The Way We Were

March 1, 1923

As a means of stimulating interest and learning the sentiment of the community in regard to the proposed new playground for the school, the PTA is offering four worthwhile prizes to pupils for essays on the subject, “Will the proposed new playground benefit the school and how can it be improved?” Two prizes will be awarded for essays by high school pupils and two for grade school students. The essays will be read at the next PTA meeting.

Feb. 28, 1948

Superintendent of Schools Geo. Fabricius, speaking to members of the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce at their meeting last Monday evening at the Fire Hall, pointed out the urgent need for additional school facilities. The present school, designed to hold 130 students, is now crowding in 240. Mr. Fabricius said it is no fun having to explain to mothers why their children have to go to school in the dilapidated City Hall building. The cold weather made the classroom in City Hall untenable, so the children were moved into the shop and training rooms at the school. Plans for a new school addition, drawn up last year, would allow for a new and larger gym which could be used as an auditorium. It would also contain four new classrooms and the band could rehearse in the auditorium without disturbing the whole school. Mr. Fabricius said the city could raise property taxes by three mills and set aside the money as an earmarked fund for schools. Mr. Fabricius suggested that the issue of the school addition be placed on the city ballot this spring to allow citizens to vote.

March 2, 1973

Southeast Alaska waterfowl hunters are being polled to determine when they would like to hunt. Dan Timm, waterfowl biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said many game birds winter over in Southeast and that hunting would be good “even in March.” Because federal regulations limit the season to 105 days, the waterfowl hunting season historically has opened Sept. 1 and closed on Dec. 14, Timm said. He said the department is interested in learning whether hunters would like to have a split season to take advantage of the wintering birds. The department is proposing two different split seasons and has asked waterfowl hunters to comment on the proposals.

Feb. 26, 1998

The Sunrise Lake project was discussed at length at the public workshop in city council chambers. The lake is located in a small sub-alpine basin of 1.2 square miles on Woronkofski Island, six miles southwest of Wrangell. The proposed project would develop the lake to meet the city’s future water supply and power needs. It would provide 1.5 million gallons per day of additional water to Wrangell, and would cost $10 million. A study authorized by the city indicated that although Wrangell’s current water supply is adequate to serve the existing population, any significant growth, including potential industrial/commercial growth, would require more supply. Right now, there are apparently no other sources on the island, and the inability to expand the city’s water supply is considered a major hindrance to economic development.