The Way We Were

November 29, 1917: Several local mariners have called our attention to an error in our report of the Mariposa wreck. The Sentinel stated that the wreck occurred at a place that is out of the usual course of traffic. This is not true. Any large vessel leaving Wrangell northbound would pass very close to where the wreck occurred. It is only the smaller boats, such as the Humboldt, Jefferson, and City of Seattle that go through Wrangell Narrows. All vessels leaving Wrangell must go around Cape Decision and cannot avoid the perilous passage which the Mariposa and other vessels have been wrecked. This is another tremendous argument in favor of the Dry Straits project. With the Dry Straits channel open to traffic the traveling distance between Wrangell and Juneau would be considerably shortened, and the Dry Straits would be much safer for the larger boats than going around Cape Decision. The opening of Dry Straits would eliminate Wrangell Narrows as a passage.

November 27, 1942: A windstorm of hurricane velocity for a few minutes struck Wrangell last Friday evening causing considerable damage. Half the roof was blown off the school building, other roofs were damaged, electric power and telephone lines went down and small damage to several other buildings was reported. A big spruce tree on the old Saarekofski property in the north end of town went down taking out all the wires on the lower street, just missing the Benny Lanting house and putting the entire north end in darkness. A tree also blew down on the Frank Churchill property adjoining. Considerable damage was reported to small buildings around the head of Shoemaker Bay. Lamps were in order until the next day and those with electrical cooking equipment went without hot coffee the next morning.

November 24, 1967: City Councilmen have made a good decision in their choice for a new chief of police. William R. Kink, 33, is a professional lawman. We were a little surprised to find his name on the list of applicants for the job. Surprised because we had known him in California. Kink is the kind of a chief the city needs. He has a background in all phases of law enforcement, serving with two police departments and sheriff’s force in California. He’s been a lawman for 11 years. His training will be an asset to Wrangell. Councilmen should also be complimented for their decision to upgrade the department to a three-man force. Although it’s still less than the community probably needs, it is a giant step from the two-man situation today.

November 19, 1992: A stop in Wrangell was hosted by Wrangell Little League to generate interest in the Mariners baseball in Alaska and to make the Mariners a team for all of the Pacific Northwest. The Mariners had already visited Anchorage, Juneau and Petersburg on the tour.

 

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