"News oj oAmericas Last
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VOL. 3 NO. 21
KODIAK, ALASKA JULY 24, 1943
Mystery Fire Hits Famed
Russian Church
Attempt
To Kill
Charged
Robert Anderson, formerly
employed at the Mecca, is held
in jail here to answer to the
grand jury with bail set at
$10,000 by U. S. Commissioner
C. C. Naughton Wednesday af
ter a hearing on a charge of as
sault with intent to kill.
The complaint was made by
Jack Delane, manager of Ship’s
Tavern, who charged that And
erson attempted to kill his own
infant daughter. Rose Mary, 5
weeks old, by trying to smother
ner.
The incident is alleged to have
occurred Tuesday evening in the
Delane apartment behind the
tavern. Mrs. Delane and Mrs,
Anderson were in the apartment,
according to testimony, when
Anderson entered. Testimony in
dicated that he had been drink
ing and that he struck Mrs. And
erson and then grabbed the in
fant from the bed by the head and
holding one hand over its face
pressed hard, at the same - time
shaking it. Both women tried to
stop him and Mrs. Delane ran
into the tavern and got her hus
band who met Anderson as he
came from the apartment. De
lane struck Anderson and knock
ed him unconscious. The baby,
which was described as having
"turned black”, was taken to an
adjoining apartment and Dr.
Johnson was called. The baby
recovered and is said to have
suffered no serious effects.
Attorney
Appointed
Joseph W. Kehoe, well-known
Seward attorney and political
figure, was chosen to act as city
attorney for Kodiak at a special
meeting of the city council
Thursday evening. He replaces
Warren A. Taylor, who resigned
from that position.
Kehoe’s location outside the
city will make the position large
ly advisory and a fee of $75
monthly was set for his services.
A monthly salary of $150 was
paid formerly.
Rev. Gregory Gleboff, of the
Russian Greek Orthodox church,
announced this week that spec
ial services will be held on the
steps of the Russian church to
morrow, Sunday morning, at 10
o’clock. Rev. Gleboff extends an
invitation to others than mem
bers of the ebureh to also attend.
Structure Was An Historic Landmark
The Russian church building
which burned Saturday was 68
years old, having been erected in
1876 with finances provided by
the Holy Synod. The church was
founded, however, in Kodiak in
1794, when Baranov and his men
moved from the first Russian set
tlement at Three Saints bay af
ter a tidal wave there wrecked
the villiage, and the local congre
gration had been laying plans for
6ome time for celebration of the
150th anniversary next year of
the oldest Russian Greek Ortho
dox church in North America.
Baranov, on moving north,
settled first in the neighborhood
of Chiniak bay and a church was
built, theie but it was soon de
cided to move to the present site
of Kodiak on St Paul’s harbor
and the church was moved too.
A building for it, the first heie,
was located atop the hill on the
spot where the city hall now
stands and was of simple frame
construction. It was'dismantled
later. By coincidence the same
ground was devoted to holy uses
in later years when the Baptist
church built on the same gite the
building for their services, which
is now the city hall The Baptist
property w7as sold to the city af
ter completion of the new Bapt
ist church on Signal hill.
When the Holy Synod decided
to build the new’ church a deacon
was sent from San Francisco to
supervise the work. lie was
Father Vaselie Netsvatov, a
church architect, which in old
Russia was a trade by itself that
required long preparation. Local
labor was employed in the con
struction at 50c a day. Theodore
Astragin, member of a Russian
family which, like so many
others, has since died out, was
in charge of finishing the church,
and it was Astragin who did the
final work on the last part of the
church to be completed—the left
wimr. Astragin also was the one
given the task of assembling a
three tiered iron chandelier, dec
orated with crystal, which had
been fabricated in Gretce. There
was some difficulty in getting it
together, so it was finally hung,
as it still was at ihe time of the
fiie, with only one circular tier
to hold the many cand!<:s
The church was much different
in apnearance then. The build
! ing wa3 constructed of large, sol
id, square beams, laid horizon
tally and the roof was covered
with wooden shingles The bells
were not all hung then, and the
interior was of the same rout'll
beams, with two glass partitions
separating the right and left
wings from the rest of the
church
Legend wrongly relates that
the bells weie forged in Kodiak,
and again that they came from
jSewaid, or Sitka, or San Fran
cisco. Truth to tell the five bells
came not from one place but
from three.
The largest bell was the new
est one, having been added to
the church in 1912 after being
cast in the Middle West. It was
hung with the others in a separ
ate building when the tower be
came weakened but all were
placed back in the tower later
The third largest bell was cast
in Kodiak in the late 1700’s for
the first building and it is the
one credited with the distinctive,
cacophonic clang, that distin
guished the bells from all others.
The tenor bell, which fell in the
fire and broke, and the two
smaller bells, which melted, were
cast at the Garret Company in
San Francisco.
In 1890, when the church was
15 years old, it was remodeled
by adding siding inside and out
to cover the old beams and by
removal of the glass partitions.
The interior then consisted of
four radiant rooms opening into
the two-story center cupola,
which was octagonal shaped.
There was the back room and
mam altar, the right wing with
its altar and choir stall with rail
!ing (without seating), the left
wing also with an altar and the
u ilitarian oil heater, and the fore
room, where, as in the wings, the
members of the congregation
stood. Members of the church are
never seated hut stand through
all services, many ol which last
(continued on page 71
Russian Church Before
Tragic Blaze!
Above is t lie Russian Gmk Orthodox d.uith as it ai I f au <1 I < It re the tragic file. Plainly
seen are the bells which so long have rounded the call to worship 1 he tenor bell on the right fell
during the fire and the largest bell, not seen, remained hanging but cracked, the center bell also re
mains and the two smaller bells melted from the intense heat. The bulbous spite was destroyed,
leaving a lone charred timber supporting the cross. The roof of the wing on the right was caved in.
Part of the cupola supporting the second cross can be seen to the left of the bell tower.
The Russian Greek Orthodox
church, which for 68 years has
proudly stood on its hilltop lo
cation dominating the town
with the beauty of its Byzantme
architecture, a bulwark of the
faith of the old families of Kod
iak and a mecea for every ad
miring newcomer, stands now,
charred and desolate-looking, as
the result of a fire which struck
it Saturday evening after the
regular evening services.
The fire alarm was sounded at
10:22 pm but the fire had gain
ed such headway before being
discovered that firemen, aided
by military men and equipment,
were only able to extinguish the
blaze in time to save surround
ing structures, including the ad
jacent Standard Oil storage
tanks. The fire, evidently start
ing in the main altar area,
spread rapidly and after gaining
! ground reached the front bell
tower and roared upwaid into
the belfry, silhouetting the bells
in the angry red flames. I1 or a
time it looked like nothing
would remain of the structure
but after a stubborn batLie of
over an hour and a half the
flames were extinguished, leav
ing the walls and most of the
roof still standing but badly
charred. The two bulbous cross
towers with their double-armed
Russian crosses still survive a
bove the bleak ruins.
Most tragic coDsequencc or
the fire was the loss of irreplace
able ikons, chalices, and bibles
and other church paraphernalia,
some of it dating back to the
first church building at '1 hree
Saint’s Bay. They Had been re
moved to a remote place of sale
ty after the start of the war but
had recently been returned to
the church. The vestments of
Fat la r Gregory Gltboff, priest
of the church were also
destroyed.
Fire Chief William Neider
hauser said the cause of the fire
could not be determined but
that official investigation is con
tinuing, especially in view of
some evidence left by the fire
and because of the mystery sur
rounding its start. It has been
determined that there was no
fire in the oil heater, that two
gasoline lamps are not used in
the daylit late evenings of sum
mer, and that all the candle*
had been extinguished. Services
were out about 9 pm and two
ladies of the congregation ex
tinguished all candles. Rev.
Gleboff, after showing an Mmy
officer and companion through
the church, left the church lock
ed about 9:20. At the Merrill
Coon residence behind the
church first indication of a fire
(continued on nage 4)