VOLUME 10. NUMBER 42
LIBRARY
JOHBAU
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
PALMER, ALASKA THURSDAY. AUGUST 8., 1957
PHTCE TEM CENTS
Co-Op Grain Elevator
Nearing Completion
Osn Tuesday afternoon^ of this
week, the construction of the'Ma
tanuska Valley Farmers Cooper
ating Association’s 67-foot grain
elevator was completed, provid
ing the first such structure in the
Territory of Alaska.
Construction of the grain stor
age building was started on May
22 of this year when Koppenberg
staked the grounds which was at
that time still v/ooded. Land
clearing and excavation was start
ed immediately and the building
of the elevator progressed from
there. All that now remains is
the installation of the equipment.
On Monday of this week a fac
tory representative arrived and
started the installation of the dry
er. All work is expected to be
completed around the first of
September, in ample time for this
fall’s grain harvest.
Some interesting statistics were
provided by Art Koppenberg who
supervised the construction. Up
to Jyly 27 there were 3,897 man
hours of work in the structure;
53 kegs of 20-penny galvanized
nails, weighing about two and
two-thirds tons went into the
crib structure; 113% yards of con
crete, and 66,807 board feet of
two-by-six lumber were used.
The cribbing was put together
with two-by-six-foot lengths of
eight, 10 and 16 feet. They were
nailed every six inches, with the
nails running down through three
layers, completely reinforcing
CO-OP MEMBERS
TO MEET SATURDAY
Producing members of the
Matanuska Valley Farmers Co
operating Association will hold
their annual membership meet
ing this Saturday in the Central
school gymnasium, beginning at
,10:30 a.m. at which time the first
of several valuable door prizes
will be awarded.
To enable members to come
early, and remain through the
• „ meeting, dinner will be served in
the gym, catered by Keith Brock
of the Palmer Cafe and Fountain,
starting at 12 noon.
During the meeting annual re
ports will be made by association
officials, three members will be
named to the board of directors
and equity certificates for the
past year will be distributed.
PLAN GET-TOGETHER
FOR QUEEN CANDIDATES
All Valley Fair queen contes
testants, and at least one of their
sponsors, are asked to attend a
get-acquainted session being plan
ned for Tuesday evening, August
13 at the home of Mrs. Alva Sax
ton.
This will be the first of a num
ber of planned get-togethers for
the girls and is being held to
help prepare the candidates for
their many public appearances.
The program will include points
on charm, poise, and public
speaking.
POLICE INVESTIGATING
REPORTED "HANGING"
Territorial police are still in
vestigating a report of a “man
hanging” from the Matanuska
River bridge. The report was
made to police by citizens who
were told the story by a Mrs.
Peggy Walker who said she had
seen him. No body was found. A
piece of rope and stains found
on rocks under the bridge are
being studied.
COMFORTABLE
Steam Heated Rooms
Hyland Hotel
2 blocks from Post Office
WHEN IN DOUBT
SEND FLOWERS!!!!
Telegraph Delivery Service
MAUD'S FLOWER SHOP
Theatre Bldg. Phone 3601
each piece of lumber again and
again.
From the concrete base to the
top of the cribbing is 46 feet,
straight up. From the top of the
cribbing to the cone of the roof
on the head house is another 21
feet, five inches. The structure
will contain nine bins, measuring
eight by eight feet each.
The dryer will be operated by
live stream for which a ditch has
been dug and installation of the
steam line started by the Co-Op
maintenance department.
This is the second grain eleva
tor which Koppenberg has con
structed. In 1944 in Cambridge,
Minnesota he supervised the con
struction of a 46-foot square 86
foot elevator, with a head house
measuring a little higher than the
one constructed for the Co-Op.
BONDED WAREHOUSE
OPERATIONS TOLD
AT CHAMBER MEETING
Jack Anderson, president of
the Thomas Anderson Transpor
tation Company, told members
of the Matanuska Valley Cham
ber of Commerce, of operation
plans for the public bonded ware
house (the first for Anchorage)
which will be opened on August
15.
The company has leased a large,
two-story building in The Alas
ka Railroad terminal yard. The
warehouse was built in 1950 of
fireproof, laminated-wood con
struction. It is equipped through
out with an automatic sprinkler
and fire alarm system. Due to the
reduction of inventory and the
sale of many 'surplus items, the
warehouse and adjacent area are
no longer needed for railroad op
erations.
Anderson is associated in the
long-term leasing venture with
Claude Bentz of the North Star
Terminal and Stevedoring Com
pany of Anchorage.
Anderson said the operation of
the warehouse will be under the
same type of tariff and contract
arrangement as the West Coast
Warehousemen’s Association. “We
will offer a complete warehousing
service for any type of material
commodity except household
goods”, he said.
National manufacturers can
place their goods in this ware
house for disposal through regu
lar Alaska outlets or distributors.
Savings in transportation costs
'will be generated by virtue of the
fact that a national manufactur
er can move his product to An
chorage in bulk by carload rat
es, Anderson pointed out.'
Anderson also pointed out that
local merchants can finance in
ventories of merchandise against
bonded warehouse receipts. Bank
loans may be secured by goods
held under bond and repaid as
the goods are released. He point
ed out, as an example, that a
soft drink manufacturer could
purchase bulk sugar during a
season when prices are low—
store it in the warehouse—and
remove it for use as desired,
realizing a saving on the original
purchase price.
Copies of the tariff rates are
available for all interested per
sons.
The warehouse will include
34,000 cubic feet of refrigerated
storage space.
new apuas
Four potatoes, only an hour or
two out of the ground, graced the
luncheon table. They were taken
at random by Gene Reid, Cham
ber vice-president, from his po
tato field and if an indication of
this fall’s crop, would indicate a
bumper yield in total tonnage.
To Push Milk Sales
The promotion of whole milk
sales received the backing of the
Chamber. It was brought out
that with the new type milk dis
penser machines now on the mar
ket, milk could be purchased at
a lower rate by restaurants and
fountains. “With coffee now at 15
cents a cup, if milk sold over the
fountain counter and in restaur
ants could be lowered, more and
more milk could be sold", it was
(Continued on page 8)
Pictured above is the Co-Op's grain elevator, now nearing
completion. This is the first grain elevator of this type in
the Territory.
—Photo Courtesy Valley Cooperator
I
COMET SIGHTED;
NOT YET IDENTIFIED
A comet, visible to valley
residents the past two nights,
has not yet been identified by
the U. S. Weather Bureau.
However, Bureau officials
stated they believe it to be a
comet sighted off the Pacific
coast last week and it’s appar
ent path has been from the
south, north. When viewed
around midnight last night
the comet was apparently
moving in a northward direc
tion and will probably be vis
ible tonight, weather permit
ting. According to the Associat
ed Press, the newly-discovered
comet was first sighted August
2 by an astronomer named
Mrkos, and has been visible
throughout the Northeast part
of the country.
Few Members Attend
MTA Annuel Meeting
One hour and ten minutes lat
er than scheduled, the first an
nual membership meeting of the
Matanuska Telephone Association
convened with 52 members reg
istered and present. It was not
until 8:10 p.m. that the required
number of members (50) were
present for a quorum count. The
meeting had been called for 7
p.m., with registration to begin
at 6 p.m.
Once started the meeting pro
gressed quickly with reports
made by the association presi
dent, Lew Hanks, the financial
report by Phil O’Neil, association
treasurer, and by Max Clements,
association manager.
Election of members of the
board of directors provided the
following results: Eugene Reid,
(incumbent), three-year term;
Virgil Eckert, two-year term;
R. J. Heddles and George Crow
ther tied for the second two
year term. A drawing at the
directors’ meeting will determine
which will serve for a two-year
term and which will serve a one
year term. Einer Huseby of Chu
giak was named to the second
one-year term. All other success
ful candidates are residents of
the Palmer rural areas.
In giving a history of the for
mation of the telephone associa
tion Hanks reminded the mem
bers of the many years of work
and the various attempts to op
erate a successful telephone sys
tem that were tried before the
present system became a reality.
He paid special tribute to M. D.
Snodgrass and other members of
the Northland Pioneer Grange
who devoted much time to bring
a better telephone .system to the
(Continued on Page 8)
Shrine Circes
Tickets Arrive
For Children
Word was received this week
that there are some special
tickets available in Palmer for
the Anchorage Shrine Club’s
third annual Shrine Circus which
will be shown in Anchorage Aug
ust 16 through the 20th by the
Wenatchee “Y” Circus.
These tickets that are avail
able are for children in the val
ley area, who for financial rea
sons would be unable to attend
the circus, may have that oppor
tunity. Persons knowing of such
children are asked to leave nam
es at the Health Center or at the
office of the U. S. Commissioner.
The circus consists of many,
many talented youngsters who
are traveling thousands of miles
this summer presenting the cir
cus.
The circus is an annual pro
ject of the Anchorage Shriners.
Rides, Concessions,
And Displays Slated
For ’57 Valley Fair
Amusement rides, especially
for the youngsters, are certain
for the fair this year, according
to reports given at the Fair
Board meeting this week. Al
though negotiations are not yet
completed, it seems certain that
there will be several rides.
Concession space is rapidly be
ing filled up and space has been
reserved for many industrial and
commercial displays.
The U. S. Army is planning an
other extensive display this year,
including a tank and other piec
es of equipment to be manned by
the 23rd Infantry Division- A 60
man unit will attend the four
day fair and display the equip
ment under the command of
Lieutenant Hermon Hof. The
group will operate a first-aid
station during the fair.
Exhibit buildings will be wash
ed out and painted where pos
sible. Just prior to the fair the
buildings will have a complete
job by a vaccum cleaner.
Kitchen Bids
The fair kitchen and dining
room will be operated this year.
Persons interested in bidding on
this concession are asked to get
their bids to the fair office by
tomorrow. Bids will be opened
at that time and the concession
awarded. To date three bids have
been submitted.
A PROCLAMATION
ALASKA FARM MONTH
WHEREAS, Agriculture is of the upmost importance in
the economy, and well-being of all civilized nations and in
all parts of t^iis nation; and,
WHEREAS, there is need for greater recognition of
both the present importance of Agriculture in Alaska and
of the need for its rapid expansion in order that this
Territory may become more self-sustaining; and,
WHEREAS, it is necessary and desirable that there
be created a greater awareness of the availability and div
ersity of Alaskan agricultural products and to expand the
home market for these products;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mike Stepovich, Governor of
the Territory of Alaska, do Kereby proclaim the month
August 12 through September 11 as
Alaska Farm Month
and urge that all possible effort be given to promote the
sale of the vegetables, dairy products, livestock and grain
produced by the Sard working, pioneering farms of Alaska
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand
and caused the seal of the Territory of Alaska to be
affixed, Done at Juneau, the capitol, this 28th day of July
in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-seven.
MIKE STEPOVICH, Governor
Farm Month Pays
Tribute to Farmers
^AAAiVVVVlA^AAAAtVVVWVVVWVVVVV
RESERVISTS TO MEET
AUGUST 14, 7 p.m.
Members of Company “C”,
180th Eng. (C) (A), will meet
August 14, instead of August
21, it was announced today by
Captain Herbert Lang, com
pany commander. The meeting
time has been changed to 7:00
9:00 p.m. and uniform will be
fatigues with boots. Instruc
tion will be taken out of doors,
he said.
QUEEN CONTEST
IN FULL SWING;
FOUR QUALITY
Seven young women, all resi
dents of the Matanuska Valley,
are listed as registered contest
ants in the 1957 Matanuska Val
ley Fair. Four of these candidates
for the title of Queen of the Fair
• have qualified by selling at least
250 tickets, the other three girls,
who entered the contest toward
the closing date, are expected to
be qualified by the 14th of Aug
ust.
Each year the number of val
ley-born contestants increases, as
the daughters of early-day set
tlers begin to make their own
place in the community. This year
four of the contestants are daugh
ters of early settlers. They are
Dorothy Loyer, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Joseph Loyer; Enola
Scheibl, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Gust Scheibl; Audrey Parks,
daughter of Don Parks; and
Sharon McCartney, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Ray McCartney.
Miss McCartney was registered in
the contest last week.
Other contestants are Mary
Beth Paey, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Ethan D. Paey, who with
her parents and sister, moved to
the valley from Utah last year.
She has taken an active interest
in planning recreation for teen
agers and is employed in the of
fice of the Alaska Department of
Agriculture. She is being spon
sored in the contest by the Love
joy Body Shop in Palmer.
Mary K. Hoffman, daughter of
M/Sergeant and Mrs. Charles R.
Hoffman of Wasilla, is being spon
sored by two Wasilla business
^establishments, the Wasilla Road
house and Teeland’s Shopping
Center. Miss Hoffman, a senior
in the Wasilla high school, has
lived in the valley for the past
year and is a clarinet player as
well as a singer.
Gerda Kalwies, who is being
sponsored in the contest by the
Alaska Dairy of Anchorage, is
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs- Mar
tin Kalwies and has lived in the
valley for the past six years, com
(Continued on page 8)
3-DAY RODEO
SLATED FOR FAIR
Arrangements have been com
pleted for the Alaska Amateur
Rodeo Cowboy’s Association to
hold their championship events
at the 17th Annual Matanuska
Valley Fair.
Events will include bull-dog
ging, bronc-busting, and many
other competitive activities which
a rodeo enthusiast will find en
joyable.
Performances will start on
Saturday August 31 at 3 p.m. and
continue twice daily on Septem-,
ber 1 and 2. A western dance will
end rodeo activities on Monday
evening at the Central school
gymnasium.
PETITIONS REPORTED
REGARDING CHUGIAK
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
A petition is reported to be
circulating in the Chugiak area
for the high school students of
that section to attend the Palmer
High School this coming year, in
stead of the Anchorage High
School. However, no petitions
have yet been presented to the
local Board of Education.
' Alaska Farm Month gets under
way in the Territory next Mon
day. Governor Mike Stepovich
has proclaimed August 12 to 4
September 11 as Alaska Farm
Month in Alaska and has asked
the cooperation of all individuals
in the observance.
“This is an appropriate season
to pay tribute to Alaska*s abund
ant harvest and to the ‘modern
pioneer’ farmers who make this
possible”, said Prent Gazaway,
head of economics and marketing
in the University of Alaska Agri
cultural Extension Service.
Alaska has a great agricultur
al potential, he pointed out. The
recent development of the timber
resources in Southeastern Alaska
is commonly known, he said. Less
so is the progress which has been
made in the volume, quality and
variety of foods grown in the Ter
ritory. In a wilderness country
where many have believed noth
ing of value could ever be grown,
Alaska’s farmers have develop
ed an industry, he pointed out.
Their achievement in scientific
know-how and quality of product
has equaled, if not surpassed that
of the States.
The economist added that this
progress has been made in spite
of almost unsurmountabie obstac
les; inadequate capital, market
facilities, high costs, small vol
ume production, plus competition
from products grown in the
States.
For example, he said, local
dairymen must compete'with sub
sidized, large-scale producers
and processors in the States with
out the aid of price supports or
administrative price controls.
“Our dairymen despite this
‘David and Goliath’ type of com
petition have more than doubled
milk production during the past
five years”, he pointed out. A
similar* increase in meats, poul
try, vegetables, berries, fur and
interior timber products during
the next five ’'ears is a challeng
ing possibility, Gazaway stated.
“Alaska Farm Month offers
fine opportunity to promote our
farming industry. As this indus
(Continued on page 8)
EXPERIMENT STATION
FIELD DAY FRIDAY
Field Day at *the Experiment
Station farm means open house
for all residents of the entire
area. Everyone is invited to visit
the farm and see first hand the
many experiments being carried
out in the numerous and varied
programs.
Beginning at 10 a.m. visitors
are invited to attend the dairy
and pasture session. At this time
C. Ivan Branvon will show agri
cultural engineering projects.
Everyone attending is invited
to take a picnic lunch and make
a full day of the tours. Coffee
j and ice cream will be furnished.
Lew Hanks, Extension agent
and program chairman announc
ed that following the cereal crops
which will be shown from 1 to 3
p.m. and the vegetables, berries
and ornamentals to be shown be
tween 2 and 4 p.m. Dr. Myron
Babb will explain work being
done in the station green houses
located in town. Also Drs. Char-,
les Logsdon and Richard Wash
burn will show their work in dis
ease and pest control at the lab.
A large group of 4-H’ers from
the Anchorage area is planning
to make the trip to the farm for
the field day and will also go
through th Co-Op while in the
.Palmer area.
r
ATTENTION! j
CERTAIN GARMENTS I;
2 for the 4 i;
price of I
ON LIKE GARMENTS
Cash and Carry
BROWN’S CLEANERS |