The Wrangell sentinel., 1941-08-29
Canada-U.S.
Joint Base
Progressing
By Winifred Williams
Associate Editor, The Sentinel

timers who have lived in the Cana
dian hinterlands most of their lives,
1T couldn't be done" No power on
earth could transport the hundreds
of tons of freight up the sikine and
over the old Cassiar gold trail into
Watson Lake, 450 miles from the
coast. to build a disable airport by
fail. But, as The Sentinel predicted
last spring after talking to the bus
iness-like, determined men il charge
of the work. the job has been done
and done without fuss or furOre.
By winter one runway will have
been completed Buildings will bel
constructed and the radio and p
generator power plant for lights and
radio equipment will be in working
order The runway. built in a Ne
SW direction, upwards To a mile in
length and 80 feet wide, will be
hard surfaced and marked with vel
low cones and lights. Next year it
will be covered with Waterproofed
asphalt and will have a like runway
bisecting it. There is an additional
I5O-foot strip cleared and leveled on
GdAu sue u AAAE AAAfLAL Ill n Il "
give further breadth. It is planned
to keep a skeleton crew ON the job
during the winter and with the first
break of spring 10 carry on with re-
newed Yigor and speed.
Watson Lake, as pointed out be.
fore, is a link in a chain of Cana
dian-American joint airbases stretch
fTn- 70 "a A
protected interior flyWay by which
American bombers or other aircraft
can be moved with comparative
safety. Just what the I. S. has put
into the bases for the privilege. of
using them is not disclosed but We
de know that approximately 10000
barrels of American aviation gaso
line and oil have gone up over the
long route to be stored at the base
against future use, and it is as
sumed, being the property Of Uncle
Sam, it will not be used for Canadian
planes.
The first load of freight last spring
to go up the river left Wrangen on
May on Darlington transportation
Company's Hazel B boats and scoWs.
It consisted of tractors, bulldozeT,
caterpillars and trucks needed to OPP
en- and remake the narrow 70 miles
of road which leads from Telegraph
Creek to Dease Lake. Today truck
men and old Telegraph residents rave
about their fine highway. One can
only wonder what the road could
have been when it was bad for even
now it is one OF the toughest, mar
rowest, most rocketing over noun
tain and down valley roads that
could be imagined. Over $4,000 has
been spent on it so far, We are told.
Due to obstacles and confusion
which almost always confront new
Workmen on new job, a months
good water in Dease River was mis-
sed at the beginning OF the season.
The General Construction Company,
who holds the contract to put Wat
son Lake on the map as an Al air.
port, launched its first tunnel boat
at Dease Lake on June % and the
last was put in the water July 80.
Freight began moving apace. An
idea of the drive with which it
moved can be gathered from what
Bill Wrathall, driver for E. p Cal
lison, Dease Lake freighter, told me
the rough road between Telegraph
and Dease Lake.
This 3-ton truck arrived in
Wrangell on May 2 from the States.
It's motor hasn't been cool since,
he said. Besides the Callison and
General Construction Co. trucks, A.
j. Marion, of Telegraph, pioneer
freighter and storekeeper of the
Dease-Liard area ha smade the daily
round trip to Dease Lake with
freight stopping only long enough
to load or unload grease and gas up
for another run. Callison, Marion
and VIM Strong, also operate a
freight and passenger boat service
down Dease Lake and River into
the Interior.
By August General superintendent
w E. Terry of the General Con-
struction Company found new
headache confronting him. The I'M
usually dry summer in the interior
left Dease River comparative
trickle when there should have Or
dinarily been plenty of water to
float the boats. Trips which should
have taken three days took three
times as long, fighting shadows,
rocks and rapids every foot of the
way. Freight was piled on the bank
of the river, the boat lined over
tough spots and reloaded. Dynamite
was the only answer. Now a chan
mel should be cleared and freight
moving more easily again.
Watson Lake was chosen as an
airbase site after a careful study
and survey by competent pilots, en-
gineers and weather observers.