Digital Bob Archive

NOVEMBER 1918 - PART 4:

With the World War at an end, Juneau's mining industry quickly began to show signs of revival. Many of the mine workers had gone south to higher paying jobs in the shipyards and other war-related plants, but even before the war actually ended many of those industries began to curtail their operations and even to close down entirely. Alaska-bound steamers were soon carrying numbers of workers. Many of them promptly found work at the Alaska Gastineau at Thane or the Alaska Juneau mine in Juneau.

Bart L. Thane, the manager of the Alaska Gastineau, soon announced that he would be able to add a third shift and that he hoped to get the company's big mill operating at capacity. F.W. Bradley of the Alaska Juneau announced that the company would spend $3,500,000 to rebuild the mill and open the big ore body. Bonds would be sold to finance the expansion.

Over on Douglas Island, with more manpower available, the Ready Bullion mine, the only one of the Treadwell group that had not been flooded, was able to step up its production. The Belgian owners of the Jualin mine at Berners Bay announced that they would begin operating again in the spring, and there was renewed interest in properties at Kensington, Funter Bay and other locations.

November was again a month with lots of rain. It rained so hard in Douglas on Election Day that the vote was cut to half of what had been expected. Precinct No. 1 had expected 200 voters and got 106; Precinct No.2 expected at least 100 voters and got only 45.

The heavy rains brought some fears that there would be a repetition of the devastating September flood, but although there were slides on the mountainside north of the Alaska Juneau mill that damaged a few buildings and flooded others, the losses were minor compared to those of September.

On November 27, the day before Thanksgiving, it was announced that the quarantine would be lifted at midnight. Churches, movie houses and pool halls could reopen, but people appearing in public were required to continue to wear gauze masks until the end of the month. Churches were thus able to hold services on Thanksgiving Day and most of them featured special thanks for the end of the war. The schools were to be permitted to reopen on Monday, December 2. In Douglas the full quarantine was maintained until the end of the month.

The island communities were much saddened at the end of the month when Charles Preston, the popular young electrical superintendent for the Treadwell Company was killed when he came in contact with a 23,000-volt line.

Politics continued as usual and the Democratic Central Committee recommended to President Wilson that John W. Troy, owner and editor of the Empire, be named Collector of Customs to succeed John F Pugh. Troy would be appointed the following April.