The Way We Were

Nov. 1, 1923

W. J. Bradley and family arrived from Twin Falls, Idaho, on the Northwestern Monday night. Mr. Bradley has come north to engage in the ranching business on Farm Island. He brought with him a good supply of farming implements, six head of cattle and four horses. A new settlement is springing up on Farm Island. W. S. Binkley and family and Chester Lloyd and family are already located there. This week the population of the island will be increased by the addition of Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Bradley and eight children. Other families who will move to the island in the near future are Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Moritz, Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Bradley.

Oct. 22, 1948

An official of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service told a hearing this week that more stringent fishing regulations will be put into effect next year in Southeast Alaska because of the recent series of poor salmon runs. “There just are not enough fish to go around,” George Kelez, fisheries supervisor for Alaska, told the hearing. “The day is rapidly passing when a fisherman can earn his year’s livelihood from a few weeks’ fishing.” Southeast Alaska packers backed the agency in its proposal for legislation to change the personal-use provision of regulations. This provision permits Alaska residents to take fish for their own use at any time. Packers said “abuse of this provision is flagrant and untold damage has been done to spawning fish by this abuse.” Kelez said any violations have been reported in population centers, where residents catch and sell fish to markets.

Nov. 2, 1973

In a special session Tuesday, the city council approved second and third readings and final adoption of an ordinance calling for annexation of outlying populated areas of Wrangell Island. If approved by the state Boundary Commission and the Legislature, the annexation would add about 720 residents to the city’s population and bring in a land mass encompassing a third of Wrangell Island from the Pat’s Creek watershed area north.

Oct. 29, 1998

The fate of the Wrangell Institute property is once again on hold. This time its future will most likely include demolition, burning and removal of all buildings of the once bustling Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school. After the school closed in 1975, the property went through ownership by an Anchorage-based Native corporation and the federal government, and then was given to Wrangell a couple of years ago. Asbestos has been a common problem throughout the years. According to Wrangell City Engineer, Mark Storm, after an extensive removal of the identified asbestos by the Alkas Abatement Corp., the city is again waiting. Investigators from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Alaska Department of Labor examined the buildings last week and are now compiling their report and evaluation.