The Alaska daily empire., 1915-03-05
JOHN NOON. SEWARD


 Bis sood-natured and jovial with lhe ring or che frondersman in his bis voice, is John Noon. representa- tiye in the Legislature from Seward Air. Noon, like many of the men Of the North, has been 9 Nomud au his fife. he confesses. travelling from hith- CT to thither. in pursuit or the elusive paysreab.
 John Noon first saw che light Of day in 1859 when be was born in Rod Bluff. California. lt was in the Upper Sacramento valley that Young John Noon spent his kid-days He is proud of Che fact that although be travelled some" his wanderings new CT led him fur from the Pacific coast and his Native State. The only time that he went East of the Rocky noun tains was when he accompanied a squad Of cowpunchers who were driy. ing herd of cattle 10 Cheyenne. Wy oming.
 Mr. Noon followed mining in Call fornie, and during the lull following the Comstock excitement in Nevada. worked in various mining camps of ,he Golden State. In the sos be turned his bent to the hotel business having operated a hotel in Bedding and another in the Mohaye country
 Twenty years ago Mir. Noon came Co Alaska. locating in Juneau. Alter working here for short time he went to Southwestern Alaska. That was in 1895. After few months he returned here. but eventually went back Co California. When news of the discovery Of gold at Dawson. r.. T., raced over the wires Co every town in the world. Mr. Noon joined the throng that was headed North. The Spring or 1897 found him In Daw- son. He staked on Kirkman. Black Kills, Thistle and other creeks, but, like hundreds of locators. his pay gravel was not rich. and he gave up ali his claims excepting % Above Bo- nanza. which yielded him a good liy- ing The lure of the gold drew him to Nome in 1899 but he returned to Dawson in the Autumn or that year. In 1900 he trekked to Circle City. but continued into the Koyusuk.
 "I went broke sure enough in that country" MT. Noon told The Empire. She sure was 9 tough one" in there. so hiked it back to Nome in 1901"
 The Ellamar dock. over which has passed thousands Of dollars in copper in the last few years. was built in 19ol-o2 by Mr. Noon and his partner of twenty years association. "Calr Brosius.
 Air. Noon located in Seward in the fall of 1903, working for a year with the contractors who were building the Alaska Northern railroad. Mean while the first rush to Fairbanks had been disappointment. but when the interior camp sprung Into prominence again in 1904 Slr. Noon mushed North. staying in the Panama coun- try until 1905.
 Then Nevada was struck. and AIr. Noon went to Goldiield. when that city was in its palmiest days "Yes. and ! lost few dollars there. too" he says Tho gold-seeker then return ed to Alaska, and in 1906 he ran roadhouse at Thompson's Pass. He refers to the Pass at that time as having been the toughest place in the United States.
 As Go politics, Air Noon has always been a Democrat. he declares. When he was not stampeding for the yellow metal he found time Go take part in the political game. and the stories he tells Of Democratic conventions in California during the early days. are extremely interesting. In Alaska he has been 9 supporter Of James Wick 1 ersham. delegate to Congress. He is ! Q great admirer of President Woodrow Wilson. and he thinks Seward will get tho railroad,
 Mr. Neon since 1908 has been en- gagged in manufacturing in Seward. ! He has Q blaming min, @ hardware store, and does general contracting. ! He was married in 1909. and has one ,-1--na1-a-srr,as--l