m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LVII No, 61NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY; MAY 23, 1955__Per Copy—15*
B-E-C-K Construction Co.
Of Seattle Gets $549,650
Nome School Contract
Mayor Steffen Andersen has re
turned home from Juneau, where
he was present for the opening of
bids on the Nome school addition.
He states that the low bidder is
a Seattle firm—B-E-C-K Con
struction Co.—whose bid was
$549,650.
Two other firms, Burgess Con
struction of Fairbanks and Swall
ing^ Construction of Anchorage,
also bid.
The full contract includes 13
rooms, 10 of which are classrooms.
The bid has had the approval of
the APW at Juneau, he states, and
now awaits approval from Wash
ington, D.C.
Bear Trees Angler,
Slashes His Foot
GRAND MARAIS, Minn., Itfl —
Truman Engersol, a newscomer to
this north woods country, today
nursed a foot injury inflicted by
an angered bear that pursued him
high into a lofty tree.
The 22-year-old flying service
employe was on his way to a
trout stream yesterday when he
qame upon the animal and sought
refuge in a poplar he thought
was from 40 to 60 feet high. The
beast, after treeing her three cubs
some distance away, four times
climbed Engersol’s tree.
First she grabbed Engersol’s
right boot with her teeth, leav
ing a foot cut that required six
stitches. On the second ascent,
the black bear got Engersol’s
other boot. On the third trip, she
got a smack across the nose when
Engersol wielded a branch. After
her fourth climb, the animals
simply gave Engersol a wary look
over, then climbed down, fetched
her cubs and ambled away.
Without taking time to retrieve
his fishing tackle, Engersol dash
ed a quarter mile to his car and
drove to Grand Marais to have
his foot treated.
Engersol, who moved here from
Minneapolis only a week ago, said'
he would return to the woods for
his fishing equipment. But he em
phasized he would carry a rifle.
“Don’t want to' encounter that
bear again,” he said.
American Evangelist
Billy Graham Preaches
For Queen Elizabeth
WINDSOR, England, —Am
erican evangelist Billy Graham’s
prestige rose to new heights in
Britain today following his first
sermon for Queen Elizabeth and
the royal family.
The 36 - year - old American
preached at the Queen’s invitation
for 25 minutes yesterday in the
private chapel at Windsor’s royal
lodge, 20 miles west of London.
Afterward he and his wife lunch
ed with the Queen and the Duke
of Edinburgh.
The Queen and the Duke drove
over from nearby Windsor Castle
for the private service, which was
attended also by the Queen moth
er and Princess Margaret. It was
Graham’s first meeting with the
monarch.
Sources said Graham took as
his text Acts 27:25: “Wherefore,
sirs, be of good cheer: for I be
lieve God, that it shall be even
as he told me.”
Queen Elizabeth is titular head
of the Church of England and
“defender of the faith.” Although
her church has never officially
endorsed Graham’s crusades, it
has given them strong support.
Further Safeguards
For Salk Vaccine
Are Contemplated
WASHINGTON, Wl—A possible
further slowdown of the mass
antipolio inoculation of school
children loomed Saturday as the
government reportedly contem
plated further tightening of safe
ty standards for the Salk vapcine.
Meanwhile, the government —
on advice of a panel of scientists
—decided to continue the dosage
and vaccination procedure worked
out in last year’s field trials of
the polio preventative.
Because of the vaccine scarcity,
there had been discussion of pos
sibly reducing the dosage—now 1
cubic centimeter per shot — and
changing the method of injection
to spread supplies.
The government also decided
against curtailing inoculations
during the summer height of the
polio season. Some doctors had
voiced concern lest administra
tion of the vaccine during such
a period might provoke the dis
ease.
Resumption of vaccine ship
ments after one safety recheck
' halt had been hoped for this
week.
Attempt To Climb
University Peak
To Start June 4
FAIRBANKS, — An assault
on the highest unclimbed moun
tain in North America, 15,030
foot University Peak near the
Alaska Canadian border, will be
started June 4
Keith Hart, Vancouver, Wash.,
business administration graduate
of the University of Alaska, will
lead the expedition of five young
men. Others on the climb will be
Leon Blumer, 29, Trail, B. C.;
Sheldon Brooks, 20, Tacoma; Tim
Kelley, Seattle, and Norman San
ders, 22.
Only other attempt to scale the
towering mountain was made a
year ago by a group of men from
the Seattle area, including Brooks.
The attempt was abandoned after
an avalanche destroyed the
party’s upper base camp. Univer
sity Peak is about 150 miles south
east of jCordova.
The abandoned mining town of
McCarthy will be used a§ a base
camp and supply drops are to be
performed from Chitina. The
climbers face a ridge on which the
pitch is more than 45 degree^ and
is 65 degrees in some places. The
last 5,000 feet of the climb will
be along this open, exposed ridge.
The expedition will also at
tempt ascent of two other un
climbed peaks, to be named by
the climbers in memory of the
late Dr. John McCall, who died
of infantile paralysis four months
after he led a hazardous rescue
operation on Mt. McKinley, and
Elton Thayer, who died in the
Mr. McKinley climb a year ago.
SUNDAY BASEBALL
American League
New York 5-7, Baltimore 0-5
Cleveland 4, Detroit 0
Kansas City 7-6, Chicago 2-10
National League
Brooklyn 8, Philadelphia 3
New York 5-5, Pittsburgh 2-3
Milwaukee 5, Chicago 0
Cincinnati 4-2, St. Louis 3-5
Pacific Coast League
Portland 6-1, Seattle 3-2
Oakland 4-8, Hollywood 8-6
San Francisco 2-6, Los Angeles
5-4
San Diego 2-6, Sacramento 1-3
NOME USO CLUB
TO CLOSE IN JULY
It has been announced by the
director of the Fairbanks USO,
Allen Smith, that the local USO
Club will be closed in July. In
response to letters from local or
ganizations stressing the need for
the continuance of the operation
of the Nome USO, Smith stated:
“All the good accomplishments
of the Nome USO Club are ap
preciated but we must be prac
tical. We have some isloated spots
in the United States with six thou
sand men where we haven’t been
able to establish service because
of lack of funds.”
---L
National Guard
Pilot Outraces
Sun In Sabre Jet
LOS ANGELES, (JP — The flier
who won his race with the sun
from coast to coast and back does
n’t think his record with last long.
“After all, the Sabre jet is
six years old,” said 1st Lt. John
M. Conroy of the California Air
National Guard. “There are faster
fighters.”
On Saturday, Armed Forces
Day, and the 28th anniversary of
Lindbergh’s landing in Paris,
Conroy ate breakfast in Los An
geles, lunch in New York and
dinner in Los Angeles again.
He flew the Sabre, nicknamed
the “California Boomerang” about
5,085 miles in 11 hours, 26 min
utes arid 33 seconds including the
time for quick turn-around, re
fueling stops and lunch in New
York. That averaged about 445
miles per hour.
Conroy’s east-to-west flight in
5 hours 27 minutes 37 seconds
shaved more than an hour off
Paul Mantz’ 1947 mark of 7:00:04.
His west-east leg, however, was
slower than the 3:46:33 mark set
by Air Force Lt. Col. Robert D.
Scott last March 10 in an F-84-F.
The lieutenant made the flight
he said, to demonstrate the com
bat potentiality of National Guard
planes, pilot and personnel.
Now the decorated World War
II bomber pilot goes back to
building swimming pools, his
civilian job, since flying is most
ly for the weekends.
“The worst point was when I
took off from Mitchell Field in
New York on the return home,”
he said. “I thought I might have
bitten off more than I could
chew.”
Conroy did his own navigating
on the trip east but depended on
the Air Force radar network for
courses going home.
Walter Slack, Former
Nome Machine Shop
Owner, Dies In Seattle
Walter Slack, former owner of
the Fairbanks Machine Shop, died
April 9 in Seattle, according to
word received in Fairbanks by
friends. Slack sold his shop there
two years ago and retired to Se
attle.
Slack moved to Fairbanks from
Nome in 1942 and started up in
business where the old Tanana
Machine Shop was located on
North Cushman St. His son Wal
ter lived in Fairbanks until re
cently when he moved to Anchor
age where he is with the CAA.
The former Fairbanksan is sur
vived by his widow, Eva, and an
other son, Mitchell, of Fort Ord,
Calif., and two daughters, Mrs.
Fred Selly of Roxbury, Mass., and
Mrs. John Allen of Mercer Island,
Wash.
Sen. Johnson Calls on Secty. Wilson
To Stop Confusion Which Exists
About National Defense Program
Recent Changes In Soviet i
Tactics Indicate World
On Eve Of New Situation
BLAINE, Wash., UP — Recent
changes of Soviet tactics indicate
the world “may be on the eve
of a new situation ... in which
the strictly military pressures of
Communist imperialism may be
lessened,” Nelson Rockefeller de
clared here Sunday.
Speaking as a special repre
sentative of President Eisenhower
Rockefeller addressed some 24,000
persons gathered for the annual
International Peace Arch Observ
ance at the U.S.-Canada border.
The time ahead “may be a
period where we should apply on
the international front our pre
cious spirit of flexibility and bold
ness, inspired by our fundamen
tal belief in human progress,”
Rockefeller said.
The ceremony included an ex
exchange of flags by some 2,000
American and Canadian school
children.
Circuit Court Decision
May Aid Dick Haymes'
Fight Against Deportation
WASHINGTON, UP — The Jus
tice Department declined com
ment today on whether a decision j
of the 9th Circuit Court of Ap
peals might aid crooner Dick
Haymes in his fight against de
portation.
The San Francisco court held
that a Filipino, barred from re
turning to Seattle after working
at his annual Alaska cannery job
in 1953, could not be excluded
under the Walter-McCarran Im
migration Act. He was barred
under the Act because of a burg
lary count against him many
years ago.
The Filipino, Alejandro Raca
Alcantra, had been admitted to
this country as a permanent resi
dent.
At Seattle, Alcantra’s attorney,
Sarah Lesser, said the Circuit
Court decision reversed one by
the U.S. District Court at Seattle.
She said the Appeals Court de
cision set forth that the McCarran
Act, while opening the way to
exclusion of an alien entering for
the first time from the territory,
could not be applied to disbar
one who already had his resi
dence in the states.
The deportation case against
Haymes, husband of actress Rita
Hayworth, stemmed from a visit
to Hawaii in 1953.
Tacoma Heavyweight
May Fight Don Cockell
SEATTLE, un — Pat McMurty’s
next, and possibly toughest test,
will be the man who decked Don
Cockell when the British heavy
weight champion was training for
last week’s title shot with Rocky
Marciano.
The Seattle Boxing Club an
nounced Saturday McMurty, pro
mising young Tacoman who has
yet to lose a professional fight,
will meet Bob Albright of Los
Angeles in an 8 - round heavy
weight here Jan. 7.
McMurty, who has been men
tioned as a possible opponent in
a comeback try by Cockell, will
be after his 18th ring victory.
Albright has won 19 out of 20.
> WASHINGTON, (JV-Sen. Lyn
don B. Johnson (D-Tex) called
on Secretary of Defense Wilson
today to “step in and stop the
confusion” he said exists about
the national defense program.
The Senate Democratic leader
said congressional committees aref
going to try to find out the “true
story” of whether Russia is threat
ening to gain air superiority over
the United States.
In the meantime, he said Wil
son has the responsibility for see
ing to it that “the generals and
the secretaries get together so that
the right hand knows what the
left is doing.”
“The people and Congress don’t
know who to pay attention to
now,” he said. “There has been
a new rash of confusing state
ments and there should be a clar
ification as to what is the true
story.”
The magazine Aviation Week,
joining in a controversy which
has raged during the last week,
said yesterday that Russian air
developments have shocked “even
the top level and the most knowl
edgeable military aviation lead
ers in the Pentagon.”
It criticized what it said “ap
pears to be a deliberate deception
practiced against them (the Am
erican people) by some of the
highest civilian officials in their
government.”
A brief Pentagon report on Rus
sian air developments 10 days ago
led Sen. Symington to suggest last
Tuesday that Russia may have
gained air superiority over the
west. President Eisenhower told
his news conference Wednesday
such a statement “is just not
true.”
Man Crushed To Death
By 8,000-pound Elephant
When Trailer Overturns
DALLAS, Tex., W)—A four-ton
elephant, thrown from- a trailer
truck, crushed a man to death
near here yesterday.
The truck jumped a ditch and
overturned. Killed were Norman
E. Joseph, 30, of Newark, N.J.,
and Queenie, 25-year-old, 8,145
pound elephant.
Truck driver W.C. Hendricks,
36, of Atlanta, Ga., wa^s treated
for an injured nose.
Hendricks said the brakes fail
ed as he tried to turn off an
expressway.
Deputy Sheriff H. G. Vayette
said Joseph, riding in the cab
with Hendricks, jumped out when
he saw the truck was going to
turn over.
“He landed in the path of the
trailer and the elephant broke
through the siding and landed on
him of him,” Vayette said.
BOB HOPE NEGOTIATES (
FOR 5-YEAR TV CONTRACT
HOLLYWOOD, UP— Bob Hope,
who concludes a 5-year TV con
tract with NBC tomorrow night,
said today he is negotiating with
he network for another deal.
Previously the comedian had
hinted that he might retire from
TV.
“They want me to sign for an
other five years,” Hope said. “I
may do it if I get what I want.”
He said he wants to do only six
shows a season. This season he
did 10.