Digital Bob Archive

11 August 1978 issue

JULY 5, 1900-Skagway and Juneau are now both first class home rule cities, the first in Alaska. They were incorporated under the law of June 5 which provided a civil code for Alaska. Both cities had been operating under extralegal consent governments which had no real authority. Both cities claim June 29 as their date of incorporation. Which city became the ?first? incorporated city of Alaska? The answer to that depends upon where one draws the finish line.

First word that the new law had been approved by the conference committee was received here on June 11 in a letter from Juneauite Emery Valentine, who was in Seattle. He had received a telegram, dated June 4, from the Clerk of the House, stating that the bill would become law when signed by the President. The signature was affixed on June 6.

On June 12 a copy of the final bill was received in Juneau and a petition for incorporation was circulated at once. Skagway received the information a day after it reached here and also started a petition. Skagway had one great advantage over Juneau: U.S. District Judge Melville C. Brown was holding a term of court there. Consequently, Juneau?s petition had to be filed at Skagway. It was hand carried there by Judge A. K. Delaney, Juneau lawyer and former district judge, who represented the city in the subsequent hearing.

Skagway?s petition, bearing 85 signatures, was filed with the court on Saturday morning, June 16. Judge Brown ordered a hearing on the petition on June 21. That afternoon Judge Delaney filed the Juneau petition, bearing more that 60 signatures. Hearing on it was also set for Thursday, June 21. On that day, Judge Brown heard the Skagway petition first, approved it and set the incorporation election for Thursday, June 28. He also approved the Juneau petition and set its election for Friday, June 29. In each election the voters were to approve or disapprove incorporation and to elect seven members of a common council and three members of a school board.

At Skagway there were 22 candidates for the council, nine for the school board. The vote on incorporation was 246 for and 60 against. Top candidates for the council and the votes each received were: E. O. Sylvester, 234; W. L. Green, 235; Lee Guthrie, 199; E. R. Peoples, 180; Laramie Maver, 176; John Hislop, 152 and John Laumeister, 139. For the school board the winners were J. M. Winslow, 221; I. N. Wilcoxen, 152; Cortes Ford, 139.

On Friday morning the Skagway paper, The Alaskan, headlines: ?Skagway in the only real city in all Alaska!?

Juneau?s election was held that same day, Friday. There were two full tickets in the field for the council and 303 ballots were cast, four of which were rejected to leave a net of 299. Incorporation won 180 to 19. The top vote getters were: B. M. Behrends, 295; C. W. Young, 294; Lockie MacKennon, 249; John F. Malony, 248; G. F. Forrest, 243; Sol Blum, 232; and A. K. Delaney, 214. Elected to the school board were H. F. Robinson, W. W. Casey and Frank Hammond.

At Skagway on Friday, Judge Brown signed an order creating the City of Skagway, effective June 29. So Skagway was in first place again, although its council was still unorganized. Judge Brown then boarded the steamer Queen to return to Juneau, via Sitka. He arrived on Monday evening, July 2.

In the meanwhile, on Saturday afternoon at 2 o?clock a majority of the Juneau councilmen-elect met at the law offices of Malony and Cobb. From there they marched in a body to the office of U. S. Commissioner H. H. Folsom, who administered the oath of office. They then proceeded to the Chamber of Commerce office where they held an organizational meeting. Two members were absent and it was decided to await their return before electing permanent officers. John F. Malony was named temporary mayor and Sol Blum became temporary secretary. Whereupon Juneau became the first city in Alaska with an organized city government.

On Tuesday, July 3, Judge Brown signed an order creating the City of Juneau and it made its effective date June 29, the same day as that of Skagway. Later that same day the Skagway council got around to hold its organizational meeting and John Hislop was elected the town?s first mayor.

So, both Skagway and Juneau became first class incorporated cities in time to celebrate the Fourth of July, and which city came out ahead in the race was pretty well forgotten in the fervor of that celebration.

DECEMBER 5, 1912-The Rev. A. P. Kashevaroff, the new pastor for Saint Nicholas Russian Church in Juneau and for the missions in several nearby towns, arrived on the Spokane today accompanied by his wife and three daughters. He was born in Sitka and became a citizen of the United States in 1867 by the Treaty of Purchase.

JANUARY 11, 1913-The new Orpheum Theater will open on Monday night, January 13. Located on the waterfront at the foot of Main Street, the theater is owned by John T. Spickett, a resident of Juneau since 1896. For the opening, the Juneau High School Band, under the leadership of Leon Schell, will play in front of the theater and there will be speeches by Mayor Harry Bishop and former Mayor George Forrest.

NOVEMBER 9, 1916-The new concrete building on Front Street being erected by Simon and John Hellenthal is nearing completion. One section of the building, fronting on Franklin Street, will be occupied by the Palace Theater and it is anticipated that the First National Bank will move into the Front Street space.