 8:04 p.m.
1938— May 8. 8:14 p.m.
1939— April 29 . 1:26 p.m.
1940— April 20 . 3:27 p.m.
1941— May 3. 1:50 a.m.
1942— April 30 . 1:28 p.m.
1943— April 28 . 7:22 p.m.
1944— May 4.. 2:08 p.m.
1945— May 16. 9:41 a.m.
1946— May 5. 4:40 p.m.
1947— May 3. 5:53 p.m.
1948— May 13.11:13 p.m.
1949— May 14.12:39 p.m.
1950— May 6. 4:14 p.m.
1951— April 30 . 5:54 p.m.
1857.—May 12. 5:04 p.m.
1953— April 29 . 3:54 p.m.
1954— May 6. 6:01 p.m.
VISIT WITH THEM
DAILY ON OUR COMIC
PAGE-THEY ARE
FOLKS YOU'LL WANT
TO KNOW BETTER!
STARTING IN THE
NOME NUGGET
NEXT WEEK
Having Stove or Oil Problems? I
See Tom Tungwenuk I
Call While 128 I
SMOKE STACKS CLEANED!
Second Atomic “Big Shot”
Less Spectacular Than 1st
LAS VEGAS, Nev., W — The
second major atomic blast of the
spring series was touched off
Tuesday and although it may
have been more powerful, it was
far less spectacular than the first
of the so-called “big shots” last
March 7.
Overcast skies in many areas
prevented the brilliant flash from
being seen, although shock waves
gave Cedar City, Utah, its worst
jolt ever from a nuclear test.
The March 7 shot, fired in per
fectly clear weather, was seen
from border to border through
out the west. Both devices were
detonated from 500-foot towers.
nldications were, however, that
today’s test packed at least as
much wallop as the other big one
—rated at about 20 kilotons, or
20,000 tons of TNT.
GLUE POT
Soda Fountain
CIGARS, CIGARETS f
TOBACCO I |
CANDY
FRESH ICE CREAM
EVERY DAY
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
^llllll«!IIIIIIIHIIIII!MII!lliNIIIIIMIIIMIIIIMIIIIIM!llll!tlllllM!l!IMI!l!imi!lll|g!liHIIUig
1 ALASKA CAB j
| MAIN 170 RED 41 |
“ SEE US FOR SIGHTSEEING ”
Viiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
*
WINTER SCHEDULE
* #
• /
NOME TO FAIRBANKS
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
NOME TO KOTZEBUE
TUESDAY AND SATURDAY
BUSH FLIGHT FRIDAY
NOME TO DEERING, CANDLE,
BUCKLAND AND KOTZEBUE
I