z _
Alaska Is In
Good Position
To Study Sputniks
FAIRBANKS, UPP-Alaska is in
the same “preferred” position to
study Sputnik II as it was when
Sputnik I was launched.
Scientists at the University of
Alaska Geophysical Institute dis
closed this yesterday after moni
toring seven consecutive passes of
the 1,100-pound satellite which is
circling the globe at 18,000 miles
per hour.
The radio transmissions on 20
me. and 40 me. are being recorded
and the “Doppler nulls” timed
very accurately.
* The information on passage of
the dog-carrying satellite is being
sent to the Vanguard control cen
ter to add to the accumulation of
United States information on the
orbit.
“We are very close to the top of
the orbits for Sputnik I and II
which allows us to obtain these
consecutive passes that the people
in the states are not able to ob
tain,” a spokesman for the insti
tute said.
SNAIL STARTS FIRE
PADIHAM England, —A snail j
set fire to Miss Mary Hartley’s |
house yesterday.
The moist little gastropod mol
lusk crawled into an electrical |
socket, causing a short circuit.
Damage to the house was minor I
—to the snail, total.
• •
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FRONT ft DIVISIONNOME, ALASKA
FROBISHER BAY FOUND MUCH LIKE NOME
By JIM WALSH*
Frobisher Bay and Nome are in
almost the exact same parallel of
latitude, Nome being just a bit
farther north. Climate-wise they
are quite similar. Here, however,
there seems to be nothing but
rock. The low, rolling hills seem
to stretch for many miles in all
directions. The highest in this area
is some 700 feet. Only in a few
isolated spots does there seem to
be any vegetation and that, of
course, is tundra.
The village and the airport,
which is a part of a rather large
U.S. Air Force base, are located
at the headwaters of Frobisher
Bay. We are told that this bay was
discovered in 1576 by Sir Martin
Frobisher in his search tor the
northwest passage. Unlike ^Bering
Sea, this body of water has a
wide tide action—up to 40 feet—
and in that respect reminds one of
the Cook Inlet area..
Although the bay freezes, the
ice is continually broken by each
tide. I understand that boats can
not get in here before early Aug
ust. There is a freighter lying in
the bay now and still discharging
cargo. Meantime a great deal of
ice is forming along the shore.
While We have had a few cold
days and some strong winds, the
lowest the temperature has fallen
is to plus 7. Today (Oct. 26) it is 30
and calm. We have experienced a
few blizzards with winds to 60
*Jim Walsh is on temporary,
voluntary assignment at Fro
bisher for PAA.
mph but they lasted only a few j
hours.
Discharging Freight a Chore
Discharging cargo from ships is
quite a chore. There are no dock
ing facilities. Landing craft such
as the Navy used in its amphibi
ous warfare during the Pacific j
campaign are used to get the car
go from the ships to the beach.
The beaches are very rocky. There
the freight is removed by cranes
and placed above the high tide
mark. It is hard work indeed, par
ticularly at this time o‘f year.
The tanker which was in recent
ly left about 8,000,000 gallons of
gasoline plus lubricating and fur
nace oils. This is pumped from
the ship to a stand on the shore
through flexible hose. From there
it is boosted to the tank farms
some distance away. It is certain
ly a quick and economical way of
handling fuels.
The Town of Frobisher
We visited the town of Frobish
er last week. It is quite a small j
place with a population of 103.!
While it is predominately Eskimo,
there are some white people living j
there. They are government em
ployees.
This village was built in 1955
by the Department of Northern
Affairs, which evidently adminis
ters this part of Canada and quite
possibly is equivalent to our Bu
reau of Indian Affairs of Alaska
Native Service.
The homes which they built for
the Eskimo people are fine look
| ing places, all on the same plan,
brightly painted and apparently
well insulated. Since it is impos
sible to have basements because
of the permafrost and rock, the
houses here are set on concrete
blocks a few inches off the ground.
On some of the buildings here
on the base I notice that the doors
are trimmed both top and bottom
to prevent them from binding
and many of the buildings tilt in
several directions, reminding me
very much of Nome’s eternal
struggle against the frost.
The water, which by the way is
very tasteful, comes from a Lake
nearby and is pumped from a
tank truck into the buildings. Oil
stoves are used to heat and cook.
The sanitary system is quite sim
ilar to Nome’s—not of the flush
variety. *
The government maintains a
very modern little school and a
small hospital for the Eskimo peo
ple. Instead of carving ivory like
the Alaskan Eskimos do, these
people carve a sort of soapstone.
As yet I have not seen any sam
ples of their fur products.
The Hudson’s Bay store is the
only one here. It seems to stock
cnly necessities and there is no
fresh produce flown in. There is
air service twice a week from
Montreal some 1,200 miles to the
south.
Fueling Stop for PAA
The Pan American planes use
Frobisher for a fuel stop on the
flights to and from the west coast
and Europe. The route lies in a
direct line from Seattle. San Fran
cisco and Los Angeles to Frobish
er, across the lower end of Green
land to Prestwick, Scotland, and
thence to London and Paris.
-While we do not yet have any
facilities for the passengers dur
ing the hour fuel stop they do not
seem to mind. In spite of the cold
nearly all of them deplane and
walk around or stand in the shel
ter of the big hangar. It gives
them a chance to stretch and they
like to send cards from Baffin Is
land, the world’s sixth largest.
The Department of Transport,'
the equivalent of our CAA, is
building a waiting room in one
corner of the hangar. They are
also working on a facility' that
will take care of the passengers in
the event a long delay is incurred
here.
Meantime, PAA is constructing
a staff house which will domicile
the permanent personnel, lay-over
crews, mechanics and the commis
sary people. It is scheduled for
completion early in December|
This building will feature flush
toilets—the first on Baffin Island
and another PAA “first”.
People of All Nations
We see people of all nationali
ties and who speak all languages.
They come from all corners of
the earth, it seems, and it is ap
parently the common thing to
travel from Australia or India or
Honolulu or Los Angeles or Ma
nila to London or Paris or Rome
or Madrid. Just last week we had
a large delegation of Indians en
route from San Francisco, where
they had attended an internation
al industrial machinery exhibition
back to their homes in New Delhi.
I certainly did not imagine that
when I came here I would ever
meet anyone I knew. However, it
seems that on nearly every plane
there has been someone with
whom I am acquainted. Most of
them are company employees or
travel agents, but nonetheless I do
enjoy talking with them and hear
ing about their travels. The most
I pleasant surprise came when I
met Chuck and Marguerite (Lee)
West enroute to Madrid. This cer
tainly fires one’s urge to travel
and see what is beyond the hori
zon.
Keeping In Touch
Through the NOME NUGGET,
which Betty has been so good
about sending, I have been able
to keep fairly well posted on the
happenings in Nome.
I was particularly pleased to
note in a recent issue that the
NWA Chamber of Commerce is
to be represented in Juneau. This
will help up a great deal and I am
sure that with the support of the
other divisions, Fairbanks partic
ularly, we will be able to secure
our position insofar as Highway
97 and other road projects are
concerned. We must never falter
in our objective toward accom
plishing these two goals. They
will mem more to Nome than
anything else.
W. O. Tate, 73,
Dies After Illness
W.O. Tate, aged 73, well known
resident and self - styled ’’ivory
carver” passed away Wednesday
night following a short illness.
He is survived by two daugh
ters living in Nome, Berda, and
Marie Heagle, and two sons in
service, Melvin and Glenn. Other
children and grandchildren from
previous marriages reside in the
states.
His funeral is tentatively set
for Monday afternoon from the
Community Methodist Church,
pending the arrival of Glenn from
Lincoln, Neb., and Melvin from
Blaine, Wash.
Scandinavian Airlines
Asks Permanent Right
To Fly Polar Route
WASHINGTON —S we d e n,
Norway and Denmark proposed
Wednesday that their joint Scan
dinavian Airlines he granted per
manent right to fly a polar route
to the American West Coast.
The three countries made this
request at the opening of commer
cial aviation talks with a delega
tion representing the United
States.
Their spokesman suggested the
three years of successful experi
ence in flying the polar route war
ranted making such flights per
manent.
Scandinavian Airlines has been
flying to Los Angeles on a three
year temporary experimental ba
sis as well as making flights to
New York and Chicago.
I
Basketball Doubleheader
Tdhight At School Gym
This evening at 7:30 in the
school gym the ACS Wamcats
will line up against the National
Guard North Star quintet for the
first basketball league game in the
winter series. ?
The second game will pit the
Western Electric team against the
Hornets.
All the players have been prac
ticing diligently and are getting
into fine condition. Shooting eyes
are being sharpened and all in all
it looks like the games will keep
spectators on the edges of their
chairs and Well entertained.
WEATHER FORECAST
Compiled by The
U.S. Dept, of Commerce Weather Bureau
Fair and colder with north
easterly winds 10-15 mph. Lowest
temperature expected tonight 0
to 5 and the high tomorrow 15
to 20.' '
Nome data last 24 hours as of
7 a.m. today: Highest temperature
28, lowest 5. Max. wind 16 mph
from the north. Sunrise at 8:11
a.m. sunset at 3:20 p.m.
A year ago today: high 12, low
-1. Extremes this date since 1907:
highest 49 in 1926 lowest -10 in
1947.
MMM HOSPITAL
Admitted: Taylor Moto Jr., M.
Backstrom, David Shelby • Jr.,
Elizabeth Mogg, Ralph Olanna,
Walter Analook.
• Discharged: Sheldon Keok, Jim
i Elim, Frances Geary, Eleanor
Rooney, Louise Keller, David
j Walsh, Gabriel Eognuk, Nelda
|Leibig, Ellen Jackson.