Digital Bob Archive

23 June 1978 issue

JANUARY 5, 1920-City street crews are rebuilding a section of trestle on Gastineau avenue following the most disasterous landslide in Juneau?s history. The slide started just below the Alaska-Juneau flume at 11:30 on the morning of January 2 and roared about 900 feet down the mountainside carrying six buildings with it and damaging others. Killed in the slide were Andrew Wallin, Lowry Maki and Henry Jaeger, and Peter Koskey is not expected to live. Six others are in local hospitals and many sustained less serious injuries. Debris, including the wreckage of buildings, was jammed against I. Goldstein?s store and James Russell?s gun shop on Lower Front Street (now South Franklin).

The first building to be hit was the Peter Koskey boarding house on the upper side of Gastineau Avenue. This was carried across the street and into the John Larson house and the two in turn carried away the Otto Kajander residence and a number of cabins belonging to Goldstein. Total property damage is estimated at $31,000. The slide was caused by melting snow and very heavy rains during the past few days.

SEPTEMBER 7, 1891-St. Ann?s School opened today in the new and commodious school building which was recently completed. There were 35 pupils in attendance and more are expected to enroll soon. The school is conducted by the Sisters of St. Ann.

APRIL 10, 1914-Baseball enthusiasm is running high in Juneau and in the past few days a total of $4,156 has been raised to buy equipment and prepare the new ball field. Work on Thane Park, as it is called, is moving ahead according to Senator H. T. Tripp, who is in charge of the project. All of the brush has been removed and the field is being graded at present.

Thane Park, in Last Chance Basin, will replace the old ball field on the beach below Evergreen Cemetery, in use for many years. A main disadvantage of that location was that outfield fly balls usually went into Gastineau Channel except at extremely low tide.

JANUARY 9, 1914-Although last season was disappointing because of the scarcity of salmon in this district, the capacity of the cannery at Tee Harbor will be doubled this year according to R. E. Davis, superintendent. The cannery made its first pack in 1911.

DECEMBER 19, 1895-The most recent corporation organized in Juneau to engage in gold mining is the Ebner Gold Mining Company, incorporated under the laws of Oregon with a capitalization of $500,000. Incorporators are W. E. Ebner, Charles W. Young and B. M. Behrends. The company has purchased the property of the Takou group on Gold Creek, one of the earliest lode properties located in this area. The property includes the mill and trams and was sold by Willis Thorp, who has operated it for some time under the name Taku Mining & Milling Company. The Ebner company will commence operations as soon as the weather permits in the spring.

NOVEMBER 4, 1916-The new Pacific Steamship Company, which resulted from a merger of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company and the Pacific-Alaska Navigation Company, will send a steamer north from Seattle every 5 days this winter. The Southeastern boat will be the City of Seattle, while the Admiral Watson and Admiral Evans, after leaving Juneau, will continue on to Cordova, Valdez and Seward.

The Alaska Steamship Company has the Jefferson running to Southeastern Alaska ports while the Mariposa, Northwestern and Alameda handle the westward run. The Humboldt Steamship Company runs the Humboldt to Southeastern ports while the Grand Truck Pacific sends the Prince Rupert as far north as Juneau and the Canadian Pacific has the Princess Sophia on the Skagway run. The Border Line Transportation Company sends the Alki, Despatch and Northland to ports throughout Southeastern Alaska.

MARCH 12, 1887-Juneau has become an expensive camp in which to winter and some of the miners from the Yukon and other districts who have been coming here to spend their winters are beginning to complain. Wood is now $4.50 a cord, coal is $13 a ton, and coal oil is $2.50 for 5 gallons.

JULY 29, 1913-A new building which will be known as the Seward Building is going up on Franklin Street opposite Front. Owners are J. F. Mullen, Judge Thomas R. Lyons and Ralph E. Robertson who purchased the property last fall from J. F. Fitzgerald. Contractor Scoby is doing the work and the building will be ready for occupancy by October 1, with office space upstairs and store space on the lower floor.

JUNE 19, 1926-The City Council last night fixed the 1926 tax rate at 20 mills, a one mill raise over last year. The total assessed valuation of real and personal property is $3,692,025, the largest in several years. Property taxes will bring in an estimated $73,840.50, and miscellaneous receipts including the share of license fees, will raise total income to about $100,000. The budget for the public schools for the coming year is $22,000, a $3,000 increase over last year.

AUGUST 8, 1938-Making its first test flight to Ketchikan and Juneau, the Pan American Sikorsky S43 amphibian ?baby clipper? touched down on the PAA field on the Mendenhall flats at 5:57 p.m. yesterday. Flying time from Seattle to Juneau was 8 hours 20 minutes. Captain John M. Mattis piloted the craft with S. E. Robbins as first officer. Joe Crosson, Alaska manager for PAA was aboard as a passenger, as was Inspector Ed Yuravich of the Bureau of Air Commerce. The plane also carried a flight engineer and radio operator. It has a capacity of 14 passengers but will make several more test flights, carrying freight and express, before commencing passenger service.

NOVEMBER 2, 1912-The Palm Garden Theater in Douglas has been remodeled and reopened as The Orpheum. It is now owned by John T. Spickett, longtime Juneau theatrical and businessman, who will open his Orpheum Theater in Juneau about the middle of December. Harry McIver is manager of the Douglas Orpheum.