The Way We Were

Oct. 13, 1921

An enormous rutabaga, grown on the Kirk ranch near Telegraph Creek, British Columbia, appeared in the Coulter Meat Market window this week. It was brought down the Stikine River to Wrangell on the Hazel B on Sunday by D. W. Kirk, and weighs 27.5 pounds. Mr. Kirk had a 56-pound rutabaga ready for shipment, but a horse discovered it as it lay drying after having been washed and displayed. The horse showed its appreciation of its quality by sampling it and making it unfit to send away. Several 35-pound rutabagas have been raised on the same ranch as the one exhibited in Wrangell. They are all said to be perfectly sound and of excellent flavor.

Oct. 11 1946

The city council studied the report of garbage collections at its meeting last night at City Hall. The report had been compiled in the past week in regard to people who are not complying with regulations and who put their garbage in containers that fill with water or fall apart. The council decided that letters would be written to the offenders now, and if the situation did not improve fines would be imposed. The council also decided to make a survey of the street from the light plant to Grant’s Grocery corner to determine what improvements are needed and what can be done to make the street more stable this winter. Owen Brothers logging company were given permission to tie their floathouse inside the breakwater this winter. It was pointed out that work on the harbor floats and garbage ramp were delayed because of the lack of nails.

Oct. 15, 1971

In a split vote, the city council on Tuesday voted to relocate the police department in rented quarters and give the entire Front Street city hall facility to the volunteer fire department as a training and meeting area. The switch will be made when city employees move on Nov. 1 to the new City Hall in the fill area. An upstairs office in the Kadin Building on Front Street has been selected for the police and will cost $175 per month to rent.

Oct. 17, 1996

Like many museums, the one in Wrangell often receives new acquisitions either on loan or by donation, and there are thousands of undisplayed items kept in storage until exhibit space becomes available or the necessary cleaning and classification is done to make their display meaningful to the public. Museum director Theresa Thibeault pulled out a box of recently donated artifacts, many of which originated near the Old Town village site. My attention was drawn to a rock that was partially painted with red ochre pigment. The head of a maul, fashioned from granite, showed a groove where a handle had once been, or was going to be lashed on, and there were a number of unfinished tools in the Old Town collection including bone and antler awls for making holes in hides. According to a recent visitor, the Wrangell Museum is noted in an international catalog for some of the unique objects it has on display. The Friends of the Mesum are working with the city on building a new museum.