"News of oAmericas Last Frontier3
VOL 11 NO 16
KODIAK, ALASKA
JUNE 23, 1951
PRICE 10 CENTS
Kodiak Pilot Overdue On Chigmk Flight
Shipping Tie Up Ends,
Alaska Traffic Begins
San Francisco (.P) — The
CIO Maritime Radio operators
returned to work at midnight
Thursday ending a six-day
strike that crippled non-milit
ary shipping on the Pacific
Coast.
The terms between the ship
owners and radio men were
not announced.
In Seattle the Alaska Steam
ship Comuany announced the
sailing of the Aleutian as
scheduled. The Denali, due to
sail Wednesday for Kodiak
and other Alaskan points, was
cancelled and no immediate
announcement of its sailing
was given, Orrin Kimball,
local ASC agent, said yester
day.
“I expect to receive a freigh
ter schedule late today,” Kim
ball said yesterday. The Coast
al Monarch, freighter, was al
so scheduled to leave Seattle
Wednesday with cargo for
Kodiak.
The Denali was the first
scheduled passenger vessel
for Kodiak since last fall.
Meanwhile, one local gro
cery store began rationing
potatoes but had not put a
limit on other groceries. Other
grocery stores reported short
ages on some items.
San Francisco C-P) — Ship
owners and CIO radio opera
tors held peace talks this
week in hopes of ending the
strike which has virtually
crippled non-military shipping
on the Pacific Coast.
The ARA is asking a $70
monthly pay increase for
some 700 members. That
would up their monthly base
wage to $415. The Pacific
Maritime Association, the
employers group, offers a
monthly base of $400.
Scouts To Dance
Friday Night
Girls wishing to attend the
co-ed dance, Friday between
7:30 and 10:30 pm. for the
Boy Scouts, who are between
14 and 17 years of age, are re
quested to • call 3111 and
register their names.
The dance will be held at
the Ski Chalet and is part of
the entertainment program
for the Explorer Scouts.
A Navy bus will leave
Knudsen’s at 6:30 pm. The
Naval Station band will pro
vide music for dancing.
Adult chaperons will be in
attendance at the dance.
Hedloff Named
City Clerk
Bob Hedloff, civilian em
ploye at Ft. Greely, will take
over the duties of city clerk
on July 1. He will replace
Mrs. Myrna Perkins who gave
notice of her resignation
several weeks ago.
Official confirmation of the
acceptance of Hedloff by the
city council can not be ac
complished until the return of
1 Mayor Lee C. Bettinger or
until Councilman Henry
Neseth returns from fishing.
At present only four council
men are in Kodiak. A city
ordinance provides that four
councilmen and a mayor must
be present before a quorum
can be formed.
There were three applica
tions for the position of city
clerk. Hedloff was selected by
the four councilmen, Jack
Hinckel, William Worth, Ray
Shannon and Bud Metzgar.
Mrs. Perkins has held the
position of city clerk for seve
ral years. She said she had no
immediate plans for the
future.
VFW Post
Open Again
The Veterans of Foreign
Wars, Katmai Post 7056 open
ed again this week following
the formal installation of a
new commander and officers
Tuesday evening.
George Sonntag, newly elect
ed commander, t®ok the oath
of office in a ceremony that
was witnessed by city officials,
representatives of other mili
tary groups, the Chamber of
Commerce and the Navy.
Sonntag was elected in a
special election that followed
the closing of the club several
weeks ago by Jack Davis, ter
ritorial department command
er at that time.
Acting Mayor Jack Hinckel,
Chamber of Commerce Presid
ent Merrill Coon, Chaplain
John Weise, USN, American
Legion Commander Herbert
Spiegel, Past President of
VFW Auxiliary Mrs. Mill Vok
acek and President of VFW
Auxiliary Mrs. Arnold Ewing
were among those witnessing
the installation.
The Garland arrived in port
[last night.
Karluk Opens,
Chignik Closes
The Chignik district was
closed to all commercial fish
ing at 6 pm last night until
further notice. The announce
ment of the closure was re
ceived here hy Roy Lindsley,
Fish and Wildlife Service
representative from the Re
gional Director of the FWS.
The Karluk district opened
to commercial fishing at 6 am
Thursday. It was closed last
Saturday at 6 pm because of
the poor showing of salmon
and because the weir at Kar
luk was far behind that of
last year.
Lindsley sent a wire to all
canneries around the island
advising them of the opening
of the Karluk district and the
closing of Chignik.
The increase in the number
of commercial fishermen is
threatening to deplete the
salmon ' supply, Clarence!
Rhode, regional director for
the Fish and Wildlife Service,
said this week.
“Although the number of
boats has increased there cer
tainly is not any increase in
the number of salmon,”
Rhode declared.
He pointed out that in
dividual catches will be
smaller and many operators
will not find the fishing pro
fitable. He also predicted that
it may be necessary for the
FWS to impose more controls
to insure the sufficient escape
ment of salmon up streams to
spawn so that fishing may be
continued through the years.
The alarming trend of de
pletion in recent years in
many areas must be halted.
The increase in fishing gear,
especially in the gillnet
fisheries over last year’s in
flated volume is clearly
evidenced by present over
concentration of gear, Alberti
M. Day, Director FWS, an
nounced.
Anchorage voted down a
proposal for a sales tax Mon
day. One-third of the register
ed voters went to the polls and
killed the two percent propos
ed tax on sales. Money raised
from the tax would have been
used to pave streets and build
schools, The Anchorage Times
said.
L. J. Norman, of Norman’s
Photo Shop, is working for
Haddock and Associates on the
| Naval Station.
Fog Slows Search
For Aeronca Sedan
Storm Ends
Windbird Trip
The voyage of the 38-foot
ketch Windbird from Seattle
to Kodiak, skippered by Dr.
A. Holmes Johnson, was can
celled early this week because
of a bad storm and the vessel
returned to Seattle.
A wire from Neah Bay,
near Cape Flattery, to Mrs.
Charles Sutliff, of Dr.
Johnson’s office here indicated
he had abandoned plans for
completing the 1,500 mile
voyage this year.
Dr. Johnson said that he,
Mrs. Johnson and their son
Bob would return to Kodiak
by plane.
Earlier he had announced
that the three would sail the
wind driven vessel direct
from Seattle to Kodiak. A ship
to shore radio was installed
and the vessel was provisioned
for a six week trip.
i
Summer Arrives
Through Fog
Summer officially arrived
Thursday and Kodiak enjoyed
a “balmy” 54 degrees accord
ing to the reading of a local
thermometer at 3 pm.
Sunrise Thursday was at
3:08 am and sunset was at
9:15 pm, Navy Weather
Central at Kodiak Naval
Station reported.
The Alaska Communication
System’s daily weather report,
for the North Pacific waters
from Dutch Harbor to Kodiak
read as follows: “moderate to
fresh southeasterly winds
occasionally strong in narrow
channel. Caution advised for
small craft, cloudy with fog
and rain.”
For the Gulf of Alaska from
Kodiak to Yakutat the ACS
report said: “Gentle variable
winds except occasionally
moderate easterly this after
noon. Cloudy with intermitt
ent rain and considerable
fog.”
Locally it was cloudy with
the sun peeping through at
intervals. There was no rain
(fora change) but evening
brought fog.
Mr. and Mrs. Ivor Schott
left recently for the states,
j They will return early this fall
Burl Clymer, 39. local pilot,
flying a 4-place Aernoca has
been unreported since late
Tuesday after taking off from
Port Williams for a flight to
Chignik.
The local Alaska Communi
cation System maintained a
24-hour watch with Kodiak Is
land canneries all week in an
effort to locate the missing
pilot and the red and cream
colored plane.
Clymer took off from Port
Williams at 6:20 pm Tuesday
with 50 loaves of bread for a
floating cannery at Chignik.
There were no passengers
with him.
Late yesterday the Coast
Guard Air Detachment at
Kodiak Naval Station stood by
and awaited orders from
COMSAR 2, and a break in
tne weeK-iong ioggy weatner,
to begin an air search.
It was reported locally that
the 10th Rescue Squadron at
Elmendorf Field had been
alerted as it was possible
Clymer may be down in some
small bay or cove on the A
laskan Peninsula.
Local pilots believe Clymer
may have plotted his course
from Port Williams across
Shelikof Straits and down the
shore line of the peninsula to
Chignik. Another possible
route would be to follow the
Shelikof side of Kodiak Is
land to the southern end and
then cross to the peninsula.
The plane carries a radio
but it was reported to be out
of commission. Communica
tion checks with canneries on
the island and along the main
land failed to reveal any sign
of the pilot or the plane.
One local pilot expressed
the belief that he had en
countered heavy weather
and had landed in a small bay
or cove to await better flying
conditions.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Koch
and children have purchased a
ranch in Valley, Washington,
and will make their home
there. Koch was formerly em
ployed at the motor pool at
Kodiak Naval Station.
They left Kodiak last month
after spending several years
on the island.
Nancy Norman and Sandra
1 Perkins are working ^on the
I fountain at Knudsen’s this
j week.