The Nenana daily news. (Nenana, Alaska) 1918-1921, 1919-06-28
OlOT|MER BACK
FROM OVERSEAS:
LIKES NENANA

! in '98, is just back from Europe,
where he spent two years with the
Eleventh Canadian Railway troops,
most OF the time within sound and
much of the time within range of
the German guns. He left Ruby
in the spring Of 1917, with several
other oldtimers of that camp, and
joined the Canadian forces at Van
cover early in the summer of that
year. He was not exactly within
the age limit, butAmanaged to
squeeze into the army somehow and
stuck with it until the finish, being
CLOSE to death on many occasions.
but finally emerging without Il
scratch.
When the big drive started on
the Somme, in March, 1918, which
ended abruptly last November with
the collapse of the German fighting
machine, Nicol was attached to wha:
was known as a demolition squad,
composed of about twenty miners
from all parts of the world, several
of them being Californians. The
work of the miners consisted of
destroying depots and works Left
behind by the Germans and it fire.
quently happened that the men were
under fire. One of Nicol's COM
panions was blown to pieces by
big German shell which struck the
ground almost at his feet.
When the fighting stopped, Nicol
returned to Vancouver for demobil-
ization and was provided with trans
portation back to Ruby. But he
did not go to Ruby. The reports
! of railroad activities at Nenana
caused him to change his plans and
he is so favorably impressed with
the outlook here that he will re-
main. This is the first time that
ne has seen the town and he says
he is glad he came.
g, Only one Northerner was en-
countered on the other side of the
Atlantic. He was sourdough of
the White river country. But there
are plenty of Alaskans in Seattle,
Nicol says, and a number of them
are planning to return North this
summer.
I Louis Spitz, formerly of Fair
banks and more recently of Ruby,
now has big soft drink place and
restaurant in Seattle, and is doing
a good business. Up to the time
of the late shipyard strike, Spitz
had not prospered, but during the
labor trouble he made himself popu-
lar with the strikers and many of
them now make the Spitz place
their headquarters. When the men
quit work, Spitz invited them to
move into his establishment with
their blankets, which many of them
did, making their beds on the floor
and doing their own cooking on the
restaurant range, a la Alaska.
Harry Edwards, another we'll
known oldtimer of the North, is
now connected with the office of
the game warden, with headquarters
at Walla Walla. Alex Capewell has
a restaurant on First avenue and
seems to be doing WELL
Joe Nee was met at Dawson,
where he is conducting the Bonanza
hotel Nicol says he looks and acts
just like he always has.
Nicol heard some good reports
from the Teslin river strike, but
says the people of the upper river
appeared to be little interested and
not at all enthused over the out
look for the district. At the time
Nicol passed through Whitehorse,
the sum of $500 had been collected
in recording fees, the greater part
of it having been taken in when
the news of the strike first came
out
He also heard considerable about
the reported discovery of pay on
BEETLES river when he reached
Tanana. He talked with A. ].