Digital Bob Archive

APRIL 1918 - PART 4:

The Juneau Commercial Club (this organization changed its name now and then from that one to Juneau Chamber of Commerce and back again) was devoting much of its time and effort to assisting and promoting the local fishing industry. Fishing was increasingly important to the local economy because three of the four Treadwell mines were no longer operable, the Alaska Juneau mine was faltering, and the Alaska Gastineau mine at Thane was handicapped by manpower shortages.

Halibut landings at Juneau and Douglas were increasing. There were three local buyers: the Glacier Fish Company and National Independent Fish Company in Juneau and the Alaska Coast Fish Company at Douglas. Some of the halibut were frozen in the Juneau Cold Storage Company plant which had been built on the City Dock in 1913, but more of it was iced in boxes and shipped to Seattle. A total of 269,000 pounds of fresh halibut went south from Gastineau Channel on the first five southbound steamers in April, the Humboldt, Admiral Farragut, Jefferson, Northwestern and City of Seattle.

In addition to an increasing local fleet of small halibut vessels, two large schooners, the Scandia and King and Winge, were now landing their catches at Juneau. They were captained by brothers, Tom and James Miller, and early in April they brought in 50,000 pounds of halibut apiece.

The Commercial Club adopted three main objectives that would be of benefit to the local fishing industry: More dock space for unloading, boxing and icing fish for shipment; a breakwater south of the docks to protect them from the heavy swells that rolled up the channel during southeast storms; and a harbor for small boats. As a step toward increasing dock space, the club urged the City Council to acquire more waterfront property. This brought the members into conflict with the irascible and rough-tongued mayor, Emery Valentine, who spewed out such a stream of slanders that some Commercial Club members threatened to sue him.

The best hope for a breakwater would be the Alaska Juneau mine if, as had been suggested, it began sorting what came from the mine and dumping the waste rock before running it through the mill. In time this was done and the result was much of the material that makes up what is known as the rock dump.

The city, over Valentine's opposition, did acquire enough waterfront property for a public float which was somewhat sheltered by the City Dock and which became known in time as the Upper City Float and was a handy tie-up place for fishermen selling their catches at either the old or the new cold storages.

Nobody argued against a boat harbor, but there was some controversy over where to put it. Dredging the tide flat at the mouth of Gold Creek was one proposal. It would be more than 20 years, however, before work was actually started on the breakwater for what is now Harris Harbor.