Vol. 1, No. 32
Palmer, Alaska, January 14,1948
Ten Cents
Services For
Slide Victim
Held Here
'-^funeral services for Joseph
Doyle Anderson, section laborer
for The Alaska Railroad who
was killed in a snowslide at
Moraine last week, were held in
Palmer this afternoon. Members
of the local American Legion
were in charge of the service.
Interment followed in the Pal
mer cemetery.
' Mr. Anderson, the son of Mrs.
Martin Walton of Jonesville, was
24 years of age. He had served
, in the Army for three and a half
years, and had only recently
been employed by The Alaska
Railroad. He is survived by his
mother and step-father of Jones
ville and by a brother living in
the states.
The victim was trapped in a
bunkhouse at Moraine, which
first was crushed by the snow
slide and later burned when an
oil stove overturned. Mr. An
derson, sleeping in the center of
the bunkhouse, was the only one
to lose his life. Four other men
escaped through doors at either
end.
A fellow worker, Andrew
Johnson, made heroic efforts to
rescue Anderson, but was unable
to combat the flames which
swept through the bunkhouse
where the victim lay pinned.
( Mr. Johnson is undergoing treat
> ment at Providence hospital for
i burns sustained in his rescue at
> tempt.
-Churches Plan
Year’s Work
There will be new pews in
stalled in St. John’s Lutheran
church of Palmer and a new car
for the pastor of the United
Protestant church, according to
plans formulated at the annual
meetings of the two congrega
tions this week.
Members of the St. John’s
congregation voted to begin a
pew fund, starting immediately,
to be used for replacement of
present church pews. The fund
will be be built through special
collections and donations.
The Lutheran congregation
also elected new officers at their
meeting. Heading the group for
the coming year are:
Ernest Harrington, presi
dent; Robert Wendt, vice
, president; Les Ray, secretary
Weill and William Ising,
elders.
At the United Protestant meet
ing, held Sunday following
morning services, the congrega
tion announced its intention of
presenting a new car to pastor
Victor Alfsen. Mr. Alfsen will
pick up the automobile in May
when he goes Outside on fur
lough.
„ New officers named for the
United Protestant group includ
ed:
Walter C. Mau, elder; Irvin
Plitt, E. Ross, board of trus
tees; Mrs. Gilman Lindsey,
visitation committee; Stanley
Balloun, Sunday school super
intendent; Charles Wilson,
Whole Valley Works
For A NS Ho spit at
i r i
; Valley residents are respond-,
| ing whole-heartedly to the
' Chamber of Commerce plea for
support in action to get the pro
posed Alaska Native Service hos
pital located in the Valley.
Chamber secretary A1 Hagen to
day estimated that at least 400
wires and letters from private
individuals and civic bodies had
gone from the Matanuska Val
ley to Washington this week.
More than 50 letters went out
from the Chamber of Commerce
to Washington Congressmen in
the effort to get phraseology of
the present bill changed to al
low construction in the Mata
nuska Valley.
It is still not too late to get
letters written, Mr. Hagen said,
but he urged that they go out no
later than this week. It is be
lieved the bill authorizing con
struction of the hospital will
come out of committee about
Jan. 20, and any change made
must be effected before that
time.
Mr. Hagen requests that the
Chamber of Commerce be fu
nished with one copy of letters
written by other organizations
and by private individuals, to
gether with a list of names to
which the letter was addressed.
Meanwhile, Dr. C. Earl Al
brecht, territorial commissioner
of health, announced from Ju
neau last week that the hospital
will be even larger than first re
ported here. Dr. Albrecht stated
that it would be a 700-bed insti
tution, and would provide hos
pitalization for a number of gov
ernment agencies, as well as 400
beds for an Alaska Native Serv
ice tuberculosis hospital.
Health Nurse Is
Due Next Month
Palmer’s new Public Health
Nurse, Miss Ruth Zies, will
leave Seattle for her territorial
assignment on Jan. 17, it was
announced this week by Miss
Florence Eby, nursing super
visor for this area. Miss Zies was
scheduled to go first to Juneau
and then to Anchorage for ori
entation into her Alaskan duties.
Miss Eby said the new nurse
is expected to be in Palmer
sometime between Feb. 1 and
Feb. 5.
A housing problem for the
nurse is now perplexing mem
bers of the Health Council here.
Good quarters are badly needed,
now that the Chicken Coop
apartment is no longer available.
The Health Council is seeking
accommodations in a private
home as a substitute for the
apartment. It is requested that
anyone who has facilities for
the nurse get in touch with Mrs.
Clyde King, Health Council pres
ident.
[New Fire Truck
Gets Initiated
Members of the Valley Vol
unteer Fire Association put
their new truck into action for
the first time late Sunday after
noon when they were called to
the home of Mrs. Valeria Rat
liffe. The blaze proved to be
only a chimney fire with no re
sulting damage.
A1 Hagen, chairman of the As
sociation’s board of directors,
said the truck was at the scene
of the fire before the alarm whis
tle had signalled. Six members
of the fire crew were on hand,
he reported.
The rapid response to the
alarm was made possible
through the cooperation of Mrs.
Maynard Sands, operator on
duty at the Valley Telephone
Exchange. When the alarm was
first phoned, Mrs. Sands immedi
ately notified Mr. Hagen who
dispatched a man to the power
house to give the signal.
Mrs. Sands then individually
notified all members of the Vol
unteer Fire Department who
could be reached by telephone.
The Valley's first lady of 1948 slumbers peacefully before the
lens of cameraman Bill Rempel at the Valley hospital. She's
Miss Katherine Ruth Hartley, age 18 hours at this first photo
graphic sitting. Katherine Ruth edged Miss Carter of Wasilla
by three hours to win the Valley baby derby of 1948. (Photo
by Palnse? Photographic Center.)
;
Speakers Request
Meeting Switch
To Friday Night
This week’s meeting of
the Parent-Teacher’s Association,
earlier announced for Thursday,
Jan. 15, was set back a day in
order to accommodate the sched
ule of C. C. Caldwell and Dr.
E. F. Dorsey of Anchorage,
superintendent Carl Snelling ex
plained today.
The men, superintendent of
schools and chairman of the
school board in Anchorage, tele
phoned Mr. Snelling last Thurs
day to report that a sudden
change in their plans made a
Thursday meeting impossible.
Other than the change in date,
there has been no switch in or
iginal plans. The meeting will
begin with a potluck supper to
be held in the school lunchroom
at 7 p.m.
Mr. Caldwell and Dr. Dorsey
will each address the group in
a discussion of the problems, ad
vantages and disadvantages of
organization as an independent
school district. All interested
community residents are invited
to attend this meeting.
Legion Hunts
New Home
The latest case of displaced
persons was reported right here
at home in the Valley last week,
when the local chapter of the
American Legion and the Legion
Auxiliary were notified that the
present clubrooms would no
longer be available to them.
The Legion and its Auxiliary
have been meeting in clubrooms
beneath the Shamrock Lounge.
However the quarters there are
being converted into a residence
for Mr. and Mrs. Matt Perkins,
who have been homeless since
their marriage in November.
Commander Jack Maze of the
Legion said the housing prob
lem of the club would be the
most important business on the
docket for this Thursday’s meet
ing. The Auxiliary meeting place
has already been occupied by the
Perkins, but the Legion will
continue to meet in the regular
clubrooms for a time.
Mr. Maze said he had no idea,
at this time, of how the Legion’s
problem would be solved. How
ever it is expected that a solu
tion will be found at the coming
meeting.
Auxiliary members will meet
at the home of Mrs. Maze for
this Thursday’s meeting.
Firemen’s Meeting
Set For Tuesday
There will be a board of di
rector’s meeting of the Valley
Volunteer Fire Association at 4
o’clock Tuesday afternoon, chair
man A1 Hagen reports. The
meeting will be held at the rear
of the Frontier Bar, and all in
terested Valley residents are in
vited to attend.
Complete plans for the Fire
man’s Ball, to be held Saturday
night, will be outlined at the
meeting. The date of the Feb
ruary Bingo party also will be
fixed at this meeting.
Bar License
Decision Is
Due Today
Decision on the liquor license
applications of three Palmer
bars, the Frontier Bar, the Sour
dough Club and the Palmer
Cocktail Bar, was to be an
nounced in district court at 10
o’clock this morning, Judge
Joseph W. Kehoe stated on Mon
day. Application for license for
the fourth, the Shamrock Bar,
was temporarily withdrawn.
Testimony presented at Mon
day’s hearing, called at the pe
tition of 51 local residents pro
testing the issuance of any bev
erage dispensary licenses in Pal
mer, revolved about the ques
tion of proof of residents living
within a two-mile area of the
civic center.
Judge Kehoe opened the hear
ing by reading the territorial law
governing issuance of liquor li
censes. This law requires that
all licenses be approved by a
majority of the residents, de
fined as citizens of the United
States who are 21 years of age
or older, within a two-mile
radius of the liquor dispensing
establishment. Judge Kehoe said
the burden of proof that signers
of liquor applications conform
to the law rests with the appli
cant.
Attorney Ed Davis earlier had
requested clarification of this
point, stating that he believed
a protest, such as that filed by
the 51 Palmer residents, was not
effective when original applica
tions were properly made.
Mrs. Gertrude Felzien, co
owner of the Sourdough Club,
testified that the club’s applica
tion, signed by 284 local resi
dents, represented a majority of
Palmerites living within the
two-mile area. A census of the
area, taken by Neal Wright of
the Palmer Cocktail Bar, had
established a census list of 470
names.
Rev. Victor Alfsen then took
the stand to testify in behalf of
the 51 petitioners. He declared
in his testimony that “We re
alize we do not have enough
names to stop the issuance of
licenses, but the territory does
grant us the right to protest the
isuance of these licenses. In the
town in which we live, these
names represent the citizens
who are willing to put their
names to a protest. We like Pal
mer very much and we want to
live there and make our homes
there. We don’t see that making
a good decent town of it goes
hand in hand with liquor estab
lishments of this kind.”
Reverend Alfsen said that
since circulating the petition of
protest, much public sentiment
had been expressed in favor of
the move.
Asked for specific causes for
protest, Reverend Alfsen said he
felt license lists should be more
carefully checked. He pointed
out several instances where
names were duplicated on ap
plications, and named one or two
residents who apparently lived
outside the required two-mile
area. Asked if he felt the census
submitted was correct, the min
ister replied it possibly was a
slightly higher figure than was
actually true. He said he had no
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