The Way We Were

July 20, 1922

Tuesday was a red-letter day in the lives of the children of Wrangell. The arrival of the “Kandy Kings” on the Spokane was like a midsummer visit from Santa Claus. The visitors were distributing samples of high-class confectionery products. The youngsters followed the visitors around until their tummies as well as their pockets were full of sweets. The vessel is under charter to 150 members and their families of the Western Candy Association. The voyage is a novel one in that a convention is being held on board the steamer. Business discussions and convention talks are held during the day. The evenings are given over to dancing. A special daily edition of the Western Confectioner is published aboard the vessel each day on a mimeograph. Wrangell Mayor Grant did the honors of the town and piloted the visitors to the totems, Shakes island and other points of interest.

July 18, 1947

The local Elks lodge started installing molding in their new club rooms this week after finishing up the rough work. The lodge room furniture arrived on the Briggs Corp. boat, the Southeastern, last Wednesday and is just waiting for the arrival of the floor tile, due to arrive next Wednesday, before being moved in. A carpenter will start work on the bar and back bar in the next few days and the booths will be moved in. With about everything on hand to complete the job, the Elks are pushing to open the club by Aug. 21, when the Emblem Club will hold an installation of officers with a cocktail party, banquet and dance.

July 21, 1972

A timber fire last week charred 13 acres of felled and bucked trees in Tyler Logging Co. territory on the west end of Zarembo Island. Wrangell District Ranger Gary McCoy of the U.S. Forest Service said the fire started Tuesday evening after the logging crew had left the area five miles east of the camp at St. John’s Harbor. The flames were reported by the camp, which turned out to fight the blaze along with Forest Service personnel. McCoy said up to 62 men were on the lines. Equipment used to quell the blaze included three bulldozers, a yarder, a log loader and four portable Forest Service pumps that were flown in. Smoke from the blaze rose 1,000 feet into the air but was not reported visible in Wrangell 23 miles east. McCoy declared the fire out at 5 a.m. Wednesday after an all-night struggle to keep it from spreading into timber, which was becoming a dangerous fire hazard after a number of sunny, rainless days. The ranger estimated the value of the timber in the fire area at more than $30,000. Cause of the fire was not immediately determined.

July 24, 1997

After a three-day blockade by Canadian fishermen, the state ferry Malaspina was allowed to leave Prince Rupert, B.C., about 9 p.m. Monday and sail north to Ketchikan. The stand-off with up to 250 fishing boats began Saturday morning, as a protest by Canadian salmon fishermen over alleged illegal taking of Canadian-spawned sockeyes by Alaska fishermen in the high seas. A treaty allocating salmon stocks between Canada and the U.S. expired in 1993 and negotiations to renew the pact broke down recently when Canadian representatives walked away from the table. Alaska Attorney General Bruce Botelho said the state will sue Canada for damages in the incident, including some $1,200-per-hour in overtime charges for the ferry crew, as well as inconvenience to passengers all along Southeast Alaska and damage to the reputation of the Alaska Marine Highway System at the height of the tourist season.