In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago.
August 27, 1914: An odd war coincidence came to us this week when the Karen arrived down the river from Telegraph with two passengers aboard bound for their native countries to take up arms against each other in the great war now going on, Captain Harker of the British Army and Count Caudenhove of Austria. Both men are captains in the regular armies of their respective countries. Capt. Harker has seen three or four years of service in India. Count Caudenhove has also seen service. The men are great friends; also friends of Mr. Warburton Pike, the mining man of Dease Lake country, with whom both men were spending the summer, all unconscious of the trouble arising until a runner was dispatched from Telegraph to Dease Lake with separate messages to both telling them of their countries needing their services. They came to Telegraph together and on down the river to Wrangell where they parted company. Count Caudenhove left for the south on the Alameda and Capt. Harker will leave for Victoria on the Princess May tomorrow. Both men are leaving with all haste for the battle front and within a month or so will be facing each other on the field of death.
August 25, 1939: Believed to be the most valuable piece of mail to ever come through the Wrangell Post Office was a shipment of placer gold valued at $18,000 which arrived on the Hazel B No. 2 Saturday from Telegraph Creek. It was sent from the Barrington-Walsh properties on Boulder Creek in the McDames area of the Cassiar district as registered mail addressed to the Royal Canadian Mint at Vancouver. The special sack under lead seal concealed the stamps underneath but it was stated that the mailing charges required $36.00 worth of stamps. Postmaster B.Y. Grant, apprehensive about keeping so valuable a shipment in the Post Office made arrangements for it to be stored in the Bank of Wrangell vaults until the sailing of the Princess Alice Tuesday night. The Barringtons have sent out previous gold shipments in recent weeks from the Boulder Creek properties which they bought last year from Percy Peacock, but the one this week was the largest this season.
August 28, 1964: City Council at a special meeting last night passed an emergency ordinance to guarantee preference rights on tidelands adjoining the Wrangell Lumber Company to Alaska-Wrangell Mills, Inc., owner of the mill property where the dock collapsed three weeks ago. The preferential rights are required in the plans for reconstruction of the wrecked dock, it was brought out at the Council meeting. The Hirashima Maru this week was completing the loading of lumber which fell in the bay when the dock collapsed while anchored offshore. C.R. Neill, mill superintendent and vice-president of Wrangell Lumber Company, said plans are being formulated for restarting the mill shortly, with the lumber being loaded waterside pending availability of dock facilities.
August 24, 1989: Wrangell Daycare Inc. will re-open its doors Aug. 30 with financial assistance from the City of Wrangell and prepayments made by several parents. The City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday to grant up to $20,000 to the daycare center to pay past-due bills and provide funds for future expenses. Board members Ned Caum and Nola Walker told the council Tuesday that they were uncertain exactly how much money is needed to maintain operations. They said they won’t be sure how many staff members to hire or what other expenses will be until they know how many children will enroll in the center when it opens again. Board member Beth Comstock told the Sentinel earlier Tuesday that the center would host an open house from noon to 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 28, and again from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29. Parents may register their children for daycare during the open house. The daycare center closed earlier this summer due to a lack of funds. Board members said they re-opened because of the community’s need for daycare services. Some parents also pre-paid their daycare bills, giving the center sufficient funding for re-opening. However, the board had requested up to $20,000 from the City Council to pay off debts incurred earlier this year and to provide seed money for future operation.
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