- 1979

Sealaska Corporation continued diversifying into Alaska resource industries in buying major fish processor Ocean Beauty Seafoods December 27, as a wholly-owned subsidiary.  The Seattle-based sea foods processor operated plants all along the coast from Alaska to California, including the local Juneau Cold Storage. Earlier in the year, the corporation had also joined a consortium to buy Beaufort Sea oil leases, and had announced the formation of a sizeable timber-marketing subsidiary.  Goldbelt exchanged previous timber land selections on Admiralty Island near Angoon for equal value lands at Hobart Bay-Port Houghton area, adding them to previous holdings selected at Echo Cove and west Douglas Island, eventually getting title to 32,000 acres.

Wien Alaska Airlines started serving Juneau early in the year, but soon experienced financial problems and low ridership.  Its parent company announced plans at the end of the year to develop a better schedule to connect Juneau to the rest of the state and to promote Southeast Alaska as a tourist destination next season to try to build up a profitable route.

‘Pure Gold’ first night cast photo, Perseverance Theatre. Juneau-Douglas City Museum, JDCM
2001.22.002.

Perseverance Theatre in Douglas was founded and presented its first production Pure Gold, which related local oral history spoken by community players; the professional theater company is now one of the largest in the state and has earned an international reputation for innovation and creativity.

Two Juneau police officers were shot and killed April 17 and another badly injured downtown by a deranged mail clerk, who later committed suicide (Later, one of Juneau’s most popular recreation areas, Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park, was named after the two deceased men).

Entrepreneur Chuck Keen threatened to go to court in January over his proposed tramway to the top of Mt. Juneau. He wanted to lower the design requirements for top wind speed from 210 mph to 170 mph for his proposed $10M tram and convention center.