ALASKA HISTORICAL
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JUNEAU
WILD FLOWER SHOW
SUNDAY, JUNE 15
CRAFT ROOM
THE FRONTIERSMAN
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VOLUME 11, NUMBER 33
PALMER, ALASKA THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 1958
PRICE TEN CENTS
Evan Jones Receives Huge Coal Contract
EVAN JONES MINE
GETS COAL CONTRACT
FOR 230,000 TONS
A contract for 230,000 tons of
coal has been issued the Evan
Jones Coal Company by the
Navy Department, it was an
nounced this week. The contract
joes into effect July 1, the start
of the fiscal year.
Under the contract 150,000 tons
of coal will go to Elmendorf Air
Force Base and 80,000 will go to
Fort Richardson.
To date the Mrak Coal Com
pany has not been notified of a
contract for the coming year.
Wildflower Show
Set for Sunday
The public is invited to partic
ipate in and attend the Palmer
Garden Club’s annual Wild
Tower Show which will be held
this Sunday, June 15, from noon
until 6 p.m. in the craft room of
the Palmer Extension Service of
fice.
Exhibitors need not be a mem
ber of the club. Flowers must
be in the hall between the
hours of 8:30 and 11 a.m. June 15. j
No identification or container is
necessary. Members of the club
are offering a prize to the person
bringing in flowers that cannot
be identified.
The show will be interesting
for persons who are new to Al
aska, as well as those who have
lived here many years. A wide
variety of wild flowers are ex
pected to be exhibited.
TWO RECORDING
DISTRICTS CREATED
Judge J. L. McCarrey, Jr., of
the U. S. District Court, announc
ed the re-creation of two record
ing districts in the Third Divi
sion.
Mrs. Iris Christianson Jensen
has been appointed commissioner
for the Kviehak area and she
will take office next Sunday,
June 15, at King Salmon where
the district’s office is to be lo
cated. Mrs. Dorothy Jordon has
been named commissioner for
the Talkeetna district and will
assume duties in that town on
July 1. Talkeetna was formerly
consolidated with Wasilla.
SAVE!
ON YOUR
GLEANING
CERTAIN GARMENTS
2 for the j
price of ■
Cash and Garry
BROWN’S GLEANERS
WE GIVE GOLD STAMPS
BARRY’S RESORT
ON
Beautiful Finger Lake
Now
Open for Business
EARLW. BARRY
: Belated Thanks to
% Colony Day Workers
jl As is often the ease in a
community-wide project, some i
of the hardest working people j:
/were not acknowledged when ■
: the bouquets were being ;:
> handed out soon after the very ;
!; successful Chamber of Com- ;
!; merce sponsored Colony Day ;
> celebration. Among these per- ;
•!; sons who were unintentionally ;
!; omitted were Gene Reid, /
Chamber president, and his /
j; son, who handled the terrific /
;l clean-up job after the Cele- >
;l bration. Through a mix up it 1
;! was reported the local fire- '
; men had cleaned the grounds |
/ . . . however, the big job was ;
/ capably handled by Gene and ;
/ his son who not only cleaned ;
/ up the Colony Day refuse, but;!
I; much that had accumulated
/during the winter and remov-;
ed all of it by truck to the
;; dump. A big vote of apprecia- /
\ tion goes to A1 Brooks, Cham-!;!
;! ber member who served as /
;l general chairman of the cele- :
; bration and was responsible 1
; for the many aspects of the
; successful day-long program. •.
SCS OFFERS FREE
CARAGANA TREES
Valley residents who Would
like to start their initial protec
tive band for spruce trees used in
windbreaks, or hedges around
their property, are invited to
make a request for free earagana
trees at the office of the Soil Con
servation Service.
In a cooprative venture with
the SCS the Alaska Agriculture
Experiment Station is growing
! several thousand plants each
year. The cost of the project
is being borne by SCS and the
work being done by the Station.
This year material will be
available to the public without
charge, Charles Wilson, terri
torial conservationist said. Per
sons interested in obtaining
plants are asked to call at the
SCS office in the Legion build
ing to make their requests. As
long as the plants last they wiil
be given out. Upon receiving a
request the amount and time of
pick up of the plants will be given
the applicant.
The earagana tree is also
known as the Siberian pea tree
and makes a good wind break
or if trimmed, a good hedge. It
carries an attractive yellow blos
som.
The SCS and Station are also
id the process of growing other
trees for windbreaks that will be
available in another year or*
two, Wilson said.
Many residents have taken the
ride to Mile 25 along the Palmer
Highway to view the annual at
traction of fields of wild flowers
at the Eklutna Flats. Shooting ;
stars and wild iris, as well as |
other flowers, are especially at- !
tractive to photographers.
Flowers for
the June Bride
Telegraph Delivery Service ;
MAUD S FLOWER SHOP
COMFORTABLE
Steam Heated Rooms
Hyland Hotel
2 blocks from Post Office
3 -
June 14, 1958
Americans will observe Flag
Day on June 14 for the 63rd year.
First designated for United States
observance in 1895, Flag Day,
although not a National holiday,
is observed throughout the Unit
ed States and possessions.
The first American flag desig
nated by Congress was flown on
June 14, 1777. Mrs. Elizabeth
Griscom Ross, known throughout
American history as Betsy Ross,
was the first to suggest a five
pointed star for the banner
adopted by Congress in 1777. In
1794 when Vermont and Ken
tucky were admitted to the Un
ion, Congress added two more
stars and stripes. Then in 1818
the original 13 stripes were re
stored, to remain unchanged
thereafter. As each State was ad
mitted to the Union, another star
was added until today there are
48 on the field of blue. If Alaska
is admitted as a State of the
Union, next year there will be
49 stars.
GENE iURSCH
NAMED MANAGER
58 VALLEY FAIR
Gene Kirsch has been named
manager of the 1958 Matanuska
Valley Fair, it was announced this
week. This will be the third
time that Kirsch has held this
position with the Fair Associa
tion. His two previous tours
of-duty resulted in the Associa
tion ending the year in the black.
Queen Contest
A number of local organiza
tions are participating in events
this year which have previously
been handled entirely by the
Association. Among these are
the Matanuska Valley Junior
Chamber of Commerce whch
will handle the entire Queen
Contest project. The Jaycees will
be making announcements very
soon regarding rules and regu
lations for registration and par
ticipation in the event. Unusual
and very tempting prizes for the
Queen are being planned by the
organization and complete sup
port of each candidate is prom
ised. Various public appearances
and programs for the girls are
being Scheduled.
Livestock
Members of the Palmer Ki
wanis Club, will assist the As
sertion in the lvestock exhibits.
To encourage good dairy ex
hibits the Kiwanians will offer
a special prize of $100 over and
above the prizes offered by the
Asociation. The committee is be
ing headed by James Wilson,
chairman of the Kiwanis Agri
cultural committee. The commit
tee also plans to work with in
dividual exhibitors prior to the
Fair to assist them in the proper
grooming of animals. More about
this phase of the Fair will be
published as plans progress. The
Kiwanians will again this year
operate the parking lot near the
Fairgrounds.
(Continued on Page 8)
PREMIUM CHECKS
BEING MAILED
Within the next two weeks
checks will be going out to
all premium winners of the
1957 Matanuska Valley Fair,
it was announced this week by
the board of directors. In
making the announcement the
directors expressed their ap
preciation to all premium win
ners for the cooperation shown
during the past months.
Through their cooperation it
was possible for the associa
tion to start the 1958 Fair sea
son on a much sounder basis
than had been anticipated.
Checks are being written at
the present time and will be
distributed within the next
two weeks.
KINGS LAKE CAMP
HAS OPEN PERIOD
King’s Lake Camp is getting
a new look. Four new unit lod
ges, 16 feet by 24 feet in size
are being built by local and vol
unteer labor. Underbrush is be
ing cleared out and sleeping
cabins re-grouped. The unit
lodges will be used as small
meeting places or recreation cen
ters as the groups using the
camp desire.
King’s Lake Camp is owned
by a non-profit association com
posed of many Valley and Anch
orage residents. Local persons
on the board of directors include
Mrs. John Shaw, Charles Schae
fer, Rev. Victor Urban, Lew
Hanks and Rev. Bert Rutan.
The camp is available for use
on a schedule by any organized
group. At the present time one
10-day period (from June 17-27)
is open. Any group interested in
using the camp facilities for any
length of time is asked to con
tact Fred Christian, camp man
ager, or Bob Clarke, caretaker.
The camp will also be available
for day time use only during
this open period.
PLANE HITS POWER
'LINE SATURDAY
For a limited time on Monday
of this week power users in the
Valley area were limited in their
power use while repairs were
made by the Bureau of Reclama
tion crew on the Palmer line
which was damaged on Satur
day when struck by a civilian
airplane.
Two Spenard residents escaped
serious injuries in the accident j
which happened shortly before
noon on Saturday. They are El
bert L. Fannon, the pilot, and
William J .Phelps. The men were
flying in a Stinson plane when
the crash occurred about one
half mile from the highway. The
power line which the plane
struck is a 900-foot span across
the Knik river.
MOOSE PICNIC
Sunday, July 6
Green Acres
MEMBERS,
• FAMILIES &
• GUESTS
Local Jaycees
To Attend
Nat. Convention
John Gore, president of the'
Matanuska Valley Junor Cham
ber of Commerce, will represent'
the local Jaycees at the National
Convention being held in Los
Angeles next week. If final
arrangements can be made Jack
VanOs also will attend as a dele
gate.
Alaska will head the giant
parade to be staged in that city j
next Wednesday. Fifty floats*
representing the 48 S.tatesJ
Alaska, and Hawaii, will be in
cluded in the parade. Because
of activities during the past year,
the Alaskan Jaycees have been
named to the first place position
in the parade.
Gore will leave Alaska on Satur
day and plans a short visit with
relatives in the Seattle area be
fore going to California where
on Monday the group will tour
Disneyland. Other planned activi
ties during the convention in
clude a visit to one of the major
movie studios, and attendance
at the premier showing of,
‘“Windjammer”.
The local Jaycee chapter is
the newest in Alaska.
Hospital Auxiliary
Selling Post Cards
Very attractive colored postr
cards have been received by the
Valley Hospital Auxiliary and
have been placed on sale in
various spots in Palmer, it was
announced this week by Mrs.
Frank Clark, auxiliary president.
The cards carry a picture. of
the Valley Presbyterian Hospital,
taken by Fred Machentanz, and
will sell for five cents each. They
may be purchased at Bert’s Drug,
Palmer Drug, Koslosky’s Depart
ment Store, and at the business
office in the hospital.
Proceeds for the sale of the
cards will go toward the Auxil
iary’s many projects. Recently
the organization purchased $183
worth of stainless steel pans and
basins for the hospital, as well
as over $60 worth of materials
for pajamas.
Don Baldwin, brother of Mrs.
Michael Leach of Palmer, arriv
ed last night for his first visit to
Alaska. Baldwin makes his home
in Dearborn, Michigan.
STREET WORK
TO BE DONE
THIS SUMMER
:This City of Palmer and the
Bureau of Public Roads this,
week extended separate invita
tions to bid on paving projects
Within the City of Palmer.
, The City of Palmer invited
bids for street improvements
which will include excavating,
filling and backfilling, construc
ing of base course, constructing
two-inch asphalt pavement and
installation of curb and gutter
on streets within the city.
Sealed proposals for the con
struction of the city street im
provements will be received by
the City until 10 a.m. July 1,
1958 at the city hall, after which
time -the bids will be publicly
opened and read. Bidders desir
ing copies of the plans and speci
fications may obtain them at the
office of the engineer, Rutledge
Johnston-Tryck, 211 Glover
Building, Anchorage, for the am
ount of $15.
Work on the city project is to
begin within 10 days after the
date of contract and is to be
completed within 90 days, which
would mean the paving would
be completed by October.
The BPR is extending an invi
tation to bid on bituminous con
crete paving of 4,000 feet of the
Palmer-Wasilla highway, located
at Palmer. The job includes con
crete curb and gutters, sidewalks
and driveways.
Plans and specifacations may
be obtained free of charge by all
who have a bonafide need for
them for bidding purposes at
Room 311, Federal Building, Jun
eau. Plans, specifications and ma
terials information may be ex
amined by prospective bidders
at the following addresses:
Bureau of Public Roads Divi
sion offices, Anchorage, Juneau,
Fairbanks; offices of the Associa
ted General Contractors of
“America, 220 W Harrison St.
Seattle; Multnomah Hotel, Port
land; N. 4935 Trent St., Spokane,
6, Washington, and 306 Central
Building, Anchorage.
Sealed bids will be received
until 11 a.m. July 1, 1958 in room
319, Federal Building, Juneau.
PLAN PLANTING-BEE
AT VALLEY HOSPITAL
Next Wednesday evening, June
18, will be annual planting time
at the Valley Hospital when
members of the Palmer Garden
Club conduct their annual pro
ject. The public is invited to take
their garden tools and extra
flower plants to the hospital,
around 7 p.m. and help make the
hospital grounds beautiful.
New Dealership
PALMER AUTOMOTIVE IS PLEASED TO AN
NOUNCE IT IS THE VALLEY DISTRIBUTOR FOR
PLYMOUTH - CHRYSLER - BODGE
Now on display in our showroom
NEW CRYSLER WINSOR and PLYMOUTH
SAVOY SEDANS
Come in for a demonstration
Highest trade-in Values
We still carry the economical Hillmans
Palmer Automotive
POPULAR "BLUE NOTES”
WILL APPEAR
AT THE
Sat, Jane 14
9 P. IN
COME ONE,
GOME ALL