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The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
MATANUSKA VALLEY
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 5
VOLUME 11. NUMBER 52
PALMER. ALASKA THURSDAY. OCTOBER 30. 1958
PRICE 15 CENTS
VALL
ROADS
SHORT COURSES
IN AGRICULTURE
TO BE OFFERED
Persons of the valley area, in
'! rested in agricultural courses,
v. ill have an opportunity to avail
i.cmselves of a number of Short
Course subjects this fall and
inter, it was announced this
week by Lew Hanks, district ag
« nt.
The courses will, in most cases,
cover one subject an evening.
They will be given as a coopera
ve project of the University of
Alaska Extension Service, the
Vocational Education Depart
ent. of the Palmer High School,
1. e Wasilla High School, and the
• aimer Community College.
The courses will start late in
November or early December,
Hanks reported. They will be of
T red weekly in Palmer and re
peated in Wasilla, Chugiak, and
. iso in the Big Lake or other
ureas if sufficient persons are
n teres ted, he added.
Lists of the proposed courses
were mailed this week through*
at the valley .Persons not re
- riving a list who are interested
any of the following courses,
r who wish to suggest additional,
curses, may stop in at the Exten
t- an -Service office and sign up.
The following Short Course
• objects have been suggested. Per
sons interested are asked to indi
ate preferred course subjects and
: ,v preferred community in which
: ey would attend the classes:
Farm Building Arrangement
r Efficient Operations; Farm j
Building and Barn Construction;
Gram in Storage and Drying;
Types of Silo Construction; Feed
and Materials Storage and Hand*
ng Method'; Farm Electrical
Wiring and Safety; Electrical Ap
pliance and Motor Care and Use;
Farm Water Systems and Sew
a g e D is posa 1; It i s ulat i o n a 11 d V a -
rer Sealing of Farm Buildings;
Heating Systems and Fire Safe
ty ; Farm Shop Planning and Use;
Dairy Management; Feed and
Forage Production; Poultry Pro
duction and Marketing; Weed
Control and Crop Certification;
Garden Crops; New Development
m Fertilizing; Land Capability
t ad Soil Conservation; and Ir
rigation and Drainage Planning.
The following subjects and
others may be presented as a part
of the Community College curri
culum; A Study of Alaska Soils
::n Relation to Plant Nutrition and
Fertilizing; Principles of Farm
Aeorountmg; Farm Management
and Marketing; and Basic Princi
ples of Animal Husbandry.
Local Firemen
To Repair Toys
i’aimer volunteer firemen have
tnlisted themselves as “Santa’s
helpers’’ and will conduct a toy
repair shop at the fire hall.
Anyone having toys they wish
to donate to the repair shop are
..-ked to drop them at the office
or U. S. Commissioner Dorothy B.
Saxton, or the fire hall. One more
drop is being sought and will be
announced when arrangements
<■ re completed.
The toys will be distributed to
the less fortunate children just
in time for a Merry Christmas,
SAVE!
ON YOUR
GLEANING
CERTAIN GARMENTS
for the
price of
Gash and Garry
BROWN'S CLEANERS
WE GIVE GOLD STAMPS
Closed Saturday Afternoons
ItJ
2
i jl a
1
IFIRE
HERS NOV. 8
itive of the An
m Company will
>n Saturday, No
il 9:30 a.m. to 5
test fire extin
11 persons inter
ief Bernard Bou
t the public co
iking their fire
to the city fire
the mentioned
ting. No charge
for the service.
Pick Palmer Student
As International
Convention Delegate
The Palmer High School stu
dent council was named to send
the Alaska delegate to Willams
burg, Virginia to attend the Stu
j den Council Convention at the
House of Burgesses February 15
I 18, 1959. The Palmer student will
represent Alaska at the interna
tional meeting which is sponsor
ed each year by the New York
Tribune and the Williamsburg
Foundation.
This will be the first interna
tional convention at which Alas-'
ka has been represented.
The selection of a local student
was decided during the Student
Council Convention Held in Sew
ard October 24 and 25 at which
time 15 P. H. S. student council
members were in attendance,
along with Keith Smith, high
school principal, Mildred Sidall,
guidance director, and Mrs. Ar
lene Uzelac, mother of one of the
Palmer delegates.
Palmer was selected as the host
city for the 1959 Student Coun
cil Convention in Alaska a ltd
following a policy established at
the October 24 meeting, the dele
gate to attend the international
convention, will be one from the
host city of that year.
Financial arrangements for the
delegate’s attendance have not yet
been fully worked out. However,
1 the Williamsburg Foundation
■pays for one half of the trans
portation costs of each delegate
from the 49 States. It is antici
pated that each Student Council
i m Alaska will help sponsor, to
; some degree, the balance of the
I financial needs for the Alaska
delegate.
GHOSTS AND GOBLINS
TO BE "TREATED" BY
LOCAL MOOSE LODGE
“Treats” will be available at
; Moose hall for “triek-or-treaters”
| of all ages tomorrow night, it was
j announced by members of the
Palmer Moose Lodge. Youngsters
who will be seeking treats to
morrow night are asked not to
! call at Moose hall until after 7
p.m. . , . after that time, all
! youngsters are welcome, from the
j little tots on up to the older ones.
: Treats will be served from 7 p.m.
until they are gone, it was an
nounced . . . and there will be
“something good” the committee
; stated.
Moose lodges throughout the
States observe Halloween for the
young people and members ot
the local lodge have planned the
“treats” in place of a party orig
inally planned. The latter was
changed when it was found that
it would conflict with a high
school Halloween celebration.
HIDDLESTON TO SPEAK
AT CHAMBER MEETING
The president of the Anchor
age Chamber of Commerce, Kip
Middles!on, will be guest speaker
at the November 5 meeting of
the Matanuska Valley Chamber
of Commerce, The meeting will
be held at noon at the Marada
Cafe and all interested persons
are invited to attend. Hiddleston
recently returned to Anchorage
from Atlanta, Ga. where he par
ticipated in a special program
which welcomed Alaska as the
.forty-ninth State.
HOSPITAL TERMED
“BEST OF KIND*'
IN ALASKA
Palmer’s hospital is the best
of its kind in Alaska, stated
Board (President Allan H. Mick,
at an open meeting of the hos
pital staff last week.
Each day an average of 12 of
the hospital’s 25 beds are occu
pied. . . use of the surgery has
more than doubled in the past
year . . . most patients now stay
only five days in the hospital, a
year ago they stayed six days.
The shorter stay is attributed to
better medications now available,
stated Mick.
I So far this year 76 babies have
; been born in the local hospital,
compared to 66 at this time last
year. One third of all patients
are not covered by any kind of
insurance . , . about seven per
cent are covered by service con
tracts such as Public Welfare.
The annual hospital payroll
now exceeds $100,000 a year,
divided among 23 permanent em
ployees, Mick reported. Total an
nual expenses are $148,000 . . .
cash receipts were also $148,000
but this included about $8,500 of
donated income . . . bad debt re
coveries amounted to $3,885. So
"bar this year “free services” have
amounted to only $3,000, compar
ed to $7,763 two years ago. As of
September 30 the hospital owed
about $20,000 worth of bills . . .
patients owed the hospital $24,
000. The largest debt the hospital
owes is to the Employment Se
curity Commission, which now
claims $6,400 in back taxes.
Bonded indebtedness is down
to $4,000. Two years ago it was
$8,900. Membership fees are re
ducing this indebtedness.
The typical patient spends $33
for a one day stay in the hospital.
About $5 goes for record keep
ing . . . nursing takes $16 . . .
meals cost $4 85 . room, $4.62
. . . laundry $1.22, and laboratory
and X-ray charges average about
$2 a day.
Credit for efficient service
(Continued on page 5)
CONSTRUCTION BIDS
TO BE CALLED
ON JANUARY 5
Architectural plan changes for
Swanson School were reviewed
by members of the Palmer Board
of Education during a special
meeting held on Monday night of
this week. The changes were dis
cussed with Ed Crittenden, and
Lou Casseta, architects, who are
doing the architectural work for
the addition planned for the
school.
Invitations to bid on the con
struction will be issued on Janu
ary 5, 1959, it was announced by
the Board. The bids will be open
ed on February 2 and the con
tract awarded on February 15.
Completion date of the project
Has been set for August 31, 1959.
Jack Daum of Anchorage has
been retained by the school
board as investment consultant
and will handle the sale of the
school bonds.
RUSSIA SENDS
, APPLE TREES TO
EXPERIMENT STATION
A shipment of 27 crab apple
trees (Armenica manshurica) has
been sent to the Alaska Agri
cultural Experiment Station from
I Leningrad, U. S. S. R., it was an
Mick, station director. The trees
nounced this week by Dr. Allan
were shipped by N. N. Jakovlev,
Industry in Leningrad, the ar
rangement of which was made
last year by Jule Kilcher of
Homer while visiting in Europe.
The arrival of the plants in Al
i aska has been interupted by plant
quarantine, in New York, Mick
director of the Institute of Plant
! stated, and pointed out that the
plants will have to be grown un
der plant quarantm, before be
1 mg moved to the Experiment
Station. This is done when
plants are brought into the coun
try from a foreign country, Mick
| explained. Plants are watched
I carefully for any virus as a pro
i teetive measure.
City Council Notes
In the absence of Mayor Ken
neth Lynn, Councilor William
1 Zahradnieek presided at the Oc
tober 28 meeting of the Palmer
City Council. Councilman in aC
tendance included Bertram Duff,
Sam Gotten, Ray Lancaster, and
Ralph Koslosky. Councilor Char
les Logsdon, now on leave, is ex
pected back in Palmer this week.
* * *
Two representative of the Al
: askan Plumbing and Heating Co.
| of Anchorage presented literature
i and specifications on a 300-gallon
j submergible pump. Discussions
brought out the more economical
: aspects of a submergible type
pump over the turbo type. A
committee of Zahradnieek, Duff,
and Gotten was named to study
specs on a 500-gallon pump. The
pump is to be used in the city’s
new water well.
Jack VanOs, member of the
Matanuska Valley Junior Cham
ber of Commerce, requested on
behalf of the organization, that
the Jaycees be permitted per
manent use of the plot of land
provided for Colony Park. The
1 organization plans to install a
; concrete slab upon which they
will place the historically-valued
i railroad engine now located in
; the park. The council authorized
| the JC’s to use the land for such
[purpose, providing no restrictions <
“are found which would prevent
it.
* * *
George Hedla, CPA, presented
the annual audit report to the
Council which was accepted by
motion. It was announced that
starting next month the city will
approve bills for payment at only
one meeting—the first Tuesday of
each month. Only special bills
will be approve at the second
regular meeting.
A letter was read from the
Bureau of Land Management
which included an application for
the City of Palmer to file to ob
tain Colony lands in the Matan
uska valley to be used for sani
tary fill purposes. The council
voted to make the application.
A letter from the Pippel Insur
ance Company was read, compli
menting the present city fire de
partment and urging they seek a
change from Class 6 rating to
Class 5 rating, which would re
sult in a savings of over 13 per
cent on both dwelling and their
contents.
City Council committees for
the new fiscal year have not yet
been named. Couneilmen suggest
ed that the Mayor name three
man committees this year instead
of the two-man committees used
in the past.
* * *
Council members discussed
snow removal and street main
tenance work on the new pave
ment. It was pointed out that all
work done by the City on the
BPR roads will be paid for by
the BPR. A representative of the
Anchorage BPR office expects to
•be in Palmer this week to discuss
policy and rate charges with city
off icia Is.
♦ * *
A request that the curernt li
cense charge of $50 for liquor es
tablishments be lowered was
turned down by the Council.
Because the next regular meet
ing will fall on Veteran’s Day,
the meeting has been postponed
to Tuesday, November 13.
LOCAL CABBAGE
MAKES PAGE ONE
The October 4 issue of th
SATURDAY STAR-BULLET
TN of Honolulu, T. H., features
on the cover of it’s magazine
section a large colored photo
of a king-sized cabbage which
weighed 41 pounds. The cab
bage was this year’s award
winner at the Matanuska Val
ly Fair and was purchased
from its grower, Max Sherrod,
by the Northwest Orient Air
lines and flown to Hawaii. Mr.
Sherrod recently cut a beau
tiful cabbage that weighed 52
pounds.
Palmer Officials
To Attend City
League Convention
Leaving for Juneau next Wed
nesday will be City Councilor
Hay Lancaster and City Clerk
Emilie St. Pierre who will re
present Palmer at the annual con
vention of the League of Alaska
Cities to be held in that city No
vember 5 - 8. Also attending from
Palmer will be Mrs. Lucille Mick,
executive secretary of the Lea
gue.
During the absence of the city
clerk, the city business office will
be open the same as usual, with
Mrs. Jo Puddicombe, secretary,
on the job.
The Palmer delegates will par
ticipate in a session on “Highways
and City Trafficways in the 49th
State”, representing the smaller
cities of Alaska, Also participating
in the panel discussion Will be j
E. IT. Swick, division engineer of j
the Bureau of Public Roads, a re- j
preservative of the Alaska High- J
way and Public Works Depart- I
ment and representatives from 1
the cities of Fairbanks and Jun- j
eau.
FHA Makes Plans
For Slate Program
“Teens with a purpose” was the
theme of the State executive
council meeting of the Future !
Homemakers of America when j
their high school representatives j
met last week on the University
of Alaska campus. Twenty-two !
students, advisors, and guests |
planned a state program of work,
developed ways local chapters
; could help members toward bet
| ter citizenship, improve human
| ^Tationships and recognize the
i value of education,
i The teachers remained two
days to organize the Child De
j velopment guide for high school
| teachers in homemaking and to
! gain some of the newer methods
| and techniques of teaching fam
ily life education.
Attending from the Palmer
High School were Audrey Dinkel,
acting state FHA secretary, and
Mrs. Marylou Rideout, advisor.
C-D HANDBOOKS
TO BE DISTRIBUTED
TO VALLEY HOMES
Five home preparedness steps
essential to the safety of the Am
erican home in peace or war-time
disasters will be brought to the
attention of Matanuska Valley
householders on November 1 by
Boy Scouts when they distribute
a civil defense handbook to every
home.
The Office of Civil and De
| fense Mobilization’s “Handbook
for Emergencies” will become a
part of every American home’s
preparedness planning this week
I end when the mass delivery of
| the free handbook is completed.
The civil defense pamphlet
lists five steps to safety in the
event of a disaster, natural or
I man-made. They are:
Family preparedness; know
! ledge of warning signals in the
event of an enemy attack; conel
I rad instructions—640 and 1240
! on your radio dial; fallout pro
jtection—home defensive prepara
tions against radioactive dang
ers; suggestions for community
planning and emergency action
3RD DIVISION
TO GET OVER
$31/3 MILLION
The Board of the Alaska High
way and Public Works Depart
ment met with officials of the
Bureau of Public Roads earlier
this month to discuss details of.
the 1960 fiscal year Federal-Aid
Highway program.
The following is a description
of projects selected and estimat
ed value of each for the Third
Judicial Division. Sums set up
for individual projects are based
on preliminary estimates. In
some cases final casts may dif
fer from those estimated.
Third Division
PRIMARY: 1, King River
bridge and approaches, replace
existing single lane high truss
structure, $300,000. 2. Bridge
painting. Tazlina, Moose, Kenai,
Kasilof, Anchor, Gulkana at Pax
son, Delta area (as far as funds
will permit), $50,000, 3. Matan
uska River bridge approach line
0.3 mile, $210,000. 4. Glenn High
way Mile 92 line change. Grade
and pave 3.5 miles including
Pack saddle bridge (supplement
•$190,000 previously programmed),
$185,000. 5. Glenn Highway. Ches
ter Creek Freeway from intersec
tion with 5th Avenue extended.
Grade and pave 1.3 miles east
ward, $250,000. 6. Richardson
Highway—Simpson Hill, Mile 114.
Line change 0.25 mile, to avoid
slide area. Grade and bituminous
surface treatment, $250,000. 7. De
nali Highway. Grade and crushed
gravel surfacing from Paxson to
Tangle Lakes, 18 miles, $800,000.
8. Heavy maintenance of pave
ment to correct deformation in.
permafrost sections, $230,508.
Total primary, $2,281,508.
SECONDARY: 1. Willow-Tal
keeina. Clearing grubbing 43
miles from Willow to Talkeetna,
$175,000. 2 Palmer-Matanuska.
Surface treatment to Echo Lake,
3.8 miles, $100,000. 3. Jonesville
Eska branches. Grading and sur
face treatment, 3 miles, $125,000.
4. Naknek-Airbase. Replace trest
le bridges with clear spans at
King Salmon, Pauls Creek and
Leader Creek and culverts at
Eskimo and No Name, $300,000.
5. Homer local roads. Grade and
gravel from top of East Hill road
to Ohlson Mt. road, 4.5 miles,
$50,000, 6. Copper River Highway.
Bridges, culverts and grading,
Mile 5-7 and 13-15, $250,000. 7.
Copper River Highway. Rock rip
rap from Mile 16 to 41. Protection
of overflow areas and erosion by
Copper River (funds to be in
creased), $46,884. Total second
ary, $1,046,844.
Secondary Item 7. This project
'is necessary to protect the invest
ment in the Copper River High
way which was threatened and
damaged by the river in several
places during the past summer.
Surveys have not been complet
ed, but it appears probable at
this time that the amount allotted
to the project will be insufficient.
Since this is an essential piece of
work, it may result in adjust
ment of one or more of the other
(Continued on page 5)
FAREWELL PARTY
FREE TURKEY FEED!
Sun. Eve, Nov. 2
49 CLUB
Farewell for Mr. and Mrs.
Larry Gassaway. (Mrs. Gassa*
way is former Darlyne Brager)
PUBLIC INVITED
STOP AT THE
HYLAND HOTEL
in Palmer
First-Class Rooms
S45 per month
and