The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1942-01-27
Native Town
Is Busy with
StrearIlIininq
JdneauIndian Village Get
ting Wider Street, Com
muniiY Face Lifting

The Juneau native village is go
ing to have street, almost straight
and the width of respectable city
thoroughfare.
Some % of it's houses not now
hooked up with the new sewage sys-
tenn are to be connected.
Many of the houses will have new
foundations, new roofs, new coats OF
paint.
In fact, after talk with some of
the crew working in the village
under their foreman, Jake Cropley
one is led to believe that the native
settlement will take on new and
decidedly streamlined appearance by
late spring.
Three Year Program
1t all started some three years
ago, when the Juneau natives,
through the Office of Indian At
fairs, asked for an appropriation to
renovate their village. But the bud
get request was not granted until
last July. when an appropriation of
some SOS, 1000 was allowed for Indian
road construction funds in Alaska.
For years, road construction APP
preparations for the Indian popula-
tons in the States have been grant
ed, but this was the first instance
when funds for such purposes were
earmarked for use in Alaska About
$4,000 of these funds will be used,
it is estimated, in moving houses
and laying out the Juneau village
along more utilitarian lines.
In the meantime. however, the
Willoughby Avenue fill was made in
the village last spring by CCC crews,
and the city used PWA funds to lay
a new sewer line through the native
quarters. All this was done with an
eye to the ultimate re-aligning of
the village which is now in progress.
Land Losses
Already, nine. houses have been
moved in the interest of widening
the village street. -Four more re-
main to be skidded to new positions.
There are matters to be considered
by the native occupants of these
houses. When their houses are NOV
ed back on their lots to provide for
wider street, it either means a
smaller backyard for them Or a
smaller front yard for the house
behind. But there has been cheer
full give and take cooperation in this
matter. After all, some sacrifices
are in order, the natives feel, when
it is a matter of providing street
% feet wide in place of the present
winding lane which is as narrow as
IL feet in places.
Then, too, there is the matter of
fire protection. When the village
project is complete, there will be
some six or seven feet between most
of the houses. Now, many of them
practically rub walls with each
other.
The sewage connection problem
is to be solved, it is hoped, in an
other fashion. OF the % houses
needing sewer connections, II are
homes of persons drawing old-age
assistance payments. Their cases
are to be reviewed by the public
welfare division of the Social Sc
curity System, with view toward
increasing their monthly allotments
of old-age money to further provide
funds which will be used to better
their living conditions.
In these cases. the increased
monthly payments are to be used
for the sewer connections, for re-
newing house foundations and for
painting up the more shabby dwell
ings. Where houses needing sewer
connections are not occupied by old
age assistance families, owners have
agreed to connect up to the new sys-
tenn, it was announced.
This week, Cropley and his crew
are busy moving the old Memorial
Presbyterian Church, which has
been standing idle in the village for
some time. Skidded out to within
10 feet of the Willoughby Avenue
sidewalk, the church will be repaint-
ed, cleaned up and will serve as a
rainy day playroom for children
from the Government School in the
village.
Meantime, the city is aiding in
the cooperative project by helping
out in the grading of the new street
and everybody in the village seems
pretty happy over the prospects for
their new set-up.