VOLUME 10. NUMBER 45
PALMER. ALASKA THURSDAY. SEPT. 5. 1957
PRICE TEN CENTS
Agricultural Research
Program Curtailed ;
Lack of funds is curtailing Al
aska’s agricultural research pro
gram, announced A. H. Mick, di
rector of the Alaska Agricultural
Experiment Station today. Al
though operating costs continue
to rise, said Mick, they have not
been offset by additional Terri
torial or Federal funds. Official
word was finally received in late
August that Alaska’s share of
this year’s Federal Hatch appro
priation was only $3,723 higher
than last year. To maintain the
level of research activity car
ried on in 1956 requires an ad
ditional $38,000.
“Research costs have gone up
nearly 20 per cent since 1955”,
said Mick. To offset these rising
costs the Terirtory appropriated
only six per cent more funds for
the 1956-5? biennium and none
for the 1958-59 biennium. The
size of the research program must
therefore be reduced. The fol
lowing reductions have already
been made:
College Farm (Fairbanks)—-A
vacancy created by the resigna
tion on July 1 of Harold Black,
animal husbandman, will not be
filled.
A vacancy resulting from the
resignation of William Wilder,
agronomist, cannot be filled. The
summer labor force has been re
duced by three men and the
mess hall will be closed within
a year.
, Matanuska Farm—A vacancy
resulting from the resignation
last April of Richard Foley will
remain unfilled.
A clerk-receptionist position
will remain vacant.
Palmer Laboratory—A librari
an’s position and an editor’s po
sition will remain vacant. The
position of Associate Director
will not be filled. One clerical
position will remain vacant.
Because several of these va
cancies remained unfilled last
year to balance the budget, the
total savings this year amount
to some $30,000, said Mick. So
far the fur research program at
Jtet^rsburg has hot been cut
back. As the Experiment Sta
tion’s physical plant has improv
ed in recent years, some founda
tion funds have been obtained
for special projects, said Mick.
Promising new projects which
may attract additional founda
tion support are focused on the
CHAMBER PLANNING
ANCHORAGE DAY
Eugene Reid, Chamber of Com
merce vice president, is acting
as chairman for the Anchorage
Day being planned by the local
Chamber for Monday, September
16. Members of the Anchorage
Chamber will be invited guests
at an All-Alaska dinner which
will be served at noon.
COMFORTABLE
Steam Heated Rooms
Hyland Hotel
2 blocks from Post Office
| ATTENTION! j;
CERTAIN GARMENTS
ij 1 for the 4 :
ji L price ef I
ON- LIKE GAHMENTS
Cash and Carry
BROWN'S CLEANERS |
possibility of developing an ex
port grass and forage seed indus
try and on the domestication of
musk-oxen. This work can be
undertaken only if supported by
foundation funds rather than
public funds.
MANAGER CITIES
SAVE CASH BY
HALTING WASTE
A common question being ask
ed is, “Does the council-manag
er plan reduce the tax rate?” A
study made a few years ago
showed that cities with the low
est rates, half were council-man
ager cities—although only one
fourth of all the cities in the list
had adopted the plan.
The tax rate, however, is not
necessarily the best index of
good government. Tax rates can
be lowered by trickery, such as
by increasing property valua
tions, by curtailing services, and
by borrowing instead of using
current revenues to pay for ser-,
vices or improvements.
The best measure of admin
istrative efficiency is unit cost
of operation. If it costs $10 to
p^ve a square yard of street one
year and only $4 the next year,
the taxpayer, is at last getting a
break. City managers are con
stantly looking for ways to cut
unit costs. They maintain in
their professional association an
elaborate central service to col
lect the best experience from
other managers.
Hundreds of Millions Saved
Any estimate of the total sum
saved for American taxpayers by
the manager plan would be only
a guess. Certainly the figure
runs into the hundreds of mil
lions. Cincinnati saved almost
$2,000,000 in its first two years.
Dallas cut operating expenses
about $750,000 a year within a
few months.
Slipshod methods cost the tax
payers countless millions in bad
ly governed cities. > Unwise bor
rowing, unsound methods in tax
collection and wasteful purchas
ing procedures make an enor
mous difference. Managers usual-:
ly plug these leaks. They install
budget control and weekly or
daily checks on the earmarking
and spending of funds.
Cities in Alaska having the
city manager plan include Anch
(Ccmtinued on page 5)
Thunderbird Won
By Palmer Youth
Shortly after eight o’clock on
the final night of the 17th an
nual Matanuska Valley Fair,
prizes were awarded to a number
of lucky persons. Chief among
the prizes, and desired by thou
sands, was the Ford Thunder
bird, first of four prizes award
ed in the Queen ticket sales. J.
Henry Gallant, 17-year-old Pal
mer youth, holding only one
ticket on the prizes, was the
lucky winner. Tom Burnett, 1200
L Street Apts., Anchorage was
awarded the remote-control Zen
ith television set; James Fogg,
also a Palmer teen-ager, was
awarded - the transistor radio;
and S. S. Lee of Chugiak was
awarded the $75 grocery prize.
I CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
: SERVICES
Sunday School_10:30
Church Service_11:00
> nursery ;
CARPENTERS HALL
GOVERNOR GUEST AT VALLEY FAIR
Saluting while the colors are raised opening Governor's Day
at the 17th annual Matanuska Valley Fair are Governor Mike
Stepovich and the Rev. James P. Snead who offered the
opening prayer. Gov. Stepovich spoke to the record crowd
later in the day. with his talk stressing the need for State
hood and expressing his belief that Alaskans are extremely
close to statehood. "I sincerely hop# and pray that our struggle
will come to a successful conclusion early next year, when
Congress meets again", he told the crowd
ENOLA SCHEIBL NAMED QUEEN
OF 1957 MATANUSKA VALLEY FAIR
QUEEN ENOLA
GUESTS ATTEND
CHAMBER MEETING
A number of guests were in at
tendance at the September 4
meeting of the Matanuska Val
ley Chamber of Commerce.
They were, Mary E. Rowley,
RN, new public health nurse for
the valley area; Mrs. Anna Wen
zel, regional nursing administra
tor with the Department of
Health; Helen Maze, RN, Palmer
school nurse; Harold Pillsbury
of the Extension Service; Dr.
Marshal Simpson, new physician
in Palmer; Mrs. Mary Frey of
Palmer and Issa and Abdullah
Ommidvar of Iran.
John Weisenberger, former
Chamber member, was welcom
ed as a returning resident.
Enola ScheibI, affectionately
known as Lolly by her friends
and family, was named Queen
of the 1957 Matanuska Valley
Fair in the final stages of this
year’s queen contest. She is the
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gust
ScheibI of Palmer.
Judging took place at the
home of Mrs. Alva Saxton, queen
candidate consultant, and was
based on regulations used in
past years. Ticket sales earned
each of the contestants certain
points; the judges choice (and
they admitted it was difficult),
added more points to each girl’s
score, and the candidate’s choice
made up the balance. When the
points were totalled it was found
that Lolly was tops, however, the
finding of the judges was not an
nounced until midnight, after
the princesses and their escorts
had arrived at the coronation
ball.
Bill Stewart, of KENI radio
and television stations, and one
of the judges, made the an
nouncement and Sharon Down
ing Fritts, 1956 Valley Fair
Queen, placed the gold crown
->n trie new queen s neaa ana tne
red velvet robe on her should
;rs.
The coronation of Queen En
>la was received with shouts and
applause from the many hundred
persons crowded in the school
?ym for the big news. Miss
Scheibl was the first girl in the
contest to qualify this year. She
worked long and hard hours sell
ing tickets and making public
appearances along with the other
lueen contestants. Her charm
ing personality was learned by
many during the contest. Born
in Palmer 18 years ago, Enola is
the daughter of original colon
ists and attended Palmer schools
all her life, graduating this past
May from high school. She is
five feet, two inches tall, weighs
125 pounds, has sparkling brown
eyes and short light brown hair.
She is employed by Bert’s Drug
store in the fountain department
and was sponsored in the contest
(Continued on Page 8)
Over 13,500 Attend '57
Fair; Many Highlights
Highlights of the 1957 Matan
uska Valley Fair were made each
of the four days, with 13,590 per
sons paying for admission to the
grounds and many hundreds
working and participating in the
varied and numerous programs
and exhibits.
Although attendance on Fri
PUBLIC INVITED
TO VIEW
MOVIES AND SLIDES
The public is cordially in
vited to attend a showing to
night of 16mm films taken of
Australian aborigines and 35
mm slides taken throughout
the world by Issa and Abdul
lah Ommidvar of Iran who are
visiting in the Matanuska
Valley. There will be no ad
mission charge, but a silver
offering will be made. The pic
tures are to be shown at 8
p.m. in the high school cafe
teria and all interested per
sons are invited to attend.
KEEP CHILDREN
AWAY FROM TRACKS,
PARENTS WARNED
School has resumed in Palmer
and so has trespassing on the
railroad tracks.
This extremely dangerous hab
it of many of Palmer’s youngsters
has been observed each day this
week—and it-’s not only the
young children who are doing it.
Many of the older children, who
for years have been warned to
ftay off and away from the rail
road tracks continue to set bad
examples for the younger chil
dren just starting out.
Clarence Krause, Palmer depot
jgent, said this week that par
ents must warn their children
about this hazardous habit. Only
a few minutes are saved, he
pointed out, by crossing the track
anywhere except at the crossings
provided opposite from Tost’s
Service Station, Wasilla high
way, North Palmer store, and the
spur crossings near the Co-Op
area. He pointed out that people
have used the “short cut” method
for such a long time that a path
has been worn pararell to the
railroad, along the section be
tween the depot and the North
Palmer crossing. The majority of
infractions occur in this section,
he added.
Krause urged parents to im
press on the minds of each of
their children that they must not
walk on or near the railroad
tracks. “It is particularly danger
our because of the irregular ar
rival and departure time of
trains and gas cars. Switching
goes on right in town and chil
dren in a hurry to get to school
or return home are unmindful of
these dangers,” he pointed out.
In Anchorage there are special
yard police who patrol and
watch for trespassers. In Pal
mer there are no special agents,
he pointed out. Railroad _ person
continued on page' 8)
day, the opening day, was less
than one thousand, a full after
noon and evening of entertain
ment, exhibits and midway fun,
were provided, with a family
dance that evening winding up
opening events which were high
lighted by a big parade, chil
drens’ games, tractor contest and
motorcycle races. T. A. Moyer,
fair association president official
ly opened the fair with words of
welcome and the introduction of
Mr. and Mrs. James Hurley, 1957
Fair host and hostess, Rev. J.
Einar Bach, Board members
Jessie Klem and Maud Hosier,
Howard McCallister, promotion
manager, and William T. Zah
radnicek, the latter who offered
welcome on behalf of the City
of Palmer.
Queen Chosen
Saturday’s highlight was of
course the crowning of the 1957
Matanuska Valley Queen. Enola
Scheibl, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Gust Scheibl of Palmer was nam
ed to reign over festivities of the
Fair. Judging took place at the
home of Mrs. Alva Saxton, queen
candidate consultant. Judges
were Mrs. Natalie Hewitt, Bill
Stewart of KENI, and Chief
Jones, USN, all of Anchorage.
The crown was placed on Miss
Scheibl’s head by Sharon Down
ing Fritts, ’56 Queen, who with
visiting queens from Anchorage,
Valdez and Kodiak, was a guest
»f honor at the ball. The rodeo
opened on Saturday, the U. S.
Navy band and the U. S. Marine
drum and bugle team presented
well-accepted programs, the An
chorage and Palmer Little Lea
gue teams played a baseball
game and the 4-H members had
a full day of programs.
Governor Visits
Sunday was highlighted by the
visit of Governor Mike Stepo
vich and the arrival of several
hundred Anchoragites via Alas
ka Railroad. Sunday’s paid ad
missions numbered 6,733, the
greatest amount of the four days.
Governor Stepovich spoke to the
huge crowd during the afternoon
followed by a band concert and
tjhe rodeo. Members of the NCCO
Footlighters presented exception
al variety shows that afternoon
and evening.
Labor Honored
Monday saw a full program of
events to wind up this year’s
very successful fair. Thomas
Moore of the Territorial Federa
tion of Labor and James Wilson,
(Continued on page 8)
How about an excellent hoi oil
treatment to offset the effects
of the summer dust?
VALLEY BEAUTY SHOP
L'AVONNE JOHNSON
Phone 2041
FOR THAT IMPORTANT
DATE. SEND FLOWERS
From
MAUD S FLOWER SHOP
Theatre Bldg. Phone 3601
Free Barbeque
KING MT. LODGE
Mile 77 — GLENN HIWAY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8-11 a.m. til ?
Everybody Welcome