fOL. 3 NO. 27
"News oj ^Americas Last Frontier
KODIAK, ALASKA, SEPTEMBER 4, 1943
PRICE 10 CENTS
>*
Sells Drug
Business
Sale of Bert’s Drug store, one
of the leading business establish
ments in Kodiak, was announc
ed this week by its owner, Frank
Hermann. The sale, for an un
announced sum, was made to
Lawrence K. Wodiinger, owner
«f the Wodiinger Drug Store.
The transaction came as a
surprise as the business had not
been offered for sale until only a
few days before the deal was
consummated. Hermann, who
plans to leave as soon as his
business affairs are straightened
out, said that he regretted leav
ing Kodiak. His new home will
be Juneau, where he will be as
sociated with his brother, Rus
sell Hermann, owner of one of
the leading drug stores in that
city.
Bert’s Drug store was opened
as Kodiak’s first exclusive drug
store in February, 1939 by Her
mann and his partner, Bert
Weeda. Hermann bought his
partner out this year, and then
expanded the store to include
♦he space formerly occupied by
the Kodiak Cash Market.
Wodlineer, who formerly op
erated a drugstore in Seattle,
opened the Wodiinger drug here
in its present location on March
10, last year. The purchase of
Bert’s included the lease with
Carl Pajoman on the building,
and Wodiinger stated that both
drug stores will be operated as
formerly, with the same staffs
and same policies
Adjudge
Two Insane
Two people a man and a boy,
were found insane this w eek by
a jury consisting of L F. Nacht
weih, Frank Hermann, Alf Mad
den, L K. Wodlinger, Herman
Felder and Charles E. Bryan.
The first was Emanuel Davis,
4r., brother of Basil Davis, who
was committed to a sanitarium
two months ago after he broke
into the home of Kathryn Bres
lich on Mission road and was
found in a closet, dressed in her
slothes After commitment of
Basil, Emanuel threatened the
girl and was caught in her home
two times. Once he had poured
kerosene on a bed, and in an
other instance had piled her
clothing on the floor, poured
kerosene on it and set fire to it.
The owner returned before any
fcreat damage was done in both
eases.
The second was Jens Hovlind,
*0, a resident of Kodiak for the
Past 6 years, who was described
^definitely paranoic.
Launch Cruiser “Alaska’'
wmmmmfflmmmm
The U. S. S. Alaska, first of a ne-v type of large cruiser, slides
smoothly into the Delaware river at Camden, N. J. The Alaska
was christened by Mrs. Ernest Gruening, wife of Dr. Ernest
Gruening, governor of Alaska
Weeks News Highlights
Mediterranean Front
Allied troops stormed across
the narrow straits of Messina at
| dawn yesterday to land in Italy.
I A brief announcement from Al
lied headquarters disclosed that
the troops were spearheaded by
crack British 8th Army veterans
of victories over the Axis in
North Africa. Violentoreinva
sion attacks by Allied warships
& planes proceeded the. landings.
A flotilla of British battleships,
cruisers & destroyers & a Polish
destroyer threw 15000 tons of
shells into areas southward from
Reggio DiCalabna for an hour.
Enemy shore batteries & aircraft
offered ineffective opposition to
the barrage launched at 10-mile
range. Flying Fortresses blasted
railroad yards at Orte, cut the
main trunk line between Italy &
Germany.
Pacific Front
Fighter-escorted bombers
dumped 206 tons of bombs on
the Jap base at Madang, New
Guinea, sector above ground
menaced Salamaua, in the South
Pacific. Gen. MacArthur an
nounced that fires which erased
warehouses & buildings sent up
flames 1500 feet. Raiders added
to havoc by sweeping down tree
top level to pour 90000 rounds
of machine gun & cannon fire on
enemy installations. No Jap
planes were encountered Allied
artillery pounded Salamaua,
where the enemy has an estim
a ed 10000 men. US airmen raid
ed the Jap base at Kahili on the
southern tip of Bougainville is
land Of more than 50 enemy in
terceptor planes 36 were shot
down. Admiral Halsey’s spokes
man declares that 227 Jap planes
were downed during August by
planes & antiaircraft of the Solo
mons command. American plane
losses for the period were not re
revealed but were officially stated
to be less than one fifth of the
enemy loss.
Russian Front
Premier Stalin announced the
Russian capture of Sumy, rail
junction & political capital of
the Kursk area. The special Sov
iet communique declared that
the whole Kursk region has been
freed by the capture of Sumy, 87
miles northwest of Kharkov, &
of Krovovets, 23 miles north of
Konotop. Russian forces in a
drive toward Stalino take Chris
tiakovo, 36 miles east, & Lisich
ansk, 60 miles northeast of Stal
ino. In the advance that threat
ens German held Stalino in the
heart of the Donets basin coal
region, Red Army forces claim
35000 Germans killed & 5100
captured along with vast quan
tities of war material.
European Front
Danish soldiers have blown up
all important fortifications ex
cept on the island of Fyen in
protest against German martial
law Several hundred Nazi troops
are reported killed in fighting
with the Danes RAF pilots said
after a recent air blow at Berlin
that German defense tactics now
Polar Bear Wanders Far
To Kodiak Isle, Is Killed
The story of what is believed
to be the first killing of a Polar
bear on Kodiak island ^as
brought here this week with the
return of Chris Helgason, fisher
man, from the southern end of
the island.
The bear, described as abso
lutely white in color with a yel
lowish cast In the fur on the
back, was identified as unmis
takably a Polar by everyone
who saw it or the hide, including
a teacher at Larsen’s bay who
had been in the Arctic region
and i< familiar with the species
The bear was an 8 foot male,
very fat, with a long narrow
skull.
The bear was first seen on
July 3 in the Uyak bay. region
SchoolDays
To Start
The school year of 1943-44
! will begin Tuesday, Sept. 7 at
9 A. M The morning of the first
day will be devoted to enroll
ment, distributing texts and the
explanation of the daily pr< gram
in the upper grades. The schoo'
day will extend from 9 A M to
3:30 P. M and all children l>t
tween the ages of seven and six
teen will be expected to attend
all school sessions. In grades one
and two dismissal will be at
11:30 A. M. and 3:30 P. M.
While school is in session, child
ren will not be permitted to
leave the school grounds without
the permisnon of their teacher.
This rule applies'o high school
as well as grade pupils
Health examinations fo ente -
ing pupils and for those who are
enrolling from other schools will
be held later this month.
High school and eightn grade
pupils will use the side entrance
leaving the main entrance for
the u.-e of the primary and up
per grades exclusively. In fair
weather the latter entrance w 11
not be open until 8:45, but the
side entrance will open at 8:30
For the convenience of those
high school pupils who have
work to do.
Bishop Walter Fitzgerald, S.
J. D. D., will say Mass at the
Orpheura theatre Sunday, Sept.
5, at 10 am. Bishop Fitzgerald
is from Fairbanks and has been
visiting outposts of his diocese
since April.
included diopping of slow burn
ing flares which light the entire
sky. The new tactic explained the
reason for heavy Allied & Ger
man aircraft losses in recent
night raids.
j by the crew of a fishing boat*
> The bear was swimming in the •
sea and climbed onto a rock.
The next day Charles Ahonen,
fisherman, was picking up his
net about 100 yards from Bhore
at 7-Mile beach when he looked\
up and saw the bear on the
beach. The bear went into the
water and swam out to the dory .
and Ahonen threw a fish at Hi
It returned to the beach ami
disappeared. When Ahonen re
turned to his camp he found the'
bear had been there. The tent
was knocked down and torn to
shreds and everything was in
a shambles.
As Ahonen had seen the bear
go towards the Helgason
camp he wept there to warn1
them and Helgason got his gun
and he and bis family started
with Ahonen to his wrecked
camp. Half way between the two
camps they came to the startling,
white bear on the beach
A sea lion, weighing about
1600 pounds, which had been
buried in the gravel with on'y »
flipper showing, had been rakpd
out by the bear, who was eating
on it. The bear didn’t budge ae
S
they approached so Helgason.'
shot it, hitting it in the should
er. The bear whirled and ran in
to the brush. Helgason followed
it about 1000 yards and then
gave up.
About a week later Helgasoiv
came upon the same bear eating
on the same sea lion carcass
This time he shot it in the head
but the bear started away down
the beach. Helgason fited and
hit it three more times before it
dropptd
As proof of the story Helgason
brought to Kodiak ihe skin of
the bear’s head First 1 bought
that the bear might be one oF
the unusual light or blond Kod
iak bears, similar to t he hide cx
hibited at the Bank of Kodiak,,
was dispelled by the radically
different shaped head, legs and)
body of the white specimen and)
by its swimming.
The Folar bears natural habi
tat in Alaska is in the north Ber
ing sea area and Arctic Alaska in
the Point Barrow region. The
Polar is seldom seen as far south
as Nome and there is no records
of one ever having been in this
vicinity. It could have crossed?
the Alaska peninsula and them
swam across Shelikof straits, but
how it got on Kodiak w>H ie
main a mystery.
The Victoria, B. C., museum?
exhibits a stuffed mother Polar
and two cubs which were killed
in the 1800's on Prince of Walee
; island, near Ketchikan.