In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago.
October 22, 1914: Deputy U.S. Marshal Wallace has out a call for bids for the repairing and remodeling of the Court House and when interviewed on the subject stated that he has received orders from Marshal Bishop in Juneau to get same with the view of putting the old Court House in good shape. If the contracts are let for the work, the building will be raised about twelve inches and the old fireplaces torn out and new windows and doors placed in the entire building. The repairing and remodeling of the Court House is something that should be done as the building as now stands is a detriment to the officials and the town and Marshal Wallace deserves credit for the speedy way in which he is going at the work of improving the government holdings under his supervision.
October 20, 1939: The announcement that a boarding home for children has been established in the roomy Lewis residence on Front Street, under the care of Mrs. Elmer Carlstrom, was made during the week and the plan has been met with general approval of all who have felt the need for such a home for several years. The home is not an orphanage but a boarding home for children, who, for one reason or another, need temporary care. It is being sponsored by the Office of Indian Affairs, and is in the nature of an experiment which it is earnestly hoped will succeed. At the present time seven children are being cared for by Mrs. Carlstrom, this conforms to the wish and intent of the Indian Office of giving such children a normal home life without removing them from their own community.
October 16, 1964: Barry Goldwater's campaign will go into high gear in Alaska next week with the arrival in the state of the Republican presidential candidate's son Mike Goldwater to tour the state on behalf of his father's try for the presidency, Republican District Chairman Frank Murkowski announced today. Young Goldwater will arrive in Wrangell Thursday morning and the Chamber of Commerce will move its regular luncheon meeting up to 11:30 at Winnie's Café to hear the visitor, Murkowski said. The public is invited to hear the speaker. The young campaigner will leave by charter after the luncheon for Petersburg and then will continue to the Westward and Interior.
October 19, 1989: Workers were putting the finishing touches this week on repair work to the Raven pole before raising it again at the Post Office lawn. Postmaster Dwight Grimmer said Postal Service funds were used to retain Steve Brown to repair the totem, which was carved in the mid-1960s by Thomas Ukas. Dan Flaugher, a Postal Service worker, added a new coat of paint to complete the project, Grimmer said. Ukas' totem at the Post Office lawn is the only completed one of his totems to remain in Wrangell. He made a number of small totem poles for sale and display over the years and worked on the reconstruction of the Shakes Tribal House from 1938 to 1940. Ukas, a Tlingit Indian of the Kiks'adi Raven clan, died in 1975. The Post Office Raven pole is a small version of one of the totems carved by his father, William Ukas. When Thomas made his version of the pole, the original was in the state of advanced deterioration and, in fact, was lost a few years later in 1978 in a severe wind storm. Thomas mixed his own paint for the pole and was very particular about the authenticity of the colors. For nearly 10 years, Thomas' pole was the only one to take the place of this important old monument. In 1987, however, a full-sized duplicate of the original Raven pole was carved as part of the Wrangell Totem Park project and now stands near the Kiks'adi Totem off Front Street.
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