The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1950-08-03
CHAMBER PROGRAM
IS TAPE RECORDED
BY LOWELL THOMAS

Most of the Juneau Chamber of
Commerce meeting was recorded
today when Lowell Thomas, world
famous traveller and commentator,
interviewed Col. Bernt Balchen and
Nick Beg. both wellknown in Alaska,
for future radio programs.
Thomas took to the meeting a
small battery-powered tape recorder.
which he said was one of the first
of its kind to be manufactured and
an improved model of the tape re-
corder he carried on his Tibet ex-
petition last year.
For two tape-recorder reels, Col.
Bernt Balch EN-, described by
Thomas as "a legendary figure in
the history of the Polar regions,
told of the incident which stands
out most wildly in his memory.
AS the story unfolded, it illus
trated to those at the meeting not
acquainted with the exploits of Col.
Balchen, who headed the Air Forces
10th Rescue Squadron and is now
Arctic advisor to the Alaskan Air
Command, the reason Thomas could
describe him as a legendary fig
ure"
The story tod by Col Balchen
was of the rescue OF a BIT crew
from the Greenland ice cap, SIX
month operation which was carried
out during the winter of l942-43.
Men and equipment were risked
during the task of bringing out the
ll-man bomber crew not only be-
cause of the lives at stake but. SAID
Col. Balchen. because all concerned
knew the highly important bearing
the success or failure of the rescue
would ahave on the morale OF the
many bomber crews flying to Europe
over the Greenland route.
To tell it briefly. the story was
OF the difficulties faced in the half
year rescue job by glacier specialists,
former Norwegian trappers skilled
in Polar travel, US. Coast Guard
ships and planes, and Col. Balchen's
Air Force unit.
The climax was reached in
March, 1913, when Col. Balchen
landed ply amphibian on the ice
cap to pick up the remaining sur
vivors of the Bit crash. Col. Bal
chen told of the difficulties of TAX
ing the loaded float plane off the
ice cap after an engine burned. He
described it as a person on the ice
cap watching the take-off would
have seen it, for he and three others
remained behind to walk out.
Nick Bee, one of the leading men
in Alaska fisheries, was introduced
BY Thomas to chamber membess
and future radio audiences as proof
that Alaska is still the land of
opportunity"
In his colorful style, Thomas de-
scribed the career of Bee, who
came to America from Yugoslavia
as a boy. He told how Bee had
saved enough by 1924, when he was
20, to buy an interest in a boat
and go into the fishing business
seriously, and related Bees climb
from there to his present position
in the industry.
The tape-recorder operated well
for Balchen's talk. but Thomas said
1t didn't work too satisfactorily
during the story about Bee.
Thomas part of the program
followed a talk by Cmdr. " F..
Tydlacka chief of the personnel
division Of the 18th Coast Guard
District.
His talk, describing the work of
the Coast Guard. was part of the
celebration of Coast Guard Week,
in COMMUNICATION of which tie
Chamber had passed a resolution
calling attention to the Coast
Guards fine contribution to the
community" FL
Normal Chamber of Commerce
business was not dealt with so
that the meeting could be devoted
entirely to the program, Chamber
President Robert Boochever said.
Visitors at the meeting, in addi-
ton to Col Balchen. Thomas, and
Bee, were Miss Mary Ann Stewart
Mrs Esther Caro-. T. P. Hansen of
Ketchikan. Don Davis of Seattle,
Don Miller, Neill Johnson of Mel
bourne. Fla. Bill McFarlane of
Juneau, Carl Heinmiller of Port
Chilkoot. and j. E. johnson OF
Ketchikan.