Tower block that’s a town
QUESTION Is there a town in Alaska where all the residents live in one building?
The Alaskan town of Whittier on Prince William Sound in the beautiful Chugach State Park, the third largest in the U.S., can be reached only by sea or by train through a long tunnel from the ghost town of Portage.
It has a population of about 200 and almost everyone lives in one 14- storey building of 196 units, known as ‘the town under one roof’.
The area was once part of the portage route of the Chugach people native to Prince William Sound. Later, the passage was used by Russian and American explorers, and by prospecting miners during the Gold Rush.
The nearby Whittier glacier was named after Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier in 1915, and the town eventually took the name as well.
In the Forties, after Pearl harbour, the U.S military adopted Whittier as a base because it is a sheltered, ice-free port. The plan was to build ten buildings, but by 1957 only two had been completed, which were used by the army until 1960.
The 14- storey hodge Building, later renamed Begich Towers, was completed in 1957 and contains 150 two and threebedroom apartments plus studio flats.
The Buckner Building was completed in 1953, but was irreparably damaged in the 1964 Good Friday earthquake and is uninhabitable.
As well as the residents, Begich Towers is also the base for public facilities — the post office and grocery store, police, library, a doctor and hospital.
As Whittier has more than 30ft of snow in winter, there is a tunnel leading from the basement to the school.
My husband spent several days in Begich Towers when we worked for the U.S. Forest Service in the early Nineties. Mrs M. Chamberlain, Fownhope, Hereford.
QUESTION What is the origin of the phrase ‘below the salt’?
ThIS phrase is a legacy of the 17th century. At feasts or gatherings, the gentry and wealthier guests would be seated at tables on a raised platform in the banqueting hall, with the lesser fraternity at tables at floor level.
Salt was then a costly item and only the wealthy could afford it. The salt was confined to the upper level, so those at floor level would be ‘below the salt’.
This style of dining gradually drifted down to the merchants. They and their guests would all be at floor level, but the salt was near the head of the table. So again, if you were of lesser status you would be below the salt.
A reference to the social status of salt appears in Ben Johnson’s play Cynthia’s Revels, first performed in 1600: ‘his fashion is not to take knowledge of him that is beneath him in Cloaths. he never drinks below the salt.’ M. Astley, Wolverhampton, W. Mids.
QUESTION Are Agatha Christie’s 38 Hercule Poirot novels the longestrunning crime series?
The 87th Precinct series written by ed McBain (born Salvatore Lombino and also known as evan hunter) ran from Cop hater in 1956 until Fiddlers in 2005, the year he died, aged 78.
The series ran to 53 novels, featuring homicide detectives based in the fictional city of Isola, a thinly disguised New York. Over the length of the series, the reader becomes immersed in the lives of the beautifully written characters in a way that few authors have achieved.
I am relieved that no other writer has attempted to carry on the series, as they would surely have failed to convince the legion of 87th Precinct fans.
John Hopkins, Ashbourne, Derbys. The ... In Death series are futuristic crime novels written by Nora Roberts under her pseudonym J. D. Robb. The series is set in mid- 21st century New York City and, occasionally, in space.
The books are police procedurals with a focus on the romantic relationship between Lt eve Dallas and her tycoon husband, Roarke.
Roberts has penned 50 ... In Death novels since 1995, the first being Naked In Death and the latest being Golden In Death. She has also penned 11 eve Dallas short stories.
Rachel Morrison, Sheffield.
QUESTION What forgotten sports are in need of revival?
FURTheR to earlier answers, I recall playing Danish long ball. This involved running from a standing start attempting to avoid being hit by a ball launched by the opposing team’s batsman.
Then there was British Bulldog. The variant played at my school was more akin to free-form wrestling than anything involving running.
One mammoth session comprising 45 boys resulted in me coming second, but at the cost of a broken arm. No hard feelings!
Don Trower, Braintree, Essex. The ancient game of dwile flonking is alive if not particularly well. Two teams of 12 players each take a turn to dance around the other while attempting to avoid a beer-soaked dwile (cloth) thrown by the non-dancing team.
I took part in the first game of modern times in Beccles, Suffolk, in 1966. Annual world championships are still held at The Wherry Inn in Geldeston, Norfolk.
The problem was finding 24 people sober enough to stand at the same time, but that was solved by the local council, who banned the use of beer because ‘drinking games are illegal’. Not really the same using shandy, is it?
Ray Norman, Hemingstone, Suffolk.
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