Digital Bob Archive

28 September 1979 issue

JANUARY 10, 1907-The long talked of railroad from the Perseverance Mine to town is to be a fact before next fall. Construction of a narrow gauge electric railroad from the city wharf to the mine by way of Franklin Street will be commenced in the spring under the direction of mine superintendent J. R. Mitchell. (Note: The railroad was never built.)

MAY 24 1915-J. A. Crandall, formerly of the Fream Theater, and Ed Armstrong, formerly of the Lyric Theater in Douglas, have formed a partnership and will open a Lyric Theater in Juneau. The theater will occupy the building just off of Front Street known as Jaxson?s Rink.

JANUARY 11, 1921-W. D. Gross has purchased the concrete building on Lower Front Street formerly occupied by the Alaska Dispatch and built several years ago by Ed C. Russel, publisher of that paper. The building will be used as headquarters for Mr. Gross?s Alaska Film Exchange. It is one story high and has a full basement.

JANUARY 2, 1926-In a deal closed today, Roy Noland purchased Burford?s Corner at Front and Seward Streets from Charles Snipes. The popular amusement spot had been purchased by Snipes from founder George Burford two years ago. Noland, who has lived in Juneau since 1910, has been in charge of maintenance and construction for the Juneau & Douglas Telephone Co. (Note: Burford?s Corner, card room and billiard parlor, occupied the corner of the building where 20th Century Market is now located.)

APRIL 16, 1926-Purchase of the 50 by 90 foot lot adjoining the tennis court on Ninth Street in the Casey-Shattuck Addition has been authorized by members of the Juneau Tennis Club. It is planned to erect a second tennis court on its next session. Meanwhile, minor repairs are now being made to the club?s two present courts, the one on Ninth and the other at Fifth and Gold Streets.

APRIL 2, 1927-The new Northern Light Presbyterian Church will be dedicated tomorrow. It was erected at the corner of Fourth and Franklin Streets at a cost of $35,000 to replace a structure which burned on December 27, 1925. That church was built in 1898 to replace the old Log Cabin Church at Third and Main Streets. (Note: The 1927 church was in turn replaced by another on the same site, now owned by Radio KTOO.)

JULY 5, 1930-The Canadian National steamer Prince Henry, newest of the excursion vessels operated between Seattle-Vancouver and Alaska, will arrive here tomorrow on her maiden voyage on this run. Built in England, the ship arrived in Vancouver a month ago. She is 384 feet long and has a top speed of 23 knots. She carries automobiles in the tween decks and has a capacity of 334 first class passengers.

APRIL 13, 1933-Contractors are beginning work on a Dutch Colonial home on Fourth Street near Harris for Mr. and Mrs. Ted Hellenthal. Contracts have been let to Ray Peterman and Oscar Harri.

MAY 4, 1934-Juneau?s newest and most modern dairy plant will be open for public inspection tomorrow evening when George Danner, owner and operator of the Mendenhall Dairy will hold open house at his new place seven miles out on Glacier Highway. The open house will be followed by a barn dance with a five piece orchestra. The new barn measures 102 by 34 feet with stalls for 41 cows. The milk house is two stories high with an apartment on the second floor. Both were built by John Klein, contractor.

JULY 1, 1937-?Mike?s Place,? the new beer parlor owned by Mike Pusich, was opened to the public at 8 o?clock this morning in Douglas. (Note: This was the second ?Mike?s Place,? the first having been destroyed in the big fire of February 23, 1937.)

SEPTEMBER 17, 1937-The Alaskan Hotel, oldest hostelry now operating in Juneau, had been leased for five years to Boris Magids, Inc., by owners John McCloskey and Charles Hooker. Jack Kristan will be general manager of the property for the Magids Company.

SEPTEMBER 23, 1938-A heavy windstorm yesterday afternoon broke up a Juneau Lumber Mills log raft moored near the Douglas Island shore and scattered sawlogs clear across the channel. The Alaska Juneau tug Trojan, Tom Smith?s Yakobi, the Northern Light and several other boats were called into action. Mill foreman Harold Schaffer got a ducking in the cold waters of the channel during the round up process and so did a couple of his boom men.

OCTOBER 25, 1939-Captain Archie Currie came in from Taku River with the motor vessel Taku Chief last evening and reports the river ?as good as frozen.? During the season the Taku Chief and her barges transported nearly 10,000 tons of freight up the river for the Polaris-Taku mine and brought out 5,000 tons of concentrates. All barges used in the operation have now been put away for the winter.

FEBRUARY 29, 1940-A $37,500 addition will be made to the Elks Building members of the lodge at last night?s meeting. The concrete annex at the back of the present building will by 75 by 90 feet and will contain four new bowling alleys, a recreation room, locker room, shower room and rest rooms.

AUGUST 23, 1940-The Douglas Natatorium, where for three or four intermittent periods in the past 30 years there has been roller skating, will again roar to the sound of little wheels starting this evening. Sam Nelson, George Endres and Irvine Fleek will be in charge of the rink. Unfortunately, the big Wurlitzer organ, installed by Julius Moehler, who operated the rink around 1910-1912, is no longer available to furnish music for the skaters.