Digital Bob Archive

20 June 1980 issue

APRIL 11, 1917-The local offices of the Marconi Wireless Company has received orders to discontinue receiving local commercial business. The company?s stations will be taken over by the Navy as a war measure. Ship traffic will still be handled by the Juneau station. Marconi operators who wish to remain with the station will be sworn in as members of the Naval Reserve.

MAY 4, 1921-Property loss from fire in Douglas during the year ended May 1 amounted to only $750, according to a report by Fire Chief Axel Kronquist. Three alarms were turned in during the year, two of them for brush fires and one for a residence which accounted for the damage figure.

JANUARY 5, 1922-After having reached a distance of 500 feet into Gastineau Channel, the Alaska Juneau rock dump will now be widened. The present dump contains more than three-quarters of a million tons of rock. Workmen are now moving the conveyor to a spot near the shore on the south side of the dump.

APRIL 7, 1922-A campaign to provide a public playground and athletic field for Juneau has been launched by the Juneau Volunteer Fire Department. Members have voted to make a $500 contribution to start the project. Several years ago a baseball field was established in Last Chance Basin but it was never a complete success, partly because of its distance from town. In addition, the field is never completely dry and is overrun by Gold Creek nearly every year. Two sites are under consideration: in the Casey-Shattuck addition, next to Gold Creek, and in the natural stadium farther up Gold Creek where Wagners Pond is located. (Note: The Firemen decided on the Casey-Shattuck location and built a ball field which was used for many years. In the 1960?s the site was sold to the federal government for the federal building and, adult baseball having dropped out of fashion here, a playground was established at what had become known as Evergreen Bowl, one the two sites originally considered.)

AUGUST 6, 1928-The improvement of Gastineau Channel by dredging a channel across the bar to the level of mean lower low water, with a width of 75 feet, by the Alaska Road Commission, has been disapproved by the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors. The grounds for rejection of the project are that it would be too costly for the benefits it would bring.

JULY 1, 1929-The Douglas baseball team, champions of the first half of the 1929 Gastineau Channel League season, also won the opening game of the second half, beating the Moose team 6-4 behind the pitching of Jim Manning. Playing for the Moose were L. D. Roberts, B. Roberts, Junge, Bill Schmitz, Pete Schmitz, J. Schmitz, Killewich, English, Vale and Nello. On the Douglas team were Niemi, Coughlin, Manning, Andrews, Bonner, Dickson, Balog, Kronquist and Gray.

JULY 24, 1930-R. R. Hermann has deeded to the City of Juneau a six foot strip of his property on the east side of Calhoun Avenue near the Governor?s House. This will eliminate most of a dangerous curve in the street. In return the city will pay part of the cost of a bulkhead on the new property line. The action was initiated by Mr. Hermann.

OCTOBER 20, 1930-The midget golf course opens tonight on the second floor of the Goldstein Building. The Midget Golf Company has been busy for three weeks laying out greens, fairways and hazards. Midget golf has gained world-wide popularity in the past year. The course can accommodate 40 players at a time without crowding. There are 18 holes and the course will be open from noon until midnight. Par for the course is 50 strokes. Charges will be 25 cents per game in the afternoons and 35 cents in the evenings. N. H. Stevens is manager of the company here.

SEPTEMBER 6, 1933-New Sunday hours have been announced from Juneau?s three drug stores, Juneau Drug Co., Harry Race Drugs, and Butler-Mauro Drug Co. Henceforth they will be open only from noon until 6 p.m. on Sundays.

SEPTEMBER 18, 1934-Mrs. J. N. Hickey has purchased Coleman?s Hollywood Style Shop from Herb Coleman. The latter has gone to Ketchikan where he will operate a women?s wear shop.

OCTOBER 1, 1936-Winding up 13 terms are City Clerk and Magistrate of Douglas, prior to which he served for two years as a Douglas city councilman, Felix Gray last night submitted his resignation during the regular council meeting. This morning he became United States Commissioner for the Juneau precinct.

APRIL 1, 1937-With a bright yellow sign on the office window, James Hickey and his Yellow Cab Company are now occupying new premises on Front Street across from the former location in the old First National Bank Building.

SEPTEMBER 24, 1941-Twelve Tee Harbor youngsters will be moving into their new school building next week. They have been in temporary quarters in an old wanigan on the beach. Mrs. Mary Pinkley is teacher in the one room school.

JULY 7, 1942-Mr. and Mrs. W. Langdon Kihn have been in Alaska for the past month and in Juneau for several days. They are artists for the National Geographic Magazine and are making sketches of Alaska Natives for use in the magazine. Some of their sketches are of Aleut evacuation villages in Southeastern Alaska. After leaving Juneau they will spend some time in each Wrangell and Ketchikan.

MARCH 13, 1943-Charlie Miller?s Capital Cafe and Bar on Front Street, between Seward and Main, will open tonight freshly decorated and newly equipped, after having been closed for several days.

JANUARY 10, 1944-New officers were elected last night by the Filipino Community of Juneau. They are: president, Eddie A. Belarde; vice president, Fred Fulgencio; secretary, D. M. Sarabia; treasurer, Dan Hucson; sergeants-at-arms, P. Talaga and S. Paliza; auditors, B. Gomez, S. Constantino and B. Samaniego.