Digital Bob Archive

3 August 1979 issue

APRIL 18, 1913-Juneau?s busy waterfront will soon be even busier. Next week a new establishment known as the Enterprise Foundry Company will open near the Juneau Iron Works. A. Lagergren and O. J. Wicklander, formerly of Treadwell, are the proprietors. The company will occupy a building 30 by 70 feet and will be equipped to produce castings in iron or bronze weighing up to 3,000 pounds. This is Juneau?s second foundry, the other being a part of the Union Iron Works.

APRIL 7, 1915-In the Douglas city elections yesterday Peter Johnson received the highest vote, a total of 293. Others elected to the council with Johnson were Elmer E. Smith, Julius Jensen, Bingham Halleck, Charles Hopp, Joseph Robertson and Frank Oliver. The losing candidates were James Faherty, William Stubbins, C. Carlson, T. D. Gillis, R. C. Mathis, A. N. Roblit and Harry Neville. F. A Gallwas defeated Monte A. Snow and Owen Umstead for the school board seat.

NOVEMBER 6, 1917-At present 200 men are employed underground in the Ready Bullion Mine, which is more than were working there before the cave-in of the other three mines last April. Many old time employees of the Treadwell Company have returned to work at the Ready Bullion.

DECEMBER 29, 1917-Dave Housel, proprietor of the Brunswick Bowling Alleys, on Lower Front Street, has secured a lease on the building formerly occupied by I. J. Sharick at Front and Ferry Way and is moving his business closer to the center of town. The Brunswick opened three years ago. There will be both a bowling alley and billiard and pool tables in the new location. (Note: The ?old? Brunswick was in the building now occupied by El Capitan. The ?new? Brunswick building is now gone.)

NOVEMBER 10, 1924-A large number of Douglas residents yesterday availed themselves of the opportunity for a herring feed by visiting the City Dock where herring were being given away by the Douglas Fish Company to all who wanted them.

APRIL 14, 1925-A raid on The Mecca, a soft drink parlor in the Valentine Building on Front Street last night by officer of the Prohibition Enforcement Office resulted in the finding of one ten-gallon keg, one demijohn and a pitcher filled with alleged moonshine and the arrest of three men.

APRIL 18, 1925-One of the historical and oldest landmarks of Juneau has been condemned and will be torn down. Built as a Presbyterian Mission in 1883 or 1884, it served that purpose until 1900 when the mission moved to Haines. In 1911 the building was purchased by the federal government and from then until January, 1925, it was used as offices by the Governor of Alaska. Governors Clark, Strong, Riggs and Bone all occupied the building until fire broke out last January and severely damaged it. (Note: The site is now occupied by the State Capitol parking garage.)

MAY 1, 1930-With a complete line of women?s ready-to-wear apparel, Gordon?s Inc. has reopened in the corner store space in the Triangle Building at Front and Franklin Streets. The store was burned out in the Malony Building fire on April 23. Mrs. Winifred Jones is the manager of the store.

JUNE 16, 1930-Fire, the origin of which is unknown, has destroyed most of the remaining buildings of the Alaska Gastineau Mining Company at Perseverance, at the head of Gold Creek. The fire started in the old boardinghouse and is believed to have been caused by a carelessly dropped cigarette. Flames were first seen at about 4:30 p.m. and they soon swept away the big buildings of the mining camp, parts of which date back to the earliest days of local mining. Still standing are the office and superintendent?s dwelling. Smaller dwellings, the school house and other buildings down on the flats, were not touched by the fire.

MAY 16, 1934-A Bureau of Public Roads crew of about 20 men yesterday started the job of moving a number of graves bordering the right-of-way for the new road from Douglas to Cowee Creek. Use of the old cemetery was discontinued about 35 years ago when the present cemetery was established. Many of the old graves cannot be identified due to dilapidation.

MARCH 19, 1937-The first ever extraordinary session of the Alaska Territorial Legislature will convene at 10 o?clock tomorrow morning for two weeks. Four major pieces of legislation are to be considered. One will involve the creation of a Department of Public Welfare and the other three will have to do with extending the Social Security System to Alaska.

FEBRUARY 27, 1939-The Fourth Annual Juneau Ski Club Tournament was held yesterday at the Douglas Island Ski Area with races on a three-mile course. First in the Class A event was Halvor Opsal of Petersburg, followed by Ralph Moreau, Sven Saren, Mike Johnson, Al Schramen, Bert Caro, Ed Engberg, Curtis Shattuck, Bill Hixson, Jack Wilson, Pete Botten and Ted Cowling. In the Class B race, Tom Stewart led the field, followed by Walter Scott, Bob Cowling, Dean Williams, Bob Davlin, Elmer Benedict, Don Thompson, Ernie Parsons, Bud Whiteside, Bob Kimball, Mack Mori and Sherwood Wirt. In the women?s event, Virginia Smith was the winner, followed by Mary VanderLeest, Ebba Erickson, Lillian Clements, Bobbie Axford, Ruth Allen, Mary Stewart and Helen Allen.

APRIL 6, 1939-Arvo Wahto has concluded his second teaching term at Fish Creek, north end of Douglas Island, where school closed on March 31 and returned to his home in Douglas.