Vo I. I
PALMER, ALASKA AUGUST 29
1955
No. 2
COLONY CONSTRUCTION WORK
MOVING RA?IDLY SAYS HUNT
A gasoline saw whines its im
patient way through heavy lumber.
A moment later that same timber
is fastened home as part of the
newer house tc the song of many
hammers. Inside the building two
6~ ton boilers creep on jack-screw
legs across the cement floor. Out
side at a corner of the plant a
giraffe-like well drill chugs its
way down to water, and near-by a
40 caterpillar grunts and snorts
like some ambitious monster at the
job of leveling off the site for
the big garage.
Such was Tuesday’s picture of
one corner of the Community Center.
Tomorrow’s will be different, The
concrete forms for the garage arc
going in. Nothing but a finishing
touch remains to comelet> the pow
er house. The boilers wi.ll be on
their stool base frames, and the
cat has gore in search of another
j ob.
Things aro moving around Com
munity Center, hut all activity is
not confined to that one part of
the project. Orly fifty homes re
main upon which no work has boon
done according to Lieut. Col. Le
Roy Hunt. That means 11 houses
were started during the week,
Forty-one wells to water is an
increase of nine in ton days, and
in the outer districts roads are
appearing as if by magic. The Road
Commission’s weekly report gives
22} miles graveled, 9} graded, 17
grubbed, thirteen stripoed and 19
miles of right-of-way cleared.
Lumber caravans leaving palmer
for the colonist homesites rmuna
over the finished roads and give
them hard wear, but the Commission
has managed to kean them in good
repair, a point that has greatly
facilitated the erecting of homes
on the distant tracts.
ROOSEVELT TO SIGH
NEUTRALITY ACT
president Roosevelt has signi
fied his intention of signing tho
unprecedented neutrality resolu
tion which provides a guarantee
of this nation’s neutrality in the
e/ent of war.
The ^resident also said that he
would force ou^nnent of con
grass unless the house ana. senate
'-car somu-od L'.uIj deadlock or or
- ad c ; •; ‘ .'0 I."- ■
MANY MERCY PLIERS STILL
SEARCHING FOR LOST PLANE
Thirty-five thousand miles
have been flown over the Dawson
pairbanks air route in an effort
to find some clue which will
solve the mysterious disappear
ance of Arthur Hines and his o
passengers who have been missing
ton days.
In addition, hunters on foot
are trudging over the rugged and
wooded hills in search of the
ship and its occupants.
The Finos plane, carrying Mr.
and Mrs. John Lonz, Fairbanks
bride find groom, Alton Nordale of
Fairbanks and. pilot Hines, was
returning to Fairbanks from the
Discovery Day celebration at Daw
son when it dropdod from sight.
i/LiTANiJGKA PRODUCTS TO
be exhibited at fair
An exhibit of Matanuska Val
ley farm products has been for
warded to Fairbanks, for display
at the Tanana Valley Fair* They
wore grown hero on the Experimen
tal Farm and gathered, prepared
and forwarded under the direction
of Mr* K. J. Leehner.
’’The exhibit,” said Mr. Lech
nor, ’’includes grains, forage,
vegetables and snail fruits. The
exhibit is not large, but fairly
representative.' Another year and
we should be able to send a much
better exhibit,”
Mr. L^chner arrived only a
few weeks ago from Seattle where
he was a member of the faculty of
the University of Washington.
ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT VALLEY
Mr. Lichner is enthusiastic
over the products of the Matan
uska Valley, especially such as
promise to be of commercial val
ue to the Colonists and other
farmers of the area.
’’Alaska cannot be excelled
in pea production,” said Mr.
Lechnor. ’’The soil and climate
seem wonderfully adapted to the
purpose and wo 'ire experimenting
with four varieties with the
view of helping the farmers de
termine the best to grow, and in
this we c onsider size, f1avor,
yield per acre -md otrier factc-rs
Wonderful success has been had
with what is known as the ’’alas -
kc r no a w-moh retains the extra •
ordinary yield o'f4 4 cons per acre