The Way We Were

July 17, 1924

The Wrangell Home Bakery announces the installation of a new phone, No. 61, and that they will deliver all orders. They call attention to their sandwich bread, fresh buns and french bread which cannot be excelled; rich pound cakes that don’t dry out; Devil’s Food; white layer cake fit for a queen; honey cream cakes; cupcakes and cookies of every kind.

July 15, 1949

The Stikine River closed to gillnetting at 6 a.m. today until 6 p.m. Aug. 1, following one of the poorest runs of red salmon yet recorded for the river. Up to the week ending July 2, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service figures, the total red catch for Wrangell and Petersburg was 5,565 fish. For the next week that ended July 9, total catch dropped to 1,063 fish. During the first week of the season there were 47 boats fishing on the river. On July 12, the number had dropped to 23, evidence of failure to catch fish. Normal catches ever since 1944 for the season averaged 43,000 fish, with high totals of 71,065 for 1944 and 60,787 for 1945. That contrasts strongly with 7,168 fish for 1949 up to the week ending July 9. From past records of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the run is normally well over by July 15. Local fisheries management agent Dan Bates said it could be concluded that this year’s run is finished.

July 19, 1974

Plans to move some of the petroglyphs around the Wrangell area to a central location in town were formulated at the chamber of commerce meeting last week. Acting Chamber President Brent Ulmer said the chamber probably could get some state tourism money to help pay the expense of moving the rocks. Chamber members decided to put some of the petroglyphs on Shakes Island and some on the lawn beside City Hall. A central location will provide access for townspeople and tourists, Ulmer said. The chamber is also asking for donations from individuals who have petroglyphs in their yards. Dick Stokes reported the totem pole on the City Hall lawn is ready to be painted. It will be moved into the cold storage building to dry out before being painted.

July 15, 1999

Turning on the water was an alarming experience for much of Wrangell last Saturday as a dark and dirty liquid came pouring out of their facets. Ice cubes were embedded with unidentifiable black flecks and citizens asked, “What in the water now?” Public Works superintendent Bob Caldwell reports that the city’s old pressure-relief valve jammed wide open during the afternoon but that it was back online Monday. The breakage affected the water quality in most of the downtown area to Zimovia Highway and also Evergreen Avenue. There were further problems with water pressure on Tuesday, first losing pressure in the Mission Hill area and slowly spreading. Both problems are a result of changes and tests being done to prepare for implementation of the new water treatment plant. The good news is that the new plant is close to being put into service. Caldwell said it was up and operating this Monday morning and that it was running “dandy.” Next week, engineers and technicians will be in town to give the OK on officially starting use. The city has already received approval from the state to begin operations as soon as the system passes all tests. Once that occurs, the city will gradually bring the plant into operation but will make an announcement when 100% of the water is going through the system.