The Alaska citizen., 1916-12-11
W. A. COGHiLL, THE NENANA BUSINESS MAN TELLS OF THE RIVER TOWN SINCE NAViGA- TON CLOSED
THE SEASONS WORK
 TO COMMENCE, SOON
SEVERAL CONTRACTS HAVE BEEN AWARDED, BUT THE BULK OF THE WORK WILL NOT START UNTIL AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR.

W. A Coghill, a leading merchant of Nenana, is stopping at the ;7or dale hotel while in town on a few days business trip. MT. Coghill was formerly engaged ln running an auto stage line between Fairbanks ana Ester.
 When seen yesterday afternoon by a representative of The Citizen MT. CoghnI stated that although busi ness IS someW Lat Quleler Ill the 10" CT rlyer town than It Wa. in tht lall, he IS still able to sell all sup pIlts he IS able to get hauled. Be fore the boats stopped running hr put in what he thought was sulh clent supply to run him through tih sprIng, but he Is now ln town buylnS more goods to be shipped out i'll mediately. The other merchants aTo also having an excellent oeason.
 When asked regarding the con struction work beng done, he salG that almost all work had been torceL to quit on account of the cold weath CT, but would start up again at once. There have been several contracts awarded, among them being some for the work on the waterfront. Preparations are being made to com meuce next seasons work during the early part of the new year, and all work that can be done during the winter will be pushed forward witt all possible speed
 During the early part of the late cold spell a fire broke out in the basement of G. F. Cramer's house being finally put out with the ald of fire extinguishers before any great amount of damage was done However, the night watchman, cheechaco, froZe his hands so severe ly that it is still doubtful whether they can be saved. It seems thai the chemical fire engine which the commission brought in for fire pro lection wa frozen and could not be used From which fact an amusing incident arose.
 Some time ago, according to MT Coghill, Roy Southworth, editor oi the Nenana News, published en edl- torial for the benefit of the natives, advising them to save thelr money for the benefit of their families, not to frequent pool halls, shows, etc The Indians did not appreciate this fatherly advice as they should, anG after the fire they wrote letter to MT Southworth which read about as follows: White man think him smart. Tell Indian save money, stay at home, not go to show, stay away from pool hall. If white man let Indian build house, fire engine hin not freeze, town him not burn up, and Indian have more money to save"
 MT. Coghill said that during the early part of the winter quite bll of inconvenience was caused by the local theatre not being ceiled. Dur ing the cold nights frost formed on the top of the house, and when fire was built in the evenings this melted and had almost the same ef feet as a rain would At dance given in this hall which was sched uled to run from to 3 o'clock, at ii o'clock the floor was so wet that it was either a case of go home and get rubbers or quit dancing, and the dancers finally decided to do the latter. Of course. the hall is ceiled now and all this is thing of the past but before it was fixed, he says 1t was customary to an nounce beforehand whether there would be a fire in the house or not In case the hall was to be warm the patrons brought umbrellas and wore rubbers, but if the fire was not built they wore fur coats and arctics.
 MT. Coghill does not know just when he will return to Nenana, but may possibly do so by Saturday if he can complete his business by that tine.