fOL, 3 NO. 87
rrNews oj oAmericas Last Frontier
KODIAK, ALASKA NOVEMBER 13, 1943
PRICE 10 CENTS
Garage
Destroyed
By Flames
Fire starting shortly before
11 am Saturday left the Kodiak
Garage in charred ruins, burned
6 automobiles, and threatened
surrounding buildings before be
ing extinguished by the com
bined efforts of the Kodiak
Volunteer Fire department and
the fire departments of the
Army and Navy.
The building, of wooden frame
construction, was owned by
John Holland, who carried
$5000 insurance on it. Bill Kar
vonen, owner of the garage, esti
mated that about a third of the
parts and tools, especially those
in the first floor below the street
level, are salvageable, and esti
mated his loss at about $5000,
none of it covered by insurance.
Records of the business were
also saved. Although the gaso
line pump in front of the build
ing was badly burned 100 gal
lons of gas in the tank did not
catch fire.
Four cars were pushed from
the building before the intense
heat and smoke prevented res
cue of the others, none of which
was insured. The cars lost were:
Two driven by Bob Traver
and Bob Johnson, owned by Art
Kizer; taxis belonging to T. T
JacksoD, Henry Haag and Bill
Karvonen; private car of Eric
Blankenburg.
Other buildings endangered
before the blaze was extinguish
ed were B'inn’s Pool hall, the
Federal jail and adjacent Felder
building, Kodiak’s largest a
partment house, and the Joe
Heitman residence north of the
garage. A south wind was blow
ing toward Blinn’s when the fire
started, and the crowd pitched
in and moved the contents of
the pool hall, pool tables and all,
into the street. It took 12 min
utes from the first carton of cig
arettes to the last pool (able.
During the fire the wind shift
ed and both the Fred Sargent'
residence and barn across the
street caught fire and had to be
put out. The house roof caught
fire four different times.
Windows in the Heitman re
sidence were so hot as to be un
bearable to the hand, and the
furniture was moved out of it.
The wooden jail building, di-|
rectly behind the Felder apart
ments, is separated by only a
few feet from the rear of the
garage, and no doubt would have
caught if the fire had not been
brought under control so quick
ly. Water was pumped from Er
ekine’s dock and at the end of
the road past the Belmont bar
by the two city fire trucks and
(continued on page 4 )
Police To Impound
Derelict Vehicles
Vehicles that have been left
around town and on public
streets that have become nuis
ances will be impounded by the
city police department staiting
Monday, Police Chief A. A.
Sumerlin announced today.
Expense incurred in moving
the cars and charges for storage
will be borne by the owners.
KEA Contractors
Guests at Rotary
Ray Adams, David Rice and
Charles Andrews, of the Mound
City Electrical Engineering
Company, Springfield, Missouri,
contractors for installation of
the two new KEA electrical
units, were guests at the Rotary
Club this week.
Carlton J Wilkinso , mem
ber of the Rotary Club of Al
bion, N. Y, now stationed at
the Naval Operating Base, was
also a guest
Ray Martin spoke a few words
on the playground equipment he
is providing the school.
One trawler, one troller and
four miscellaneous vessels have I
been authorized for construction j
of Alaska as part of a plan to
build up the nation’s depleted
fishing fleet with the addition of
361 new vessels.
Maj. Roy Craft
Awarded Medal
Headquarters, Alaskan De
partment— Maj. Roy D. Craft
who organized the nationally
famed Kodiak Bear, soldier
newspaper published at Fort
Greely, has been award the
Legion Of Merit
Major Craft, (Box 367) Bea
verton, Ore, was cited in an
order from Lt. Gen. Simon
Bolivar Buckner, Jr.’s AD
headquarters, “for exceptionally
meritorious conduct in the per
formance of outstanding ser
vice.”
“By his unusual energy and
marked ability, he successfully
organized and developed the
“Kodiak Bear”, a soldier news
paper that achieved interna
tional recognition and acclaim,
thereby greatly contributing to
the maintenance of high morale
and esprit de corps of the troops
at hi3 station,” the citation
said.
“As special service officer of
an amphibian training force, he
devoted long hours and unself
ish effort to he welfare of the
organizatio 1, assisting greatly
in the welding of groups of men
who had come together for the
first time into a unit with a
common purpose and an eager
ness to encounter the enemy ”
World News Highlights
Russian Front
Red Army columns stormed to
within 10 miles of the western
Ukranian rail center of Zhitomir
on the last north-south railroad
held by the Germans east of the
pre war Polish border Gen. Vat
utin’s First Ukranian Army
punched the last 18 miles over
night placing the Russians in 70
miles of the old Polish frontier.
The German line in the Gome]
sector of White Russia was re
ported broken by the weight of
numerous Russian rifle divisions,
masses of tanks <fc planes. Soviet
dispatches said the Germans ap
plied the torch to the Crimean
port of Kerch, which has been in
vested from 2 sides by Russian
amphibious forces shuttled across
the narrow Kerch straits from
the Caucasus German commun
iques asserted that Nazi & Rum
anian troops halted Russian at
tempts to extend their bridge
heads around Kerch. In the final
4 days of the battle that yielded
them Kiev, the Soviets claimed
to have kdled 15,000 enemy
troops & captured 6,220.
Mediterranean Front
Bad weather & difficult terrain
in front of the German Winter
defense line slowed the Allied
drive in Italy to limited gains.
Allied headquarters reported a
10-mile advance by Gen Clark s
Fifth Army & capture of com
manding positions on the slopes
of Mt Camino, near Nagnanao
on the western end of the Allied
line Gen. Montgomery’s British
Eighth Army engaged sharp pat
rol skirmishes near Acquavia in
the centra] sector, exchanged ar
tillery fire with the Germans a
cross the Angro river in the East
A German Communique claimed
a “powerful German counterat
rack” succeeded in taking a hill
position & a village south of Mi
gano. Allied bombers battered
rail yards at Bolzano, gateway
through the Brenner Pass Allied
fighters swept along the Yugo
slav coast, raided dumps & com
munication facilities. Since land
ing in Africa a year ago, Allied
airmen of the Northwest Africa
air force has dumped nearly
100,000 tons of bombs, destroyed
nearly 6,000 enemy aircraft and
sunk 185 ships in the Mediter
ranean.
Pacific Front
American marines reinforced
by army t loops firmly secured a
G mile 1 iig beachhead on Em
press Augusta bay, definitely w -n
the first round of the battle for
Bougainville, large Jap base in
1 he Northern Solomons. In naval
action off Bougainville, 1 Jap
cruiser & 4 destroyers were sunk,
2 cruisers <fc 2 destroyers were
1
Knudsen Supt. Denies
Rumor Of Local Job
Albert A. Walther, superin
tendent, Morrison Knudsen
Company, Inc., of Anchorage,
wired this week that he had ‘no
knowledge of our company
being interested in Kodiak con
struction.”
Superintendent Walther was
queried on possibility that his
company would engage in con
struction work at the base here,
as reports have been recurrent'
locally to that effect.
Christmas Mail
Deadline Nears
In order to be assured of de
livery by Christmas, gifts and
cards should be mailed by
November 20. The delivery of
mail dispatched later will be un
certain, due to the over-taxed
transportation and postal
facilities.
Mailers are urged to send
holiday greeting cards by first '
class mail instead of by the
third-class rate, according to a
ostal bulletin received by Post
master A! King. Greetings mail
ed by the third-c/ass rate, one
and a half cents Dostage, are
not entitled to the free forward
ing privilege. If cards are sent
by the preferred service, the
greetings may contain written
messages, not permitted to
third-class, and are forwarded if,
necessary or returned to the'
sender if the addressee is not
located.
Lost Truck Recovered
A light panel truck of the A
T. Beckett construction com
pany was found abandoned 2
and 1-4 miles out Mil) Bay road
Monday evening, according to;
police reports The ear had been
taken without permission and |
when found wa« on its side in i
the ditch, it nod evident y been
going at a high rate of speed as
it traveled 96 feet after leaving
the road.
damaged. Tokyo radio flooded
the air with reports of a great
Jap naval victory, but a sp< kes
man at Gen. MacArthur’s head
quarters said their claims were
without basis, that no losses were
sustained ty American warships.
The sea battle prevented an
enemy task force from getting
clo er than 40 miles from the
marines beachhead. Australian
heavy bombers passed Rabaul.
New Britain island, in a follow
up attack after a daylight raid
by Allied aircraft; 1 cargo vessel
was blown up and a probable hit
scored on a Jap heavy cruiser.
The Australian raid was followed
by an American attack on instal
lations at the northwestern sec
tor of Rabaul.
Councilmen
Set Plans
For Morgue
The city council approved a
board of trustees, named a new
councilman and arranged for a
morgue in a busy session Mon
day evening at the city hall.
The hospital trustees are Mrs.
Jeanie Olsen, employed at Hel
sel’s, Harry Christopherson, of
Chiisty’s Bakery, and Charles
Madsen, hotel and curio shop
owner
James Pierce, former council
member, was unanimously ap
pointed to the council.
Money was appropriated for
procuring; building and for pur
chase of tables and knockdown
caskets for a morgue. The trus
tees of the Russian Church have
a building near the hospital
which is being sought for the
purpose.
It was reported that Dr.
Ryan, Territoual Department
of Education, is making every
effort to obtain transportation
for school children from the Ter
ritory, in full or at 'east provide
1 2 of the cost. He said a blank
et insurance of $50,000 would
be necessary for anyone carry
ing students.
It was reported that work on
the dump road is held up as the
cat has broken down. Mr.
Sholl said military authorities
bad said Saturday that unless
the dump road was completed
within 48 hours the road leading
to the garbage dump would be
closed to town garbage trucks.
The City Clerk was instructed
to write letters of thanks to
military authorities for splendid
cooperation during the Kodiak
Garage fire.
Public Health Nurse Curtis
reported she was get'ing splen
did cooperation from Military
police in an effort to control
venereal infection, of which
there had been 8 cases during
the past month. She reported
she has undertaken the investi
gation of neglected children and
that 2 have been sent to the
Bureau of Indian Affairs school.
Police Chief Sumer lin asked
the council for authority to
haul away derelict cars parked
near the Russian Church He
told the council that Mr. P J.
Watkinson had a vacant lot.
that could be used for a pound.
A motion wa< passed that any
nuisance cars be impounded with
the expense to be defrayed by
the owner, the city to assume
no responsibility, and with a $10
a month parking fee to go to the
lot owner.
R. Jillson was approved as
assistant fire chief until Fire
: l hief Neiderhauser’s leturn.
t< c nt iiii ed c ii page 4)