Dec. 24, 1925
The third of the “Gym Deficit Benefit” dances given by the PTA will be the closing event of Christmas week. Preparations are being made to make it a Christmassy affair, the event being designated a Santa Claus Hop. Four door prizes are offered. A drawing will take place each hour beginning at 9:30 p.m., each admission being entitled to a chance. The acoustics of the gym have been improved to a very great degree by wires along the ceiling, G. M. Bidwell having donated his services for this work, and the floor promises to be in first-class condition again after a generous application of wax.

Dec. 24, 1950
There’s a Santa Claus Express arriving at Benjamin’s store anytime a customer desires. And take you pick of freight or passenger; steam, diesel or electric trains. Bruce Johnston is the engineer, traffic manager and dispatcher. It’s one of the best Christmas displays Wrangell has seen in a long time. On a long shelf, banked by two lighted Christmas trees and under a gentle snowfall, made by “Weatherman” Agnes Davis, is a setup of a railroad yard. There’s a locomotive whistle, lights that gleam through passenger windows and real headlights that shine. Back of it all is a colored drawing, brilliantly done by Mrs. James Rhone of Santa Claus in his sleigh loaded with toys, cracking his whip over his galloping reindeer.

Dec. 24, 1975
Wrangell High School is offering a new course this year that is introducing 10 students to the basics of the operation of tools and equipment that use two- and four-stroke engines as their source of power. Besides their usual classes, the students explore the operation of outboard motors for an hour each day. “The course is meant only to be a basic introduction, not to teach them to repair it,” instructor Matt Frenzl said. They already have completed a nine-week course on the chainsaw. The course was introduced in Southeast Alaska by the cooperative effort of high schools in Wrangell, Petersburg, Metlakatla, Thorne Bay, Craig and Ketchikan. The equipment is rotated from school to school in nine-week shifts, Frenzl said.

Dec. 21, 2000
“I can’t even describe how I felt.” That’s the way Benn Curtis, owner of City Market, tried to put into words his thoughts upon first viewing the damage to his store upon arriving to work early Monday morning. The office, under four feet of water with floating desks, was his first concern and he immediately thought that his newly installed roof had given way. Instead, he learned that the sprinkler pipes had frozen during the previous week’s cold snap and that the subsequent warming on Sunday evening had caused the pipes to burst. Curtis believes the frozen pipes were in an area without good air circulation. An insurance adjuster is expected to arrive today to view the store and prepare an estimate of loss so that tabulating the extent of damage can begin.