Letters to the Editor

To the Editor:

I read the letter to the editor from Wayne Spencer. Good job, but it sounds like you and I are the only ones concerned about it. I went to the council meeting and asked the mayor and all the council members, those exact questions. Don McConachie was the main one I questioned about giving our money to Rea, also who paid the city the $250,000. Our own insurance company paid it to the city. I also asked what and when the city was going to pursue charges against the old WMC board, he said they were not. Also when Dave Jack was running for mayor, I talked to him about the case, and he assured me that no matter what the council will pursue to the highest degree, that all involved will be held accountable, well he didn’t make mayor, but sounds like the council are all rolling over and sticking it to the people again. I also asked again the third time, if they are going to pursue Cascade LLC and try to demand our $250,000 back that the council at that time was dumb enough to give them, same answer from the mayor, no it was a bad decision. Makes me wonder if any of the members past and present, shouldn’t be held responsible along with the old WMC board. Wake up people your money is not being well spent.     

Wayne Kaer

To the Editor:

The American Legion Post #6 in Wrangell has many good causes. One of the causes is giving a veteran an honorable memorial service. Recently I attended a memorial service of a friend and fellow veteran. The Legion did not show up. Members of Post #6 should be ashamed. I think it was former coach Vince Lombardi who asked, “What the heck is going on?”

Steve Murphy

To the Editor:

Three years ago my wife and I took a trip to Wrangell to look over the old town and the Institute. I had gone to school at Wrangell Institute from 1950 to 58. I also wanted to visit Mr. Stokes. He was one of my favorites at Wrangell and understood our ways. I did not get to Wrangell in time as he had passed on shortly before my arrival. I did go and visit him at the gravesite.

I also wanted to visit Dick Angerman. I had played basketball against him both in grade school and high school.

I looked through the old Wrangell Institute yearbook, year of 1944. Pete Casey was the basketball coach at that time.

All the years I was at Wrangell Institute, Pete Casey was the night watch man.

Now for the rest of the story: Pete Casey used to wake up the little guys at 2:00 a.m. so they didn’t wet the bed. Mr. Casey used to have a dog named “Dewee” Dewee had long toe nails so you can hear Mr. Casey coming down the long hallway, a long way off. He had to come up the stairs which was L shaped.

Alvin Rudolph and I filled up two buckets of good cold water and waited for Mr. Casey. When he got to the first landing on the stairs we dumped both buckets on Mr. Casey and took off running and jumped back in bed in the dark. Alvin had a bout with, I believe, polio and could not run real fast, so Mr. Casey had a chance for identification.

Mr. Wilson, our dorm boss was woken up. All the lights were turned on. Alvin Rudolph was found and abruptly “woke” up. He was snoring, coughing, who? What? What? And rubbing his eyes at that time he could have beaten Jack Lemon out in competition for the Academy Award. In those days we Native boys did not tell on each other. I’m still like that. Alvin got sentenced to restriction for that episode and nothing happened to me. If I had known back in 1952 that Pete Casey was a basketball coach in Wrangell in 1944 then I probably wouldn’t have tried to drown him with a bucket of water. To this day I have a respect for coaches.

So now, 2012, I apologize for dumping my bucket of water on Mr. Casey. Hopefully, some family member in Wrangell will read this. Write to me, I will answer your letter.

Also I remember many people from Wrangell, Delbert Alexander, the Churchills, Terry Scharnbroch, Jack Engdal, Prescotts, Petticrews, the Youngs and Angermans and many others.

Mickey Allen

449 Sun Way, Fairbanks AK 99709