About The Kusko times. [volume] (McGrath, Alaska) 1921-19??
McGrath, Alaska (1921-19??)

The Kusko times

Launched on January 19, 1921, by Allen X. Grant, formerly involved with The Nome semi-weekly Nugget and The Ruby Record, The Kusko Times was formed to report on the news of the Kuskokwim Valley. The paper was four columns wide, four pages long, and published twice a week. Grant listed himself as the editor and owner of The Kusko Times. He noted in the first issue, with some lament, that the cost of procuring printing supplies in Alaska had caused him to limit the size of the Times to four pages, and often led other editors to reduce publication frequency.

Grant had secured his printing press from the now-defunct Ruby The Record-Citizen, and had it brought to McGrath via dog sled and boat trips. Evangeline Atwood and Lew Williams Jr. in Bent Pins to Chains write that The Kusko Times office location on the banks of the Kuskokwim River proved unfortunate, as its office was flooded on several occasions when the river rose too high, causing printing delays. Grant finally moved the printing headquarters to Takotna, farther away from the river, in June 1923. Upon the office's relocation, the printing frequency changed from biweekly to weekly. In 1925, The Kusko Times excitedly announced that it had acquired a linotype machine for use in its press and invited readers to come and view it.

On March 26, 1926, the paper also changed the spelling of Takotna it used. The Times had previously spelled Takotna as "Tokotna," but changed in response to the U.S. Post Office, which decided that it should be Takotna. Grant noted in the issue that several different spellings had been widely used, including "Takotna," "Tokotna," "Tacotna," and at one point "Tachatna," which all served to confuse people trying to ship things to the city.

On March 10, 1934, Grant suspended the paper and returned to his home city of Detroit, citing his poor health as well as a need to take care of some family matters. It was not until October 6, 1934, that the Times came back under G.V. Rosander, who served as editor, publisher, and owner, with B.J. Boyd acting as assistant editor. Rosander was originally from New Hampshire and had been mining in Alaska for a couple of years before he purchased The Kusko Times.

Atwood and Williams Jr. in Bent Pins to Chains write that Rosander suspended the Times during the summer to go mining and sold the paper to T.R. McRoberts and Alaska A. Egan who launched it under new management in February 1937. The new paper was five columns wide and six pages long. Egan's brother, Frank, replaced McRoberts as co-owner in the final year of the paper's printing. The Kusko Times ended in December 1938.

Provided by: Alaska State Library Historical Collections