The Way We Were

March 30, 1922

The best news in Wrangell in a long time came this week in the form of a letter from the Federal Power Commission, indicating a willingness to grant an exclusive permit to the town of Wrangell for the purpose of water power development on Mill Creek. The town council has been working very hard on this proposition for several months. Through their efforts B.F. Heintzelman, special representative of the Federal Power Commission, recently came to Wrangell to go into the matter with the council personally. Several special meetings of the council were held with Mr. Heintzelman present and all phases of the matter considered. Numerous letters have been written, and at last it begins to look as if the town is going to win out on the proposition.

March 28, 1947

Wrangell’s growth is reflected in new requests the Forest Service has received for homesites out the road. District Supervisor Knox Marshall was in Wrangell this week and said he had received seven new applications for homesites recently, five of which have been taken by applicants. Mr. Marshall added that homesite plots available near town are getting scarce. There are only five left between town and the Institute and nine beyond the Institute – two of them on the beach and seven on the upper side of the road.

March 31, 1972

Emancipation of the state ferry Wickersham from the federal act which had kept her from handling intrastate traffic in Alaska will be celebrated on the ship in her ports of call northbound next week. The citizenry at all her stops will be invited aboard for a tour and free coffee and donuts. Wrangell’s turn will be from 9 to 10:30 p.m. next Wednesday. The open house aboard the 363-foot ship will be hosted by the chamber of commerce. Similar shipboard socials are scheduled in Ketchikan, Juneau, Haines and Skagway. The ship heretofore has been prevented from handling any intrastate traffic under terms of the federal Jones Act, prohibiting foreign-built vessels from carrying port-to-port traffic in the U.S. The ship was permitted to carry traffic between U.S. and Canada ports. “With the president signing a bill granting a waiver of the Jones Act, we can provide better service for Alaskans,” said Gov. William Egan. The legislation, effective for three years or until the state puts a new ferry under construction into service, was drafted by Alaska’s lone congressman, Nick Begich. It was approved by both the House and Senate last month and signed by the president.

April 3, 1997

The Wrangell Ranger District is now formulating an analysis of Zarembo and Wrangell islands. Community comments and ideas are being solicited. The identification and maintenance of key fish and wildlife habitat, and timber harvest schedules are main concerns. At this time, they anticipate about 15 million to 20 million board feet of timber being harvested from the islands over the next 10 years. The districts also will compile a prioritized list of recreation projects, such as cabins, trails and educational activities. The high school environmental science class has been participating in the project.