'News or oAmericas Last Frontier
KODIAK, ALASKA, JANUARY 24. 1942
Lvric Theater, Jewelry Store Hit By Fires'
President’s Ball To Be Held Friday Night
Difficulties expected in con
nection with the President’s
Birthday Ball have faded away
like lights in a blackout, and
everything is set for the cdos
safest dance of the year.
Hje time—9 p. m. next Fri
day night on the President’s
60th birthday, January 30.
The place—Blinn’s hall
The music—A 12-piece army
orchestra.
Added attractions—Cake raffle
wheel of chan-e, pr'z'S donated
by merchants and a grand march
The Committee for the Cele
bration held two more meetings
adopting plans and hearing com
mittee reports. Lt. Roy Craft
public relations officers. Fort
Greely, announced the beginning
of a march of dimes campaign at
Fort Greely, carried on through
the facilities of radio station
KODK. Mrs. Warren A. Taylor
announced that oyer 20 women
had promised to donate home
made cakes to be auctioned off
by Jack Allman, master of cere
monies. Frank Hermann reported
that the Central Labor Council,
through its president, William E.
Falconer, had given full approv
al of the use of music donated
by army musicians.
Warren A. Taylor, was ap
pointed orator for the occasion,
and Chairman Erskine appoint
ed Wilton White and Tony Kvas
to the finance committee.
Tickets have been printed for
the dance and an advance tick
et sale will be held. The goal set
for all the activities is $1000,
all are working to make the
quota.
So keep Friday night open—
for a good time and help in a
worthy cause.
The Alaska Communications
office has announced that day
letter messages are now being
accepted. This supplements the
previous service restricted to
fast messages only. By day letter
fate a 50-word message to Seat
tle may be sent for about $3.30,
to other points proportionately.
NEXT WEEK
the Mirror will begin pub
lication of a series of three
articles by W. L. Golds
borough, naval expert, on
the strategic importance of
the Aleutian island?. The
articles will describe physi
cal characteristics, harbors
and distances, and offen
sive value in warfare.
Watch for them, starting
next week.
Naval Enlistment
Here Alaska’s 1st
i
What is believed to be the first
naval enlistment ever made in
Alaska occurred here this week
when Rudolph Lorenson, 22, en
listed in the naval reserve
through the local navy recruit
ing office now open in the U. S.
marshal’s office under the direc
tion of Cl i f Yeoman L E Col
lins. I.orenson was given his oath
by Commander J. Perry, naval
air station.
During the last wrar, because
of the expense of recruiting in
such a large area as Alaska with
so proportionately small popula
tion, there were no navy recruit
ing offices established. The per
mission given here to open the
recruiting office is the first of its
kind, and the only one in Alaska.
Although the local office has
had applications from as far a
way as Fairbanks they are not
enabled to pay transportation
here for the medical examination.
The expense must be borne by
the applicant
Lorenson is from Afognak, the
son of Mr. and Mrs. Fritz Lor
ersen, who have a fox farm on
Bear Island near Port Bailey
Accident Involves Taxis
Two taxis, one driven by Herb
Trotochau and the other by J.
W. Johnson, collided head on
on the base road beyond Kraft’s
dock during blackout hours
Thursday evening. No injures
were reported, but the front ends
of both cars were badly smashed.
Police said the accident was un
avoidable.
Athletic Club is Formed
For Men At Naval Base
A Kodiak Bear Athletic Club
was organized Saturday night,
preceding the second in a series
of smokers put on in the con
tract >r theater Ivan Swisher
recreational director, was elected
temporary president.
The club is sponsored by the
General Activities committee,
and all contractors and service
men on the base aie eligible
The club was organized to en
courage among men on the base
an interest in clean athletic act
ivites
It will sponsor and promote
athletic activites on the base
such as volhy bail, basketball,
boxing, ping pong, smokers,
tennis, skiing, hockey and skat
ng.
There will be at least one or
more activites sponsored by the
club during the month for the
benefit of all the members
Daylight Saving
To Go Into Effect
Washington (A3)— President
Roosevelt signed the daylight
saving bill to become effective at
2 a. m. February 9 in all inter
state commerce and general gov
ernment activities.
During the Congressional de
bate it was said that it would be
assumed the observance of day
light time by moving all-clocks
ahead one hour would become
general throughout
The measure will become in
operative six months after the
war ends, unless Congress votes
to terminate it before then.
KEA Takes Steps
To Expedite Plant
To expedite matters necessary
in connections with the Kodiak
Electrical Association a meeting
was held Wednesday afteroon at
the Citv hall.
So that necessary iegional
priorities from the Office of Pro
duction Management can quick
ly be obtained for materials the
directors gave the project en
gineers, Hubbell & Waller, per
mission to draw up proposals for
bids, as no contracts could be
negotiated until this was done.
A wire was also authorized to
be sent the engineers to supply
specifications so that an order
for 8 dozen electical meters, al
ready placed, could be complet
ed. A query was also sent asking
for definite information as to
when equipment could be ex
pected. The first unit was tc
have left the factory in Peoria,
Illinois. January 7, but no word
has since been received on it
To comply with regulations,
steps were taken for the bonding
of the association officials. T. A.
Horsman, Charles Hopp,_ and
Norris K. Porter.
A communication was received,
informing the members that
sand and gravel, necessary to the
construction of the new plant,
can be obtained at $2 a yard
from the base aggregate plant,
as long as it does not in anyway
interfere with work there.
An application from F. W
Yenne, Anchorage, for the pos
tion of city manager for the as
sociation was read and filed for
future use.
.5^** Ft^FederaJ Report
Collecting Material r
If you see a young, dark wo
man, parka-attired, roaming a
round Kodiak taking pictures
with a Leica it is very likely
Ruth Gruber. Dr. Gruber is
making a social and economic
survey of the locale for Depart
ment of the Interior.
Dr. Gruber is famous as a
journalist, author and lecturer.
Her home town is New York,
and she studied for preliminary
degrees at New York University,
Mount Holyoke, Harvard and
the University of Wisconson.
After working as a reporter and
free lance writer she was award
ed the Yardley Foundation Fel
lowship at the recommendation of
the Guggenheim Foundation.
As a resulr she traveled thou
sands of miles through Europe,
Asia and the United States, re
porting on the rapid changes
in region of boom towns, gold
mines and prison colonies.
She was foreigD correspondent
for the New York Herald Tri
bune, and was the first foreign
correspondent to fly through the
Soviet Arctic; the only foreign
correspondent to participate in
the conquest of the historic
Northeast Passage, which will
link Europe, Asia and America
across the top of the globe
After two extensive flights
through the Arctic she wrote a
book of her experiences called “I
Went to the Soviet Arctic”.
She has the Kodachrome slides
with her to show her more recent
journey, which included stops at
such widely separated places as
Diomede and Point Barrow, and
included Kotzebue, Wainright
and the Pribilof islands.
At the first meeting of Carl
Metzger’s photographic class she
showed her picturee and told of
many of the interesting exper
iences she had gathering data on
the Eskimo. She also showed
them later at Fort Greely.
After completing her work
here which she expects to do by
the next boat, Dr. Gruber will
leave for Juneau.
Two adjacent business build
ings on two successive days were
damaged by fire this week—the
Lyric theater by a fire which
started in the projection booth,
and Pinch & Kagen, by a fire
started from a gasoline lamp.
The fire at the theater occur
ted during the first of two feat
ures of a double bill. William
Partee, operator, saw flames leap
from a roll of film and grabbed
it up and ran through the foyer
and threw it out in front of the
building. His hand was severely
burned in doing it, and when he
went back to the projection
booth he discovered some other
roils of film had caught. He
fought it with a hand exting
uisher until the fire department
arrived
Although everyone in the aud
ience rushed from the building
from the vaious exits, no one
was hurt v
The fire department drew up
four of the chemical wagons and
used them in rotation on the
blaze. The smoke was dense and
acrid and it was necessary to use
masks in fighting it The army
fire truck arrived from the baae
and pumped water from the
stream next to the theater behind
Dell’s cafe After almost a half
hour’s work the flames were fi
nally extingnished. The projec
tion booth was lined with asbes
tos, but the iiit.nse heat of the
burning film caused the fire to
break thiough into the foyer
next to it, and burned through
the wall into the theater proper.
The theater is owned and op
erated by Mr. and Mrs. H. F.
Mac Donald. Mr. MacDonald
and their son Roger had left
Kodiak that afternoon and Mrs.
MacDona’d was selling tickets at
the time.
* When I saw the operator rim
out with the roll of burning film,”
Mrs. MacDonald said, “J ran
out and discovered it had been
thrown onto the walk and was
setting file to one of the posters.
I thought that was all the fire
there was and tried to get the
burning roll off onto the street.
When I saw the smoke and
flames pour from the booth I
ran in and up the stairs to the
balcony and on in to our apart
(continued on page 4)
INDEX
Page
Alaska Danger Seen 5
Governor Protests Hates 8
Patrol Assignments 3
News Highlights 2
Law To Hit Groups 3
Picture Page 6
Women’s Page 10
Classifieds 11