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The Alaska Marine Highway System will celebrate with towns all along the Southeast for the 50 year anniversary of service to this area. The Motor Vessel Malaspina made its inaugural trip to Petersburg at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 28, 1963 and Friday, the Malaspina will make port here again at 6 p.m. “We have activities scheduled once people have boarded,” Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Director Sally Dwyer said. “That is when the Leikerring Dancers will dance being led by Heidi Lee.” Dwyer said she did not know what the ferry system had schedul... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved the recommendation of Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht and unanimously voted to hire Kelly Swihart for the Petersburg Police Chief position during a special meeting Monday evening. Swihart is currently the police chief in Hoonah and tendered his resignation officially when he returned to Hoonah Tuesday. “I promised them that I would give 60 days notice, if I was to ever leave,” Swihart said. “I want to make sure all things are squared away and stabi... Full story
Seven months after the incident, Jace H. Cunningham found himself before a Petersburg jury for four days of testimony. Cunningham was charged with six counts of third degree assault with cause to fear injury with a weapon, one count of driving under the influence, one count of fourth degree misconduct involving a weapon and possessing while intoxicated and two counts of fifth degree criminal mischief with damage under $50, after an hour long stand- off with Petersburg police officers Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012. After one full day of jury selection,... Full story
On Tuesday afternoon a group of over 40 paddlers from Juneau, Yakutat, Sitka and Kake arrived for an overnight stay in Petersburg, after battling several days of high seas and rough weather. They were greeted in traditional fashion by members of ANB, ANS and PIA alongside other members of the Petersburg community. Wednesday the group continued on toward Wrangell for this weekend’s historic re-dedication of the Chief Shakes Tribal House....
July 13, 1962, Petersburg Press JUNEAU (Special) – The state has rejected all bids for the construction of ferry terminal facilities at Petersburg, Wrangell, and Sitka, Robert E. Sharp, acting commissioner of the state department of highways announced today. Simultaneously, the state division of marine transportation announced that the completion date of the first ferry has been moved from the end of August to about November 15. Therefore, the first ferry will not be making an initial run over Labor Day weekend. The bids on the Petersburg t...
Feb. 1, 1963, Petersburg Press The state ferry Malaspina was scheduled to leave Prince Rupert at 11:30 this morning on the first regular run thru SE Alaska. It will be in Petersburg northbound at 3:15 a.m. Saturday and southbound on 1:15 a.m. Monday. In the photo above, Dr. R. C. Smith, Press photographer, snapped a clear portrait of the Malaspina as it edged in for its first landing in Petersburg January 24. Public Works Commissioner Richard Downing said this week that there are no plans to...
March 22, 1963, Petersburg Press Governor William A. Egan has announced the formal inaugural voyage of the M-V Malaspina, marking the start of service over the Southeastern Alaska marine highway system, will be held April 27 to May 2. The vessel will arrive in Petersburg at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 28, and leave 8 a.m. Monday. More than 500 travel editors for the nation’s newspapers and magazines have been invited to participate in the week-long event which will include visits to each of the stops on the ferry route. Governor Egan wrote the m...
Jan. 11, 1963, Petersburg Press SEATTLE (AP) – The M-V Malaspina, queen and first of Alaska’s three new ferries, moved into Puget Sound today in another of a series of tests. The Malaspina put out shortly before 8 a.m. with an Alaskan delegation and Capt. Ed Kent of the shipbuilding firm aboard. Meanwhile in Juneau, the Associated Press reports that there is no set date yet for the ships departure from Seattle. It all depends on the test runs and provisioning time. However an attempt is being made to have the Malaspina in Juneau during the gov...
In recognition of the 50th Anniversary of the Alaska Marine Highway System, we present these pages with news reports from the archives of the Petersburg Press in 1962 and 1963. The historic timeline information was provided by the AMHS. The arrival of MV Malaspina in 1963 was big news for the city, the region and the State of Alaska. The new transportation service connected Southeast communities as they had never been before, and it changed the way passengers and freight were transported to and from the towns that made up Southeast Alaska. We...
Jan. 18, 1963, Petersburg Press Alaska's first new state ferry, the MV Malaspina, will arrive in Petersburg next Wednesday evening at 8 o'clock with Captain Rueben Jacobsen on the bridge and Alaska's Governer Wm. Egan heading the passenger list. According to Eldor Lee, local agent for the ferry system, the vessel will take any passengers or vehicles wishing to go north. From here the vessel goes to Sitka, Juneau, Haines and Skagway. Governer Egan is scheduled to represent the state in Seattle Monday and take possession of the 352-foot blue and...
Jan. 25, 1963, Petersburg Press The Alaska State Ferry Malaspina is undergoing engine repairs in Juneau but is still expected to be back on schedule and in Petersburg again next Tuesday, the Press learned today from Juneau. The Malaspina went through Petersburg Thursday afternoon, a day late because of a delay in getting away from Seattle. Minor engine trouble has plagued the ship but the Associated Press reported this morning that it was believed the vibration in the engine exhaust, which caused the trouble, has been licked. The Malaspina arri...
Feb. 1, 1963, Petersburg Press Petersburg Press photographer, Dr. R. C. Smith, was among the many Petersburg residents meeting the new state ferry Malaspina when it docked in Petersburg the first time on Thursday, January 24. In the top picture on this page two Petersburg men pose for photographer Smith at the wheel of the Malaspina. Both are members of the crew and made the initial trip from Seattle aboard the vessel. They are Maynard Reeser, left, and Richard Hofstad. Reeser is listed as an or...
24 Alaska becomes the 49th state and M/V Chilkat becomes the first state owned ferry 1963 The Alaska Marine highway System is founded, providing many roadless communities with a way to “driove” from one town to the next. M/V Matanuska, M/V Malaspina and M/V Taku are built Service expands to Prince Rupert, British Columbia 1964 M/V Tustumena is built. March 27: Earthquake! Ports in Valdez and Cordova are damaged 1967 Service extended to Seattle, Washington. linking the system to the Lower 48 1974 M/V Columbia, the largest vessel in the fle...
June 14, 1963, Petersburg Press Taku rock was removed from the navigation channel in Wrangell Narrows late yesterday afternoon on the high tide, according to A. J. Trones, local contractor. Work was completed by 8 p.m. last night. The rock was named locally after the ferry Taku struck it when entering Wrangell Narrows in April and had to return to the shipyard for repairs. It had been suggested that the rock had drifted in on an iceberg and dropped when the ice melted. Trones said the rock was of a type foreign to the adjacent area of the...
September 13, 1963, Petersburg Press Here are the photos of the Petersburg ferry terminal before and after the ferry Taku landed Saturday, August 17. The before photo on the right was taken by Dr. R. C. Smith after the transfer bridge and towers were in place while the terminal was under contstruction. In the after picture above, the approach dock and the facing of the mooring dock are still in place, partially, but the towers are gone and the transfer bridge has dropped into the water - the...
May 3, 1913 – Sockeye Island Deserted: Some five or six miles from this town, on the North, is what is called Sockeye Island. For several years past this island has been ocupied under lease from the government for fox breeding purposes. Fox breeding, with the prevailing high price for furs, made the business quite profitable. As a matter of fact, thousands of dollars were made out of the fox ranch the first few years. Three years ago, after the owner had taken what furs he wanted, some fifteen foxes were left to breed. One year ago, or such mat...
Thank you To the Editor: It's 4 am on Tuesday morning and like the past three mornings that my wife and I have been in Petersburg, I find myself wide awake...you have to love jet lag. As long as I'm awake, I wanted to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you all for the hospitality that you've shown to us. We are truly amazed at how many friends we've made in our short time here. One of the main inviting factors in our decision to apply for the chief's position in Petersburg was the sheer natural beauty of the Inside Passage. What we've...
April 24 Kristinn Thorsteinson, 17, was issued a citation for speeding 63 mile per hour in a 50 mile per hour zone at 6.5 mile Mitkof Highway. Two people refused to leave bar after being disruptive with other patrons. April 26 Orange construction netting was reported blowing loose in the area at N. First Street. Alaska District Attorney requested an application for search warrant for a vehicle in the impound lot and the warrant was issued. An alarm was activated by work being done at the elementary school. April 27 Suspicious activity was...
The Thomas Bay Power Authority Commission met in a special meeting last Friday to discuss another counter offer by Mick Nicholls to the commission for the position of TBPA General Manager. Nicholls, who is still acting as foreman until today, said he is looking forward to taking the reins at the TBPA office. “My plan is to make sure that Tyee continues to run in a very efficient manner,” Nicholls said. “I believe that the GM’s job should be centered toward the plant and not toward the public....
Alaska Wildlife Trooper, Cody Litster was recently awarded Alaska Wildlife Trooper of the Year and “A” Detachment Trooper of the Year at a ceremony in Anchorage. Out of 71 wildlife troopers in the state, Litster was at the top. “This just means that I did my job in 2012,” Litster said. “I am honored that I was chosen.” Litster has been the lone trooper for Petersburg for the last three and a half years and plans to remain here. “There is another trooper in Wrangell and the next closest one i...
Fishing industry stakeholders and federal managers in June will begin crafting a bycatch reduction plan for trawl groundfish fisheries in the Gulf. It will include some form of catch share plan, and as the main delivery port for more than $100 million worth of pollock, cod, flats and other fishes, Kodiak is closely guarding any giveaways. It’s similar to a chess game, said Duncan Fields, a lifelong Kodiak fisherman and a member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council charged with designing the new plan. “You have multiple moving pie...
The sea otter population in Southeast has more than doubled over the last decade. Those are the findings of an estimate conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which are accepting 90 days of public comment on its revised stock assessment for the furry creature. The agency estimates there are more than 25,000 sea otters in Southeast, compared to more than 10,500 in 2003. The animals were reintroduced to Southeast in the 1960s after the Russian fur trade wiped them out early in the last century. The population is growing at about a...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Small Game Program is asking upland bird hunters to submit one wing and the tail of each grouse and ptarmigan they harvest in Southeast Alaska this spring. Samples can be placed in wing envelopes available free from local ADF&G offices or the samples can be dropped off in a paper bag. Hunters are asked to include information regarding the date and approximate harvest location along with each wing and tail sample submitted. By submitting a wing and tail from each harvested grouse and ptarmigan, hunters...
