Thought of the Week:
Man does not live by words
alone, despite the fact that
sometimes he has to eat
them.
THE FRONTIERSMAN
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEV
tiUX ZUJ? I
JUNEAU ALASKA
OPEN HOUSE
TUESDAY, NOV. 27
Swanson School 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Central School 7 - 8:30 p.m.
PRICE 15 CENTS
VOLUME 15, NUMBER 9
PALMER, ALASKA WEDNESDAY. NOV. 21. 1962
EIGHT PAGES
It’s A Good Tradition
By Rev. William Miller, Pastor, Palmer Church of God
O tfive thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth forever.'*
Psalm 136:28
While several customers were buying their turkeys
in a local grocery this week some remarked, "Isn't this
something, everybody buying turkeys just because it's
a tradition." Someone else answered, "You'd better be
thankful for the tradition."
While we do not want to be bound by tradition,
let us not become so practical that tradition has no mean
ing for us. In an over-practical world that ridicules senti
ment and tradition—especially those having to do with
religion; and in the face of a communism that seeks
to destroy all tradition that turns a man's thoughts God
ward, it is good to have some traditions. Many of our
most precious events in America have become meaning
ful traditions to us such as Independence Day and Christ
mas.
On Thanksgiving Day it is traditional to give thanks
—Thanks for home, food, life, health, clothing, posses
sessions; thanks for freedom of worship, freedom of
speech, the press, assembly, and many more. This is a
good tradition. Be thankful that you can be thankful,
openly, unafraid, and unashamed.
We cannot be thankful to God for what we have
without a though for our neighbors around the world
who have not. Franklin D. Elmer, Jr. wrote a thought
provoking poem, "On Giving Thanks"
Shall I thank God
For bread.
And for the safety
Of the place I lay my head?
In din of crashing worlds
Shot through with screams of pain,
I will do better far.
To thank my God
That I am strong enough
To share my bread.
Alert enough to tell
Those blinded by their woe
That I still see a star!
When hungry children
Shake with fright.
What can it mean to God
That I am safe tonight?
The fact that you and I are still safe helps the
rest of the world to see the Star of Hope for their own
freedom. Cherish your freedom. Preserve it. Be thankful
to God for it. It is a good tradition to be thankful.
GRADE, JUNIOR HIGH PARENTS INVITED
TO OPEN HOUSE AT SWANSON, CENTRAL
Central and Swanson schools
will hold open house for par
ents on Tuesday, Nov. 27, ac
cording to Norman Rousey,
principal at Central. Visiting
hours at Central school will be
from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and
7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Swan
son.
At Central, parents of seven
th and eighth grade students
will have an opportunity to fol
low their children’s schedules
Physician Picas
Pahacr Practise
Dr. Boyd Skille, formerly of
Minnesota, will set up a medi
cal practice in Palmer soon, he
announced this week .The phy
sician plans to open an office
on the ground floor of the Sev
ems Building, next to the Sears
catalog order store, in about
two weeks. Dr. Skille is train
ed in both general practice and
surgery.
The Minnesota-oorn doctor
took part of his undergraduate
training at Hamline University
and received his bachelor of
science degree and his MD from
the University of Minnesota.
He interned at the St. Paul
city hospital (known as Anchor
Hospital).
He and his wife Norma Jean,
after touring Alaska last sum
mer, made the decision to open
a practice in Palmer, then re
turned to Minnesota to wind up
business affairs there. The cou
ple have been in Palmer about
two weeks.
SAY
"HAPPY
THANKSGIVING"
With an Arrangement
For Your Hostess
from
MAUD'S FLOWERS
PI 5-405*
as well as to meet their teach
ers, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. A
special notice with the child’s
individual schedule will be
sent home before the evening
of the 27th. Parents who have
children in both the lower
grades and the junior high at
Central are asked to note that
they will have time to visit the
younger children’s rooms be
fore reporting for “classes” in
the junior high.
Seventh and eighth grade
instructors will discuss meth
ods, special projects, objectives,
and the grading system.
Parents of children in grades
one through six at Central and
Swanson schools will visit the
rooms, observe special projects
and displays, examine the work
done by their own children,
and meet their teachers.
The PTA has asked room
mothers to assist the teachers
in welcoming the visiting par
ents.
Refreshments will be served
from 8:30 to 9 p.m. at Swanson
school following the Open
House. The evening’s events
will terminate with a PTA
business meeting.
TWO RECEIVE
SERIOUS RURNS
IH SATURDAY FIRE
Two men were seriously
burned Saturday afternoon in
a flash fire which totally des
troyed a small cabin located
across the Glenn highway from
Kirk’s Sales and Service at the
Valley Street intersection in
Palmer. The injured tenants
were Ernest Hurst. 52, and
Harold McComas, 39.
Exact cause of the fire is un
known. McComas, asleep in
the' cabin, was awakened by the
flames and leaped through a
window to safety. He received
burns over the upper portion of
his body. Hurst was dragged
from the blazing building by
Gordon Smart, a Palmer high
school student who was driving
past and was hailed by a class
mate, Donna Edmiston, who
had noticed the flames.
Hurst remains in serious con
dition at the 5040th Air Force
Hospital, where he was taken
by the Palmer ambulance.
Over 60 per cent of his body
was burned.
McComas is reported to be
in good condition at the Valley
Presbyterian Hospital in Pal
mer.
The men were in the habit of
lighting fires in the cabin stove
with kerosene, and Palmer fire
men are of the opinion that
Hurst picked up a can of white
gas, also stored in the cabin, by
accident. Firemen, called to the
scene at 2:30 p.m., were unable
to save the building. Losses for
building and furnishings are
estimated at $5,000. The cabin
was owned by Cleve and Mag
gie Holt.
The volunteer firemen had
extinguished a grass fire at the
Palmer library, caused by
sparks from the library chim
ney, only a half hour earlier.
Radioactive Iodine Count
Not At Danger Level
GOVERNOR URGES
SUPPORT OF
CHRSTMAS SEALS
Governor William A. Egan,
in proclamation, this week
stressed the importance of heal
th in the defense program and
urged all Alaskans to support
the 56th annual Christmas Seal
campaign to wipe out tubercul
osis, “Alaska’s foremost health
enemy”.
The Governor quoted figures i
from the department of health
and welfare tuberculosis con
trol un.t showing 255 new TB
cases recorded in Alaska in
1961, an increase of 13 per cent
—three times national average. I
Proclaiming “this holiday *
season as Christmas Seal Sea- :
son”, Governor Egan stated: i
“TB is a hidden killer strik
ing any person, any age, any
race. Your Alaska Tuberculosis
Association, which relentlessly
fights to detect and control TB.
is financed only by Christmas I
Seals, and Christmas .Seals are |
a weapon within the reach of
everyone.”
The Governor urged all Al
j askans “to join this fight to
| stamp out tuberculosis through
: generous support of Christmas
i Seals, for the protection of us
i all.”
MEA, Anchorage City Council Meet
To Discuss Area Power Problems
MatanusKa tLiectric Associa
tion directors and staff mem
bers met with the Anchorage
City Council and its staff on
Nov. 15, and a joint CEA-MEA
meeting is planned soon, ac
cording to Mason LaZelle, MEA
manager. The objective of both
meetings is the exploration of
possible common areas of ap
proach to the present pressing
generation problems, the man
ager said.
At the Nov. 15 meeting, a re
port was made to the Anchor
age city council on REA views
expressed to MEA officials at
Washington, D. C. meetings
Oct. 29-30 with REA adminis
trator Norman Clapp and mem
bers of his staff.
Council members expresed
interest in the area approach
advocated by Clapp, and in the
negotiation of a power inter
change agreement among the
generation agencies in the area,
also urged by Clapp. This lat
ter agreement would assure
that the generating units own
ed by all the public power pro
ducers in the area could be util
ized at peak efficiency, LaZel
le said.
The Anchorage council asked
city officials to work with MEA
personnel in developing vari
ous joint avenues of approach
to new generation in the area.
L. J. Schultz, Chugach Elec
tric Association manager, has
informed LaZelle that he will
try to set up a joint meeting be
tween the CEA board of direc
tors and the MEA directors, the
MEA manager said.
The MEA board has request
ed this meeting as a result of
the meeting with the REA ad
ministrator, since Clapp and
his staff members expressed
the feeling that it is becoming
absolutely necessary that a j
common solution be found to
area generation problems.
REA has taken the stand j
that no further generation
loans will be advanced in this
area which are not for the
benefit of all the borrowers.
Fair Association
Holds Annual Meet
The annual Alaska State Fair
membership meeting will be
held in the Grange hall on
Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 8 p.m.
Four directors will be elected
and annual reports will be
heard.
To be eligible to vote, it is
necessary to have a member
ship card, it was pointed out
this week. These may be ob
tained for $1 from Mrs. Marne
Hanks at the MTA office, from
Mrs. Hazel Harris at the Ex
tension office, or from any of
the directors. They may also
be purchased at the door prior
to the meeting.
Two Chamber Groups
To Meet at Sutton
The board of directors of the
Matanuska Valley Chamber of
Commerce have invited the
board of directors of the Great
er Anchorage Chamber of Com
merce to meet with them at
Sutton on Nov. 24, Barney Fish,
president of the Matanuska
Valley group, said this week.
Subject to be discussed will be
the proposed Knik Arm cause
way, area agricultural develop
ment, and interim power needs.
Invited to join the group are
Mayor George Sharrock of An
chorage and members of the
Anchorage city council; Pal
mer city council members and
city manager Winston Gil
christ; Alvin Bramstedt, presi
dent of KENI; Augie Hiebert,
president of KTVA; the power
committee of the Anchorage
Chamber of Commerce; and
other interested persons in the
Palmer area.
The visitors will leave An
chorage about 8:30 a.m. and
will arrive at Sutton about
10:30 a.m.
If the guests from Anchorage
wish, they will be taken on a
tour which will include the site
of the proposed mine-mouth
power-generating plant, the
coal fields, and the preparation
plants of the area.
A luncheon will be served at
the Sutton community hall.
The KENI Camper will be at
Sutton most of the afternoon
on Nov. 24, broadcasting pro
grams sponsored by various lo
cal and Anchorage businesses.
Some time will be devoted to a
discussion of the advantages of
mine-mouth power generation
as a solution for the pending in
terim power shortage.
Cows on Stored Feed;
Count Will Drop Soon
Alaskans who have beenr
frightened by news clippings
sent to them by relatives and
friends in the South 48 which
play up the high counts of
radioactive iodine found in Ma
tanuska Valley milk during the
year ending Sept. 29, 1962, are
the victims of misrepresenta
tion of the facts, Stewart A.
Durrant. general manager of
Matanuska Maid, Inc., said to
day. He added that cattle here
are now on stored feed, and
that the count will drop rapid
ly
During the past week, the
Associated Press released a
news story which stated that
the count of 39,660 micromic
rocuries for the past year in
Palmer milk exceeds the ac
ceptable health-risk level of
exposure, but which added that
this level is not considered a
public health hazard.
The second point was play
ed up in the Anchorage Daily
Times, following an interview
with Durrant in which the lo
cal farm co-op manager em
phasized that the radioactive
iodine count has not reached
the danger point.
However, newspapers thro
ughout the United States as
v)e'J as some Alaskan news me
dia have pointed up the “scare”
1 angle of the story, the manager
1 said.
“Unfortunately, whenever
these news releases are made,
there is a great economic im
pact on the dairy industry,” he
stated. “Many of these clip
pings from Outside newspapers
are now being sent to friends
in Alaska, and its effect on
dairying in the Matanuska Val
ley is cause for alarm.”
All of the facts in the matter
have not been properly pre
sented, Durrant said. As an ex
ample, he cited a telephone
conversation the manager held
with Dr. Louis Arrigoni of
Seattle, a member of the na
tional committee studying ra
dioactive iodine fall-out, on
Nov. 15 to check out the facts
of the Associated Press release.
Dr. Arrigoni said that many
of the statements in the story
were correct, especially those
referring to the method of
Runway Lights At
Airport Aid Pilot
Twelve runway lights instal
led last weekend by Mason La
Zelle at the Palmer airport
have already helped one pilot
to make a landing here, a lo
cal airman said this week. The
lights were purchased through
funds earned by the Matanuska
Valley Airmen at the Buddy
Woods hangar party Nov. 2.
The pilot, unable to make a
landing in Anchorage because
Merrill Field was socked in.
brought his plane down suc
cessfully on the Palmer run
way late Sunday evening.
Six lights have been instal
led at the north end of the
north-south runway, four at
the intersection, and two at the
south end of the runway.
INITIATED INTO SORORITY
Rose A. Goodman of Box 184,
Palmer, has been initiated into
Phi Kappa Phi, national honor
society, at Oregon State Uni
versity, Corvallis, Oregon.
Thirty-three seniors were in
itiated this fall. They were sel
ected on the basis of outstand
ing scholastic achievement.
Membership in Phi Kappa Phi
is the top recognition for schol
arship at OSU.
Mrs. Goodman, who is ma
joring in the School of Home
Economics, is the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. C. Ivan Branton
of Palmer.
leasuring the so-called health
risk level of exposure. He stat
ed that 36,500 micromicrocur--1
ies is a measure used in atomic
industry in deciding when a
person is over-exposed to radia:
tion, and is not a measure used
in fall-out. He emphasized that,
according to doctors and scient
ists, the fall-out level could be
much higher without being a
public health hazard.
Durrant pointed out that on
Oct. 2, 1962, a representative
from the U. S. Public health
service and the Alaska public
health department met with
representatives of Matanuska
Maid. Inc., at which time a con
trolled program was set up for
he cooperative to follow in case
the U. S. public health author
ities should decide the Iodine
131 had reached the danger
point.
This controlled program
would mean that if cows were
in pastures, they would be tak
en from them, would be fed dry
stored feed, and would not be
allowed to drink water from
, open streams or lakes, the man
ager said.
“It is a known fact that any
radio-active material dissipates
at the rate of 50 percent each
eight days, so that feed storet
for any length of time woulc
have a very low count,” he ad
ded. “With the cows in the
Matanuska Valley now on stor
ed feed, the count in this area
will drop rapidly.”
Chamber Discusses
School Construction
Too late for coverage before
the Frontiersman deadline, a
school construction forum dis
cussion was held at the Matajv
uska Valley Chamber of Com
merce luncheon meeting today.
Taking part were Betty
Mears, W. T. Zahradnicek, Ed
Smith, John Shaw, A1 Brooks,
and Dr. C. C. Bailey.
The objective of the Cham
ber school bond committee was
to explore the possibility of
presenting the bond issue to
the voters again in such a man
ner that it will be understand
able to the people of the area,
and to work out a construction
program which will be agree
able to the residents of the
Palmer Independent School
District.
200 ATTEND
MTA OPEN HOUSE
Nearly 200 guests registered
at Matanuska Telephone Asso
ciation’s Open House, held
Friday, Nov. 16, to acquaint
members and friends with the
facilities of the new business
offices located on Valley street.
Visitors were shown through
the inside plant as well as the
business offices, many getting
their first opportunity to watch
the dial system in operation
first-hand.
•The good-looking birch pan
eling from the local hardwoods
mill at Wasilla received con
siderable comment.
Winners of the three long
distance telephone calls were
Phil O'Neill of Sutton, Francis
Henry of Palmer, and Mrs.
Fanny Werner of Fishhook
Road. Guests were served cof
fee and cake, and several bou
j quets, gifts from local business
I people, added to the party at
[ mosphere.
i A new shipment of furniture
arrived yesterday, according
to Marne Hanks, office mana
< ger. The lobby is now comple
1 tely outfitted, as well as most
of the office departments, she
! said. Some furniture for the
billing department has not yet
been delivered.
LIONS GROUP
ORGANIZES HERE
Organized at a luncheon
: meeting at the Frontier Cafe
yesterday was a Palmer Chap
ter of Lions Club International,
joining a network of world
wide organizations,
i Seventeen members joined
! the new group, which is ex
i pected to reach 30 shortly. Of
I ficers elected were Barney
Fish, president; Jack Maze,
, vice-president; Frank Smith,
secretary; and Louis Bencar
dino, treasurer to be chosen at
the next meeting are a second
and a third vice-president,
members of the board of direc
tors, "lion tamer” (the Lion
who takes care of props and
equipment), and “tail twister”,
who handles incidentals, fines
etc. Chairman of the Charter
Night committee is Henry Cor
bin. Charter Night will be held
sometime in January.
The Lions Club International
is active in all civic affairs, and
has its special project a sight
conservation program, through
which eye care and glasses are
provided for persons unable to
do so themselves.
Alaskans Celebrate
Farm- City Week
Farm-city week (Nov. 16-22) is being observed in many
communities in Alaska this week to promote better under
standing between farm and city folk. The observance is
sparkplugged by Kiwar.is International whose chairman in
Alaska is Jim Wilson, former Director of Agriculture and a
long-time Kiwanian. Kiwanis clubs, Chambers of Commerce,
Granges, and other civic groups have been'requested to feature
programs having mutual interest between rural and urban
dwellers.
“Too often city and country people consider themselves
wholly different groups,” said Wilson, “yet :n ‘his modern
age we are bound by so many common beads that it does us
good to ponder our common lot and realize that withut a pros
perous city population and a productive country population our
nation would not rank first in the list of nations as it does
today.”
“The American people are the best fed nation in this
world today,” said Wilson “thanks not only to the efforts of
the farmer but to the city dweller who teams with the farmer
in preparing and distributing farm produce to the consumer.
The problems of surplus please no one, but on the other hand
how would you like to trade with those nations who face agri
cultural shortages?” “The farmer, too, can thank the good Lord
that the man on the street has the wherewithal to buy his
goods.”
“At this Thanksgiving season we may all give thanks to
a great nation with an unsurpassed food potential, populated
by people who can load a Thanksgiving table at the lowest
comparative price in history for people who are grateful for
this bounty and the privilege of freely sharing it.”