Petersburg, the Beautiful, the Progressive
From the time the intending tourist begins to think
of Alaska and starts reading “literature,” he learns about
“Wrangell Narrows” and the “inside passage.” And
then during the entire trip, he looks forward to and
wonders where this “inside passage” is.
“Wrangell Narrows; that must be at Wrangell” he
says. But no, Wrangell is reached and no Wrangell
Narrows. He begins to doubt that there is such a thing.
“On the way to Petersburg” comes the word from
the Captain. And two hours after leaving Wrangell, the
ship turns due north by magnetic reckoning and heads
“right straight into that mountain.”
Just when the ship should be completely wrecked, by
some miracle, a passage of water opens up and the lives
of tourists are saved, life preservers may be returned to
their hiding places, and tourists crowd the observation
room, the upper deck, graphaphones are neglected, can
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PETERSBURG AND WRANGELL NARROWS
ned music becomes tame, as the beauties of nature and
the wonders of the Almighty roll on, putting to shame
the imitation of the moving pictures. The most scenic
portion of the Alaska trip is the passage through
Wrangell Narrows, a narrow and tortuous body of water
placed by the Almighty between two great islands in
order that people might reach Petersburg.
Petersburg is the baby town of Southeastern Alaska
in point of years. It “happened” because “there was a
reason.” It is the one town of this division that was
born because of the resources behind it. Rack of Peters
burg lies the great LeConte Glacier, beautiful sight for
tourists, and the source of most of the ice that floats in
Frederick Sound. This ice is very necessary to the cold
storage business and being handy, the fishermen natur
ally settled at the upper entrance of Wrangell Narrows.
To get a general idea of the town, I have enumer
ated below a birdseye view of the business there. Six
large general stores enjoying great prosperity; two
active meat markets to supply the hungry people with
“T-bone steak” and other demands; a modern drug store
in which to get medicines for an ailing body, magazines
for a sick mind, or lip-sticks for your fading beauty; two
tailor shops to fit the fastidious, or he of the difficult
figure, to crease the pants; three machine shops to keep
the gasboats at work; two plumbing shops to keep the
town healthy; “several soft drink places” to quench your
memory of Scotch or Old Crow with “near beer”; two
laundries, two bakeries, two hospitals, a dentist, two
resident doctors, two hotels, three restaurants,—it makes
me dizzy to try and list the various major industries,
but shall T leave out the fine newspaper that tells the
people of the latest scandal, the last murder in the
states, or the latest betrayal of the people even by a
George Sexton ? or the novelty shop, the jewelry store,
or the ice cream shop with its “ice-cream cone” or its
“Petersburg Special”?
News, good and bad, comes over the U. S. Cable.
Both Protestant and Catholic Churches are organized
there, and for “joiner,” you will find the Pioneers of
Alaska, Moose, American Legion, Elks, Masons, Sons
of Norway, Commercial Club, Camp Fire Girls, Boy
Scouts, and material enough to “start another” if nothing
“that we have will do.” Oh, Petersburg is there with
the spirit. A sturdy, active, progressive town which
purchased more than $075,000 worth of goods from the
States during 1923, and ranked third in this respect in
this division. No wonder that the Bank of Petersburg
has grown until it must almost burst its vaults with
prosperity. With over a quarter of a million dollars in
deposits, this Bank is directly responsible for much of
the prosperity of the various business interests there.
FISHING
The Bank stands under the fishing business, not
only the Bank above referred to, but halibut banks, sal
mon between stream banks, enlivening the channels of
business with its cleansing flow of profits. The homes
of the fishermen are the best evidence of prosperity;
homes with children to supply whose needs the town has
just completed a brand new school house costing $35,000.
The town of Petersburg invites you. In its district
it is the hub of the wheel, receiving freight, mail, pas
sengers from the states via the palatial steamers of the
Admiral Line and the Alaska Steamship Company, or
independent freighters, and sending out the same to the
towns of Kake, Fanshaw and numerous cannery centers
and fox farms.
What is a shrimp? Call it a fish if you wish; but
here you will find the most delicious crustacion in the
world. Dozens of people are kept employed here, and
as you stand watching, you must wonder how human
MOUNTAINS NEAR PETERSBURG
hands can pick so fast. There are tales that some pick
ers earn $15 a day, but I am afraid that this is stretch
ing' it a bit; but many earn $5. to $8. a day, picking at
10c a pound.
The steamer will stop either at the “City Dock”
where the shrimp cannery is working, or at the “Can
nery Dock” meaning-, of course, the Petersburg Packing
Company. In season, you can stand and see how the
Alaska Pink Salmon is packed. Last year this cannery
packed 114,000 cases of salmon, using almost two million
salmon or over eight and one half million pounds of
fish.
Trout fishing will interest visitors, but the halibut,
the humpback, the sockeye, the Kings and Chums, rather
than the Dolly Varden, the Cut Throat and the Mountain
Trout are the foundation of Petersburg’s wealth. Herring
are caught in seines right off the dock; smelt and ooli
gans also abound. Crabs and Clams are there for the -
fastidious.
The pack of the two salmon canneries was valued at
one million dollars last year. One plant alone packed
twenty-five thousand barrels of herring. Large amounts