KODIAK .
DIARY ...
The demise of the Kodiak
Hear, which we are going to miss
much, brings to mind the story
of it as told by Joseph Driscoll
in his book, War Discovers
Alaska.
In the book Driscoll says:
''When paper supplies ran
short, Craft had the second is
sue printed on old wall paper
with a yellow-flower pattern ”
Since the wall paper edition
W£te printed by the Mirror, we
would like to correct the story.
It is true paper supplies were
running short. The second edi
tion was dated Dec. 22. 1941,
and boats that were due in Ko
diak just were not getting here.
There was enough newsprint
oaJr&nd to print the issue of the
Bear and the Mirror, taking a
chance on the boat arriving be
fore the next issue, or not print
ing the Bear and being assured
of two issues of the Mirror.
Craft s persuasive powers were
always good, and he convinced
us that a boat would be here,
which is some convincing. So the
second edition of the Bear was
printe I on newsprint.
.However, the fact that the
supply was low gave Craft an
idea, fn the Civil War, he said,
papers were printed on wall pap
er in some cases. Why couldn’t
we print a few copies on wall
paper, that he could send to
friends as a joke, telling them
paper was so scarce we had to
print an edition on it.
We were willing to try.
Craft left, and came back from
Erskine's with a bolt of beflow
ered wall paper. We cut it and
bad enough for a dozen papers.
The stuff was quite curled up,
but with Craft and a pressman
on their stomachs on top the
press .holding it down, and with
someone else to turn the press
by hand, the wall paper went
through all right.
We kept a copy and Craft
sent the rest out. To this day,
people in our office, seeing the
copy on the wall, a.;k invariably,
I “Why did you print yellow flow
ers on that paper?'1
Driscoll, and otherp, will
please lake note.
Unexpected note in Kodiak’s
kultur: The strains of Sergei
Vassilyevich Rachmaninov’s
Prelude in C sharp Minor and
of Ludwig van Beethoven’s fam
ed Moonlight Sonata, drifting
from the Ship’s Tavern. Bok,
Beertavern Beethoven and Boo
gie-Woogie.
Many things came to Kodiak
following the growth of the city
arter establishment of a base
here, but to one man one of the
things was distinctly no advant
age, and that was lawyers.
Previous to 1939 there were
no lawyers in Kodiak, but with
the increase in activity follow
ing announcement of the con
struction of the base that lack
was remedied.
Soon after the man we refer
to above betook himself to the
deputy U. S. Marshal’s offiice.
The Marshal asked him his
wishes and the man told him
frankly He wanted the Marshal
to write him a permit to shoot
somebody. Who did he want to
shoot, the Marshal asked. He
wanted to shoot a lawyer. Why,
the Marshal wanted to know.
Well, the man explained, and
he was very serious in his re
quest for the permit, for 20 years
. he and his wife had been getting
along all right and now a lawyer
comes to town and tne nrst
thing his wife goes to the law
yer to get a divorce. Something,
he feels, should be done about
it, and he is willing to do it.
The Marshal had to explain
things at length. He couldn’t
give permits like that, even if he
wanted to Divorces could be
obtained, only with greater dif
ficulty, even if there weren’t a
lawyer here. He’d better go
home and forget it.
The man went home, and the
only thing that happened was
the wife got the divorce.
Progress, since that event, has
been very slow, however. You
1 still can’t get that kind of a
Kempt on's
IDLE HOUR
BAR
☆
“Hour Time is Your Time"
☆
MIXED DRINKS
ICE-COLD BEER & PRETZELS
permit.
Major R. W. McDonald, who
just returned from Australia,
told members of the local Rot
ary Club that he attended Rot
ary luncheons in Sydney and
Brisbane. When he was intro
duced as a visiting member from
Kodiak, Alaska, he said eyes
bugged, and on all sides he
heard remarks to the effect that
“That is the island where the
big bear is!”
Kodiak seems to have achiev
ed some measure of fame as ha
bitat of a big animal. But come
to realize it, our chief point of
inform ition on Australia, an is
land a bit bigger than ours, is
that it has an animal that hops.
( Our Inquiring Reporter sallied
. forth this week and broached
! the follow ing question to various
i and sun-dry (hyphen, because it
[was a nice day); If you had to
I live some place besides Kodiak,
what would be your 1st choice
of a place? Answers came as fol
lows;
Nan Holt—It doesn’t make
any difference where 1 live, only
it would have to be in Alaska.
Bea Martz—Some different
place—Mexico or South Amer
ica
Mrs. Frank Iiick—I don’t
know—Anchorage. If not in
Alaska, in California. I’d be
satisfied any place Frank would
be.
Gus Johnson—One place is as
good as another. Where you
make your living is home.
Mrs. C. W. Fretzs—Aberdeen,
Wash. After 45 years there it’p
hard to be weaned away.
Soldier—It all depends on
money and position and so many
things enter into it. I’m going to
Miami after the war, then
Honolulu.
(continued on page 11)
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