"News oj cAmericd’s Last Frontier”
fi NO. 22
KODIAK, ALASKA
JULY 27, 1946
PRICE 10 CENTS
3 Drown As Cannery Boat Sinks; 1 Saved
Election
August 6
As the result of council action
Phursday, a special election will
L held in Kodiak on Tuesday,
iugust 6, and voters will be ask
r) to express their desires on the
ity’s donation of a jail site for
be proposed federal jail.
Because bids received for a site
ontained none which a govern
ment agent sent here would rec
nimerxl the city council took
ction to approve sale for II of a
ortiou of the city Hail lot so
>ork can go ahead on the proj
st. The new jail, a $140,000 in
flation, would be located on
te south end of the lot, and the
ty hall will be moved to the
jrth end of the lot nearer the
om Horsman property.
The proposed jail is the cul
iuation of years of effort to
ard obtaining a new federal
il, and funds have already
mb set aside for its eonstrue
>n. Only stalemate is the site.
The ordinance to be voted on
ovides that if the jail is not
eeted the land will revert to
e city.
The complete election notice
ipears on page 9 of this issue.
Planes Burn
Adak (Special)—A hangar at
e naval base at Adak was de
royod by fire of unknown origin
ednesday evening, with loss of
planes.
ship Tie-Up
>ossible
Seattle {JP)—Warehousemen
id Waterfront Scalers union ol
;ials said pickets would tie up|
tasks Steamship company op
ations at noon yesterday unless
nployers “agree to negotiate
ith the union’’ for ship and
>ck watchmen.
The Lakina was scheduled to
ave Seattle yesterday for Kodi
i, the local office reports.
The Denali is due to arrive
sre next Monday from Seattle
a Sewaid.
The Cordova will leave here
day southbound.
American Navy craft are un
;r repair in the Japanese dry
»ck at Yokosuka naval base
here a year ago, damaged Jap
iese craft were being prepared
r return to combat against the
nited States.
Docks also are being used to
rap salvaged shias
Sole Survivor Tells Story
Won't Cause Trouble
For 90 Days
Alf W. Martens, base employe,
pled guilty to a charge of being
drunk and disorderly and of as
sault before Acting 1). S. Com
missioner Minu Bubendorf Tues
day and was sentenced to 90
days in jail.
The complaint was signed by
B. W. McCormick, chief of pol
ice, who reported on Monday
evening he to’.d Martens, who
was drunk, to get a taxi and go
home, and Martens took 2 cans
of sardines out of a paper bag
and attempted to hit him in the
head with them. Before he was
subdued by Chief McCormick he
made a second attempt to hit
him with the handful of sardine
cans.
On the same Monday evening
a friend of Martens was pleading
before the city council, asking
the council to forget $50 due on
a fine of Martens from a previous
offense, because the friend said
the fine was "too high” and
Martens never "caused any
trouble.”
Deputy U. S. Marshal Paul
Herring, who was present at the
council meeting, read the law
that provides for up to a $300
fine and 6 months in jail, or both
for just being drunk iH public
places.
Martens’ eonvictinn Tuesday
was his 7th offense since May,
according to the Commissioner’s
and C ty Magistrate records.
Harold Aga, 20 years old, son
of Mr. and Mrs. John Aga of
Larsen’s Bay, and a brother of
Mrs. Lloyd Swan of Harvester
Island, told the story of his mir
aculous escape from death in the
Cougar tragedy at the Griffin
Memorial hospital Wednesday.
Showing no effects from the
bitter cold water but with his
shoulder sockets aching and his
legs bruised from the II hours
of clinging desperately to the
bobbing gas tank to which lie
owes his life, Aga continually re
ferred to his “luck” in being a
’ive.
According to Aga the Cougar
set a couise that placed it about
4 miles offshore and the vessel
was traveling at half speed in
the heavy seas. He said the boat
definitely did not strike any
thing, but when opposite Rocky
Point suddenly sprang a leak and
the water began raising in the
engine room.
Three of the passengers, in
bed, included Mrs. Amund Tay
lor in the skipper’s cabin, who
was immediately awakened, and
Lester Kanagin and Willie Rock,
in the foe's1*, who were awaken
ed by Aga.
Skipper Glen Palmer sent dis
tress signals immediately from
the cabin, which were picked up
by the Navy, and fishing boats
in the vicinity. Even as the boat
was sinking the passengers eould
see lights of other fish boats be
(continued on page 4)
May Handle
Silvers
Possibility of an operation at
Kodiak to handle silver salmon
was seen here this week whea
Mayor Lee Bettinger reported at
Thursday’s Chamber of Com
merce meeting that a company
will salt silvers this season if as
sured of dock space and fisher
men.
Mayor Bettinger said he had
received a wire this week from
Joe Keller, official of the A A P
Packing Co of Seattle, who vis
ited here recently, stating that
his company would salt silvers if
it can obtain space at the city
dock. The wire said supplies
would be shipped from Seattle as
soon as the dock space and sup.
ply of fishermen was assured.
Mayor Bettinger said the city
would arrange for the space and
that local fishermen union offic
ials have already promised there
would Ire pleat}' of local fisher
men ready to take advantage of
such a local market in silvers.
Bond Vote Set
For September
The election by which vo*crs
in Kodiak will ratify or disap
prove the council’s action in
scheduling issuance of bonds for
a site and cold storage plant, has
been set for September 10, to al
low resident fishermen to partici
pate in the voting.
Vessels
m mm—
In Jap Navy Yard
Eight people drowned off the
sboies of Kodiak island opposite
Rocky point Monday night when
the 65-foot diesel cannery tender
Cougar foundered in heavy seas
with loss of the entire crew and
5 passengers. Sole survivor was
Harold Age, who was picked up
the next morning.
The tender, owned by Frank
McConaghy, Inc., 512 Coleman
building, Seattle, operator® of
the cannery at Kodiak, had pick
ed up a load of fish reported as
20,000 fish and was on its way
from Karluk to Kodiak.
The Cougar radioed distress
signals after it sprang a leak in
a heavy northeast blow and the
last message for help was timed
at around 11:30.
The boat sank quickly accord
ing to the survivor. A skiff a
board was launched but crush
ed by a wave and many of the
passengers in their panic did not
put on life preservers,
i A Navy tug Harsi was dis
patched to the scene and over 9
fishing boats joined in the res
cue search but no wreckage was
seen and none of the bodies have
been found.
Harold Aga was brought to
Kodiak by plane and is in the
Griffin Memorial hospital. (For
complete eye-witness account,
see elsewhere this page )
Eleven were reported aboard
i the vessel the first day, but a
j check brought the figure to 9, 3
crew members, and 6 passengers,
the latter including 2 women,
j A cook who would have been
aboard had been fired just before
(continued on page 4)
Kodiak In
Limelight
Larry Keighley, color photo
giapher for the Saturday Even
ing Post, and Don Horter, cam
eraman for Life, have competi
tion this week in the “Kodiak’
j field with the arrival of 2 photo
'grapheis from National Geogra
phic Magazine.
The 2 men, 0. C. Sweet, Con
necticut, and Bruce Wilson, Wis
consin, accompanied by their
wives, arrived here yesterday to
spend a week taking color pic
tures. Their work will appear as
a sort of follow-up of previous
Kodiak articles in the magazine
which depicted the work of the
National Geographic expedition
which investigated results of the
Katmai eruption in 1912.
The men arc also preparing an
Alaska book of photographs
which will be devoted to the
ta
spring, summer and fall seasons
in tha Territory