F-~ lnor. Alaska
Editor.Dorothy Bell
Advertising. .Hr.rri-t Boll
Published o' cc a week at Palmer Alaska, for the Motonuske Valley
Fanners’ Cooperating Assiatian for the purpose, of giving news of the A
^ssbei-tians / 'ork, problems and accomplishments.
_Sub so rip tion Rate SI. 7 5_&1.C-Q for six months___10b a copy .
INDIAN SUMMER IN THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
'This is the time of year when the average citizen begins to think a
bout v.’hat he has accomplished during the summer and hov; ho will be fixed
to meet the winter conditions. Farmers can now tell with some degree
of accuracy about,howhis crops will produce and whether ho will
be able to meet'his obligations and have some left over.
The clerk, mechanic and the small business operator -usually gouges his
expectations on the condition of the farmer in a small farming community
like ours. Seme largo projects may effect the picture in a financial
way but largely the farmers income sets the pace for the business done.
It appears that the average farmer in the Matanuska Valley will have a
lar er income this year than for several years, however it must not be
assumed that he will have very muchmore money to save or spendfor lux
uries than he usually does. The progress of the-farmer is tied in
with the progress Cf the agencies that sell his crops and that also
provide him ivith his needs on the farm and in the home. In this sec
tion the Co-op is the large agency of this kind, in fact, it is about
the only firmly established marketing agency , therefore when the far
mer. -has good crops an.d, the Co-op can sell his products at a good urice
both are prosperous. 1he growth of the fame.in tho Valley has been in
■ parallel with the growth of the Co-op,as an illustration in 1939 the
total value of farm products sold through -the Co-op from the farms a
mounted to loss than the cost of freight paid by the Co-op that .year,
on items sold to the community through the Co-op and thefcverege cash
income was probably loss thaw^300 per farmer that year. The people
who were hero those years when the farms were now and markets were be
ing developed * -hould Well remember those facts.
The process of convincing the merchants of Alaska that our products
■••'ere as good ar better than those shipped in, it took alot of time and
v;ork and it still- requires constant vigilance to keep the idea going.
Some people think that the '..’ar solved the problem, and it might be in
teresting to know that the Matanuska Valley made a lot of progress
before tha Army made any extensive purchases. The present favorable
condition \ as made possible-by several ro sons. First: the building
of better farms that enabled the farmer to produce more and better
products for sale, this was accomplished by the trial ana error method
and it was hard work too. Farmers have learned to produce agricultural
products that are equal of any, . they have learned what to raise
and how to prepare it for market. Grading to establish a quality pack
that ’ ill sell was only learned by the long herd way. Second: the
management of the Co-op-also had to learn the hard ” y. The men who
ere responsible were often poorly equipped to solve the many problems
that they \ ere forced to meet. It was a difficult matter to educate
the people to the fact that a Co-op of this kind could only exist as
long s it served the interests of its members and could b^foade financ
ially successful, ■‘■he Co-op , was not granted funds that did
not have to be repaid and it ' as necessary that its officers conduct
ito business in such a manner that it T‘!ould be able to meet obligations
like interest, repayment of loans, taxes maintenance of facilities
new construction to meet the growing requirements of the business.
A ny inexperienced people were elected or mployed by the Co-op who
had the idea that the Co-op could be divided up to a better advantage
than to operate it as a business. This almost wrecked the Co-op bmt
enough members -held the idea that- it could be made to r ork for their
adv atago by keeping it intact that this movement
business has gone on in such a v. y that wo beliov.
md
to -.11 fair minded members that the Co-op
’as rrested and the
that it has/provjd
a v
is the best way.
The Co-op is in the Indian Summer season of its life, so let us eval
uace its good points and try to correct its poor on^s,there arc some
individuals who are members of the organization who do believe in
the Cooperative way of life, we must appreciate the fact that all of
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