Thought of the Week:
HAPPY
HOLIDAYS
TWENTY-TWO PAGES
PRICE 15 CENTS
VOLUME 15. NUMBER 13
PALMER. ALASKA THURSDAY. DEC. 20. 1962
Reporters—
Notebook
Lynn Robert Puddicombe,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Merele
Puddicombe of Palmer, gradu
ated from recruit training at
tbe U. S. Naval Training Sta
tion in San Diego on Dec. 14.
Lynn, a 1962 graduate of Pal
mer high school, was appoint
ed acting petty officer of his
training company.
He is expected to arrive
home on furlough in time for
the Christmas holidays.
*
Rev. and Mrs. A. B. Comp
ton and son Theron will fly to
Seattle tomorrow on the first
leg of a vacation trip to Costa
Mesa and San Diego in Califor
nia, and to Corpus Christi,
Texas, where Rev. Compton
will perform the marriage cere
mony for son Bythel and Miss
Barbara Ann Smiley of St.
Albans, West Virginia.
* * *
Mr. and Mrs. Max Sherrod
write from Wickenburg, Ariz
ona, that the weather is won
derful and that they have seen
many friends, Nan and Bill
Curtis in Wickenburg, and
Mrs. Charlottee Sheely, Jack
and Joe Sheely, and their fam
ilies in Phoenix. They have
spent considerable time in
Fullerton and Redlands, Cali
fornia, and report that they
have seen all the tourist at
tractions — Disneyland, Knotts
Berry Farm, Marineland, and
the famous zoo in San Diego.
They plan a trip to Death
Valley next, and hope to see
the Rose Bowl parade.
"Wc are sure we will be
ready to come home in Jan
uary, as we miss our family
and friends,” they write. “We
send warmest holiday wishes
to all of our friends in Palmer,
and may 1963 be good to you
all.”
* * *
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Sandvik
and daughter Brenda left
Dec. 12 for Portland, Oregon,
where he will be employed
during the winter months. The
Sandviks plan to tour the Uni
ted States before returning to
Palmer in the spring.
Christine Marshall, daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. John Mar
shall, arrived home Dec. 13
for the Christmas holidays.
She is a student at Seattle Pa
cific College.
* * *
Other Palmerites who have
vacationed in Wickenburg, Ari
zona, this winter are Art and
“Molly” Pierson, who are now
in Prescott, Arizona, and en
joying the climate at the 5,000
foot elevation. “Nights are
frosty and days just beautiful
with sunshine and blue sky . . .
warmest part of day gets up to
65 or 67,” Molly says. The
Piersons spent a month in
Wickenburg before going to
Prescott.
Valley Churches Prepare For Christmas
Qh/u^tmai
w
MAY YOU HAVE 1
AVERY BRIGHT j
CHRISTMAS DAY! §
bi&tn the.
staff and
management
The
Frontiersman
*
ELKS PLAN PARTY
FOR CHILDREN
Palmer Elks Lodge No. 1842
will hold its annual Christmas
party for local children under
12 years of age at the Elks
home on Friday, Dec. 21, im
mediately after the schools ad
journ for the holiday season,
the lodge brothers announced
this week.
Santa Claus will make his
usual appearance, presenting
stuffed stockings to all, and en
tertaining the youngsters with
showings of movies appropri
ate to the season.
Local Elks members will fly
with St. Nick and his reindeer
to Talkeetna on Sunday, Dec.
23. Anyone who knows of an
airplane available on that date
is requested to notify George
Herman, Harold Dunn, or Keith
Melendy.
“Baskets for the needy are
big this year, and the more
planes, the merrier the Christ
mas will be,” a spokesman said.
SERVICES FOR STANLEY McCALLOM
TO RE DEC. 26 IN EVERGREEN CHAPEL
Funeral services will be held
for Stanley McCallom, 79-year
old resident of Goat Creek, on
Wednesday, Dec. 26, at 10 a.m.
in the Evergreen Memorial
Chapel in Anchorage. Inter
ment will be in an Anchorage
cemetery.
McCallom was struck by a
car driven by Earl Goodrich
of Palmer at about 6:15 p.m.
Saturday evening at Mile 35 Vfe
on the Glenn Highway. He
was pronounced dead upon ar
rival at the Valley Presbyterias
Hospital in Palmer. Goodrich
said he was traveling about 35
miles per hour on the icy high
way when he saw McCallom
in the road at the foot of a hill;
that he honked and braked, but
was unable to stop his vehicle
or steer to the side of the
road on the icy incline; and
that the fender of his car struck
the man, throwing him to the
side of the road.
McCallom, who had lived in
Alaska 46 years, was born
April 29, 1883. There are no
known survivors, although
there is thought to be a brother
living in Nova Scotia. As all of
McCallom’s personal effects
burned in a fire several years
ago, very little information is
available about his early life.
COLOR FOR CHAISTMAS
On page 14 of this issue of
the Frontiersman appears a
Christmas greeting from the
Matanuska Telephone Associa
tion and the Matanuska Elec
tric Association, illustrated
with a three-color Christmas
scene.
The Frontiersman is the only
weekly newspaper in Alaska
which makes three-color repro
ductions available for Christ
mas editions.
Central Presents
Christmas Program
Tomorrow at I p.m.
Central school children will
present their annual Christmas
program tomorrow, Dec. 21, at
1 p.m., according to Norman
Rousey. principal. Parents are
invited to attend the program,
which will take place in Cen
tral school gymnasium.
Clifford Salisbury’s class
<6A) will open the program by
singing “ ‘Twas the Night Be
for Christmas,” and will be fol
lowed by grades 4 A. B, C. and
D, taught by Patricia Cattron,
Ravmona Cloninger, Virginia
Miller, and Phyllis Quellette,
whose students will sing ‘‘The
Twelve Days of Christmas.”
Grade 5A (Florence Dunlap)
will sing “White Christmas”
and “Silver Bells.” Ralph Bur
nett’s 5C’s will present “We
Three Kings of Orient Are.”
and Pearl Moyer’s lA's will fol
low with “Away in a Manger.”
2A, taught by Beverly Barry,
will sing “Jolly Old Saint Ni
cholas.” They will be follow
ed by the Chime Band, made
up of members of grades 4, 5,
and 6.
Barbara Wiehr’s 3A’s will
tell about “Rudolph, the Red
Nosed Reindeer” musically, the
5B’s (Paula Kucera) will sing
“Silent Night,” and Marjorie
Davis’s 6D’s will add “Good
King Wenceslas.” The 6B's (Du
ane Jacoby) will sing “What
Child Is This,” and Wilhelmina
Pedersen’s 6 C’s will conclude
the program with “O Christmas
Tree.”
Elementary music is undei
! the direction of Mrs. Lois Wel
don.
At the conclusion of the pro
gram, the Central school young
sters will return to their rooms
for their Christmas parties,
after which they will be dis
missed for the Christmas vaca
tion.
Swanson school children pre
sented their Christmas pro
gram for classmates and par
ents this afternoon at 2 p.m.
LEMON CASE TO
GO TO TRIAL
John Lemon, Wasilla busi
nessman, was indicted at a pre
liminary hearing on Friday,
Dec. 14, on a charge of shooting
too close with a dangerous
weapon, and has been bound
over for trial in superior court
before Judge Davis. The trial
date has been set on or about
Jan. 14.
Charges were brought by
Lloyd J. Rebischke of Anchor
age after a trespassing incident
on posted property at the Lem
on home.
Attorney for the defense is
Wendell Kay of Anchorage.
Public Invited to
Traditional Services
Churches throughout the Ma*
tanuska Valley area are plah- [
ning traditional Christmas setr.
vices for the next several days, |
culminating with candlelight
services on Christmas Eve and
several Christmas Day pro
grams.
First of the church school j
programs was that of the Un- j'
ited Protestant Church, held !
Dec. 16. The Rev. Paul Moyer, T|
pastor, has announced that the j
traditional Candle Light Ser- j j
vice will be presented on
Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, at 8:30 j
p.m., including carol singing,
the Scriptures of the Christmas j
story, special music by the
church choir, and the candle- ‘
lighting. The public is invited
to participate.
The Palmer Church of Christ ]
has arranged for a Fellowship ]
Dinner tonight at 7 p.m., wjth (
turkey, pumpkin pie and trim- j -
mings. Members and friends | ■
are asked to bring salads, vege
tables, or rolls. Following the
meal, there will be a “Christ- j
mas Pie” gift exchange. Tomor
row evening the young people 1
of the congregation will meet [
at the church building on SmitH
Avenue at 7 p.m. for Christ- ■
mas caroling. According to the
pastor, the Rev. Floyd Hadden
, ham, all community young peo
| pie and any older person w'ho
j feels young is invited to join 1
i the group. The annual Christ- i
I mas program will be presented 1
! against a background of candle-!
j light and poinsettias, on Dec. 23
j at 7 p.m., the pastor said. Col- j
ored slides of the Nativity '
story, posed and photographed ;
by the young people, will be!
used as part of the program.
St. Michael’s Catholic Church j
| will give a party for parish j
children on Saturday, Dec. 22,
in the church basement. The
fourth candle of the Advent
Wreath will be lighted, “Spiril
la! Bouquets” will be present
;d to the Infant Jesus, mem
bers of the catechism classes
ivill present a program, there
trill be a visit from Santa Claus,
i gift exchange, and refresh
nents.
. Father Francis Nugent will
ie Celebrant for the three Mas
;es on Christmas Day, the first
o be a High Mass at midnight,
^receded by a half hour of
Christmas carols to be sung by
he choir. The second and third
Jasses will be at 10:30 a.m. and
1:30 a.m. on Christmas Day,
vith traditional Christmas mu
ic. Confession^ will be heard
in Dec. 24 from 2 to 4 p.m. and
rom 10 to 11:45 p.m. Christmas
)ay is a Holy Day of Obligation
or all Catholics, as is New
fear’s Day. Masses on New
fear’s Day will be at 10:30 and
1:30 a.m.
The Youth Fellowship of the
’aimer Church of God will sing
Christmas carols at a number
>f homes in and around Palmer
>n Saturday evening. The last
itop will be the Paul Nelson
lome at the Butte where they
vill be served refreshments,
rhe Sunday School will pre
sent its Christmas program.
Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m..
pastor William A. Miller said.
Kindergarten through adults
will take part in “The Gates of
Christmas,” under the direction
of Roberta Hansen. A candle
light Christmas Eve service is
planned for Dec. 24 from 11
p.m. to midnight. The public is
invited to these services, Rev.
Miller said.
(Continued on page 5)
Mrs. Blunck Is
Contest Finalist
Mrs. Alma J. Blunck. teacher
in the Palmer school system, is
one of ten finalists chosen in
the national "Teacher of the
j Year” contest, sponsored by
Look magazine with the coop
eration of the Council of Chief
State School Officers and the
! U. S. Office of Education. The
j announcement was made Wed
1 nesday by Look Magazine.
Mrs. Blunck was one of 50
nominees, one chosen from
each state. Look Magazine has
informed her that their inter
Roauszka Describes State Lease Plan
Eugene Roguszka, director of
the state Division of Aviation,
met with members of the Pal
mer City Council and a dele
gation of Matanuska Valley air
men at a special meeting of the
council on Dec. 18. Rbguszka
had been asked to attend the
meeting to clarify problems of
maintenance at the airport and
to discuss the new leasing ar
rangement for all state-owned
airports which is now in effect
and which the state plans to
enforce early in January, 1963.
The division director was ac
companied by Mr. Moody, chief
engineer for the division of Av
iation, and Glenn Clark, real
estate officer.
Roguszka said the new rules
were intended to revise the
leasing policies of state-owned
airports to apply equally well
to all airports throughout the
state, and explained the rate
structures set ud under the rul
es. Palmer’s airport would clas
sify as a trunk airport, he said,
with a basic lease rate of one
cent per square foot. Added
would be one-half cent for sub
stantial construction or im
provement, such as graveled or
graded strips; one-half cent for
maintenance planned or accom
plished; one-half cent for cross
runway;, one-half cent for
lighting; and one cent for im
proved lot. Thus, for those us
ing space at the Palmer air
port or owning property adja
cent to the airport, the lease
rate would be three or four
cents per square foot. Users
and operators who require eg
ress and ingress privileges to
airport property from adjacent
private property will pay the
same rates as though they oc
cupied airport land, the divi
sion of aviation officials said.
They pointed out, however,
that these are basic rates only
and may vary according to lo
cation, incentive, demand,
availability, local economy, im
provements, services provided,
investment, fair market values,
and additional maintenance
and operation responsibilities.
When airmen challenged
what appeared to be arbitrary
action on the part of the divi
| sion in setting up the lease
\ schedule, Roguszka explained
that public hearings had been
held early in August, and that
notices of the hearings had
been sent to 17 newspapers
throughout the state.
The airmen raised a number
of objections to the new rules,
saying that the plan taxes only
property owners and those oc
cupying space at the airport;
that many others use the air
port in various ways without
being charged; that property
owners are already paying a
school tax, and this will add to
their burden; that private and
commercial fliers will find it
too expensive to keep going,
and that thus Alaskan aviation
will suffer; that persons who
might be interested in property
close to the airport will be dis
couraged from buying it; and
that the airmen have for years
maintained the airport at their
own expense, and now are fac
ed with paying rentals for its
use.
Division officials pointed out
that in return for the lease fee,
plane and property owners
have the privilege of using
every other state-owned air
field; that new strips are con
tinually being constructed, op
ening up areas previously inac
cessible; that under the new
arrangement the state will pay
for all maintenance, including
that of the lighting system if
the one-half cent fee is being
charged for it by the state; and
that through payment of the
fuel tax, there are very few
airport users w'ho are not pay
ing in some way for their priv:
ileges.
In answer to a question fron'
Councilman Hermann, Rogus
zka said that it would be en
tirely possible for a commun
ity such as Palmer to take ovei
the operation of the airpcr1
from the state, and that 6(
per cent of gas tax collec
tions at the airport woulc
be returned to the city foi
operation and maintenance
After one airman urged the
council to consider such a pro
ject. Councilman Hermann ex
pressed the opinion that the cit;
i would find operation of the air
port so costly that there wouli
be no advantage to the airmei
over the new leasing rules se
up by the state.
Airmen estimated that leas
( Continued on page 5)
| viewers will visit Palmer about
Jan. 11 to observe her work in
the classroom and the com
munity.
The reports of the visits to
1 the ten finalists will be con
j sidered by a screening commit
| tee, who will choose the top
j two teachers. The final deci
, sion is made by Look Magaz
! ine.
The winner will be brought
! to Washington, D. C. to meet
. the President and the state’s
! Congressional delegation, and
I to be honored by the National
Education Association.
Mrs. Blunck, whose husband
is Henning Blunck, Valley
farmer, is the mother' of two
daughters, Mrs. Pat Cullison of
Palmer and Mrs. Robert Staple
ton of St. Louis. The Bluncks
have seven grandchildren.
The finalist has taught in
the Palmer school system since
1950. She is very active in pro
fessional organizations, as well
as in civic groups of the Val
ley. She holds a master’s degree
in education, and plans to work
toward her doctorate next year
at the University of Arizona.
i
M
1 !
i |
t I
ANNOUNCING
Valley Electric Go.
Complete Wiring
Service
New and Remodel
Free Estimates
Emergency Service
Phone PI 54848
■WS/WN^A/VW^i/s
’___ _____ ■ ......
FREE TOM and JERRYS, December 24
CHRISTMAS EVE Moose
7 P.W. - 9 P.M. Members
MMSE CUM and Wives