The Way We Were

July 12, 1923

The presidential party arrived in Wrangell early Monday morning on the transport Henderson, under a convoy of two torpedo boats. The moment the distinguished visitor stepped onto Grant’s float they were greeted by the reception committee headed by Acting Mayor George H. Barnes. Without any delay, the party marched to the courthouse, where, standing at the foot of the steps, President Warren G. Harding was officially welcomed by the Rev. Robert Joseph Diven. After expressing his pleasure at being in Alaska, and in Wrangell, the president said he was not going to make a speech at t...