GAMBELL NEWS
By CLARENCE IRRIGOO
Exaggerated stories about food
shortage on St. Lawrence Island
made big headlines in several
newspapers. The truth about it
will be told right away
It was on Feb. 3 when Alaska
Airlines’ DC-3 plane, piloted by
Capt. John A. Horning, taxied to
a stop on the parking lot at Gam
bell Municipal Airport. The door
swung open and Grace Crosson,
public health nurse who had been
away on leave since before
Christmas, stepped out. She was
greeted by many.
After the freight was unloaded,
some unusual load remained in
the plane, packed in gunny sacks.
When the crew of the plane
worked strenuously on the door,
I asked what’s the idea. One said:
'"We are going to remove this
door. We are going to drop food
stuff at Savoonga on our way
back.”
The plane took off with a door
removed and a half-inch rope
strung several times across the
doorway, possibly to keep the
crew from falling off during op
eration.
The above is the eye-witness
report of the writer. The follow
ing comes from those who wit
nessed the drop. They said that
everything was intact when ex
amined. Praise goes to the pilot
who completed the mission with
out any loss.
Savoonga is about 40 miles east
of Gambell and is peopled by all
Eskimos. A traveller who hap
pened to be in Savoonga when
the food was dropped heard the
store manager say he was sur
prised to receive the food he had
never ordered.
* * *
Food is very low. Never had
more than enough since last'
spring. The three or four walrus
killed in January did not last very
long. Some of it went to Savoon
ga, and most of it went to the
dogs plagued by hydatid worms.
We are not starving yet. How
ever, food has become so low that
we have alerted proper authori
ties in Juneau which, in turn,
made possible the relief food to
be flown by chartered planes.
# * * *
Feb. 24—First good day for a j
long time. Rough shore ice broke
up the day before. Several boats
set out late this morning with dog
to pull. New ice was inviting to
the hunters.
Two polar bears were seen earl
ier this morning, but strong mov
ing current prevented hunters
from chasing them.
When boats returned, several
seals, two oogruks and a polar
bear were brought home. Vernon
Slwooko’s boat had shot the bear.
Thar she blows! Whales are
near. Maybe spring is not too far
away.
WEATHER FORECAST
Compiled by the
U.S. Dept, of Commerce Weather Bureau
Part cloudy and colder tonight
and Thursday. Light northerly
winds. Low temperature expected
tonight -16, high Thursday 0.
Nome data last 24 hours as of
7 a.m. today: High temperature
13, low*-7. Max. wind 15 mph
from the NE. Sunrise 7:03 a.m.,
sunset 5:23 p.m.
Temperatures a year ago today:
high 11, low' -7. Extremes this
date since 1907: high 44 in 1938,
low -29 in 1934.
Another seer is predicting the
early end of the w'orld. Don’t
worry about it. For billions of
years the world has pursued and
firmly established a policy of not
ending.
Alaska Steam Celebrates
60th Year In Alaska Trade
SEATTLE, UP)—'With a bow to
the past and an eye on the future,
Alaska Steamship Co. tomorrow
will celebrate the end of its 60th
year in the Alaska trade.
Announcing the milestone this
week, company spokesmen re
called:
“Organized ,in the rough and
tumble nineties, Alaska Steam
ship Co. served Alaska through
the gold rush. It carried cargo to
Skagway before the White Pass
and Yukon route was constructed,
to Seward before the Alaska Rail
road came into being, and into
Valdez when the Richardson
Highway was a trail.”
Charles E. Peabody, Capt. Geo.
Roberts, G. H. and C. E. Taylor
set the firm in 1895, and March
3, their first vessel, the! 450-ton
steamer Willapa, sailed north
from Puget Sound.
The gold rush gave Alaska
Steam its early prosperity, but
copper kept it going. From 1908
until the copper mines were ex
hausted in 1938, copper from
Kennecot and Latouche provided
the only substantial year - round
traffic from Alaska.
In 1944, Seattle’s Skinner and
Eddy Corp. bought the line from
Kennecott Copper Corp., and the
local men set about after World
War II to revive their war-wrack
ed industry. (Of 42 ships taken
over by the government at the j
war’s start, only six were return
ed at close of government opera
tion in 1948.)
- !
LINGERING GUEST
CAUSES DIVORCE
DENVER, CP)—Joseph J. Fried
won a divorce Monday after testi- j
fying that every time he put his !
arm around his wife, a man living;
with them would “sick” the fam-!
ily dog on him.
Fried said he and his wife took '
in the man 10 years ago and also
have sheltered another man the
last two years “because we felt
sorry for them.” He said his wife :
paints pictures and the two men j
sell them.
The Frieds had been married
31 years.
Merchants Charter Assn,
of Ketchikan Protest Fines
Levied By Coast Guard
WASHINGTON, UP — A federal
judge refused yesterday to en
join the Coast Guard from assess
ing fines against the Ketchikan
Merchants Charter Assn., in con
nection with the . operation of
cargo vesels between Seattle and
Southeastern Alaska.
The complaint said the Coast
Guard already ha? fined the
Association $1,500 on the ground
that several vessels chartered by
its members were carrying freight
for hire without a certificate on
certain voyages. The complaint
added the Coast Guard has threat
ened to assess additional fines of
$500 each for each of six sail
| ings monthly, in both directions
| or a total of $6,000 a month.
The Association said it is com
posed of 500 members in Seattle
and Southeastern Alaska, and de
nied it is a carrier of freight for i
hire. The Association said it is a
cooperative non-profit organiza
tion which performs various ser
vices for its members in the role
of managing agent of private
vessels.
Unless the Coast Guard is re
strained from assessing additional
fines the Association said, it will
be impossible to continue its oper
ation and schedule future sail
ings. No other service is avail
able at many small ports in
southeastern Alaska, the Associ
ation said.
Strong Earthquake Felt
BERKELEY, Calif., (#)—A strong
earthquake, probably in the Aleu
tians, was recorded on the Uni
versity of California seismograph
Monday night.
Assistant Seismologist Don Tosh
er said the indicated distance
from Berkeley was around 2,300
miles. He said the Richter magni
tude of the quake was between
6 and 6.5.
MMM HOSPITAL
From Fairbanks: M. J. Walsh.
To Kotzebue: Martha Sherman, .
Herbert Neal, Riley Scott.
To Fairbanks: Edna Ferber,
Capt. Freeman Stillman, Lt. John
Hemstiger, Chester Hewes.
Guardsmen Who Finished!
|
Leadership School At
Richardson Last Month
The First Scout Battalion of the
Alaska National Guard has an
enviable record at the Leadership
Techniques of Instruction and
Radio School held at Fort Rich
ardson from Jan. 16 to Feb. 5.
The following men were among
the first group of 15 students in
a class of 68:
M/Sgt Frank John, Ft. Yukon;
SFC Charlie Dickson, Nome: SFC
Riggs Peter, Mead River; PFC
Leo Giffe, Kiana; Cpl. Isaac
Smith, Noorvik; SFC Herbert
Apassinok, Gambell; SFC Augus
tus Kowunna, Point Hope; Sgt.
Phillip Hendrickson, Nome; and
Cpl. Ralph Ballot, Selawik.
The following men were among
the second nine students in a
class of 68:
Sgt. Clifford Iknokinok, Cpl.
Levi Cleveland; and Sgt. Alvin
Ivanoff.
The following men wei'e among
the third 10 students in a class of
68: Sgt. Joseph Egelak and Cpl.
Jonah Tokeinna.
Having Stove or Oil Problems?*
See Tom Tungwenuk
Call White 12* I
SMOKE STACKS CLEAMEdI
GLUE POT
Soda Fountain
CIGARS, CIGARETS
TOBACCO
CANDY j
FRESH ICE CREAM
EVERY DAY
ARCTIC OIL DELIVERY
STOVE OIL FURNACE OIL
Ben Young
Authorized Standard Oil Dealer ]
We Check Your Tank Regularty
Office Phone: BLACK 76 Residence: MAIN 52
C
I
I
Now...extra earnings for Savings
The Bonds you bought in ’44 earn 3 % ~ ^
for 70 years more! | M
If your Savings Bonds are maturing soon, here’s im
portant news. All your Series E Bonds that have
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back as much as 80% more than you originally invested.
Under the present Bond law, the earning power of U. S.
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course, you may still redeem those Bends whenever you
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There’s nothing to sign, no visit to the bank required.
With this added earning power, Savings Bonds are an
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terest-earning Bonds.
So hold on to the maturing Bonds you have—and invest
in more through the convenient Payroll Savings Plan.
f' • *v -m J
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If you want to be paid your interest as
current income, invest in 3% Series H
For a sound investment that pays you interest by
check every six months, ask at your bank about
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* m
The U.S. Government does not pay for this advertising. The Treasury Department thanks,
for their patriotic donation, the Advertising Council and
THE NOME NUGGET