ALASKA'S FIRST PLASTICS PLANT GOES INTO OPERATION [N FAIRBANKS
By Paul (Ip) Lein
Using Polyestrene, one of the ;
eldest plastics known to man, ;
Alaska Plastics, Inc., operating j
;n the Alaska Railroad area, has
gone into full production.
Owners of the new manufac
turing company are Harold Gil
3am. manager: Ralph Stephano
and Robert Crow, well-known
residents of Fairbanks.
What does Alaska Plastics, Inc.,
manufacture?
For the first time in Alaska,
here is a factory manufacturing
s 'mething that will compete with
c .itside products.
The main use of Polyestrene is
: r insulation and roof decking.
Other uses are for flotation pur
poses—small docks, swimming rafts,
cecorations and other such uses.
Polyestrene is shipped to Alaska
in its minute stage from Pitts
urgh. Pa.
Resembles Tapioca
Arriving in the initial stage, poly
Lynne Saunders,
Don "l as Johnson
Wed Last Friday
Over 3 25 people were present at
the marriage of Lynne .Irene Saun
ders. cir tighter of Mr. and Mrs.
Kobe; t Saunders of Reilv Road, to
Douglas Ray Johnson, son of Mrs.
Helen Johnson of Houston. Tex., on
May 25 t the University Presby
terian Church.
The bride, who wore a floor
D n.gth dress of bridal satin with an
overlay of french lace, fitted bodice,
end full «kirt. was kiven in mar
riage by her father.
Linda Carlson, a friend of the
. ride was maid <f honor and Rich
ard Garvin was best man.
Bridesmaids were Joan Schuette.
Helen Meyers. Marsha Burke, and
Janet Dailey.
Chuck Wenger. Lowell Purcell.
Tom "Carney, and Paid Garwood
were ushers. (
The double ring ceremony was
performed by the Rev. John Stokes
of the University Presbyterian
Church. ,
Nancy Wellman, soloist, sang “Be
cause" and “The Lord's Prayer,”
Eccpmoanied by, Fannie Johnson,
organist.
A reception followed at the Polar
Room at Travelers Inn.
Following the receotion. the
couple left for a wedding trip to
Century 21. They will then make
their home in Houston, Texas.,
where Johnson will be associated
with KPRC radio TV and Mrs.
Johnson will attend the University
of Houston.
estrene resembles tapioca. From this !
point it is enlarged by an expander,
using steam, to 40 times its original
size.
After expansion, the Polyestrene
is conveyed by air to the second
story of the factory where it is
stored for at least 12 hours, and is
then ready for moulding.
In the molder, the expanded beads
Shrine Circus Is
Coming To Town;
Arrives June 22
The circus is coming! June 22-27!
Don't miss it.
The Farthest North Shrine Club
of Fairbanks has announced that
they will present the Shrine Circus
during the last week in June.
The 290 ft. by 190 ft. "Big Top"
tend, which will be located between
Fourth and Fifth on Barnette, at
the City parking lot next to the
Elks’ Club, will seat 4,000 spec
tators.
The circus will feature clowns,
elephants. lions. trained seals,
horses and dogs, and fine circus ar
tists drawn from all four corners of
the globe. The show includes over
20 acts and lasts over two hours.
Both evening and matinee per
formances will be given.
The Shriners have opened a cir
cus office at 404 Second Ave. (Grei
mann Building).
Proceeds from the circus will be
used by the Farthest North Shrine
Club for its various charities.
PIONEER _
BIRTHDAYS
Eight residents of the Alaska
Pioneers' Home have birthdays dur
ing June, according to information
passed on by the Pioneer Women of
Alaska.
Emmett Koons, formerly of
Juneau, and Ray Slasor from Ket
chikan will celebrate their 98th and
80th birthdays, respectively, on
June 2.
Other pioneers celebrating birth
days in June are: Cornelia Howell,
June 9, from Yakutat: Joseph Notti,
June 15, from Spenard; William
Helheson, June 18, Juneau; John Ek
loff, June 18. Craig; George Gibson,
Juneau, and Ruben Higgins, Wran
gell. on June 26; and Olaf Johanson
of Sitka, no date given.
The Pioneer Women urge local
residents to take a few minutes out
! and send a card or small gift to
! these people who helped make Alas
ka the great land it is today.
arc fused under heat and pressure
provided by a steam boiler.
The beads are poured from the
second story into the mold and the
final product is ready in about 30
minutes.
Production at the plant at pres
ent is 6000 board feet per day.
Lowest Price
“We are certain we can market
this product for at least one-third
less than any competitive product
from the Outside," said Gillam.
“For the present we will hire two
or three men. and I am sure we will
eventually enlarge to where we will
have a million dollar industry going
in Fairbanks,” said Gillam.
Why cam this plant compete where
others have failed so miserably
with Outside products?
In the first place, Polyestrene is
shipped here minutely in bulk—and
expanded later. Thus the high cost
of shipping cubic foot content is
eliminated.
Secondly, the finished product is
very competitive with o t h e r s
Regents OK
(Continued from Page 1)
University does with the Tanana
Vailcy Fair Association.
Rexiew Articles
Articles of incorporation for the
non-profit Pioneer Park Corpora
tion are presently being reviewed by
an attorney. They will next be pre
sented to the Pioneers and the Ta
nana Valley Historical Society for
approval, and then be sent down to
Juneau for approval by the State.
Among those signing the articles
of incorporation are: Irving Reed,
president of the Tanana Valley His
torical Society; Harrie Hughes of the
Pioneer Park Committee; Paul Grei
i mann; Frank Chapados; Adolf
Stock, president of the local Pio
neers' Igloo; Ted Loftus; Forbes
Baker, and Frank Young.
Under the articles of incorpora
tion, the Pioneer Park Corporation
will be administered by a six man
board, composed of three Pioneers,
I two members of the Tanana Valley
Historical Society, and one member
from the State. The University of
Alaska will not be represented on
the board, and will be in no w~ay
connected with the corporation.
The Regents’ action ftvas a great
climax to the diligent and hard
working efforts of Harrie Hughes
and the Pioneers’ Park Committee,
and for the members of Pioneers of
Alaska, Igloo No. 4, and the local
Pioneers’ Auxiliary, who have all
worked long and hard to get a park
to commemorate the spirit of the
| great pioneers who settled Interior
Alaska.
Rich, Delicious
ICE
CREAM §
Surest way to
please everyone
at your dinner table,
serve a delicious
dessert of our
smooth ice cream!
Look
for
this
trademark!
shipped to Alaska from a quality
standpoint.
Thirdly, as an insulation material,
Polyestrene is non-porous and will
endure extreme temperatures.
“Our main costs now are shipping
and the high cost of power in Fair
banks," said Giliam.
“As these costs come down we
can pass the savings over to the
consumer—and go into production
for real.
“This is the first insulated wall
board plant to exist in Alaska, and
we plan to market the product all
over the State,” said Gillam.
NEW INDUSTRY — Harold Gillam, manager of Alaska Plastics,
Inc., pulls a new sheet of polyestrine from its mold. The new Fair
banks plant is the first of its kind in Alaska.
Around Town with First National
Donald Johnson
A skiing trophy won about 17
years agj is probably the reason
for Donald Johnson’s presence in
Alaska today.
Johnson, owner of the Shoe
Mart, served in Kodiak and the
Aleutian Islands during the war
in the Infantry. At the time he
was a ski instructor and so be
came a contender for a skiing
chimpionship which was held in
Anchorage. He won the event.
Born in Minneapolis, Minneso
ta, Johnson has been in the shoe
business for 20 years, including
part time work during hign
school and business school. Be
sides serving in Alaska, Johnson
was with the 1st Div. in West
ern Europe. After the service, he
worked ior three years in Los
Angeles in a shoe department
there. He me$ his wife, Hazel,
in southern California and they
were married in Las Vegas.
Because he had liked Alaska so well from the little he
saw during his service hitch and through winning a ski trophy
in Anchorage, Johnson returned to Alaska to work and live in
1949. He worked for the Northern Commercial Company shoe
store in Anchorage for a year and then when the Crockers
bought the shoe store in Fairbanks, Johnson was hired to do
the buying and manage it. This he did for more than ten
years until two years ago when he purchased the business.
Although he doesn’t do a lot of skiing anymore he still en
joys ice skating as well as fishing and hunting from his cabin
at Clearwater and bowling in two leagues.
The three little Johnsons are Pat G, Joan 11, and Donna 13.
Open Your Account at First National—Everybody’s Bank!
Fast Notional Bank
“First In Strength, Size and Service Since 1905"
Banking Facility, Clear. Alaska
Banking Facility, Ft. Wainwright
Member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporat-on