The Way We Were

Aug. 14, 1924

Dr. David E. Buckingham, of Washington, D.C., special assistant biologist, who was sent to Alaska by the Bureau of Biological Survey to investigate the fur farming industry and report on the condition of the animals, arrived in Wrangell Tuesday evening. While in town, Dr. Buckingham met with a number of fox farmers who had been previously notified of his coming by the Wrangell Commercial Club. When asked the results of his investigations in Alaska, Dr. Buckingham did not hesitate to express his satisfaction at the general healthy condition of the animals on the various fur farms of Southeast Alaska. His opinion is that the outlook for the fur farming industry in this region is exceedingly bright. He declared that too much emphasis could not be placed on the importance of cleanliness in pens and throughout the premises. He said many of the fox farmers are to be congratulated upon having their farms so well kept. He spoke particularly of the ideal conditions he found at Neil McDonald’s fur farm near Wrangell, and declared that the general arrangement and unusual conveniences of this model fur farm surpassed anything that he had expected to find on his Alaska trip.

Aug. 12, 1949

The Southeast Alaska seining season moves into high gear at 6 a.m. Monday, and seiners from all over Southeast are even now lining up in the Anan Creek area to get an early chance at one of the biggest runs in years. In the Wrangell area, there is a good showing of fish from Anan Creek to Santa Anna. An airplane survey as far as Union Bay reports a strong showing of fish. Fishermen this year will have a short season, as the closing all over Southeast is Sept. 3. However, reports indicate that it looks like a good season.

Aug. 9, 1974

The operators of a quarter-million-dollar log salvaging operation, thought to be the largest in Southeast, are holed up in Wrangell, building on to their small empire. “It’s kind of a honeymoon arrangement for everyone,” Lloyd Harding smilingly said of the operation. He is on contract with Alaska Lumber and Pulp Co. as a log salvager. Working with Harding are his father Louis and his uncle Roland Larsen. They have been working within about a 25-mile radius of Wrangell, north as far as Portage Bay and south to Anan. Together the three men can salvage 20,000 feet of timber in three hours, Harding said. Their operation includes four tugboats and the big barge they call home. Weather and tides control much of the log salvaging operation, and there are only 10 or 15 days a month when the men can work.

Aug. 5, 1999

Passengers traveling between Petersburg and Wrangell may one day be able to leave their island, shop and visit on the other, and return home the same afternoon without layovers, hotel costs and lengthy waits. During the regular city council meeting on Tuesday, Judy Bakeberg, Wrangell director on the Inter-Island Ferry Authority board, told the council that by the year 2005 there will be 38 trips between Wrangell and Petersburg scheduled per week. This would involve three mainline ships as well as 14 regional fast ferries. Referring to a meeting Bakeberg attended last week in Juneau with IFA and Alaska Department of Transportation staff, she told the council: “It was quite an amiable meeting. I was favorably impressed.”