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THE FRONTIERSMAN
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
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VOLUME 9, NUMBER 37
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY, JULY 5, 1956
PRICE TEN CENTS
Area Forest Fire
Now Under Control
Two forest fires just off the.
Glenn Highway, and a brush fire
at Sutton the past two days have
kept fire fighters busy.
Tuesday night a fire near the
Meekin Log Cabins was report
ed to the Palmer Fire Guard
Station and 26 fire fighters and
two fire control aides are out on
the fire which covers 10 acres
and is now under control. This
fire is located near Mile 112 on
the highway, at the south fork
of the Matanuska River. The
cause of the fire is not yet
known.
A second fire, located in the
Long Lake area, is also under
control. Two fire fighters and
two fire control aides are on this
fire which covered approximate
ly three acres. The fire started
along the edge of the lake and,
is believed to be the fault of
fishermen.
The fire in the Sutton area oc
curred when all available fire
fighters were out on the other
two fires. Fire Chief Joseph
Gallant of Palmer took the city’s
Civil Defense Jeep to the area
where Sutton residents had ob
tained a dozer and the fire was
brought under control.
Because of extremely dry
conditions in the woods and
along the highways, motorists,
fishermen and campers are urg
ed again by William Adams,
BLM forester, and the city fire
chief, to exercise great caution
in discarding matches and cigar
ettes, in building and extinguish
ing camp fires, and burning rub
bish or brush.
L.D.S. CHURCH PLANS
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The annual conference of the
Palmer branch of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
will be held Monday, July 9 at
8 p.m. in the chapel of the new
church building.
1 Elder Marion G. Romney, of
the Council of Twelve Apostles
of the church, Sister Romney,
both of Salt Lake City, Utah and
Douglas H. Driggs, president of
the Northwestern States Mission
and Sister Priggs of Portland,
Oregon, will all be in attend
ance.
The conference is being held
in the new church building on
Springer Read in Palmer. The
building is not completed but
local members are working hard
to get it in suitable condition for
the conference.
All church members and
friends, as well as the general
public, are invited to attend the
meeting.
Dept, of Fisheries
Stocking Lake Lucille
Twelve pounds, or in other
words, 30,000 fish fry were put
in Lake Lucille this morning
under the direction of the Al
aska Departn ;nt of Fisheries,
and other 30,000 will be planted
sometime today, according to
Alex McRae of the Department.
McRae said hey will plant
about 150,000 fry in the lake
before they a e through.
This is the largest. lake ever
stocked by the Alaska Depart
ment; Lucille is just under 400
acres. McRae said the stocked
lakes are use illy closed to fish
ing for two s* a sons, in this case,
for this year and next year. Ap
proximately >00,000 fry will be
planted in various lakes this
year by tin* Department.
Assisting the Department of
Fisheries in stocking Lake Lu
cille were H. E. Frederick, Rob
ert Gross, and John Stump from
Hallea Lodge, Wally Teeland
from Wasilla and Rae Baxter of
the Fish and Wildlife Service.
BONE CHINA CUPS
Cut Flowers — Potted Plants
Arrangements and Coinages
MAUD'S FLOWER SHOP
Theatre Bldg. Phono 3W1
July Meeting Dates
Changed by Chamber
The regular meeting of the
Matanuska Valley Chamber
of Covmerce, slated for yes
terday, was postponed to July
11 because of the holiday. The
second meeting this month
will be held in the 25th. Aug
ust meetings will revert back
to the first and third Mon
days, regular meeting dates.
Meetings are held in the Co
Op club room at 12:05 p.m.
and all interested persons are
invited to attend.
TELEPHONE LINES
GOING IN ON
NEW M.T.A. SYSTEM
Construction of the telephone
lines for the new Matanuska
Telephone Association dial sys
tem is going along very well,
according to Robert Partridge,
MTA manager. The Palmer to
Sutton line is nearly completed,
he said and crews expect to
start the Big Lake line this
week.
Line construction is being
done by the Bonnerville Con
struction Company of Idaho.
Skilled personnel was brought
in for the specialized work and
a few local men hired for the
labor.
Home phone installations are
about one quarter complete,
Partridge said. Subscribers in
the Butte area are complete and
phones are being installed in
the Springer and Farm Loop,
Wasilla and.. Sutton areas. These
^phones will be put in operatibn
late this fall when the system is
completed and cut in. If at all
possible, Partridge said, emer
gency phones will be hooked up
in the various areas before that
time.
Members this week were mail
ed general information bulletins
which should answer the major
ity of questions and help the
subscriber determine wTiat type
service he desires, the manager
sai-’
V.F.W. CELEBRATION
DRAWS BIG CROWD
Susitna Post 9365 of Wasilla
Veterans of Foreign Wars, held
their annual Fourth of July
kids’ picnic on one of the finest
—most misforecast—days of the
year. A record crowd of visitors
from Alaska and many States
attended the celebration.
The outboard motor was
awarded to Pearl Loberg and the
vacuum cleaner to Ted Buzby,
both of Palmer.
In a razzle-dazzle game of
baseball between Anchorage and
Wasilla V.F.W. Posts, age limped
home the winner in a no play
off score of 11 to 11.
Through the kindness of the
Co-Op dairy, Matanuska Maid
ice cream was kept flowing
without end. One boy bragged
he had eaten 16 ice cream cones
and three coke floats.
A big play was made at the
“Aw Shucks” table and the fish
pond. Hot dogs and pop were
served to everybody.
MOTORISTS MUST
HALT AT STOP SIGNS
Territorial Police this week
drew the attention of motorists
to paragraph 23 in the revised
regulations of Alaska traffic
laws which states that “The op
erator of any vehicle shall come
to a complete stop before enter
ing any street, highway or rail
road crossing where a STOP
SIGN is erected.”
Attention was drawn more
particularly to the stop sign at
the railroad crossing on the
Glenn highway near the old road
commission. Until such time as
fhe sign is remoyed ,pr changed,
all vehicles are obliged to come
to a stop on approachiaM the
crossing.
Alaska Line’s New
Trainships lo Offer
Faster Service
The Alaska Steamship Com-;
pany’s two proposed Trainships
for the Seattle-Alaska run mov
ed a step closer this week writh
the announcement by D. E. Skin
ner, Alaska Line’s president,
that invitations to bid on the
vessels were issued to shipyards
June 29 on behalf of the com
pany by George G, Sharp Co. of
New York, naval architects who
designed the vessels. Date set
for the opening of bids is Aug
ust 28.
The two Trainships will be the
largest commercial vessels reg-:
ularly operating out of Seattle.
\n indication of size is their
bale cubic of 1,300,000 as com
pared to the 475,000 of a Liberty
ship.
specifications call for geared
i steam turbo turbine propulsion
; machinery driving twin screws,
and a sustained sea speed of 18
| knots under Alaska operating
conditions with a full load of
110 railcars, 40, 40-foot trailers
and 13,000 barrels of cargo oil
in addition to the ship’s fuel.
They will be able to operate on
an eighty-day turn-around be
tween Seattle and Whittier, pro
viding a sailing froift each port
every four days. Trainships will
thus provide the fastest surface
transportation service available
between the United States and
the vast interior of Alaska,
bringing that area from one to
three weeks closer to stateside
sources of supply, and make a
notable contribution to the fur
ther development of Alaska and
maintenance of strong defenses
here.
The entire project, involving
an investment in ships, termin- j
als and other facilities in excess
of $20,000,000 will be privately
: financed without aid of govern
ment subsidies or funds it was
emphasized.
Local Woman Pilot
Receives Flight
Examiner Rating
Rene Nielsen, flight instruc
tor at the Palmer Airport, re
cently received her Flight Ex
aminers rating and is now qual
ified to issue private licenses
and ratings. This is the first
time the Palmer area has had a
flight examiner; previously pil
ots had to go to Anchorage for
their tests.
Miss Nielsen, who has over
1500 hours of instruction time
to her credit, has soloed 70 stu
dents, 35 of them off the Palmer
field where she is now in her
fourth season of flight instruc
tion.
The new examiner learned to
fly in 1939 while attending the
Black Hills Teachers College at
Spearfish, N. D., under the Civil
ian Pilot Training Program. Her
first job was with the Souix i
Skyways at Sioux Falls,, S. D.
where she works as a clerk and
continued to build up her fly
ing time. When the field was
taken over by the Airforce Miss
Nielsen took a night course in
drafting and design and worked
for Curtis Wright at St. Louis as
a junior nautical engineer in
1942. When the WASP program
opened she joined in January
of 1943 and following her train
ing became a ferry pilot, later
attending a tow-target school.
Upon completion of this course,
she towed targets for anti-air
craft practice in North Carolina
and Georgia, and la'er flew in
the experimental phase of radio
controlled planes. She flew
test hops on AT6’s in Florida
and from there went to Califor
nia where she was located when
the WASP program was dis
banded. She began her instruc
tors career in 1945 in Virginia,
instructing under the GI bill.
From there Miss 'Nielsen came
to Alaska in 1947 and fits re
mained here since, that time.
She holds a number of ratings;
single engine, land and sea;
multi-engine, land; instructors;
and now her examiners, and has
a total of 2906 hours of flying
time, of which 2600 is total solo
logged hours.
Kiwanians Offer
Five-Year Plan for
Community Park
Members of the Palmer Ki
wanis Club park committee re
ported at their July 2 meeting
that plans for the proposed park
will be presented to the City of
Palmer at the next city coun
cil meeting.
Their proposal for developing
a city park would be on a five
year plan, with the Kiwanis ob
jective to provide a level, grassy
playground and a wooded pic
nic area with appropriate facil
ities. The Kiwanis Club of Pal
mer would assume the respon
sibility for developing the pro
posed area bounded by Walker,
Snodgrass Streets and Park
Avenue into a city park, and
the city to maintain the area as
i community park when the de
velopment program is complet
ed.
The club would participate by
doing the following: (1) Serve as
the agency responsible during
the next five years for planning,
developing and maintaining a
city park in the proposed area.
The planning to be a joint re
sponsibility of the club and the
Planning Commission. The city
to construct streets around the
area, provide equipment for de
velopment and whatever labor
and materials it can spare. (2)
During the next five years the
Kiwanis Club will annually con
tribute 30 days labor and $200
for cash expenditures. Outside
contributions ot money, labor
and equipment to be solicited
by the club from other civic
groups and individuals.
The tentative five-year park
development program has been
proposed as follows:
1956- 57: Clear three to four
acres in center of area for play
ground. Start clearing under
brush in remaining area for pic
nic ground. City extend Park
Avenue from Walker Street to
Snodgrass Avenue as stated in
minutes of October 20, 1955 City
Planning Commission minutes.
1957- 58: Remove roots, level
and seed cleared area. Clear un
derbrush from remainder of
park area. Gravel parking areas
for cars.
1958- 59: Construct water foun
tains, outdoor lavatory and pre
pare section for playground
equipment.
1959- 60: Provide picnic tables,
fireplaces and facilities for dis
posal of garbage.
1960-61: Construct covered area
for meetings and eating, storage
room for park tools and equip
ment and do any necessary fenc
ing.
Members of the Kiwanis Club
park committee are Cy Brewer,
Stewart Durrant, and H. P.
Gazaway.
WILLOW ROAD OPEN;
REPORTED VERY GOOD
A large number of picnickers
and fishermen took to the Little
Susitna road over the holiday,
many of whom went on to Wil
low over the road that was offi
cially opened on the Fourth.
ARC personnel have done con
siderable work on the road this
past season, clearing brush and
filling in chuck holes. The drive
to Willow is often described as
one of the most beautiful areas
in Southwestern Alaska. Outside
of a short distance where there
is still some melting snow, the
road was reported in very good
condition.
Along the Glenn Highway,
where a lot of traffic was also
seen, travelers were using the
new Bailey bridge erected over
Moose Creek by the Alaska
Road Commission to take the
place of the old bridge which
was damaged two weeks ago.
The Bailey was set up down
stream from the temporary
crossing that was put in by the
ARC immediately after the ac
cident
-- 1 1 '*—
The Co-Op creamery now has
the largest “rubbish box” in
town. A 12 x 12 foot structure
was completed this week at the
creamery to enclose the daily
accumilations at the creamery.
It la completely screened for
sanitary purposes.
Palmer Man Drowns
At Wolverine Lake
Several Meetings
Rescheduled in Palmer
Because of the holiday yes
terday several scheduled area
meetings were postponed.
The Matanuska Valley Cham
ber of Commerce meeting
will be held July 11; as will
the Matanuska Valley Sports
man meeting. Boy Scouts of
Troop 654 will meet tonight
at Legion Hall. The Palmer
School Board meeting was
postponed until July 11.
FREE OFFER
WELL RECEIVED
BY SUBSCRIBERS
The free full-color 10;inch geo
graphical reference globes be
ing offered by The Frontiersman
with each one-year subscription
to the valley newspaper are go
ing fast. The globe has detailed
markings of trade route, marine
distances and all geographic no
tations.
I he offer is good in Alaska
only but may be accepted by
anyone in the Territory by send
ing or bringing the coupon that
appears elsewhere in this week’s
issue of The Frontiersman to the
business office, or mailed to Box
D, Palmer. Orders sent by mail
should be accompanied by a
check or money order. Subscrip
tions in the Valley are $5.00 per
year; outside the Valley, $6.00.
The offer is limited to the
supply now on hand.
Special Hospital
Fund Nears $700
At the preesnt time there is
$697.66 in the special account
for the Valley Hospital revolv
ing fund, according to Ed Smith,
chairman. The money represents
various donations to the special
fund and will be boosted soon
by the sale of tickets on a cro
\ cheted table cloth which is now
on display in a window at
Bettys’.
The cloth was donated to the
fund by Mrs. Bernard Bouwens
who did all of the crocheting.
Blocking of the cloth was do
nated by Brown’s Cleaners.
Tickets may be obtained from
a number of people in town,
Smith said. Anyone who would
be willing to help out by selling
tickets is asked to contact Smith
at Ketchikan Spruce Mills. The
date the cloth will be awarded
will be announced very soon.
WASILLA MAN SPEAKER
AT W.C.T.U. MEETING
William Boatright of Wasilla
will be guest speaker at the reg
ular meeting of the Womens
Christian Temperance Union
which will be held Monday eve
ning in the Church of God on
Matanuska street, beginning at
8 p.m. All interested persons are
invited to attend.
Franklin Haumchild, 28, of
Lazy Mountain, is believed to
have drowned last evening
when an eight-foot boat from
which he and two companions
were fishing, overturned in the
small lake at Wolverine Lake.
According to a report given
Territorial Police by James W.
Moody of Anchorage, he and his
son Harold, 17, had been fishing
with the victim all day. About
7:45 p.m. both Harold and Haum
child caught a fish at the same
time. Haumchild had boated his
fish and was reaching with a
dip net to help Harold get his
fish when the boat tipped over,
throwing the trio into the water,
about 70 feet from shore. Moody
| said that he had difficulty in
reaching shore but saw the top
. of a head in the water about IQ
feet off shore and went back in
and brought his son to shore.
The youth was not conscious and
Moody reported he also blacked
out at that time. He said he re
vived first and then his son.
They could not locate Haum
child.
The father and son made their
way for a distance of about a
mile to where the Haumchild
truck was parked but couldn’t
get it started because the keys
were in the pocket of the miss
ing man. David Cameron of An
chorage, who was fishing in
Wolverine Lake, drove the two
to §ie Haumchild home and then
drove into Palmer where he re
ported the accident to Territori
al Police.
A search of the area last night
failed to produce the victim.
The search was to continue to
day.
Haumchild is survived by his
wife, w*ho is expecting their
third child within a month, and
a daughter Susan, 5 and a son
Danny, 3. Mrs. Haumchild is in
the Valley Hospital under the
care of her physician. The chil
dren are being cared for at the
neighborhood homes of Mrs.
Evelyn Harter and Mrs. Gust
Schreibl.
The Haumchild family have
lived in the Lazy Mountain area
for the past four years. The vic
tim was employed in the power
house at the Co-Op.
Members of the local Airmens
Association and a crew from the
Co-Op have been in the lake area
today assisting in the search for
Haumchild’s body. Territorial
Police plan to seek the services
of the Skin Divers Association
in Anchorage.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
SERVICES
Sunday School .10:30
Church Service.11:00
(Baby Sitter)
CO OP CLUB ROOM
“THE FURNACE MAN IS COMING
TO TOWN”
HE CLEANS ALL TYPES OF FURNACES
AND BOILERS
Have Your Healing Equipment U.y.11
Cleaned and Repaired llUWI!
Will be in Palmer Monday and Tuesday
July 9 and 10
CaR MAC’S PLUMBING far Appointment
YOUR REPRESENTATIVE FROM
* ALASKA BURNER SERVICE, INC.
FIREWEED AND GAMBELL IN SPENARD