Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 351
June 20, 1914 – A glance over the harbor at Petersburg together with the activity at the cannery, remind the observer that the fishing season is opened. The harbor is clear of its numerous fishing boats and the cannery is running. Three traps have been completed and are fishing. The Colpoy trap was lifted Thursday and 1000 sockeye, 25 large king and a few humpback salmon were taken. This will start the cannery. June 7, 1974 Celebrating the Pilot's 40th Year – May Kuwata is queen of the Kings this year, with her 47.5-pound entry in the first ann...
The Salty Dog yacht rally scheduled to stop through Petersburg and Wrangell this month has been canceled, and Chamber of Commerce officials in both communities are hoping to get the money back they paid to the rally’s organizers. The boat rally consists of groups of boaters that signed up to visit various towns across Alaska this summer with Wrangell being the last stop. Salty Dog founder Dawny Pack emailed the communities to let them know the event would be postponed until next year. Petersburg and Wrangell chambers each paid Salty Dog o... Full story
June 13, 1914 – Last Tuesday evening, immediately after the adjournment of the firemen's meeting, nearly every man in town who was not otherwise occupied assembled at the Fire Hall for the purpose of devising ways and means for the celebration of the coming fourth. Enthusiasm ran high and, if kept up, Petersburgers and visitors will witness the greatest fourth of July celebration in the history of the town. It was suggested that everybody be appointed a committee of one and invite out-of-town friends to join in the festivities of the day. J...
KETCHIKAN (AP) — The operator of a state-owned salmon hatchery near Petersburg says it is moving forward with plans to rebuild the portion of the facility destroyed by fire in March. The Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association operates the Crystal Lake Hatchery, whose fish-incubation building burned in the blaze. The association's operations manager Bret Hiatt told the Greater Ketchikan Chamber Of Commerce on Wednesday that the coho salmon release was lost in the fire and so was a large portion of king salmon, the Ketchikan Daily Ne...
May 23, 1914 – With Mayor Finch in the chair, the postponed council meeting was held last Tuesday evening at which the question of a water system was taken up in earnest. The necessary expenditure of some fifteen thousand dollars is an enterprise for a community the size of Petersburg was by the council deemed worthy of serious consideration. After the momentous question was thoroughly discussed, a committee was finally appointed and the preliminaries ordered commenced. It was practically agreed that the council spend the money available in t...
The 33rd Annual Petersburg Chamber of Commerce King Salmon Derby gets underway this Friday at 7 a.m. The derby continues through the Memorial Day Weekend and ends Monday at 5 p.m. Two tagged fish will hopefully be available for anglers this year. Derby Committee member Doug Welde and volunteers were still seeking two Kings to tag at press time Thursday morning. One tagged fish could bring a derby angler a chance at $5,000 from Hammer and Wikan and the other could garner a $10,000 prize sponsored by Alaska Marine Lines and the Petersburg... Full story
Petersburg hosted 117 participants in this year's Southeast Region EMS Symposium. EMS Director Sandy Dixon said this is the first year Petersburg has hosted the symposium and that the community support along with a good weekend of weather ensured a smooth event. "I told everybody I sent Mother Nature a limo," Dixon joked. "The weather helped. It was pretty tremendous." Medical workers from emergency medical technicians to physicians attended the symposium where various classes and lectures were... Full story
Petersburg residents will have an opportunity to shop without paying sales tax after the Borough Assembly unanimously approved May 3 as a sales tax-free day. Savann Guthrie, member of the retail committee of the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, said the committee chose May 3 to target Petersburg residents only. Two fisheries will have ended and tourism won’t pick up until later in the month. “So it’s a time that we can encourage our community members to get out and shop,” Guthrie said. “They hopefully have a little extra money to do so and we...
Nine names are vying for three seats on the state Board of Fisheries, including six newcomers. That gives Governor Parnell the unique opportunity to replace a majority of the seven-member Fish Board, should he choose to do so, and should the Alaska legislature go along with it - an unlikely scenario. It took filing a Freedom of Information request and a 10 day wait to get the names of the Fish Board hopefuls, said veteran legislative watch dog Bob Tkacz in his weekly Laws for the Sea. They include the three incumbents - John Jensen of...
March 21, 1914 – It will be of interest to packers to know that the custom authorities in France have issued a regulation which may be well to heed. The regulation, which goes into effect the last of June this year, is in substance as follows: "Canned salmon and other canned fish may not be imported into France unless the name of the country of origin is stamped in raised or sunken Roman characters, at least four millimeters in height on the lid or bottom of each receptacle and on a portion not marked with any printing. The same indications m...
Director of the University of Alaska's Institute for Social and Economic Research Dr. Gunnar Knapp encouraged community members that doing more with less will be a central theme in the coming decade for fishing communities such as Petersburg and others across Alaska. Knapp was the guest speaker for the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce banquet last weekend. After touting Petersburg as one of the most successful fishing communities he's encountered, he encouraged the community to adapt in changing t... Full story
March 7, 1914 – Wake up people of Petersburg and get a move on. You must have the modern improvements if you want to be on the map. We need water works, sewers and electric lights. There is no reason why we should not have these improvements, and had them long ago. When we do get those improvements people will come and locate here, not only to live, but to bring in business to you. We should have a cold storage plant here, but it needs water, and we will not have it until we get the water works. We have the finest harbor in southeastern Alaska,...
The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual membership meeting and banquet on Saturday, March 8 at the Sons of Norway Hall. Social time is at 6 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. Door prizes will be presented throughout the evening and a dessert auction will be conducted as well. Guest speaker will be Dr. Gunnar Knapp from the University of Alaska. Dr. Knapp has conducted a wide variety of research on the Alaska economy and Alaska resources, including in particular markets for Alaska seafood and management of Alaska fisheries resources....
Alice Ann Farra, 83, of Lincoln, Mont. passed away Feb. 9, 2014 at her home in Lincoln. Alice was born Jan. 11, 1931 in Jeffersonville, Ill. to Louise (Brunner) Farra and Forest (Buck) Farra. At age six months her parents returned to Montana. She was raised in Harlowton, baptized and confirmed in Trinity Lutheran Church and graduated from Harlowton High School in 1949. Having an adventurous spirit, she joined the Women's Army Corps. She was stationed in Arizona, Calif. and Japan. After an... Full story
Bait is always a big expenditure for many fishing businesses and pollock could help cut costs for Alaska halibut longliners who fish in the Gulf. Researchers have tested pollock in two projects to see if it might replace pricier chum salmon as halibut bait. Fish biologists use over 300,000 pounds of chums in their stock surveys each year, costing nearly half a million dollars. The baits are used at more than 1,200 testing stations from Oregon to the Bering Sea. A pilot study three years ago in the central Gulf and off of British Columbia...
Hilary Bell and Helen Boggs won Petersburg’s first annual Rain Game Classic—a guessing game in which contestants estimate the total amount of annual rainfall in Petersburg. Chamber of Commerce Director Cindi Lagoudakis said this year’s rainfall totaled 110.19 inches according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data. Both Bell and Boggs guessed closest at 110.2 inches. Both turned in their tickets on the same day at the same event after receiving free tickets at the Chili Cook Off at the Sons of Norway Hall. “I don’t k...
Petersburg residents donated $20,088.72 this holiday season, an increase of more than $3,400 compared to 2012. Lt. Caleb Fankhauser, corps officer/pastor, said with Thanksgiving being so late in November this year, there were five less days available for contributions. “That could have been $3000,” Fankhauser said. “Petersburg proved that time doesn’t matter. They pulled out their support regardless of the number of days we had.” The top bell-ringing group was The Vessel Owners Association followed by the Rotary Club, The Salvation Army Advisor...
January Petersburg residents contributed a record amount to the Salvation Army Christmas program last year-$15,618.17-more than $9,700 than the year before. Jan. 4, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck 58 miles west of Craig and 203 miles south of Juneau prompting a tsunami warning across Southeast. Petersburg Police Chief Jim Agner and Sergeant Heidi Agner announced their intentions to retire. Officer Ben King joined the Petersburg Police Department. The Petersburg Borough Assembly members were... Full story
Three incumbent directors of the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce were elected to seats on the board in the annual elections. Hillary Whitethorn, Fran Jones and Donn Hayes were elected to two-year terms. When the new board members are seated, the directors will elect officers and make appointments to fill up to five vacancies on the board. Fran Jones was president of the board during the past year and served with Jon Wright, Beth Loesch, Seth Scrimsher, Dave Kensinger, Ron Loesch, Nick Ohmer, David Byrne and Cate Kowalski....
Petersburg recently found out that it has won Yachting Magazine's '2013 Best Towns' competition. Dan Harding, Associate Editor for Yachting Magazine, wrote in an article, "Joining the ranks of Oxford, Maryland and Beaufort, North Carolina, the Alaskan fishing village has reminded us that the appeal of a destination is not always measured in amenities and attractions, and that natural beauty and character are what make a place truly special." And the same sea lion plaguing boaters this year might be the same animal Harding included as part of... Full story
October 25, 1913 – The residents of this town are fond of amusement. That being so, they are willing to pay for any kind of evening entertainment. Having that in mind, Mr. Oscar Nickleson is working overtime to prepare a place where the residents may go and find comfort as well as amusement. The place between the pool room and drug store is being fitted up nicely and unless the unforeseen happens, a picture show will be opened the latter part of next week. Mr. Nickleson still retains the l...
More than ten business leaders in the Petersburg tourism industry met Monday to discuss how the season fared this year and what could be done better in the future. Although the general consensus was that last summer was a success, there are some kinks to work out. Sally Dwyer, Chamber of Commerce director, said one of the complaints she heard from tourists was the lack of public phones in town. “There are no public phones in town,” Dwyer said. “We were letting them use our cell phones.” Public phones were taken down due to vandalism and lac...
The Petersbug Borough Assembly approved a sales tax-free day scheduled for Saturday, October 5. Assembly member Susan Flint said sales tax revenues are ahead of budget this year and the time period would be good for residents. “October is a month where it’s pretty much residents living in Petersburg, or shopping in Petersburg,” Flint said. “I think it would be a better time to have it than when it was in May when we’re full of visitors.” The Chamber of Commerce Retail Committee proposed a sales tax-free day last May but the assembly re... Full story
August 16, 1913 – From Bellingham comes the news that a few days ago when the run of sockeyes was on, cannery tenders had a great deal of trouble in passing through Rosario straits, as the hulls slid over the slippery mass of fish which would get entangled in the propeller in such a quantity as to impede their progress. The crew of the tender Vermont returned with the decks covered with fish which they speared while on their way to the cannery. It is four years since such a run was on. “Grass-widowers” had better be careful and wash their...
