July 1, 1926

At almost the last minute, Walter Waters received a cablegram cancelling the West Coast Mail contract that was awarded to him several months ago. The West Coast and Chatham Strait routes have been combined and a contract for the same has been awarded to the W.J. Neill Transportation Co. According to the new arrangement effective today, Wrangell will not be a port of call on the new mail route. This effectively shuts Wrangell off from the West Coast for either travel or business except via Ketchikan. 

June 29, 1951

Dolly Villarma took the lead at the end of this week in the Fourth of July Queen contest as only four more days are left for ticket sales. Each of the three girls in the race has been in the lead, and with Miss Villarma only 4,000 tickets out in front, it promises to be a close race. Particularly in view of the fact that some tickets are being held back until the final minute. Following are the standings: Dolly Villarma, 152,000; Alice Camazind, 148,00; Rose Kalkins, 91,000. The queen contest closes at 10 p.m. the night of July 3. 

June 30, 1976

Although it is back on its Seattle run, the Columbia will pass Wrangell on its southbound trip this week after stopping in Wrangell late night June 28 on its northbound run. It had been more than two months since the 2-year-old flagship of the Alaska Marine Highway fleet had stopped in Wrangell. The Columbia had been in Seattle drydock for two months, undergoing regular maintenance and unscheduled major repairs when it left Seattle on June 20 to resume its Alaska run for the season. But as the boat approached Ketchikan on June 22, a malfunction of its bow thruster necessitated tug boat assistance in docking and forced cancellation of most of its stops that week, including Wrangell. 

June 28, 2001

Kupreanof resident Emily Merriam was browsing in an antique store in Seattle two years ago when she happened upon a wooden key-shaped object, adorned with a Native-style painted carving and the word “Wrangell.” Lightly scratched into the handle was the name John Chennault. Merrian purchased the carving with other Alaska memorabilia, but has never known its background. She had Gerald Herbrandson, a friend in the U.S. Forest Service, who brought it over here on a trip to town. He passed it on to Dave Rak, who presented it to Olga Norris, president of the Friends of the Museum. Who carved this unusual key to the city and why? The rest of the story is waiting to be told.