Excursionists Enjoy Trip to St. Lawrence Island—
A Land Where It’s Possible to Look Into Tomorrow
By OLAF HALVERSON
A land lying beyond the golden
sunset of Nome holds promise for
tomorrew because, from its van
tage point, it is possible to live
in today but look into tomorrow.
This land is St. Lawrence Is
land, a large island lying 200
miles southwest of Nome. From
there, one may actually look into
tomorrow, because the Interna
tional Date Line is so close that
it is possible to see the coastline
of a foreign land, Siberia, which
has an advanced date of one day.
From a geological standpoint,
St. Lawrence Island is a remnant
of a land bridge which once con
nected North America with Asia.
For this reason it is an island of
tremendous scientific importance
in that it is a connecting link be
tween the East and the West. It
is a paradise for anthropologists I
and archeologists who seek knowl
edge of prehistoric times. Ancient:
cemeteries have been treasure j
houses for great scientists.
It was on p beautiful day in j
the latter part of May of this year
that an expedition left Nome Field I
in a DC-3 plane and set its course
for this island. Leaving the main
land, we flew over the Mining
Company's holdings at Submarine i
and saw portions of the new J
dredge being assembled.
Next came Sledge Island, which |
looked like a gem in the blue
wafers of the Bering Sea. Soon
Capa Prince of Wales came into
view with its surrounding snow
covered peaks* King Island at
tracted our attention next. This is
the original home of our own King
Island Eskimos who come to our
shores to carve ivory during the
summer months.
Of great interest to all in the
party was the distinctly visible
shoreline and mountains of Siber
ia, a land behind the Iron Curtain.
The curtain is missing, however,
and the shoreline is very visible.
A person’s imagination is natur
ally aroused and one wonders
what goes on there. Perhaps our
own plane could be seen by ob
servers somewhere along their
coast being mindful of the fate of
a recent plane which crash-landed
on St. Lawrence Island.
This man can give you
dependable
delivery of
TH*
CHRIa/IAN
SCIENCE
MONITOR
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Now we came down for a land
ing on the steel-matted field at
Gambell, a village located in the
extreme northeast corner of the
island. We could hear the wind
howling by the plane, indicating
a windy day at the island. Soon
we landed and hiked a half mile
to the village. The air was cool,
almost cold but not freezing, al
though we could see our breath.
I met an Eskimo who asked me
my name and hearing it he asked
if my fi’-st name was Olaf. He
knew it, he replied, from reading
my weekly astronomy notes pub
lished in the Nome Nugget. Eski
mos are careful observers of all
natural phenomena and are very
much interested in the stars and
planets.
He directed me to the Presby
terian parsonage and church,
where I renewed friendships with
the missionaries, Rev. and Mrs.
Campbell. I visited the Sunday
school classes and attended church
services a little later. The service
was excellent and full of deep
meaning because everyone in the
village attends church. The sanc
tuary was filled to overflowing.
We were favorably impressed by
their strict observance of the Sab
bath day in that the Eskimos rest
from their usual pursuits of hunt
ing and fishing on Sunday.
The Eskimos on St. Lawrence
Island live a life of hunting and
fishing. A very impressive sight
along the beach are the numerous
skin boats lying horizontally and
in an inverted position on five
foot poles. Row upon row of these
boats reveal a seafaring occupa
tion of the inhabitants. Fish racks,
seal racks, and walrus racks
were perched high above the
ground to make them inaccessible
to the sled dogs. The racks were
filled with meat drying in the sun.
An abundant harvest of meat from
the sea was reflected in the happy
faces of all the Eskimos.
Many dogs resting on the ground
indicated the dogteam activity
during the winter months. They
too are well fed from an abundant
food supply.
The homes of the Eskimos are
well built, because strong protec
tion is demanded against the
the swift, cold winds. Extremely
unique is the special construction
of the houses against the prevail
ing winds. On the windy side, the
two corners of the house are cut
off at a 45-degree slant so that the
wall has the shape of an isosceles
trapezoid. This ingenious con
struction lessens the perpendicu
lar impact of the wind by two
thirds. The principle is that of a
blunt wedge section on the windy
side, thereby diverting the wind
to either side like the bow of a
boat parting the water.
After being entertained by the
Eskimos at the schoothouse and
hiking about the village taking
numerous pictures, we returned
to Nome, hoping to visit again this
land beyond our golden sunset.
The friendliness of the villagers
demands such a return some day.
(Several excursion flights are
planned for this summer to St.
Lawrence Island, Unalakleet, Pt.
Barrow, and possibly Cordova and
other points as requested.—Editor*
NOTICE TO BID
Sealed proposals shall be re
ceived in the City Clerk's Office
up to 5:00 o'clock P.M. June 11.
1958, on the following:
Sale of a two room wooden
frame canin and cache, located
north of the School, and contents
therein. Said cabin, known as
Robert Mayokok cabin, to be
moved off the present site, within
fifteen (15) days upon acceptance
of bid.
The City reserves the right to
reject any and all bids.
Nome Common Council
By Carrie M. McLain
City Clerk
Publ. June 1, 4, 8, 1956.
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!
U.S. Weightlifter
Sets New Record
PHILADELPHIA, OP—Paul An
derson, America’s mighty weight
lifter, Saturday set himself a new
goal after setting three world
records.
The 24-year-old Olympic candi
date, breaking two of his own
marks, amassed a total lift of
1,175 pounds in the Rational
Weightlifting Tournament spon
sored Friday by the Amateur Ath
letic Union.
The heavyweight champion an
nounced he would try now for a
total of 1,200, hoping to add 10
pounds in the snatch and 15 in
the clean-and-jerk.
The 320-pound 6-foot-2 giant
from Toccoa, Ga., made the new
record total with 400 pounds in
the press, 335 in the snatch (a rec
ord) and 440 in the clean-and-jerk
(another record).
In the snatch he broke the rec
ord of 333 pounds set at the Pan
American games in Mexico City
last year by Norbert Shemansky
of the Detroit YMCA.
KNOW FRANK STRANG?
Anyone having information of
Frank Strang, believed to have
mined in this area until 1921, is
asked to bring information to the
Nugget. Information is desired by
relatives to settle an estate.
‘No Choice’ for Harriman
But Active Candidacy
ROCHESTER, N.Y., OP—Tam
many leader Carmine De Sapio
said Friday “the manifestations
of powerful people” outside New
York will leave Gov. Averell Har
riman “no choice” but to become*
an active bidder for the Demo
cratic nomination.
So far, Harriman has classed
himself as “not an active candi
date.”
De Sapio, it big Harriman boost
er, did not say whom he meant by
“powerful people.”
Letter-size and legal file folders
available at The Nome Nugget
Cherry's
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Shower Bath
Smoke Shop
Everything in
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Arcade - Games
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FIRST AVE. & LANES WAY PHONE MAIN 113
EIGHT-HOUR SERVICE
MINERS & MERCHANTS
BANK OF ALASKA
NOME ALASKA
WINTER SCHEDULE
MONDAY and FRIDAY
Leave Arrive
Fairbanks 6:00 a.m. AST Nome 10:10 a.m. BST
Nome 10:30 a-m. BST Fairbanks 3:30 p.m. AST
WEDNESDAY
Leave Arrive
Fairbanks 6:00 a.m. AST Nome 12:40 p.m. BST
Tanana, Hughes, traffic warranting. Scheduled stop Kotzebue
Nome 1:00 p.m. BST Fairbanks 6:30 p.m. AST
Stopping at Galena and Tanana, traffic warranting
THURSDAY and SATURDAY
Leave Arrive
Fairbanks 6:00 a.m. AST Nome 9:00 a.m. BST
Stopping at Galena, traffic warranting
Nome 9:20 a.m. BST Fairbanks 3:40 p.m. AST
Scheduled stop Kotzebue. Hughes, Tanana, traffic warranting
DAILY CONNECTION FAIRBANKS-SEATTLE
PA A FLIGHT 902, DEPARTING 10 P.M.
_
BUSH FLIGHT TUESDAYS
Deering, Candle, Buckland, Kotzebue
Arrive Nome 11:40 a.m. Depart Nome 12:45 p.m.
iyyiVvjAfl ■
^H
‘ill 11
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