April 21, 1921
A business deal for which negotiations have been pending for some time and which is of great interest to the community was closed this week with the sale of the St. Michael Trading Co. store by P.C. McCormack to two well-known young men of Wrangell, Ernest and Leonard Campbell. While the transaction was not entirely completed, Mr. McCormack retired from the business at the end of last week. The St. Michael Trading Co. store is one of the oldest here, Mr. McCormack having been one of the four men who established the business in 1898. Mr. McCormack, who had been a contractor and bridge builder, was persuaded by his friends to enter the mercantile field. He eventually became sole owner of the establishment. The new owners have resided in Wrangell since 1899 and are young men of excellent character.
April 19, 1946
Airplanes and fishing vessels prepared this week to carry freight to Alaska, where a longshore strike has blocked the unloading of cargo from vessels for 15 days. Alaska Airlines announced it had been granted approval by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board for freight flights during the emergency, and the first air freighter would carry about 4,500 pounds of food and other supplies north from Seattle. Steve Glumaz, northwest representative of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union, said fishing vessels would carry about 90 tons each on trips north. He said the vessel operators had agreed to observe union conditions in handling the freight.
April 22, 1971
When the old tugboat Audrey, of Wrangell, hoists anchor, she does it with perhaps the most unusual power in Alaska, a Stanley Steamer engine. The engine has been mounted in the forepeak of the 75-foot Audrey for as long as anyone can remember, probably since the tug was built 62 years ago, said her owner Cap Rondo. He bought the tug in Seattle and brought her to Wrangell to work on two months ago. Originally, the skipper said, the steamer had a boiler, but now it is operated by compressed air generated by the tug’s diesel engine. Nevertheless, Rondo has decreed that the steamer’s job could be done better by a more modern hydraulic rig, and the old engine’s days are numbered. He said he will hoist the steam engine from the tug soon.
April 25, 1996
Jason Rooney has been borrowing Mark Hamley’s boat, not for cruising but for its precise measurements. Jason is welding his own 16-foot aluminum scow during shop class at Wrangell High School. The work is not lonely, however, as he has two other high schoolers to help put the welding torch to the seams. Jason said it takes five or six people just to move the aluminum sheets from the storage area next to the shop. Another senior, Gus Degner, and his team also are welding an aluminum boat for the senior project. Shop teacher Dave Brown said, “Even if they never put a boat together again, it gives them the confidence to do something big.”
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