The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLET
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VOLUME 9, NUMBER 42
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY, AUGUST.9, 1956
PRICE TEN CENYS
VALLEY RECORD POTATO CROP PREDICTED
Lake George Spills; Takes ME A Pole
Hundreds of sight-seers have
been making frequent trips, to
the Knik River bridge area for
the past week to view the floofi
waters caused by the dumping
of world-famous Lake George.
The water started spilling from
the lake one week ago and to
day was reported by the U. S.
Geological Survey office to
have dropped a little more than
six feet from mid afternoon
yesterday to 7:30 this morning.
The river has dropped a total of
eight and one half feet from its
crest of 22.2 feet, according to
Marvin Slaughter of the U.S.G.S.
Tuesday noon power from the
Eklutna plant to the valtey area
was abruptly cut off when the
high waters of the Knik river
claimed a power pole. Matanus
ka Electric Association crew
men and personnel from the
Eklutna plant worked as fast
as possible and restored partial,
power that afternoon and even
ing. Full power was restore^
Wednesday morning but per
manent repairs can not be made
until the river has subsided suf
ficiently enough to permit re
placement of the pole, Cy Brew
er, MEA manager said today.
When the permanent repairs are
made it will be necessary to cut
power to the valley, Brewer
said. “We will make every at
tempt possible to do the repairs
at a low-use time and will notify
the public of the time the power
will be off’, he said. Brewer ex
pressed his thanks to local firms
who cooperated in cutting their
power use during the break
down in service Tuesday. The,
Palmer Piggly-Wiggly store clos
ed and several other laqpe users
cut off all possible power In
their places of business, he said
MEA personnel worked until
late Tuesday night restoring
power to the valley residents.
During this time power was
turned on in various sections
of the valley in intervals to per
mit farmers to complete their
milking chores.
Reta Nickles Enters
Fair Queen Race
The list of Valley fair queen
contestants went up to seven
this week when Reta Nickles, 17
year-old daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Harold Nickles of Anchor
age and Palmer, registered for
the annual contest. Miss Nickles
is being sponsored in the queen
race by the Alaska Dairy of An
chorage. She has lived in Alas
ka the past eight years, is five
feet, four inches tall and has
brown eyes and long black hair.
Her favorite hobbies include
dancing, horseback riding,
swimming, water skiing and ac
cordian playing. She is a senior
in the Palmer High School.
SIX VALLEY BEAUTIES
IN RACE FOR 1956
FAIR QUEEN TITLE
The Matanuska Valley fair
queen contest is well under way,
with six Valley beauties vieing
for the coveted title of Queen of
the 1956 Maatnuska Valley Fair.
Emagene Reid, 17-year-old can
didate, and first to register in
the contest, is being sponsored
by the Palmer Piggly-Wiggly
store. She is the daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Eugene Reid, valley
produce farmers, and a junior at
the Palmer High School. She has
long brown hair, attractively
styled in loose waves and curls,
is five feet, one-half inch tall,
and has hazel eyes. Emagene,
her sponsors and friends are
busy selling tickets in the an
nual contest.
Second queen candidate to reg
ister in the 1956 race was Sharon
Downing, talented daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Howard Hillstrom
of Palmer. Sharon is becoming
well-known for her singing, hav
ing appeared on several televi
sion shows with Whitey’s West
ern Swingsters. She is 16 years
old, a junior at Palmer High
School, has medium length
brown hair, and her eyes are
blue. She is being sponsored by
the Frontier Cafe in Palmer and
the Alpine Inn at Sutton.
Bridgie Wright, also a member
pf PHS junior class, is being
sponsored by the Mug Up cafe
wo Bert’s Drug store, both of
Palmer. The petite candidate is
four feet, 10 inches tall, has
long black hair and hazel eyes.
Her special hobby is acrobatic
■dancing, a talent with which she
has entertained at style shows
and other special occasions. She
is the 16-year-old daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Neal Wright of Pal
mer, and is Alaskan-born.
The Matanuska Valley Farm
ers Cooperating Association is
again this year sponsoring a
queen candidate in the annual
Fair contest. She is Rose Kucera,
15-year-old daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. William Kucera of Palmer.
“Rosie” is five feet, one and
one-half inches tall, has brown
eyes and dark brown hair., Her
favorite hobbies are drawing
and art work. She is a sopho
more at Palmer High School and
a member of the chorus and
band groups.
Another Palmer girl who has
registered for the contest is
Katherine L. Burnett, known to
her many friends as “Tootsie”.
Her dad and mother are ftff. and
Mrs. Glen Burnett of Palmer
and she is being sponsored by,,
the Alpine Cafe of Sutton and
the Sourdough Cocktail Lounge
(Continued on page 8)
BIG FISH AMD CHIPS FEED
MOOSE LODGE
Saturday Might
Members and Guests
8 p.m.
Curator Seeking
Items for
Valley Fair Museum
Museum items are now being
collected for display in the Val
ley Fair Museum log cabin, ac
cording to T. A. Moyer, curator.
“We are especially interested
this year in obtaining a good
display of minerals and geologi
cal specimens as well as game
and fish trophies—old-time trap
ping gear, pictures and litera
ture pertaining to the valley”,
Moyer said.
All exhibits fti the museum
will be listed in a booklet now
being prepared by the curator.
The owner of the exhibited item
will be identified in the book
let, regardless of whether he has
given the item to the museum or
whether it is only on loan.
The museum building will be
policed throughout the Fair and
particular care will be extended
to all items put on display. They
will not be handled by visitors
to the museum.
Anyone having any item per
taining to the early days of the
valley region who would be will
ing to give or loan such item or
items to the museum is request
ed to contact Curator Moyer or
A1 V. Hagen, fair manager. Items
loaned to the museum will be re
turned to the owner immediate
ly after the close of the 1956
Fair.
MISSIONARY LEADER
TO VISIT PALMER
The Rev. W. E. Reed, execu
tive secretary of Church Exten
sion and Home Missions is sch
eduled as guest minister at the
Church of God Sunday morning,
August 12 at 11 o’clock. Rev.
Reed is vitally interested in Al
aska missions and is making a
tour of the Territory, conducting
services in Juneau, Palmer, Sut
ton, Fairbanks, Kodiak and An
chorage.
Many valley residents will re
member Rev. Reed for bis last
visit here almost a year ago in
1 series of meetings at the
Church of God.
Because of a heavy preaching
schedule both in the Territory
and States, Rev. Reed will have
only the one speaking engage
ment in Palmer but will be camp
evangelist at King’s Lake Camp
the last of this month.
Rev. Reed is acknowledged as
an outstanding preacher throu
ghout the States and brings a
vital message. The public is in
vited to attend the service and
hear his message.
20 Children Enrolled
In SPA Swimming Class
Twenty valley youngsters, all
non-swimmers, journied to Anch
orage on Monday of this week
for their first swimming lesson
at the SPA. The once-a-week pro
gram is being offered to Palmer
area non-swimmers through the
month of August. Because of
limits the class had to be limited
to 20, a figure that was reached
shortly after the announcement
was made in last week’s issue of
The Frontiersman.
Parents of the youngsters are
cooperating in making transpor
tation available each Monday
afternoon.
Considerable interest has been
shown by adults in the valley
and it is hoped that beginners
class for adults will be possible
at an early date.
Forester Bill Adams and Fire
Guard Bill Allderdice of the
Palmer Fire Guard station were
again called out for duty on the
forest fire at Nulato. Several
days ago the fire was reported
to have burned a total of 100,
000 acres. No later figures are
i available.
SALK VACCINE NOW
AVAILABLE FOR
YOUTHS UP TO 19
Word was received in the
; valley this week that youths
; up to and through age 19 may ;
; now receive two salk polio ;
; vaccinations. The announce- ;
j: ment was made through the ;
Alaska Department of Health. ;
Parents are urged to have j;
; their children avail themsel- j |
! ves of the vaccine, and are ;!
;! asked to contact their phy- j;
! sicians for the vaccinations. ;
Co-Op Adding Big
Warohonse Building
A large Butler building, 150
feet by 50 feet, is being construc
ted at the Matanuska Valley
Farmers Cooperating Associa
tion business center this week.
The new building, 10 feet high,
will have a rigid frame roof,
permitting the full use of the
building by eliminating rafters,
Stewart Durrant, Co-Op general
manager pointed out.
Forty feet of the new build
ing will be used as a refrigera
tion unit for green produce, Dur
ant explained, with the balance
to be used by the Warehouse for
storage of feed, seed, and fertil
izer. Durrant pointed out that
the Warehouse did $800,000 busi
ness last year and that it long
ago outgrew its storage facili
ties.
The new warehouse building
will make it much more conveni
ent for customers, Durrant said.
A new railroad spur wiJl be run
in back of the present warehouse
building, to facilitate unloading.
A 10-by 50-foot dock, three and
one half feet high will be con
structed and negotiations are
now under way with the City of
Palmer to open a street that will
run between the new Alaska
Road Commission garage and the
new Co-Op building, permitting
traffic to make a circle instead
of having to drive back out
through the center of the Co-Op
shopping district. Construction,
being done by the Alaska Metal
Builders, of Anchorage, Butler
building distributor, is expected
to be completed' by September
20. Land clearing for the new
building was done by Don Mc
Kechnie of Palmer.
FAIR ASSOCIATION
RECEIVES $1700
The Matanuska Valley Fair;
Association was notified this
week by Governor B. Frank
Heintzleman that $1700 has been
allocated to the Association, in
matching funds, for the 1956 Val
ley Fair premiums. An annual
total of $3,000 is given by the
Territory to help promote agri
cultural and industrial fairs in
Alaska. The Homer Fair Asso
ciation qualified for $1300 of the
fund. The money is given on a
matching fund basis and is the
result of legislation M. D. Snod
grass was instrumental in getting
passed several years ago, as a
member of the House.
VALLEY CHURCHES
TO OBSERVE
4-H SUNDAY AUG. 12
Four-H Sunday will be observ
ed in the churches of Palmer
and Wasilla on Sunday, August
12. All 4-H’ers, leaders of 4-H
clubs and parents of 4-H’ers are
urged to attend the church of
their choice on this date. In sev
eral churches 4-H members will
participate in the church service.
FLOWERS FOR ALL
OCCASIONS
Telegraph Delivery Service
MAUD'S FLOWER SHOP
Theatre Bldg. Phone 3601
3-Day Power Meet
Gels Under Way;
Mayor Gives Welcome
A welcome to the City of Pal
mer was extended this morning
by Mayor Charles W. Wilson,
as the three-day meeting of the
Alaska Rural Electric Coopera
tive Association got under way.
Mrs. Justine Parks, ARECA
president, opened the meeting
in the assembly room at the
MEA administration office in
Palmer.
Mayor Wilson pointed out to
the visiting delegates from Al
aska area cooperatives and
Washington officials that Pal
mer is the trading center of the
Matanuska Valley and the only
city in Alaska owing its exist
ance to agriculture. He pointed
to the Agricultural Experiment
Station headquarters, the Soil
Conservation Service territorial
office, the Geological Survey
ground water division, the Bur
eau of Land Management fire
guard station—all located in Pal
mer. “You see that Palmer, like
many other Alaska cities, has a
share in government payrolls”.
Mayor Wilson said. “However”,
he added “the use of renewable
ntaural resources of the soil
constitute our principal reason
for existance. What concerns the
farmers of the Matanuska Val
ley concerns Palmer business
people.” We hope, he added, you
will seriously consider while you
are here the impact of irriga
tion requirements here and in
the Tanana Valley on summer
power loads.” Mayor Wilson
concluded his talk with a wish to
the visitors for a pleasant stay
in Palmer.
Officers reports and tne ap
pointment of a director and com
mittee appointments to the Na
tional association were to be
completed this morning. This
afternoon Gus Norwood, North
west Public Power Association
representative is slated to talk
to the group, as is Robert Ruth
erford, North Pacific Consult
ants representative.
Tomorrow morning sessions
will get under way at 9*30 with
Darryl Roberts, district mana
ger Bureau of Reclamation and
Jack Bennett of Employees Mu
tual scheduled on the program.
Work sessions on proposed leg
islation will complete the morn
ing work. Friday afternoon will
be devoted to continued work
sessions and election of officers.
A banquet will be held Fri
day evening at Elks hall for all
delegates and visiting officials
and special guests.
Saturday morning a conduct
ed tour of the Eklutna hydro
electric plant is planned. A
luncheon to be held at the Eklut
na site, will conclude the pro
gram.
During the business sessions
wives who have accompanied
their husbands to the meeting
will be entertained with tours of
the Matanuska Valley farms,
tea at Williwaw lodge, a visit to
(Continued on page 8)
AGRICULTURISTS
PREDICT 7800 TONS
FOR RAILBELT AREA
The drought conditions that
existed in the Matanuska Valley
Anchorage area earlier this
year may be offset by more than
favorable moisture conditions
during July, according to the
Alaska Department of Agricul
ture. Vegetable crops are report
ed far ahead of last year but be
ieved to be only slightly above
normal.
A total of 1,204 acres of pota
toes were planted this year,
which is 15 percent higher than
in 1955 and five percent higher
than in 1954. In the Valley-An
chorage areas yields have been
predicted at seven plus tons per
acre for a total of 4,700 tons. In
the Tanana Valley area yields
are predicted at six minus tons
per acre for a total of 3,000 tons.
Kenai area yields of five tons
per acre would total 100 tons. A
total of 7,800 tons of potatoes for
the railbelt area is predicted,
compared to 5,055 tons in 1955
and 6,431 tons in 1954.
With the existing military con
tract, efficient marketing in An
I chorage and Fairbanks, the addi
tional refrigerated storage and
other storages constructed dur
ing the past two years—along
with favorable growing condi
tions during the balance of the
growing season, potato growers
and their markets should experi
ence one of hte most successful,
profitable seasons in Alaska’s
listory, the Department reports.
Harvest of early potatoes is ex
pected to begin this week-end.
In the Matanuska Valley area
i lettuce harvest began 10 days
earlier than in 1955, with only
small amounts of tipburn and
slime showing up, Department
officials stated. Recent rains
may change this picture. Total
lettuce harvest to date is ahead
of any previous year.
Information for the D of A re
port was obtained from the pro
duce department of the Matan
uska Valley Farmers Co-Operat
ing Association and personal in
terviews with vegetable grow
ers, and was obtained with the
Department of Agriculture co
operating with the Alaska Agri
cultural Experiment Station ec
onomists in an attempt to sum
marize the vegetable crop acre
age and predict the production
that may be expected.
CO-OP MEMBERSHIP
MEETING SATURDAY
Annual progress reports, elec
tion of directors, and old and
new business are on the agenda
for the Matanuska Valjey Farm
ers Cooperating Association an
nual membership meeting which
will be held in the Central Sch.
ool gymnasium this Saturday. i»
The meeting will begin at
10:30 a.m. and all producing
members are urged to attend. A
number of valuable door prizes
will be awarded at intervals dur
ing the meeting, the first to be
given out at 10:30.
Women of the Mocse will cat
er for the luncheon which
will be served at noon.
Hunters' Special!!
REMINGTON MODEL 721 RIFLES
270 CALIBER ONLY
",r $75.00 mjr
There's a full selection of ammunition—tents—
hunting clothes—Red Wing hunting boots—
everything you need for the hunting season is
available at your sportsmen headquarters .. .
Koslosky's Dept. Store