The Way We Were

Aug. 28, 1924

The Wrangell schools opened Tuesday morning with a good sized enrollment. A total of 95 were enrolled in the grade school and 20 in the high school. Both school buildings are still somewhat torn up by the workmen engaged in the alteration program, which had not reached completion before the opening of school. The objectionable, unsanitary toilets will soon be eliminated from the main floor and adequate, sanitary facilities provided in concrete rooms in the basement, accessible from the main hall. The chimney at the high school was condemned the day prior to the opening of school and the work of rebuilding it interfered considerably with the high school program for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sept. 2, 1949

The Southeast Alaska salmon pack continues at a record pace. As of the end of last week, the pack was 400,000 cases ahead of the same time last year, and totaled well over the million figure. All reports indicated it was moving at the same rate this week. Seiners generally were making good hauls which forecast some substantial sharing. Trap catches were reported excellent and packers on the whole were jubilant. Nick Bex, prominent packer and the man credited ins some sources with greeting the season open a week early in the northern area of Southeast, reported “lots of fish.” A meeting was scheduled for Juneau today to consider extending the season beyond the official closing date of Saturday.

Aug. 23, 1974

At the rate the Columbia is calling up miscues and unusual incidents, she may become a legend in her own time. The Queen of the Alaska Marine Highway System is still having occasional engine trouble, and a breakdown delay this week added another to her list of memorable incidents. Four of her passengers were left stranded at the terminal in Ketchikan on Sunday after engine trouble put the Columbia behind schedule. In a attempt to pick up a few minutes of lost time, she had pulled away from the dock after a single whistle blast and a quick lift off the gangway. The foursome decided there was nothing to do but fly to Wrangell and try again. The Alaska Airlines flight gave them several hours to spare, so with good humor – or at least nothing worse than friendly malice – they set about creating a welcome ceremony for the Columbia in Wrangell. At the ferry terminal they put it all together and the dock was festooned with balloons and a banner with a 10-foot sign in bright colors, advising passengers of the Columbia they had just lost the first annual Ketchikan to Wrangell foot race.

Sept. 2, 1999

Wrangell has been chosen to become the newest family medicine clerkship site for the University of Washington School of Medicine. A clerkship is a formal clinical training course for advanced medical students. The first student will be assigned to a six-week clerkship in Wrangell in the summer of 2000. Wrangell family physician Dr. Dave McCanless will be the site coordinator. Wrangell has served this summer and in the past as a Rural/Underserved Opportunities Program site for the University of Washington. The program is a voluntary introduction to small-town or inner-city practice for beginning medical students and encourages them to consider careers serving populations that lack adequate health care.