Evening star., 1958-07-06

attractively and sensibly to match
the weather.
That was another surprise. The
land Of the midnight sun, 1t
turned out, produces 95-degree
weather in summer. When winter
comes. the mercury may plunge
to SIS below or more. 1t all de-
pends on where you i've in Alaska
(which could absorb Virginia.
Maryland and the District ii
times over).
For the most part, though. the
weather is no more severe than
in most Northern States. AS q
matter Of fact, Alaskans seldom
give weather a second thought.
Why should they? Their homes
and 10-story apartment houses
are steam-heated, and parkas are
more than adequate to keep them
warm outside, whether walking.
hunting or skiing.
The quality that separates them
most from other Americans is
their boisterous, youthful enthu-
siasm. In q way that's strange,
because most Of them came from
settled communities in the States
of Washington, Oregon and Cali
I fornia, and could have lived there
to the end of their days in middle
class comfort.
But they didn't. They moved to
Alaska-many of them ex-GIs
who loved the freedom. the wide
open spaces and the pioneer
friendliness of a people willing to
lend a hand when you need it.
Drawn by the magnetism of adj
venture, some of them drilled for
oil near Kenai, others opened
grocery. stores in Anchorage and
juneau and another group cleared
homesteads in the virgin agricul-
tural lands near Palmer and
Kodiak.
Pots of Gold
A few, like the coal miner who
became q millionaire, have found
their pots Of gold, but most have
learned to content themselves with
a good living and good friends.
Economically, Alaska's immense
resources in salmon and other
fisheries, forests. furss oil and min
erals have hardly been, tapped,
Enough wealth, however, has been
agarnersd since the area was
bought from Russia, in 1857 to
repay many times the bargain
price Of $H2 million. Though. the
gold rush days are q memory. the
annual gold yield still amounts
to more than So million year.
One Nome. bank will cash q poke
of gold If asked.
Giant Alaska is small In one
respect. Its population is esti-
mated at about 213,000, including
military personnel at various
bases and strategic outpostS, and
. the native Eskimos. Indians and
Aleuts. At that. say the Alaskans,
they have the fastest-growing
population in the country, having
tripled their number since 1910.
Alaska'S vigor is demonstrated
by its enthusiastic use Of the air.
plane. The family car is often
a pontoon plane.
Intellectuals, buns, clerks and
prostitutes-all have found their
place in the Northland. Statehood
to them means much more than
congressional representation by
two Senators and a Representative,
which will give the 40th State the
political strength demanded by po-
tential investors.
To the average Alaskan, state
hood simply means he is finally on
equal political footing with other
Americans. Otherwise, he will
continue to cling to the sturdy
traditions that space and weather
bred into the hardy pioneer. A
49th star may change its political
status, but most Of Alaska re-
mains the land about which Rob-
ert Service wrote more than half
q century ago:
Some say God was crazy when
He made it,
Some say it's q fine land to
shpn,
But there's some who would
trade it
For no land on earth, and I'm
one"