Eodiak Kill ror
"cffevos of (America’s List ‘frontier
Published Every Saturday at Kodiak, Alaska
Yearly Subscription Rate $5.00
Entered in the Postoffice at Kodiak, Alaska as Second
Class matter under act of Congress of March 3, 1878.
KODIAK PUBLISHING COMPANY
William H. Lamrne, Editor and Publisher
Lillian E. Lamrne, Associate Editor
Seattle Representative — The Alaska Newspapers,
1411 Fourth Avenue Building, Seattle, Washington.
"... that government of the people, by the people,
for the people shall not perish from the earth.'—Lincoln
MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use
for republication of all news dispatches credited to it
or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the
local news published herein.
Hearing
August 5
Arrangements of the Chamber
of Commerce and City Council
and other organizations for tne
public hearing on desired river
and haibor improvements are
.nearly complete, it was announc
ed this week.
The public hearing, to which
all interested parties are invited,
will beheld at the Orpheum
theatre beginning at 9 am Mon
day, August 5.
A navigation improvement for
Kodiak, approved by Congress
ou Oct. 17, 1940, calls for a chan
nel lietweeu Near and Kodiak
island to be 200 feet wide and
22 feet deep. Construction was
delayed by the war.
Oral testimrny will be accept
ed at the hearing but important
facts and arguments should be
submitted in writ ting.
A Navy doctor was flown from
Kodiak to Dutch Harbor this
week on two medical cases; one
a skull fracture and the second a
premature birth.
NOTICE
Attention Masons
Taesda.v, July JO, there will
be a meeting of Masons at the
Kodiak Community Center at 8
o'clock.
Emil Knudsen
Past Piesident
8 Drown
(continued from Daee 1)
the vessel left Kodiak because
he showed up intoxicated.
The dead are:
Crew:
Irving Glen Palmer, skipper,
7231 Prospect street, Tacoma.
A. G. Sturman, engineer, 830
Mason street, Bellingham.
Kay Lawson, deckhand, 532
First street, Aberdeen.
Passengers:
Mrs. Amund Taylor, whose
husband was fishing at Carmel,
who was on her way to her home
in Longview.
Lorraine Habch, widow, em
ployed at cannery at Carmel)
whose home was given as Conley,
Wash.
Louis Mueller, about 50, spec
ial officer of the Ala-ka Native
Service, home believe to be Den
ver. (It was reported he had a
son working at Excursion Inlet.)
Lester Kanagiu, Afognak, a
bout 20.
Willie Rock, Karluk, about 17
Survivor Harold Aga was on
his way to the hospital here, as
was Lester Kauagin, for an eye
infection, and Willie Rock.
Aga, after telling his story of
the tragic event, described it as
“just one of those things” that
was the fault of uo one. He said
the boat, was traveling at half
speed and that after the skipper
sent the messages he and the en
gineer remained calm and went
forward on the boat to help the
No Nylons
We do not have Nylons to offer our customers—but,
we do offer all types of banking services, as, actually, whether
we realize it or not, the financial service extended by this
bank Is just as important to the people of this community as
are Nylons,—probably more so.
The purchase of a home or the remodeling of it,
may be arranged here.
passengers.
The loss of life was the largest
of any maritime disaster since
the Yukon broke into after run
ning aground in February, this
year, with a Io3s of 11 lives.
Amuod Taylor, whose wife
was lost on the Cougar, arrived
here this week from Carmel and
left on yesterday’s plane for
Longview.
Mrs. Taylor was expecting a
child in about 3 weeks, and was
on her way to the hospital here
for a check-up to determine
whether she could continue to
her home or have the child here.
To Charter Mavis
Frank McConaghy said yes
terday his company will charter
the Mavis, from Ben Kraft, to
be used the remainder of the
season to haul fish in. The loss
of the Cougar is a Hampering
blow to the canne'y whose oper-,
ations have already been affected
by inability to get the fish in.
The Cougar was purchased by
! Frank McConaghy, Inc. in 1943
■from Mitchell Kuljis of Belling
! ham, for $20,000, but represent- ^
ed with improvements, an in
vestment of about $25,000. In
surance was carried.
Survivor's Story
(continued from page 1)
tween them and shore, Aga said.
Whtn the water got up near
! the engines the speed was reduc
I ed fr„m half speed, Aga said,
! and the last time the skipper
’sent the engineer to check the
latter reported the stem was a-1
wash. Palmer sent liis last mes
sage then, ‘ come all boats, come
any boats” and the radio went
dead. Then Palmer went for
wa d to help with the passengers
I All the passengers had rushed
to the forward deck. Aga grab
bed the skiff after donning a life
preserver and shoved the skiff
over He had taken an armload
I of life preservers forward, but in
their oanic some of the people
d d not put them on. Aga said
I there were plenty of life belts.
| Aga shoved the skiff over and
jumped in, but almost immedia
tely a big wave caught it and
crushed it against the tender and
| threw him into the water.
‘ It was pitch daik,” Aga said,
“and I heard the passengers yell
ing at me to bring the skiff in.
Struggling in the water I could
barely see the passengers who
had becomj panicky climbing to
, the top of the boat into the rig
ging. Then I saw the bow raise
straight up into the air and it
went under stern first. I think it
was about 2 minutes from when
I hit the water until the boat was
gone.”
Aga, who in the Army saw ser
vice on a crash boat in the Aleu
tians, knew the lethal effect of
the icy waters and said after a
a few minutes that he knew he
could not stand the cold and de
cided to take off his life preserv
er and let himself sink so as not
j to suffer, as he felt he was a !
“goner”. Just then he saw Louis j
Mueller, Native Service official, |
clinging to the 6 foot gas tank i
which had broken loose from the
after deck. Aga saw none of the
other people after the boat went
down,
He swam to the tank and join
ed Mueller in clinging to the
cleats by which the tank had
been fastened to the boat.
Aga said he and Mueller clung
to the tank, trying to get partly
out of the water onto the tank
but beiDg unable to About 7 the
■ext morning Mueller weakened
and let go and Aga loosed his
hold and swam and got him back
to the tank.
Mueller kept asking how
much 'onger will it be?’ Aga
said, and he tried to encourage
h>m. “I told him to hang on, it
would only he a half hour more.”
Mueller had a revolver with
him which he gave to Aga and
which they hoped could be used
to signal. Once around 5 o'clock
they saw more boat lights but
did not shoot because they were
too far away. Aga lost the gun
overboard before his rescue.
Mueller got continually weak
er and later when several large
swells went completely over the
men and the tank one of them
took Mueller with it. He did not
see Mueller again. hocking at j
his waterproof wristwatch it was l
8:26.
“After Mueller disappeared,”
Aga said, “I got myself up part
way on to the tanK so only my
legs were in the water and I
don't know how I did but I still
hung on. It was about 10 o’clock J
when I saw a fishing boat com- j
mg. It was the Minnie B I took j
off my life preserver to fry to{
wave it and I knew if they did-;
n’t see me 1 couldn't make it any 1
longer.”
The boat did see him and pick
ed him up.
"The Minnie B. looked like a
million dollars,” said Aga, recall
ing the incident.
He was rushed to a cannery at
Larsen's bay and taken care of
until the Navy PBY gothim la e
Tuesday end brought him to the
hospital here A first plane sent
out earlier Tuesday was unable
to land
Yesterday Aga was up and iu
the sunroom at the loipital,
writing a letter to his “girl at
Karluk”. He said he wanted to
get out of the hospital but that
Dr. A. Holmes Johnson, attend
ing physician, would not let him
because he still had a slight tem
perature.
As soon as he gets out he is
going back to his fishing for the
Kadiak Fisheries in Sourdough
bay.
An application for a marriage
license was made this week by
Gladys' Marie Allen, waitress,
and Harold Emmett Jurd, Mar
ine.
Plan Oil Wharf
Application has been made to
the Army Engineers by the Far
North Packing Co., Seattle, for
construction of an oil wharf 24
by 55 feet, wharf extension 30
by 60 feet and fish float, to be
built at Chip Cove, Moser Bay
near the south end of Kodiak Is
land.
Invitation Wired
Secretary Krug
An invitation to visit Kodiak
wa* wired this week by the
Chamber of Commerce to Julias
Krug, Secretary of the Interior,
whose published itinerary for his
visit to Alaska places him in An
chorage in mid-August but doe*
not include Kodiak.
The Chamber wire pointed out
rhe many projects underwayhets
which should receive his attent
ion, including the land situatioa
and acquisition of the Army
dock, which is to be disposed of
through Secretary Krug’s depar
ment, and expressed the hope he
could fly down from Anchorage
for even a brief visit.
Local Boy Wed
In Ketchikan
Ratph Naughton, son of Mr.
and Mrs. C. C. Naughton of thu
city, was married July 13 t»
Miss Nancy McChisney, beauty
operator, of Ketchikan.
The church wedding was held
in Ketchikan, where Mr. Naugh
ton is employed at the Federal
Bakery & Market.
Charlotte Holden, formerly of
Kodiak, was a bridesmaid
Bill Taylor, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Wairen Taylor, arrived
here by NATS Tuesday after his
discharge from the Navy July?
at, Shoemaker, Calif. Bill, who
graduated from high school here,
saw service for 2 years
He joined his mother here and
his sister, Mrs A E Strelow who
came to Kodiak to make ha
home with her husband, whoa
employed at the base.
Bill said his future plans an
indefinite.
Carl Gulley, in charge of CAA
on Woody Island, was the guest
speaker at the Rotary luncheo*
Tuesday, telling of the part com
munications play in supplyinf
weather infoimation and as a*
aid to navigation. He described
in detail the work carried on at
the 3-million dollar installatwa
on Woody Island.
Other guests included Don Bo
sel, Jim Lucas, newspaper cor
respondent and Ed Ford, of the
Attorney General’s Office, Wash
ington, D C.
Brother Eagles at the base art
asked to contact Rex Parrott, at
the Mecca Bar, for applicatio*
blanks for membership in tb»
new local Aerie.
Calendar of Events
Rotary Club
Wednesday noon, Victory cafe
GM Ladies Auxiliary
Sewing meeting. Thursday
2 pm at the hospital
Kodiak Community Cen &
Board — Thursday
7:30 pm at The Center
Carpenter’s Local 21t>2, Fridaf
7:30 pm Onion hall.