The Way We Were

Sept. 13, 1923

Wrangell’s first clown and the first clown for the majority of youngsters here paraded down Front Street Saturday afternoon, leading his “Company” of the youngsters of town who took part in the pet parade. The parade was part of the Chautauqua program and the participants were in costume and carried pets of all kinds. The parade was led by Barney Google (Gertrude Goodrich) and “Spark Plug,” followed by a baby elephant. These mirth-provoking features were the clever work of Mrs. H. W. Gartley and Miss Dorothy Chisholm. Both “Spark Plug” and the baby elephant won first prizes. Edna Bidwell won first prize for the most original costume. The parade started from Redman’s Hall and was fun and joyous confusion from start to finish.

Sept. 17, 1948

At its meeting held at the Civic Center last Monday evening, the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce voted to circulate a petition for signatures to ask the city council to put into effect a 1% sales tax similar to the recent territorial tax which went off June 30. Virgil Neyman presented the idea to the chamber and after considerable discussion the chamber voted on a motion by L.M. Williams Jr., to favor such a tax, with 75% of the revenue to go to the school and 25% for public health and sanitation, which would include such things as new sewers and water mains. City Councilman Peter McCormack felt that more people would favor the tax if they knew definitely where the money was going.

Sept, 21, 1973

More than 300 members of Alaska-Yukon pioneer organizations are scheduled to visit Wrangell today during a nostalgic return to the state. The travelers will be aboard the state ferry Wickersham, chartered for the voyage and on her last trip in the state marine highway fleet. The trip is billed as “Sourdough of Alaska-Yukon Return” and is the brainchild of Ketchikan-born Budd Clark, of Seattle, president of the Alaska-Yukon Pioneers. The age of the travelers goes into the 90s and dignitaries expected to be aboard will include retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, originally from Nome, who led the famous Toyko bomber raid early in World War II. The ship’s schedule includes stops at Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Haines, Skagway and Juneau. Travelers will go by railway from Skagway to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.

Sept. 17, 1998

The City of Wrangell wants to make something very clear to the public. The water! Phase II of the long anticipated water treatment plant project is under way and engineers have promised that one thing is certain: The water that comes from our taps will no longer look like freshly steeped tea. It should be running through city pipes in June if the construction continues on schedule. Phase II, being built by McGraw’s Custom Construction from Sitka, involves the water treatment plant plus a 400,000-gallon reservoir tank to be built up on the hill immediately adjacent. According to City Engineer Mark Storm, the water will be treated by three processes through several stages before going into storage tanks. If the new plant does its job as promised, Storm says, “It should make the water a little better around here.”