June 4, 1925

The G. Craeb, a Vickers-Viking airplane from Three Rivers, Quebec, piloted by Col. J. Scott Williams, of Montreal, arrived here Monday, having made the flight from Prince Rupert, British Columbia, in two hours and 24 minutes. Capt. Little, who was in charge, stated that they were on an aerial mining exploration expedition, but that their plans were too infinite to be given out until after they get into the Cassiar and confer with Mr. Platzer. The G. Craeb is a flying boat which can land and take off from either land or water. It is powered by a 450-hp engine with a speed of 120 miles an hour. As a result of this expedition, some of the Eastern corporations will be able to get some remarkable gold rush scenes filmed from the air. Richard Surratt, the well-known cinematographer, will make the first news pictures ever filmed from the air in the north.

June 2, 1950

Before we recount this fish story we might point out the following incident was witnessed by about 200 staff members and students at the Wrangell Institute. It happened last night, about 6:30. As related by Victor Hill, superintendent of the Institute, Bill Krepps was working on Pete Casey’s boat anchored just off the Institute. Krepps suddenly noticed the water churning rather fast and thought at first the tide had shifted. The water then started to boil faster and Krepps lost all interest in his work and made for the skiff, hoping the commotion was nothing more than a severe earthquake. Just as he boarded the skiff, a 40-foot whale (approximately) surfaced right smack dab beside him. And — remember, we’ve got witnesses — the whale had the boat’s 50-pound anchor in his mouth!

June 4, 1975

Concerned about low escapement of king salmon to the Stikine River for spawning, the state Department of Fish and Game took some drastic action last week, announcing closure of District 8 to commercial and sportfishing. Commercial boats will be banned from the district -- which takes in waters fronting the Stikine River and in portions of Sumner, Zimovia and Stikine Strait -- until noon June 22. Both the city and the chamber of commerce dispatched cables to Gov. Jay Hammond protesting the manner of closure. The two bodies claimed little notice was given of the action and that Wrangell’s traditional king salmon sportfishing will be heavily hit. The closure takes in the waters adjacent to Wrangell, the Elephant’s Nose and Gray’s Passage areas, all favorite king salmon fishing areas.

June 1, 2000

Those of us old enough to remember World War II can relive those days in July while others too young to recall the war can see a part of history come alive when two vintage planes from the era visit Wrangell. On July 6, a restored B-17, named the Nine-O-Nine, and a B-24, in fact the only flying B-24 in existence, will touch down at the airport for a three-day stop. The planes are owned and operated by the Collings Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1979 to support living history events which enable Americans to relive their history through direct participation. Both types of planes were critical players during World War II.