Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay will arrive in Anchorage, Alaska, on July 17, for a ten-day inspection tour of the Territory.
In addition to surveying the Department’s Alaskan activities, the itinerary has been planned to provide for meeting with government personnel and with Alaska business groups, natives and other citizens.
Mrs. McKay will accompany the Secretary on the tour which will end on July 27. William Strand, director of the Office of Territories, Department of the Interior, which has immediate supervision of Alaskan affairs, will also be in the party.
Secretary McKay's visit is the second time in 22 years that a Secretary of the Interior has visited the Territory. A previous Secretary visited Alaska in 1946.
Major bureaus of the Department have extensive operation in Alaska. These include the Bureau of Indian Affairs which operates through the Alaska Native Service, schools and hospitals; the Bureau of Land Management, which has jurisdiction over millions of acres of public lands; the Bureau of Mines and Geological Survey, active in mineral exploration and development.
The Fish and Wildlife Service supervises regulation of the salmon fishery and operates the fur seal industry on the Pribilof Islands. The National Park Service has jurisdiction over Mount McKinley National Park and the Bureau of Reclamation, is building a hydroelectric project at Eklutna.
The Department also operates the Alaska Railroad and supervises the Alaska Road Commission and the Alaska Public Works program.
While it will not be possible for Secretary McKay to make an examination of all the Department’s activities, the tour has been arranged so that the supervisory personnel and many employees will have an opportunity to meet him and discuss departmental programs.
The Secretary’s party will leave Seattle at 8:30 a.m., July 17, arriving in Anchorage at 12:20 p.m.
On arriving in Anchorage the Secretary will inspect the Alaska Native Service Hospital and meet with the medical and administrative staff. The Fish and Wildlife Service operates a seaplane pert at Anchorage and this will be inspected, prior to a survey of the Alaska Railroad facilities, He will attend a public reception in the late afternoon and a Chamber of Commerce dinner that evening.
Departing from Anchorage early Sunday morning after attending church services he will travel by Alaska Railroad to Whittier, an important transportation base, where he will confer with the commanding officer and inspect the facilities. Late in the afternoon he will travel to Seward by rail for an inspection of the Seward docks and transportation facilities. A reception and Chamber of Commerce dinner will follow, the return trip to Anchorage by automobile being made that night.
Monday, July 19 – The Secretary will tour Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson, having lunch with General Atkinson - commanding officer of all Alaskan Armed Forces and fly to Valdez, arriving at 2:30 p.m. At Valdez he will drive through Keystone Canyon to Thompson Pass. A reception at Cordova has been arranged and the return flight to Anchorage will be made that night.
Tuesday, July 20 – Travelling by automobile, he will leave Anchorage and inspect the Eklutna project en route to Palmer, where he will join municipal officials and Chamber of Commerce members for a tour through the Matanuska Valley to Wasilla. By rail he will travel from Wasilla to Mount McKinley with a brief stop at Talkeetna en route. At Mount McKinley, Park headquarters and other facilities will be inspected.
Wednesday, July 21– Leaving Mount McKinley in midmorning he will travel by Alaska Railroad to Fairbanks.., Most of the afternoon will be spent inspecting railroad facilities there and with a visit to the University of Alaska and the gold dredging operations. A reception will be held by local residents at the Country Club where the Secretary will also attend a community dinner that night.
Thursday, July 22 – By air he will travel from Fairbanks to Barrow where he will visit the Arctic Research Laboratory. After meeting with Eskimo community leaders at the nearby native village he will depart for Kotzebue an inspection of native and fish and Wildlife seal and fishery operations. A picturesque reindeer corral is maintained at Kotzebue. He will leave Kotzebue early in the evening and travel by air to Nome.
Friday, July 23 – The Secretary will spend most of the day touring the Nome, area and will meet with various Eskimo groups. A reception and lunch has been arranged by the Nome Chamber of Commerce. The return trip to Fairbanks will be by air and an evening inspection of Ladd Air Force base will be made.
Saturday, July 24 – Departing from Fairbanks by air, the party will arrive at Juneau in early afternoon with a stop over at Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. The famous Mendenhall Glacier will be one of the features of the Juneau tour and at 4 o’clock; the Secretary and Mrs. McKay will be guests at a public reception given by Gov. Frank Heintzleman at the Governor’s Mansion. A Chamber of Commerce dinner will follow that evening.
Sunday, July 25 – The party will attend church services in the morning at Juneau and will watch the final day of fishing in the Golden North Salmon Derby.
Monday, July 26 – Leaving Juneau early Monday morning the party will travel by float plane to Sitka for an inspection of the Mount Edgecumbe Hospital, operated by the .Alaska Native Service and a visit to the Pioneer Home. Departure from Sitka will be made around noon for Petersburg, with a stop over at Kake, a native village en route. At Petersburg, a luncheon meeting with local people has been arranged. A brief stop at Wrangell, en route to Ketchikan will be made in the afternoon. At Ketchikan a public reception and community dinner will close the day.
Tuesday, July 27--In the Ketchikan area the Secretary and party will confer with business and community leaders and will take lunch at the new pulp mill at Ward Cove. Late in the afternoon the party will depart for Annette Island and the return trip to Seattle with arrival there at 5:20 p.m.
