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“News oj oAmencas Last Frontier”
VOL. 1
KODIAK ALASKA, NOVEMBER 22, 1941
KODIAK)
' A Year Ago This*Week
Traffic will be curtailed on the
Shelikof highway during working
lours because of construction
■work.
An invitation was issued foi
first services in the new Baptist
church.
It was brought to the attention
of the council that the streets
were full of chuekholes.
On the coldest day of the week
the temperature was 25 degrees.
The work of surveying the
townsite plat of Kodiak was com
pleted.
The first meeting of the volun
teer firemen was called this week.
Power Notice
The power will be cut off
throughout town today, Sat
urday, from 9 this morning
until 2 this afternoon, while
repairs are being made.
It is also asked that all users
oft electricity cooperate and
observe the signal adopted to
show there is an overload. The
signal is a blinking of the
lights, either one brief cut-off
or more, and will be most like
f to occur during thejpeak
period from 4 pm. to 10 p.m..
At that time if users will turn
off all lights possible and stop
using any electrical motors or
appliances it may make it pos
sible to keep the power on.
Otherwise there will be a com
plete “blackout”.
Motorship Eider
Towed To Seattle
The motorship Eider, which
ran aground at full speed on
Green Top island in October,
near Prince Rupert, has been
salvaged and is being towed to
Seattle by the Pelican, officials
of the Fish and Wildlife reported
The Eider’s master, Capt. Geo.
Skarbo, and her crew are all
aboard the Pelican.
Pbotogragher Back On Job
Cecil Helsel, of Helsel Photo
company returned to town this
week after a four month’s trip
outside, where he went for rest
and medieal attention. He spent
part of the time in California,
and just before returning was in
the hospital in Seattle for a
month.
He reports feeling much better,
and has already begun working
In the store.
Star Airways Seeks Airport, Offers Regular weekly Mail service
'Homes o L'e Canvassed
in Drive ror Red Cross
The Red Cross drive began
this week with receipt of mater
ials from Red Cross headquarters
It was originally planned to start
the drive earlier so as not to co
flict with the Christmas Seal sale
which begins next Monday, but
the delayed delivery of the sup
plies was responsible for the late
start.
Mrs. Merrill Coon is in charge
of the local drive, and homes
and all local business houses will
be canvassed.
C.A.A. To InstalL
New Teletypes
C. B. Linehan, assistant air
ways engineer, arrived on the
Lakina to start work on addit
ions to the C. A. A. station on
Woody island.
Construction will include four
additional buildings to bring the
total to nine. The control station
will be added to, a new trans
mission bnilding and two more
quarters will be erected.
It is understood communica
tion service will be greatly speed
ed by addition of frequency-mo
dulation teletypes, which will
include Kodiak in a transocean
ic network that now embraces
Nome, Fairbanks, Juneau, Sitka
and Seattle. The teletypes will
also be installed at the Alaska
Communications system office,
and the army and navy will each
get one. They will be for non
commercial use, and will be used
mainly for weather reports. New
equipment, including a balloon
for wind draft readings will be
added for weather observation.
The latest equipment made
by Federal and Bendix will be
used, and it is expected to take
two months, although the time
will depend on how soon the
material can be obtained.
Twelve skilled men have ar
rived for the work, and laborers
needed will be hired locally.
The new teletype will permit
an operator to type out a mes
sage and be received instantly
and simultaneously at the other
stations, and is more accurate
Weather reports will be sent ev
ery two horn s.
Governor Wants Alaska
Route Through Montana
Helena, Montana—Governor S.
C. Ford has asked federal de
fense officials to route the pro
posed Alaska highway through
Montana and Alberta, in a letter
addressed to I aGuard a, director
civilian defense. He said the
proposed route would be easier
to build and defend.
Committee Visits
Over-Filled Jail
To prove his point that some
thing has to be done about the
local jail, Alvin A. Summerlin,
deputy U. S. Marshall, yesterday
gathered a committee together
and conducted it through the
jail so conditions could be seen
firsthand.
The committee was composed
of R. H. Chadwick, mayor, Dr.
A. Bates Jones, chairman city’s
health committee, GeDe Dawson,
publisher and William Lamme,
editor, of the Kodiak Mirror.
The federal jail, is also used
by the city, is located near the
rear of the Felder building. The
jail proper is one room, 15 feet
wide and 30 feet long, with four
windowless cubby-holes on one
side with two bunks in each.
The room accomodates 12, and
at the time there were 18 in it
and 4 had just been released
Those that can’t get bunks curl
up in a blanket and sleep on the
uncovered floor. In the end of
the room that has the
window is the kitchen, which
consists of a coal stove, a table
and a sink. Adjoining the kitch
en and opening into it is the toi
let with a loose home-made door.
On the wall hung one large ket
tle for cooking. One of the pris
oners said there were more ket
tles, “but they all had holes in
them.” The prisoners do their
own cooking.
The walls of the room are pa
pered more or less with news
paper. In the paper the bedbugs
“all three kinds” said Dr. Jones,
make their home, and at night
drop down from the ceiling. The
inmates get covered with them.
The federal prisoners have had
to take measures among them
selves when any group of drunk
en city prisoners are crowded in
with them. They hide all the
knives and kitchen utensils, and
have had to go farther than that
and take turns sitting up all
night guarding the stove and
keeping the drunks from throw
ing hot coffee around or using
the tea kettle of boiling water as
a weapon.
Of more danger than the in
ebriates are diseased and ment
ally unbalanced prisoners. Not
only have 41 been crammed in
to the room at one time, but
there have been tubercular pris
oners among them. Dr. Jones
pointed out that contamination
of the others was easy under
such cor di ions.
At ti»a time of the committee’s
\ jgrt a prisoner with a tubercul
ar history was one of two in the
(continued on page 16)
Man Taken From Boat
By Police On Old Charge
Wallace Burnett was removed
from a vessel en route from Un
alaska to Seattle when it stopped
at Kodiak, by Deputy U. S.
Marshall Alvin A. Summerlin.
Burnett was charged with issu
ing a check without funds.
The marshall’s office said the
alleged offense occurred some]
months ago, and that Burnett in
the meantime had visited the In
terior and then gone to Unalaska
Location Chosen
For Rotary Tree
Mr. and Mrs. Ben Kraft have
given permission to the Rotary
club to erect the community
Christmas tree on the corner lot
of their home in the bank block.
At the regular meeting of the
Rotary Tuesday at the Brown
Bear cafe Richard Clifton, school
superintendent, and Frank Her
mann, druggist, promised to go
out today and get the tree.
Glen A. Hyner, agent, told the
members that the Alaska Steam
ship company authorized him to
make a contribution for them of
$100 for the fund being raised
for a fire truck.
The fire truck committee was
authorized to go ahead and place
an order for the equipment.
New Quota Set Por Kodiak
In Alaska's Second Draft
The quota for Kodiak in the
second diaft call of 477 has been
set at 33.
The following men are to be
inducted November 24:
Order No. Name
25 Floyd Bruce Nicholson
249 Frank Furimsky
527 Lloyd Arnold Garner
709 Joseph George Reilly
806 George Louis Bowman
Two Men Charged With
Destruction On High Seas
Two men, William Karvonen
and Casey Jones, were arrested
on the arrival of the Mount Mc
Kinley on a complaint filed by
Capt. Roeing, which charged
wilful destruction on the high
seas, the result of alleged dam
age to a stateroom.
The case was heard in court
by U. S. Commissioner C. G.
Naughton, but testimony dis
closed the alleged offense occured
while the vessel was still within
the waters of the Gulf of Alaska
which is outside the jurisdiction
j of the court here. The case was
dismissed.
Rotarians Start
Search For Field
A possibility for mail service
to Kodiak by airplane on a rep: •
ular schedule was revealed at the
Rotary luncheon Tuesday when-,
a communication to Ray Martin;
from the Star Airways, Anchor
age, was read.
In it the company said that if •
a landing field could be provided
for them here, they would es
tablish a regular schedule and
carry passengers, mail and freight
Such a service would give direct
airmail connections between
Kodiak and Seattle. As it is now
airmail from Seattle goes to An
chorage by plane, from there to
Seward by rail, and then catch
es the next boat for Kodiak.
Airmail leaving Kadiak may
go by boat to Seattle and by
plane from there, or by boat to
Seward, by train up to Anchor
age and thence by plane to Seat
tle. The new service would give
two-day service to Seattle.
To meet the company’s offer
several possibilities were discus
sed by the Rotary. Two opeo
fields were mentioned as possibil
ities. One was the open swale ois
Mill Bay road this side of Thom
pson’s, the other the open ground
adjacent to the Baptist Child
ren’s Home on Mission road. A
committee of Charles Marshall,-.
Ray Martin and Wayne Waldrip
was appointed to investigate loc
ations.
The committee was instructed
also to contact Comdr. Perry afe
the naval air station to see il
there were any possibility of us
ing the base’s landing fac litics
for such a service. It is kn^wrt
that both the army and navy are
interested in bettering the mail
service here.
C. A. A. has a program of con
struction of emergency air fiefth*
that is said to include 51 new
emergency landing fields through
out Alaska, and the Rotary club
decided also to contact- Marshall
Hoppin, regional manager, C. A
A., to see if aid can be obtained!
from that quarter.
Some time ago an offer had be
en made to Star Airways of a
free landing field on one of the;
islands across the channel frour
Kodiak, but the preposition was
turned down at the time because
they said the business did not
warrant it. The island site is now
in a restricted area.
Physicians Report
Five practising physicians of
Kodiak and vicinity reported 5
cases of influenza, 1 of measles
and 93 cases common respiratory
to the Territorial Department of
Health for the week ending Nov
ember 10.