Digital Bob Archive

FEBRUARY 1918 - PART 5:

Juneau merchants and the Juneau Commercial Club welcomed the news from Washington that Dr. E.H. Kaser, Juneau dentist, had been awarded the contract for the mail route between Juneau and Sitka. The new contract, effective July 1, replaced one held by W.J. Neill of Ketchikan, who operated the Prince of Wales on the route. There had been many complaints about missed trips and poor service to the detriment of Gastineau Channel business interests. Dr. Kaser planned to begin the service with his boat, the St. Nicholas, and to build a new boat for the run.

Mrs. Isabel Ambler Gillman, who taught the Native school at Douglas in 1916-17, transferred to the Juneau Native school for the 1917-18 school year and her place at Douglas was taken by Miss Hannah Breeze, who moved there from Wrangell. Mrs. Gillman, in 1915, became the first woman in Southeastern Alaska to be admitted to the Alaska bar. She later published two books about Alaska.

The Enterprise Foundry on the Juneau waterfront turned out a 7200-pound casting for the Alaska Gastineau Mining Company, a base for one of the gyratory crushers being installed at Thane. This was said to be a record for the Channel area, the largest previous casting, weighing 6000 pounds, having been turned out by the Treadwell foundry. The Enterprise Foundry people were making preparations for turning out a 10,000-pound casting in March.

Mining was continuing in the Juneau area, although greatly curtailed by the war. Persistent rumors that the Alaska Juneau was about to close down were finally laid to rest by General Manager P.R. Bradley who said that about 30 men would soon be laid off for several months, about 15 in each mine and the mill. \"We are simply curtailing the amount of ore crushed until we can work to better advantage,\" Bradley said.

Up at Jualin they were running about 35 tons of ore through the mill each day. Development work was continuing at the Alaska-Ebner mine on Gold Creek and the Alaska Gastineau was running its mill at Thane at less than half its capacity because of the manpower shortage. The Ready Bullion, the only mine operating on Douglas Island since the 1917 cave-in, was producing about one third its former tonnage.

The steamer Northwestern brought 200,000 brook trout eggs for the Southeast Alaska Fish and Game Club to hatch in its hatchery on Front Street. The club had a list of 20 lakes it was considering stocking with the fry. In addition, the club was hatching 100,000 sockeye and 50,000 cohoe eggs.

Helen Smith received the votes of all three judges in the debate sponsored by the Pro and Con Club at the High School. She took the affirmative on the proposition: Resolved that Russia would not benefit by a separate peace. Joe Mclaughlin was her opponent.

Tay Bayers, J.H. Long and the C.W. Young Company were making plans to operate a small cannery on the Union Oil Dock. They planned to can salmon, clams, crabs and halibut head chowder.

Food Administrator R.A. Gunnison announced that at least 20 per cent of nonwhite flour must be used in all bread.