22 January 2015

Snow's A-Comin' (Finally!) and Adak's Brush With Greatness

It was five degrees (above zero) when I left home this morning. It's nice to have normal temps again.

But that's the biggest news, for us in southcentral Alaska. The weather-guessers are prognosticating that we'll get close to a foot of snow, if not a bit more, beginning tonight and stretching through Saturday. The heaviest snowfall, they think, will be tomorrow.

Bring it.

That will be nice; we're woefully under the quantity of snow we should have, as in "several feet below normal". There's very little on the ground, and I worry about the summer foliage. Without the nitrogen that snow brings, the greenery might be really sparse come warm weather - and that would be a bad thing for the wildlife.

One good thing: at these temps, the snow will be light and fluffy, which makes it easy to clear.

* * * * *

Then, as Paul Harvey used to say, here is a strange:

You Navy-types out there (I'm looking at you, Old NFO) ... did you know Dashiel Hammett was on Adak during WWII, and published its first newspaper: the Adakian?

I didn't either, but here's a great photo essay on the 1943 - 1945 era.

And a couple of photos, to whet your appetite:

From the essay: Dashiel Hammett is the older gentleman in the center. For you television news buffs, that's Bernard Kalb on Hammett's right.

Williwaw camp, Adak, Feb. 1947


6 comments:

PioneerPreppy said...

Pardon my ignorance but what does a communist crime/detective novelist have to do particularly with the Navy?

Gratz on your snow. I would be happy to let you keep any that might be earmarked for Missouri for the rest of the Winter months :)

Rev. Paul said...

Preppy, per the story, he kept trying to enlist after the war started, and the Army finally let him in on his 3rd try. But they didn't know what to do with him, so he wound up on Adak with a bunch of other misfits & malcontents. Again, that's per the story.

And thank you; we officially accept your offer of snow.

Old NFO said...

Didn't know that, but I recognize that 'view' in the second picture! :-)

Rev. Paul said...

I believe we all do, sir; and the one closest to the camera is still there, unless I'm greatly mistaken. Last time I saw it, it had a wood stove, generator, refrigerator, and an indoor potty. :)

Guffaw in AZ said...

Dash and Bernie.
Now THERE'S a combination!

gfa

Rev. Paul said...

Oh well, at least now we know that Kalb's left-leaning political views came naturally.