, Dorothy II. Bell, Editor—V,,s‘is?anline^
Palmer, Alaska
Published every week at Palmer, Alaska, for the Natanuska Valley Farmer's Cooperating
Association for the purpose of giving news of the Associations v’ork, Problems and
Accomplishments, and the dissemination of news of a public character.
SUBSCRIPTION RAPE '51.75 per year
Single Copy 10?
USE A DROPPINGS PIT OR
TACK \N IRE NE i 1 iN G U NOE R
kGCSTS
You can't exnect your hens to ripe their
feet on a door mat; before they go into a
nest-so you have- to keep your birds out
of the droppings to kee-> your eggs CLYAk.
A pit under the rootets covered with wire
netting is the best idea—and it saves you
cleaning the drepring3 boards, too. If you
don't ha-e a pit,‘and you can't make one,
at least tack -ire netting under the roosts
—anything to keep your birds from walking
through the droppings, tracking Vais dirt
onto CL AT eggs and lowering their market
value.
4 h club need'Tncentives
At the last,looting'of the Chamber of Com
merce one of the main topics under discus
sion was on 4-H Club work in the Valley,
Several persons prepent expressed the op
inion that 4--M Club work, had suffered sine
the removal of the 4-H*and Hone Demonstra
tion agent from the Valley,
Checking back mentally over the ^ast years
of this -ork here, we do note several in
dications of lessened interest. For in
stance, the 4-F member interest is much
lower than previously and leaders seem to
be hard to get. Lagging interest on the
part of the boys and girls is probably due
to several reasons. In the first place
local leaders meed the help and inspira
tion that a trained director in that field
can five then. In recent years the 4-” lead
er for this area nust spread herself out oven
too large a region and it is hnnanly inpos
sible for any person to do justice to any
or.e locality. The 4—H leader, during what
time she can be in any one- locality, must
divide her tine between the Homemaker ’ r C'ub.
and the 4-11 Club3. Sometimes this leader
loans more to the Honsnaking side and anothe
Imay be an all out 4-K leader and negloct the
Homemalcers. Of the two, the 4- ' Clubs need
the most attention—and the ladies of the
Homemakers seem to agree to this, T"e don’t
feel that we are hurting anyone’^ feelings
when we say this.
I Other reasons for lacking interest .are nro
j’oably due to the fev; revards offered for dil*
j igent world on the -.art of thp 4-H limber.
\Alaska is too new yet to have'many of'the
j attract ions' to • offer 4-K'ers that nay be '•
jfound in the States, but there arc cany that
lean be developed, In past years 4-H Cairo
■at Ring’s Lake was an incentive to do good
work. This, we understand, has dwindled in
importance because the 4-H H,,ent was' removed
from this region and her urogram crowded- to
the extent that the attractive program of
this cam had to be curtailed.
.Another incentive for good work was the trie
jto Fairbanks offered in the earlv vears of
4-H work here, or a trim to Ifcl'inley Park.
These trips can tbe used to encourage good
work by being made, available for outstanding
work in 4-H Clubs. ~ is is being done in
jthfe- States and the 4-H boys and girls really
(work to earn these tries.
i •••
I Tbe trips to the States given this last fall
'were a big step in promoting greater ■ inter-.
jest in 4-H Club achievement, but not many
|chn win' a trip. Thred from Alaska won trips
'to Chicago and one a trip to Portland. Lo
ical trips should be made available to a.large
number so that all 4-H,'ors stand a greater
: chance of an Award; trip at some "time 'dr.ring
their 4-H Club work .years,-" T^ile these trips
iare.valuable .as incentives to better work on
ithe part of the Club members, they also have
great educational value.
4-E Club ’Tnrk in the United States has become
one of the largest organizations for bojrs ant ^
girls, with an enrollment crowding 2,010,.VO.
Its value cannot be over-estimated. It
trains the leaders of tomorrow to intelli
gently use their heads, heart, hands and
health to make better citizens. Its value
in rural communities has long been recognized
as one neanc of making (continued on wage 5)