Digital Bob Archive

APRIL 1918 - PART 8:
It was a year since the disastrous cave-in that flooded three of the four Treadwell mines, and Douglas was feeling the attrition that resulted. In 1910 the town's population, not counting Treadwell, had been 1,722. No count was made in 1918, but when the census was taken again in 1920 the population had fallen to 919 and was still dropping.

A long time resident and merchant began to pull up stakes in April. He was William Stubbins who had first landed at Juneau on January 16, 1886, and had moved across the channel two months later. Mrs. Stubbins went south at the beginning of April and upon her return announced that she had rented a store location at Georgetown, on the southern edge of Seattle. Stubbins announced a sale of everything in his store \"at wholesale or lower\" and said any unsold merchandise would be shipped to Georgetown.

Stubbins, who was born in England about 1864, first opened a shoe repair shop when he settled in Douglas. He was appointed postmaster in May 1891 and served until April 1895 when he resigned to go north to the new mining camp of Circle City. It is not known that he struck it rich either there or in the Klondike when it was discovered in the summer of 1896, and by 1897 he was back in Douglas. He served for a time as wharfinger on the Douglas dock, and in May 1899 was again appointed postmaster. He served until September 1902.

After Douglas was incorporated in March 1902, Stubbins served on the City Council ten terms in all and was twice the town's mayor, in 1905-07 and again in 1912-13. In 1903 he opened his general store which he soon moved to a larger building. He was burned out in the big fire of 1911 but rebuilt. Then, in the the summer of 1912, Congress passed the second Organic Act which created the Territory of Alaska, including a legislature. Stubbins filed for the House of Representatives on the Non-Partisan ticket. He received 935 votes in November, the most cast for any of the 12 candidates for the four Southeast Alaska seats in the House. Every weekday morning from March through April 1913, Stubbins rode the ferry across the channel to take his seat in the House chambers in the Elks Hall, but he was not the author of any notable legislation and he did not run for re-election in 1914.

Stubbins was a member of the small and dwindling '87 Pioneers Association as well as of several other organizations on the channel and he and his wife were given a whole series of farewell parties before they boarded a steamboat for Seattle.

Rallies in support of the war effort were frequent in both Juneau and Douglas as the Great War dragged on into its second year. A rally in the Native school house was addressed by Seward Kunz, James Watson, Frank Mercer, Harry Willard, Jimmie Jackson, Jimmy Rudolf, Don Joseph, Joe Kaenook, Annie Johnson, Mrs. Helen Kunz and Mrs. James Watson.