TV PROGRAMS
FOR ENTIRE WEEK
SEE PAGE 6
THE FRONTIERSMAN
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
TRY A FRONTIERSMAN
CLASSIFIED AD for that
item you may have for sal*,
rent or lease.
PRICE TEN CENYS
VOLUME 9, NO. 35
PALMER. ALASKA, THURSDAY. JUNE 21. 1956
ELECT
AL V. HAGEN
NAMED MANAGER
1956 VALLEY FAIR
A1 V. Hagen was named man
ager of the 1956 Matanuska Val
ley Fair by the association board
of directors at their June 19
meeting. The board had request
ed written applications for the
position; only two were received.
Because the association by-Oaws
state that a director may not
hold the paid position of manag
er, Hagen stated in his applica
tion that if named manager he
would resign from the board of
Directors, effective July 1.
As secretary ox the association
Hagen has done considerable
ground work for the 1956 Fair.
Last year he served as manager
without salary and has given
free time to the association over
a period of many years. The asso
ciation directors authorized the
salary of $1750, plus $400 car and
travel allowance, for the man
ager’s position with duties to be
gin July 1 and continue until the
annual membership meeting in
mid-November.
A proposition will be present
ed to the membership at that
time to hire a year-round man.
ager. It was pointed out by the
directors that advertising con
tacts must be made before the
feat of the year to enable budget
allowance for the large Stateside
firms. Throughout the year, they
said, there is considerable work
which must be done in prepara
tion for the next fair. “We need
a full-time man who has the in
terest of the Fair at heart, and
who will devote his time to work
for the association”, the stated.
They proposed a salary of $3,000
which would include mileage.
NAME BUILDING
In honor of M. D. Snodgrass,
a staunch supporter and devotee
of the Matanuska Valley Fair
since its very beginning, the new
exposition building at the fair
grounds will be named the
SNODGRASS BUILDING. A
colorful dedication ceremony is
being planned and will be held
during the 1956 Valley Fair cele
bration. Mr. Snodgrass, named
honorary member of the Fair
Association several years ago,
has devoted years to the progress
of the Fair. This year he has
been advertising agent in the
Valley area and was very suc
cessful in selling advertising
space in the annual premium
book. While a member of the
House he was instrumental in
getting funds released for assist
ance for Territorial fairs. Since
that time the Matanuska Valley
Fair Association has received a
grant each year. Application for
funds for the 1956 Fair have
been sent to Governor B. Frank
Heintzleman.
TO MOVE MUSEUM
The Flair Museum building,
moved next to the exposition
budding last year, wid be moved
once more—this time to the front
at the grounds, just to the right
of the main entrance and mid
way. Alaskan artifacts are being
gathered by Curator T. A. Moy
er and a souvenir booklet which
will be sold at the Fair is being
(Continued on page 8)
PAINT YOUR BARN
Now!!
Bright Red, Brown, otc.
$8.00 to $12.50
for 5 gallons
ALSO
. Plenty of Varnish ..
JOHNNIE’S SURPLUS
AT VALLEY GROCERY
MBA DIRECTORS
NAME OFFICERS
The following statement was
released for publication on
Monday of this week:
As a result of two elections
by the membership and upon
specific instructions of the
membership, the three new
duly elected directors have
met with the two incumbent
members and elected officers
for the coming year. Officers
elected are Phil O’Neil, pres
ident; Aaron E. Combs, vice
president; James J. Hurley,
secretary-treasurer.
The new board wishes to
state that no change in per
sonnel or management poli
cies are contemplated in the
near future. The new board
members will acquaint them
selves with the problems of
the Matanuska Electric Asso
ciation, Inc., and will make
such decisions as to policy and
operations as appear to be in
the best interest of the co
operative, after all of the facts
are known.
ESC Claim Musi Be
Filed In Anchorage
Personnel of the Employment
Security Commission have an
nounced that anyone having or
wishing to file claims must go
•into the Anchorage office from
now through the summer months.
“We have very few claimants
left in the valley area”, a spokes
man said this week, “not enough
to justify keeping an office open
in Palmer.”
The ESC personnel came to
Palmer every other Tuesday
through the winter months and
at the heighth of the unemploy
ment season were kept busy
from 10 a. m. to 6 p. m. process
ng claims.
When the unemployed number
•rises again personnel will come
back for regular sessions in Pal
mer. In the meantime, they said,
anyone wishing to file a claim is
asked to go to the Anchorage
ESC office which is located be
tween Third and Fourth Avenue
on “C” Street.
MATANUSKA RIVER
CAUSING EROSION
IN BUTTE FARM AREA
Is the Matanuska River claim
ing valuable farm land in the
Butte area or isn’t it, seems to
be a question in the Anchorage
area, but in the Valley, those who
have witnessed the damage have
no doubts in their minds about
damages done in the past and the
apparent damage that will be
done in the future before any
type flood control work can be
done to combat the swollen river
waters.
From the ground evidences of
the damage are not too apparent,
but a flight over the area in an
airplane presents quite anv-ther
picture. On the Viv Falk farm
several acres of land have been
claimed by the river during the
past few years. Not boo long ago
the family was forced to move
their home in order to save it.
Since that time additional acres
have gone into the river to be
washed out to sea.
Del. E. L. Bartlett, who made
an aerial survey of the area on a
visit last year, has appealed to
Congress to review the problem
of streambank erosion in the
Butte area. The House Committee
on Public Works recently approv
ed the resolution calling for a re
view of reports submitted on the
Matanuska River, and Major
General E. C. Itoehner, assistant
chief of engineers for civil works.
Department of the Army, has
been so notified: and a carbon
copy of the notice sent to Col.
I Carl Y. Farrell, CE, Dstrict En
gineer, Alaska District.
Other farms in t)he Butte area
from which valuable land has
been lost are those of the Vander
hoff, Vic Falk, Sr., and Wood
families. Also apparently en
dangered are sections of the
power lines running from the Ek
lutna project to the Palmer area.
Although the poles are re-en
forced by deep pilings, the river
lias cut a channel down sections
of the pole line and in some spots
is going through with consider
able force.
The river has not yet reached
its customary summer peak. Ac
cording to Joseph Childers, hy
draulic engineer with the U. S.
Geological Survey, guage read
ings in 1955 gave a six-foot max
(Continued on last page)
Chamber Discusses
Milk Program,
Mai. River Problem
The milk consumption survey
made in the Palmer and Seward
schools last April and the river
bank erosion problem in the
Butte area were the topics of
discussion at the June 20 meet
ing of the Matanuska Chamber
of Commerce meeting.
H. P. Gazaway of the Alaska
Agriculture .Experiment Station
spoke to the group about the sur
vey, pointing out the advantages
that would be possible if the Fed
eral milk program was extended
to Alaska. The survey brought
out that the overall milk con
sumption in the two school sys
tems was more than doubled
when the fresh milk was made
available to the students at least
once a day, and in some schools
three times a day, at a lower
price than customary. Sewiard
had never had the milk program
before. Palmer, the highest user
of milk in the lunch programs,
increased their consumption pro
portionately
The Federal milk program was
started to use the surplus milk in
the States, and because Alaska
was not considered to have a sur
plus, the territory was not in
cluded in the program whereby
the government would subsidize
around three cents per serving.
Gazaway pointed out the need
to increase consumption of milk
through promotion and educa
tion. Capital investments in dairy
farms in the area is matched by
investments in the processing
plants, he pointed out. Milk
should be made as available to
the public as soft drinks—and
advertised in the same way, he
pointed out. Dollar wise, he said,
milk gives the buyer the most
for his food dollar. The results
of the surveys wall be sent to
Washington, D. C. as the first
definite step toward getting Al
aska included in the program.
River Control
Don Irwin, director of the Ex
periment Station, told Chamber
members of the long, and rather
-fruitless, attempts made to obtain
control of the Matanuska River
to prevent the continued river
bank erosion in the Butte farm
area. He told about tries made as
long ago as 10 years when re
(Continued on page 8)
I CITY OF PALMER
ADDS 40 ACRES
As of June 16 the City of
Palmer is 40 acres larger. By
order of Judge J. L. McCarrey
yf the District Court the south
40 acres adjacent to Palmer
has been declared annexed to
the City of Palmer. This is the
\ first annexation to the city
! since its incorporation May
: 1, 1951. On May 29, 1956, just
;! a little more than five years
;i after the incorporation, voters
!' indicated their desire to annex
/ the area, with but one person
i cas'ting a dissenting vote. City
I; Attorney John Shaw was no
il tiffed of the Court’s decision
i early this week.
Fish Hatchery
Open to Public
Alex McRae of the Department
of Fisheries was a Palmer visit
or this week. While in the valley
McRae extended an invitation
'to the public to visit the fish
hatchery located near Fire Lake.
“The hatchery is now full of fish
and we certainly will welcome
any and all visitors who wish
to see the hatchery’”, he said.
Within the next two weeks Lu
cille Lake will be stocked, he
said, and the re-srtocking program
on Echo and other area lakes will
begin, he said. The lakes to be
re-stocked will not be closed and
McRae suggested that the fish
ermen get out and catch the big
ones.
FARMERS WELCOME
TV/OQAYS OF RAIN
Two days of rain and the Mat
anuska Valley has taken on a
beautiful coat of green. Fields of
brome grass, vetch and other
feeds seemed to shoot up over
night. Fields that were brown
for want of moisture are now
thick with green growth. Agri
culturists in the valley had pre
dicted poor crops unless moisture
was gotten to the crops. Well its
here and no one hears the old
ary, “Gee, I wish it’d stop rain
ing.”
The City fire department vol
unteers were called out on Tues
day of this week for a rubbish
fire burning in the back of the
Meehan rubbish collection truck.
No damage resulted.
MTA OUTLINES NEW TELEPHONE SYSTEM
A number of questions are be
ing repeated again and again, in
regards to the coming dial tele
phone system of MTA, according
to Robert Partridge, MTA man
ager.
Typical questions are: What
are the exchange names? The
areas have been designated as
follows: Palmer is Pioneer Ex
change; Wasalla, Frontier; Sut
ton, Alpine; and Chugiak, Home
stead. The names were taken
from an international dial cod
ing manual, with the most ap
propriate ones being chosen. FCC
rules forbid the use of unauthor
ized names.
Rates for telephone service
ware determined by the Rural
Electrification A d m imstration
in Washington, D. C., based on
the overall cost of the complete
dial system. If the rates appear
high, Partridge said, it is because
so many people have been wait
ing until the system was working
before signing up as members. To
date approximately 625 have sub
scribed, however, he added, there
are about 1,200 potential sub
scribers. The rates are lower
than those in the Anchorage
system.
The base rate area for Palmer
is the area within the city limits;
for Wasalla, within the townsite
of Wasslla; for Chugiak, the tele
phone building itself, which will
be buMt at approximately Mile
18; for Sutton, also the telephone
building, which will be built in
the immediate vicinity of Eska
Creek on the Glenn Highway.
Mileage charges for rural
phones is a common practice in
all telephone systems, Partridge
pointed out; the REA determined
the mileage rate for the MTA.
The charge is figured by air
miles from 'the base rate area.
The first one-eighth of a mile
does not carry a charge.
From one to eight parties will
be connected on one line. The
multi-rural is an eight party line,
and does not carry a mileage
charge. Selective ringing will be
used. When your phone rings, j
the call is for your number. Oth
er rings an the line will not be
heard by other subscribers.
Only if the receiver is lifted
when the line is in use will other
parties talking be heard. Be
cause parties are determined by
area grouping it will not be pos
sible to choose the other party
or parties on the lines.
This question is asked often.
Partridge said: “Will an eight
party line limit the chances of
I being able to receive or make
calls because of being busy all
the time?” Not necessarily, he
Mid, because the system will
have a feature called conversa
tional timing. At the end of six
to eight minutes, on station-te
station calls, the persons talking
will hear a beep or warning tone
then after two more minutes the
call is automatically cut off.
This does not apply to long dis
tance calls, which are unlimited
in conversation time.
According to Partridge there will
be some toll charges between ex
changes. There will be a mini
mum 50 cent charge on incoming
and outgoing calls from Chug
iak to Palmer, Fort Richardson,
Elmendorf and Anchorage. How
ever, on calls coming from Chu
giak to Palmer, once the sub
scriber is connected into the
Palmer exchange, there is no ad
ditional toll charge to reach any
other part of the MTA system.
The 50-cent toll charge was set
by the Alaska Communication
System because MTA is utilizing
the ACS toll line from Palmer
to Chugiak and from Chugiak to
Anchorage. There are no MTA
ownied lines connecting Chugiak
to Palmer.
Wall phones may be installed
if desired.
At a later date when equip
ment is in stock a long oord or
reft 1 ctaible cord may be had.
There will be a nominal installa
tion charge. There will be a small
monthly rental, plus initial in
stallation charge for loud ring
ing bells for bams or outside
buildings. Colored phones will be
available* later for an extra
monthly charge and a nominal
installation charge. No orders
will be taken for these until after
the system has been constructed
and working.
‘ There is no installation charge
for the dial telephone as (the
equity covers this charge, how
ever, there is an installation
Charge for any extensions, plus a
monthly rental charge.
MTA can not assure subscrib-.
ers of the type of service pre
ferred because It is known that
the system will be underbuilt.
This is caused by the fact, Part
ridge said, thait there axe still
many people that have not be
came members. However, he
said, the present members have
first preference, on the tyipe ser
vice desired;, and wherever pos
sible, it will be supplied.
Subscribers may have listed or
unlisted telephone numbers in
the telephone directory which
will contain the four exchanges.
A 24-hour information operator
will be at the switchboard. Tele
phone bills may be paid either by
mail or visiting the Palmer bus
iness office.
Accidents, tires, or other em
ergencies may be reported by di
aling the emergency number list
ed on the directory cover or by
dialing the operator.
If a line goes out of order it
may be reported to the operator
from any other phone. In case
otf a power failure the system
will continue to operate on its
own emergency power. Pay
phones will be stationed conven
iently. Equity will still be re
quired after the new dial system
is working.
The MTA will make every ef
fort to serve all persons, Part
ridge said, however there can be
no definite promise for those not.
now a member but who plan to
become a fully paid-up member
in the near future. It will depend
on exuding facilities in that,
he
HURLEY, THUMA
AND BRANTON
NAMED TO BOARD
A determined group of Mata
nuska Electric Association mem
bers last Saturday night made
1 known their wishes in regards to
who will serve on the associa
tion’s board of directors by el
ecting James Hurley, Harold
Thuma, and C. Ivan Branton to
• three vacant offices on the board.
The men are the same three
named by the membership at
the April 14 meeting who were
later denied 'seating by resolu
tion passed by three members
of the old board of directors. The
resolution stated that the April
14 election was not conducted
according to notices mailed to
the members and as such was not
legal.
The results of the voting were
as follows: Hurley, 358; Thuma,
348; Branton, 342. Branton will
fill the term of office vacated by
Charles Wilson. Hurley and
Thuma will fill the expired
terms of Mrs. Justine Parks and
R. Bruce Graham. Voting results
on the proposition! were reversed
from those of the April 14 meet
ing when all failed to pass. At the
Saturday meeting voters cast
159 in favor and 55 against set
ting the $25 million debt limit;
253 for and 95 against the $5
million limit for directors auth
orized spending; and 242 for and
110 against the capital credits
proposition. Some opposition to
the proposals were voiced from
the floor prior to the voting.
James McDowell of Chugiak of
fered a motion that the propo
sitions be cabled, with Dan Bell
of Eagle River offering a second.
The motion, when voted upon by
the membership, failed to pass.
■ James Hurley pointed out to the
membership that the proposals
were placed on the ballots' in an
effort to comply with Territorial
law.
The meeting was conducted by
Dr. Allan Mick of Palmer, who
was named chairman of the
meeting by the membership. Mrs.
Justine Parks was absent, as was
vice president, Phil O’Neill. R.
Bruce Graham, secretary declin
ed to conduct the meeting aind
left immediately after requesting
his name be taken from the bad
lot; the only board member pres
ent for the mtire meeting, Aaron
Combs of W.i ;Ua, said he would
prefer not to conduct the meet
ing. John Radar, Anchorage at
torney who was requested by a
group of members to attend the
meeting in an impartial capacity,
was 'nominated as chairman of
the meeting but declined in fa
vor of Dr. Mick. He later agreed
to sit on the platform as assist
ant parliamentarian.
SEAT DIRECTORS
Immediately following the ac
ceptance of the voting results,
the membership voted to regard
the newly elected board of dir
ectors as qualified, seat them
and have the oaths of office ad
ministered. John Shaw, MEA at
torney administered the oaths of
office and the new directors took
their seats at the director’s table.
Also by a favorable motion the
membership voted to employ
(Continued on page 8)
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HAIR
VALLEY BEAUTY SHOP
Phon* 3043
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June Bride
• Wedding Books
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• White Bibles,
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Corsages for all
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