The Way We Were

Nov. 16, 1922

The PTA committee on playgrounds, appointed at the last meeting, reported having visited two tracts of land close in. One was the tract back of the residence of the Salvation Army captain near Church Street. It was stated that this land is flat enough and of sufficient size to afford an extensive playground. The second tract visited was that adjoining the Presbyterian Church. While this section is ideal for residential property, the committee was of the opinion that it was not so suitable for a playground as the one near Church Street, since it would require a greater amount of clearing and grading and would not be so large. The report was accepted by the association and committee.

Nov. 14, 1947

Mayor Doris Barnes threw the switch at 2:10 p.m. yesterday to start the 450-horsepower motor at the light plant, the second and last to be installed and put into service at the city light plant this fall. Last week a 350-horsepower engine was put into service and is now supplying the town with power. Ralph Deveny, light plant superintendent, explained that he expected to save over half the payment of the 450-hp motor in diesel fuel consumed. He pointed out that it had been necessary to run two large motors at partial capacity to supply the town, but with the new 450-hp motor in operation, it could carry the load at present most of the time.

Nov. 17, 1972

The Wrangell city council on Tuesday evening unanimously voted to designate Mayor Don House as the city’s authorized representative to apply for and receive state and federal funds for its sewer construction program. City voters approved a $750,000 bond issue in October to pay for the city’s portion of a sewage collection and treatment system that was estimated to cost some $4 million or more. Federal funding will amount to 75 percent of the total cost and the state’s share of the project will add another 12.5 percent, the council was told.

Nov. 13, 1997

Ten thousand pounds of live crab arrived in Westport, Washington, this June after a two-and-a-half-day ferry and highway trip from Wrangell. It was the inaugural trip for the dungeness crabs that traveled in Lynden Transport’s special refrigerated trailer and tote system. It was the first time live crab has shipped from Alaska to the Lower 48 via highway. With several crab seasons in Southeast Alaska, including the fall season that began in October, Lynden plans to make four to six runs a week, depending on weather conditions. The new service, according to Keith Horton, Lynden’s account manager, will give Southeast crabbers greater options for marketing their seasonal harvests. It also extends the use of Lynden’s refrigerated trailer fleet, making the live crab runs a “win-win situation all around,” Horton said. The key to Lynden’s successful transport of the live cargo are the special, reusable fish totes it designed with an added air system. The totes are filled with crab and cold salt water, and a complex manifold piping system at the top of the trailer connects to a pump to carry air through flexible tubing to each tote. Fourteen totes neatly fit into one 28-foot-long refrigerated trailer.