ELKS CEREBRAL PALSY
BENEFIT DINNER-DANCE
ELKS HALL
SATURDAY. JUNE 22
LIBRARY
J UNEAU
THE FRONTIERSMA
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
r
VOLUME 10. NUMBER 35
PALMER. ALASKA THURSDAY. JUNE 20. 1957
PRICE TEN CENTS
TOTALITARIAN RULE
CONTROLS REDS,
SPEAKER SAYS
An interested audience Mon
day night heard an enlightening
talk on facts from back of the
“iron curtain” in Eastern Ger
many and in Russia. The speak
er was Harold Korn, world tra
veler and lecturer.
‘“Wherever Communism ap
pears in a country, whether sate
llite or in Russia itself, the popu
lation emerges everywhere in the
same pattern of, complete dom
ination of everyone by the state”,
the eminent speaker said. “Al
though only about 7 million of
Russia’s 200 million population
are active in the party, all are
forced to conform with party
standards,” he said.
. “Ninety percent of the relig
ious edifices have been destroy
ed .. . not one is being restored
ifc the Eastern zone of Germany.
St. Isaac’s Catholic Church in
Rbssia, second largest in the
world, has many broken stained
glass windows. Inquiries regard
ing lack of repair were answer
ed by a Russian guide to the ef
fect that ‘your God can’t even
repair his own home’ . . . the
business section *has large letters
RO throughout the area. These
are black market stores operated
b ythe government for those for
tunate few who can afford to buy
there after they have used their
ration tickets . . . the German
mark is worth four times as much
in the Western zone as in the
Eastern zone, yet the Communists
will exchange only one for one
. . . good clothes are not avail
able in the Eastern zone. Women
travel across the line to the
Western zone and if new shoes
are worn or taken back, and
recognized as such by the border
guards, they are confisticated.
“The Russians like ‘big’ things.
An American threshing machine
brings great exclamations of ad
miration when seen by the Rus
sian farmer. If the Russians were
not afraid of showing their true
feelings they might be some of
our closest friends . . . this is a
peculiar situation but true.”
The speaker told of false-fronts
on buildings. “They appear to be
beautiful, modern structures,
Whqn viewed from a bus or car..
On foot, the learned traveler sees
the other side. In back of these
false-fronts are shabby two-room
living quarters, some which still
(Continued on page 8)
SPORTSMEN PLAN
ANNUAL FISH FRY
The Matanuska Valley Sports
men annual fish fry will be held
at Barry’s Finger Lake Resort
oil Sunday, July 14 according to
Gene Kirsch, fry chairman.
Everyone planning to attend
the popular event is asked to be
gin making arrangements for
furnishing fish on that day. “We
need a lot of fish”, Kirsch said,
■“and those anglers who are hav
ing a streak of good luck now
might put a few of them in the
back of the freezer for July 14”,
he added.
Fish should be cleaned and
ready to fry before being frozen
in a pan of water. Fish may be
taken to the fry the morning of
July 14 without prior thawing,
Kirsch said. The club will be
furnishing ice cream, coffee,
Kool-aid, and hard rolls. Families
are asked to take their own pic
nic lunches to suppliment the
fish.
Anyone not, having a freezer
or locker may leave their fish
with Bob ^jJohns at the North
Palmer Store.
HEADQUARTERS FOR
JUNE WEDDINGS
MAUD'S FLOWER SHOP
Theatre Bldg. Phone 3601
Telegraph Delivery Service
WVV^AiVVWVVVVWVWVVV
VALLEY WELCOMES
TWO NIGHTS OF RAIN
! Valley residents, and especi- ;
| ’ ally the farmers of. the area, ;:
welcomed the rainfall on the ;
j; 18th and again last night. Ac- ;
;i cording to precipitation figur- ;
I es recorded by Max Sherrod, ;
>U. S. Weather Observer, .14 of ;
;! an inch fell Tuesday night and
\ .51 on Wednesday night. !
Travel Group
Expected Here
Saturday Evening
The Greater Clarkston Associa
tion of Clarkston, Washington, is
expected to arrive in Palmer
about 6 p.m. Saturday evening.
The tour group will be met on
the highway by territorial and
city police and escorted to Pal
mer where the Northland Pion
eer Grange and the Matanuska*
Valley Chamber of Commerce
will sponsor a dinner for the
travelers. Approximately 20 cars
are expected in the caravan. The
visitors plan to stay overnight
in Palmer and travel to the An
chorage and Homer areas within
*the next few days.
The public is invited to wel
come the group as they arrive in
the city. They will be displaying
a complete set of state flags gath
ered from over 30 states and
Guam, Hawaii, and Alaska.
Telephone Directory
To Be Distributed
Max Clements, manager of the
Matanuska Telephone Associa
tion, announced that telephone
books will be made available to
MTA subscribers the first of
next week.
The printed books list the three
local exchanges, .Pioneer, Fron
tier, and Alpine alphebetically, in
a combined section. The Chugiak
exchange is listed separately be
cause calls *to and from that sec
tion of the system are on toll. A
complete classified section is car
ried in the back of the book and
pertinent information is printed
in the first section. Subscribers
and all telephone users are urg
ed to carefully read the instruc
tions printed in this, the first
telephone directory. By taking
the time to read this information,
much confusion and lost time
may be avoided at a later date,
Clements pointed out.
Because it was necessary to
make several number changes, as
well as additions, in the rural
area, Clements asked that per
sons making calls into the rural
area use the new directory to be
certain they are using the cor
rect number. About 75 telephones
are involved in the new numbers
and are correctly listed in the
directory. Clements said that
MTA prsonnel will be calling at
the location of these telephones
to make the change in the num
ber as listed on the telephgne
instrument. Subscribers are re
quested not to attempt to make
the change themselves.
NO INTERFERENCE
TROUBLE EXPECTED
FROM NEW MEA LINE
The new 33KV line is expected
to cause much less “noise” than
the old 72 line, according to a
report received by Cy Brewer,
MEA manager. Brewer reportd
that The Alaska Railroad was
particularly intrested in deter
mining how much interference
they would get on their communi
cation lines from the new MEA
line. After the installation of the
line, which runs parallel to the
communication line, it was dis
covered that the interference ex
pected was not there, in fact, the
line was more quiet than it had
ben before the installation. For
this reason, Brewer said, we feel
sure the residents along the
transmission line will have little
or no interference in their radio
or television reception.
ELKS DINNER-DANCE
TO DENEFIT
CEREBRAL PALSY
Tickets are on sale, and may be
obtained from any member of the
Palmer Elks lodge for the an
nual Cerebral Palsy benefit din
ner-dance to be staged by the lo
cal lodge this Saturday night.
The dinner, featuring roast chick
en, will be served at Elks hall
from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., with a
dance to follow .An Anchorage
orchestra will furnish the music.
Tickets will be $3.00 per per
son, with all proceeds to go to
the Cerebral Palsy fund.
This fund is making possible
physical therapy in the home to
many children of Alaska. At the
present time two young children
in the Palmer area, both victims
of polio, are receiving regular
therapy in their homes, through
this service. The mobile unit
which comes into the valley near
ly every Wednesday is manned by
David H. Morris who has been
working for the Alaska Territor
ial Elks Cerebral Palsy program
as physical therapist for West
ern Alaska since December 1,
1955. Morris, who received an
A. B. from Willamette University,
with a major in physical educa
tion has a physical therapy cer
tificate from the University of
Southern California. He had three
months of clinic training in
Cerebral Palsy techniques at the
Orthopedic Hospital in Los An
geles and at Washington Boule
vard Cerebral Palsy School.
The valley children benefit
ting from this therapy work are
polio victims who otherwise
would have to make regular trips
to Anchorage for treatment. Mrs.
Wilbert Trudell, whose son is re
ceiving treatment, said this week
that without this mobile service
(Continued on page 8)
NAT. DAIRY MONTH
BEING OBSERVED
June Dairy Month, the annual
period during which the nation
pays tribute to cows and the
dairy industry goes all out to tell
the story of dairy foods, will take
on a historical note this year.
The 350th anniversary of the
founding of Jamestown colony,
the first permanent English set
tlement in this country, also
marks the founding of the Ameri
can dairy industry.
Leading Product
Milk is Alaska’s leading agri
cultural product and returns a
value of over $1% million to Al
aska’s farmers. The 1957 milk
production in the territory show
ed an increase of 18 percent in
volume over 1955, according to
statistics from the Alaska De
partment of Agriculture.
The rapid increase of Alaska’s
population has afforded a ready
market for fresh Grade A milk
and Alaska’s dairy farmers are
doing their'best to fulfill the de
mand. According to George
Crowther of the Agriculture De
partment approximately 11%
million pounds of milk were pro
duced in the Matanuska Valley
rtmcnorage area last year, am
ounting to 5,330,000 quarts of
fresh milk—which will go a long
way toward keeping Alaska’s
population in good health.
To produce 11,500,000 pounds
of milk requires a considerable
amount of invested capital and
labor, Crowther pointed out. The
cleared land, machinery, cows,
and buildings constitute an in
vestment of over $50,000 for the
average dairy farmer. The Ma
tanuska Valley-Anchorage area
has ^0 Grade A dairy farms and
a total of 1,600 dairy cows. In ad
dition, there are two modern pro
cessing plants employing over
60 person's.
Alaska’s soil and climate are
particularly well suited for dairy
production. Forage crops grow
well during the long days with
moderate temperatures.
Consumption of milk by the
(Continued on page 8)
Area Coal Mines
Receive Proposed
Military Schedules
Coal miners of the valley are
expected to be back at work
early next month. Don Hill, of
ficial of the Evan-Jones Coal
Company, said this week that
work is expected to resume on
July 8 at which time the crew
laid off late this winter, will be
put back to work. According to a
proposed schedule received from
Washington, D. C. this week the
Evan-Jones mine is to furnish a
total of 204,000 tons of coal to
the twm Anchorage military bas
es; 110,000 to Elmendorf and 94,
000 to Fort Richardson. This is an
increase of about 34,000 tons over
last year.
The Mrak Coal Company has
received wbrd their proposed
schedule will be for 60,000 ton
of coal. This is about double the
amount contracted for last year.
Several miners have gone back
to work at this mine.
Although neither company has
■ yet received their contracts, it is
expected the production date will
start July 1, as in past years.
MTA NEEDS MORE
SUBSCRIBERS
Additional new members, es
pecially in the rural areas, are
needed in the Matanuska Tele
phone Association, according to
Lew Hanks, MTA president.
Hanks told Chamber of Commer
ce members that it is necessary
to again “get out and beat the
drums”. He explained that in or
der to extend service to a num
ber of potential subscribers ad
ditional funds will be needed. To
get these funds, additional mem
bership and equity payments will
be needed to amortize the cost of
the entire system. He pointed out
that at the present time 700 sub
scribers are receiving service.
The system was set up to service
950 persons and that number is
needed to meet payments on the
system, he explained. If addi
tional subscribers are not signed
up soon, present telephone rates
will probably have to be raised
to meet costs of the system, he
added. Persons interested in ob
taining telephone service are urg
ed to contact the business office
in Palmer, either in person or by
mail.
FARMERS MARKET
OPENS FOR SEASON
Farmers Market, located near
the Little League ball diamond
in the Co-Op area, will open for
the season this Saturday, accord
ing to Mrs. Charles Shaefer.
The market will be open Satur
day and Sunday from 10 a.m. to
5 p.m. and in addition to local
produce, baked goods will be of
fered for sale. Among produce
ready for market are radishes,
turnip and beet greens, leaf let
tuce, potatoes, and rhubarb.
All products are produced here
in the Matanuska Valley.
BOY SCOUT CAMPAIGN
CLOSES THIS SATURDAY
The Boy Scout finance cam
paign, conducted in Palmer this
pasL week, is expected to close
on Saturday. All individuals, or
ganizations, or business firms not
contacted during the campaign
may make contributions by tak
ing or mailing them to Kyle Tur
ner at the Matanuska Valley
Bank. Funds raised will be used
during the coming year for the
Scout program in the valley.
COMFORTABLE
Steam Heated Rooms
Hyland Hotel
2 blocks from Post Office
Ditching to Start
Monday On Co-Op Ave.
Work is expected to start
Monday morning in the Co-Op
shopping area where the City
of Palmer will be doing ditch
ing work for the installation of
water lines down Co-Op Ave
nue. Some inconvenience to
motorists is expected however,
city water department em
ployees will make all attempts
possible to work it out in the
best possible way, it was an
nounced. The work is expect
ed to be completed within a
few days.
NEW TAX LAW
PROVIDES CHANGES
IN PROCEDURES
Territorial Legislation, passed
after the 1957 tax bills were or
dered, sets new maximum penal
ty and interest rates to the ad
vantage of the taxpayer, accord
ing to William Wakeland, city
school district tax assessor and
collector. This advantage has one
exception, he pointed out. That
is, the whole bill falls delinquent
if the first half is not paid on
time. Penalty and interest will
then be computed on both hal
ves. he explained, and suit for
collection of personal property
taxes can commence in August.
The new bills were designed,
Wakeland said, to speed up pro
cessing payments. The tax as
sessor urged that taxpayers
leave them attached to one an
leave them attached to one an
other and return both copies to
the assessor’s office with the pay
ment. The duplicate will be re
turned to you as a receipt. Fail
ure to take in both copies will
necessitate waiting while a
special receipt is made up, Wake
land added.
“All bills from the city may be
paid with one check payable to
the tax assessor”, Wakeland
said, “and all bills from the
school district can be paid with
one check payable to the tax as
sessor—but, if you pay taxes to
both the city and school district,
make two checks," Wakeland
stated.
Another notice, 30 days before
the second half is delinquent will
be sent to taxpayers, if the first
half was paid on time. If the
first half is not paid, one delin
quent notice will be sent. If the
first half is paid on time and
the second half not paid when
due, one delinquent notice will
be sent. No additional notices,
warnings, or reminders will be
sent, he emphasized.
Taxpayers are asked to contact
the office of the tax assessor if
tax bills are not received by next
week.
Farmers who are members of
the Matanuska Valley Farmers
Cooperating Association have re
ceived signs for their property
which identify them as producers
of Matanuska Maid products. The
attractive signs carry the name
of the farmer and are located at
their property near the road edge.
TO ALL OUR FINE PATRONS
Due to limited space we urge
you to pick up your cleaning
as soon as possible.
BROWN'S SHOP
GROUPS TAKE ACTION
TO EASE DROUGHT
PROBLEMS IN VALLEY
Actions are being taken by the
Matanuska Valley Farmers Co
operating Association, Alaska De
partment of Health and the Mat
ariuska Valley Chamber of Com
merce in an attempt to alleviate
the Critical crop conditions caus
ed by witner kill and drought in
the valley areas.
In a telegram to Governor
Stepovich Stewart A. Durrant,
Co-Op general manager, report
ed that due to the winter kill in
grass and hay and continued
drought the dairymen in the val
ley; are in a serious feed short
age. He suggested this area be
declared a disaster area so that
government relief on freight
rates on feed brought in from
the states may be. permitted.
Shortly after receiving the wire
Governor Stepovich contacted
the local office of the Department
of' Agriculture for figures and
statistics regarding the situation.
In the absence of James Wilson,
commissioner of agriculture, who
is in the States, George Crowther,
marketing specialist, made a sur
vey among farmers and sent his
findings to the governor who was
enroute to Washington, D-C.
At the June 19 meeting of the
local Chamber of Commerce,
Crowther, as one of the guest
speakers, reported his findings
as follows:
Because of the limited time it
was not possible to contact all
farmers of the area. About 40
percent of the local Grade A
dairymen were contacted by tele
phone and asked the following
four questions: (1) How many
acres of permanent grass do you
have both for pasture and hay or
silage production? (2) How many
acres of your permanent grass
winter killed? (3) How will this
affect your winter feed supply?
(4) Do you have a shortage of
moisture and if so to what extent
is it affecting your forage crops?
Figures obtained, Crowther
said, showed 55 percent of pas
ture and brome were winter kill
ed. Most of the farmers will be
short of winter feed, with sever
ity depending upon future rain
fall. He added the question on
how the moisture situation was,
resulted in some curt answers.
Crowther pointed out thtit a
number of dairymen have had to
put their cows into the woods
to feed. “There is always the dan
ger of larkspur poisoning in
,the woods feeding” he stated.
Stewart Durrant pointed out that
in addition to this hazard, a num
br of cows have injured their ud
ders, with mastitis resulting in
several cases.
A letter from Wesley A. D*
Ewart, assistant to the director of
the Agricultural Credit Services,
Department of Agriculture, was
received by the local Department
of Agriculture in which D’Ewart
stated that in reply to a letter
sent May 27 by Commissioner
Wilson “it would appear to us
that the assistance you need could
be given under our soil conserva
tion program and perhaps some
(Continued on page 8)
NOTICE to Landowners!
Will have a bulldozer at
HORSESHOE LAKE next two
weeks. Contact me if you want
work done.
FRITZ HERMON
Caterpillar Work
See BILL NELSON for D-8 “Cal” work,
have giant breaker disc, scarifier and
angle blade
WILL DO GOOD WORK AT REASONABLE RATES
INQUIRE CO-OP CREAMERY
PALMER ELKS“DINNER-DANCE, SATURDAY, JUNE 22
DINNER SERVED 6;30 TO 8;30 P.M. — $3.00 PER PLATE BAKED CHICKEN _EVERYBODY WELCOME