Seward daily gateway., 1925-10-24
UZINKI REGION
 PRODUCES MUCH
 FISH PRODUCTS
o. L. CRIMES, WESTWARD BUSl. NESS MAN, RELATES GROWTH
 OF DISTRICT

Approximately $4O0,O00 of finished
 fish products were shipped Outside
 from Uzinki the past season, accord
 ing to O. L. Grimes, prominent West
 ward business man who fourteen years
 ago, arrived at Uzinki from Cook In-
 let, with few hundred dollars in his
 pocket, which he has since run up to
 ing of disposing of his many business
 interests and retire. MT. Grimes has
 been visitor in Seward for the past
 week and departs this evening for Val
 deg where he will be engaged on busi-
 ness matters for the coming week. He
 plans returning to Uzinki on the Ad-
 miral Watson.
 When MT. Grimes started up his small store at Uzinki, fourteen years ago, the district was absolutely unde- yeloped, little revenue from exports 1 being derived from the fisheries. To- day, the $40O,OOO of products, which was shipped to the States the past summer, gives one fair idea how that region has developed. The above sum represented about 12,00O barrels of herring and approximately 18,O00 cases of canned salmon. This against four teen years ago when there was noth- ing.
 Last season MT. Grimes speculated in salmon bellies, furnishing the salt and barrels to the packers, and ship ping outside about $5,0O0 worth It is his intention, providing he is un- able to dispose of his interests, to go into the salmon belly packing industry on much more extensive scale, next summer. Of late years not much at tention has been paid to this branch of the fishing game, whereas some years ago, considerable industry had been developed.
 MT. Grimes is the largest individual stockholder in the Katmai Packing Go. at Uzinki. He has always conducted large general merchandise store, dealt in furs, even to speculating in fishing vessels. MT. Grimes stated he had been lucky in practically all of his Westward transactions, but it is learned that MT. Grimes business acumen is responsible for his rapid financial strides, and not entirely to luck as MT. Grimes attributes it.
 Mrs. Grimes is conducting the Uzin- Xii business during her husbands ab- sence, with the assistance of her sis ter-in-law, Mrs. Wyly, who also teach es the native school.
 It is stated that the herring side of the Katmai Packing Co.,, cannery at Uzinki was leased out the past sea son to the W. J. Imlach packing Co.,, and that last spring MT. Grimes erect ed large saltery at the village which he also leased out. In this vicinity the fishing season was very good, MT. Grimes said, about twenty-five men be- ing employed in each of the salteries and about fifty in the cannery crew In the Uzinki village there are at least l 150 natives. During the fishing sea- son MT. Grimes handled the mess for the salteries and cannery.
 With reference to the herring indus try, MT. Grimes stated he believed in time this business would assume huge | much larger than at the | present time. One of his reasons for | this belief is due to the fact that the food value of herring is so much great CT than, say, ordinary beef, contain ing probably twice as many calories, which greatly enhances it's value as a healthy food Herring is also won- derful appetizer. The Madje cured herring, of which there are several selections, is a considerably milder cured herring than the Norwegian cured, and is therefore gaining rapid y in popularity throughout the entire United States. Where a few years ago the New York market would not ! ouch Alaska herring, today, MT. Grimes said, the Alaskan product is much in demand. II