GAMBELL
NEWS LETTER
By CLARENCE IRRIGOO
Fall, 1957
Asian Flue, or ... ??
Whatever the flu is called, both
villages on St. Lawrence Island
got their share of it. Your guess is
as good as mine, Asian or Alaskan.
Yes, many of us but not every
one was taken ill. I was given five
shots of penicillin plus several
doses of other type of antibiotic
drug when I did pot come out of
it soon enough.
Flu vaccine was given to Sa
voonga with tb£ hope that it will
have some good effect, but unfor
tunately mail man had shuttled
back and forth between Gambell
and Savoonga, possibly taking
around the flu germ.
It was learned later that even
• those who were vaccinated had
the flu. This does not mean that
the vaccine was not effective, be
cause few were vaccinated in
Gambell during the outbreak and
most of them if not all did not get
the flu. From layman’s point of
view, I think the vaccine would
work most effectively if it is given
enough time to have its effect be
fore the flu. There were no deaths
related to the recent outbreak.
Where Is Mr. & Mrs. Walrus
For several years Eskimos and
the whites alike had been talking
about Mr. and Mrs. Walrus of the
Bering Sea, where they went or
what happened to them, because
only few of them seemed to be
swimming the waters between
Siberia and North America. Hunt
ers were blamed for mass killing,
but we, the walrus hunters, were
not ready to admit it until it is
proved.
Old Eskimo hunters of the past J
left rules and regulations on how !
to hunt and treat the walrus be- |
cause it is our main diet, much !
like your potatoes.
We learned from these old prov
erbs that walruses do not come |
year in and year out. About five
years is most accepted length of
time this animal comes. In other
words, for five years (winters)
there is walrus available in big
herds; and the next five years
there is very little walrus to be
seen. These are the years when
food shortages become critical.
Understand? ^
Sure enough, last five years or
so, there was very poor walrus
hunting; there were some, but
not as many.
On December 10 this month ice
came and we saw walrus in big
herds just off Gambell, but the
Son Bom to R. Willoyas
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Willoya are
the parents of a son bom early
Sunday morning. The new boy
has two sisters and two brothers
to welcome him at home.
surf was too high to hunt them.
Here is what the writer of this
news saw:
“As far as my eyes can see with
binoculars (7 x 50) I counted 1600
herds of walrus on the ice. In each
group there were approximately
5 to 20 of them. Taking an aver
age of 10 in each group, there
was 16,000 of them seen, not
counting all those in the water
and beyond the horizon.
Three-fourths of these walrus
this fall are female, going south
to their breeding grounds.
i House That Jack Built
j ■ In 50 years we will be living in
I igloos. Why? Because by that time
the Territory will have lien on all
the frame buildings in Gambell!
Before we know, the Territory
■ has lien on‘ many frame buildings.
These are formerly owned by the
people now under Old Age Pen
sion Plan. “The House That Jack
Built” is no longer “Home Sweet!
Home.”
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU
Specially to you. j
Jewelry Store
TO WISH YOU A
■
■
1.1
TPeacc oiv<Earth
The Community
Methodist
Church
Franks!
Expresses most sincerely our appreciation
for your friendliness and
fine patronage this past year.
We extend best wishes
for your happiness at Christmastime
STOVE and STACK
CLEANING SERVICE
& Tommy Tungweruuk ☆
II I
MODERN CLEANERS
Jim and Ruth McLean
I
' : ■ --' , ■
Guaranteed Lang and Olympic
Dependable Ranges
Fuel Service Heaters
LP Gas STOVE PART8
and Appliances AND REPAIRS '
Main 152 Quaker oil
GREEN’S
CITY FUEL & TRANSFER
p - ' ■ -
SOURDOUGH FRIENDSHIPS
By DELLA Z. GOSHAW
I ' ■; : ;\J
When you shake the hand of a true sourdough;
, He looks you straight in the eye,
| v And you feel the strength of his grip, you’ll know
There’s a friendship that never dies.
Tho years roll by and the travelled trails
May carry you far apart,
The sourdough’s loyalty will not fail,
For there’s brotherly love in his heart.
He battled the storms and bitter cold • *
To conquer the wild terrain;
Now twilight nears and limbs grow old,
But his memory does not wane.
So shake the hand of an old sourdough
And catch the gleam in his eyes,
And feel the strength of his grip and know
There’s a friendship that never dies.
Christmas Greetings to all our Pioneer friends,
To fellow Alaskans of Nome, Eskimo and white,
1 Like the Bering Sea sun that always returns
With its friendly, eternal light.
From George and Della Goahaw
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