■PALMER, ALASKA
DOROTHY M. BELL,Editor
\\ Published every Friday at Palmer, Alaska, for the Matanuska Valley
Farmers' Cooperating Association for the purpose of giving news of the
Association's work, problems, and accomplishments. _
SUBSCRIPTION BY MAIL $1.75
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SINGLE COPY 10 J
WHO SHOULD PROVIDE ENTERTAINMENT?
Older people like to recall the
mG<od Old Days" when they were
young. We nend not be too old to
do that either--past thirty is old
enough. "When we were young we did
this and that." They talk of the
sleigh rides, the taffy pulls, the
.skating parties, the basket socials
and ice cream socials. They really
were "good old days." Who planned
those parties? I believe if you
think about it, you will find 'that
the young people planned 'their own
entertainment with the approval of
tve,parents and alsb their cooper
ation when necessary. Generally
s .-'ec.ki.ng, however, the young folks
at that time were very'resourceful.
New it seems.that-most entertain
ment for our young people must, be
planned and engineered by. the older;
generation. ' • ••
What has made this difference?
I believe we will have to agree
that in the first place society
is constantly changing. How many- '
cf as hove been away for a year 4>r
pert of a year and when we return
we feel that people and things have
changed? We have changed too, but
we do not realize‘it.. ..In the sec
ond place our meanS'of transporta
tion makes a big difference. How*
far could we get with the old horse
and buggy? --15 miles was a long "
way/ but what is 50 miles now’?' The
automobile then, seems to be respon
sible for the scattering of local
community groups over a wider area.
Local groups have been broken' up.
The'ability to plan and provide for
entertainment seems somehow to'.have
been lost. We have been too. depend
ent on Movies, and commercially
planned entertainments. When- we
f'nd ourselves i*i-*a place where •
commercial entertainment is limited
wc are lost.' ...
rnis change seamed to come f.ol--o
lowing the First World War--What
will fellow this war? We may have
airplanes instead of auomobiles to
get aroind in—and think of the
area over which our young people
will seek entertainment. We will
need,more than ever before, facil
ities for local entertainment. The
"good old days"will probably never
return. • * Editor ''
MOBILE HEALTH UNIT PROVIDED
A new kind of public henlth pro
jcct-rS mobile health unit—will e
in operation in Southeastern Alaska
early in 1945, according to Dr* O.C.
Carter, Territorial Commissioner of
Health. The project is designed to
furnish medical; nursing, x-ray diag -
nostic laboratory and sanit'ry ser».' »
/ices to the many areas that previ
ously have received little r no
public health-service.
The unit will consist of a ve ’C-l
of approximately 55 feet, its cr /
and a physician, nurs.3~tccJmi.cien
and occr.sloiitsliy a sanitary .ffioe.
rhe vessel is to be equipped v/ltu
an x-’rqy laboratory for err mining
suspected cas^s of tu,bercul<Vd.is and
crippled children andi ■&. 'br.ct ri:>log
icn'l 'Taporatory which.Will enable'
the personnel *to make the xayina
feibns necessary f or tije- 'diag-1 sis of
contagious diseases and;.the ebntr 1
of epidemics.
Funds for the operation and mo•’n
tenance of. the unit as well as. to
provide the doctor ‘and nurse, were
ebtained after negotiations condnft
ud toy Dr. George Hays, Executive '
Officer of the -Health. Department with’
federal .officials, and will be j.
zided’mostly by the United Stat a - ■*
Children's Bureau. The Children's
Bureau has agreed to pr-ov-ide $'12: ,000
for a1, five, year program. The r- nain
Lng money is expected from a special
tuberculosis appropriation’by Congres
Jo the U.S. Public. Health Serylpe
ror the benefit of States rhd’ Ter
ritories. No-Territorial ><. ney i i
[deluded l.n ..the- budget for the c '
ition of the .activity. However r
»itcrial funds-will be used to .pro- '
ride hospitalization of cas-.s of •
tuberculosis and crippled chilpi?n
Uncovered by thfe unit.
i In the absence of ^hospital beds
Dr; Hays states, ”the best mi3 only "•
substitute in attacking' the tuber
culosis problem ‘in Alaska i.3 that
of finding the cases njid •t'OTt'tiing
them how to prot-ect" .thermselves.. r>r.d
others by strict isolp-tI’c’ri in their'-'.
homes;1. ■ This is difficult in-nd! 'x; aa-1'
sl.ve and admittedly a' poor suhstioutt
at best one thing thntA
toll-intelligent rind informed p-vcle,
and. that is: the longer we nut old
doing something about tuberculoses,
the more it is going to cost iu *ve
misery and money.”