Thought of the Week:
If a guy doesn't get to work
on pay day, he's really sick.
2 0 > 1
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
PIONEERS OF ALASKA
ORGANIZATIONAL MEET
JAN. 18. ELKS HALL
VOLUME 16. NUMBER 47
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. JANUARY 18. 1962
EIGHT PAGES
la tuns
1 Reporters—
Nate. Look
Among visitors attending in
stallation ceremonies of the Or
der of Eastern Star January 11
were Edna Stauber, past ma
tron and Fred Stauber, past
patron, both of Denail Chapter
16, Anchorage; and Hazel Bul
len, worthy matron, Wrangell
Chapter 11, Wrangell. Corsages
for the installing officers, new
officers, and guests, were the
gift of Rose Johnson.
* * *
Recently enlistee in the U. S.
Army is Carlton G. Baker of
Palmer. Baker, a prior-service
man, reenlisted under the Spe
cial Buildup program which
authorizes veterans out less
than three years the opportun
ity to reenlist in the grade they
held when separated. He reen
tered the Army as a Sepcialist
Four and is being assigned to
the 48th Engineer Company at
Fort Richardson.
• * *
Helen Maze will be hostess
for the January 22 meeting of
Xi Eta Chapter Beta Sigma
Phi.
* * *
Mrs. Irene Benson, manager
of the Co-Op Trading dry goods
department, is on a two-week
buying trip (Outside).
* * *
Don Jones, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Richard Jones of Palmer,
recently enlisted in the U. S.
Navy and is presently undergo
ing training at the U. S. Naval
Training Center in San Diego,
California. Jones is a graduate
of Palmer High School, and
prior to enlistment was em
ployed at Everett Motors in
Palmer.
* * *
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Frisk
v-. of Ajuj Arbor, Michigan, have
announced the birth of their
second child, a daughter, who
was born December 27 in the
University of Michigan Hospit
al. They have named her Judy
Lynne. Mrs. Frisk is the for
mer Betty Jean Clark and ma
ternal grandparents are Mr.
and Mrs. Frank Clark of Pal
mer. Mr. Frisk is affiliated with
the university hospital’s re
search department.
• * *
Mrs. Rose Ann Goodman of
Palmer made the fall term hon
or roll at Oregon State Univer
sity. To be eligible for such list
ing, students must make a B
plus or better average for the
term. Mrs. Goodman, the for
mer Rose Ann Branton, is a
junior in the school of home ec
onomics.
• * *
Stewart Durrant, recently
named manager at the Matan
uska Valley Farmers Cooper
ating Association, has returned
following a trip to American
Fork, Utah. He will be joined
by his family later this Spring
Duo Admits Three
Local Break-Ins
Three of the area’s recent
breaking and entry incidents
have been attributed to two
men being held in Federal jail
in Anchorage, according to
State and City police.
Earlier this week local police
officers were notified that
David Gibson and Larry Pudi
combe, being held in Anchor
age on charges stemming from
a robbery in the Seward area,
had admitted entering the Co
Op Building and Farm Supply,
the Co-Op Trading Post, and
the Palmer Moose lodge on
January 2. The men reportedly
told officials they had taken
tools from the Building and
Farm Supply store with which
they later broke into the Trad
ing Post and Moose lodge.
About $12 in cash was taken at
the Moose lodge.
Area police officials have
been working very closely with
those of the Anchorage area in
the many breaking and entry
cases which have occurred in
the valley area the past month.
RAINBOW girls plan
installation
Members of the Order oi
Rainbow for Girls, Assembly 7
will hold an open installatior
on Sunday, January 28 in cafe
teria at the high sfchool. Faro
ilies and friends of the girls ait
invited to attend.
Will Seek Alaska State Fair
Designation For Matanuska Valley
I
Boroughs Discussed, Also
Tourism, Century 21 at C of C
Members of the Matanuska
! Valley Chamber of Commerce
will lend support to the Ketchi
kan Chamber’s request for the
State of Alaska to repeal the
Alaska Gross Business tax
which is based on gross busi
ness each year. It was pointed
out that it is possible for a busi
; ness to do a million dollar gross
! business, yet not make any
profit during the year.
The Ketchikan Chamber is
seeking the support of all
Chambers in the state. It was
pointed out at the meeting that
some feel the tax is a serious
detriment to new businesses,
! especially those operating on
very small margins.
Bill Hermann who presided
) _ _
at the meeting in the absence
of Barney Fish, Chamber presi- !
dent, appointed A1 Brooks, Hol
land Snodgrass, Richard Jones :
and John Shaw to serve as a ;
committee to study the busi
ness license tax and make a re
port to the Chamber.
Palmer Third Choice
Dr. Curtis Dearborn, who re- :
cently attended a meeting of j
the Fairbanks Chamber of j
Commerce, reported a discus-!
sion of tourism at the Fair- ;
banks meeting, brought outI
that a survey made among ■
tourists passing through Tok
junction last year indicated the
average tourist selected Valdez i
as the community they most j
enjoyed visiting. Their second,
CHANGE IN PUBLIC
RESULT OF MARCH
“The New March of Dimes
brings to mind the great chang
es that have taken place and
are still taking place in public
| health,” said Charles W. Wilson
health,*’ said Charles W. Wil
son, local campaign chair
I man this week.
In 1938 when the National
Foundation began using March
of Dimes funds in a unique
program to give direct financial
aid to polio patients, the finan
cial impact of the disease was
of foremost concern to the in
dividual patient and family,
,%filson pointed out. Today, it
is apparent that nearly all of
the population has, or is gain
ing the means of paying hos
pital and medical bills either
through insurance or some
other form of assistance.
Twenty years ago, he added,
medicines first concern was
with acute illness and the
threat of death. The develop
ment of antibiotics and other
means of prevention and cure
has broughht so many acute
disease problems under control
that the picture has changed
l dramatically.
HEALTH CARE
OF DIMES WORK
Today those most in need of
j help and better care are those
with chronic and disabling con
ditions. These cases need, not
simply the help of a family doc
tor at the bedside, but a spec
ialized skill of a medical team.
The problem involves the fam
ily and often is far beyond the
! resources of the family. It is
1 then your problem and mine, j
Someone must supply the!
money so badly needed to sup
port clinical studies to improve
care.
“Federal funds are not dif
ficult to gel for basic research, j
but there is relatively little
available for improving the art'
of care and treatment. It is vi
tal today to devise and make
available to everyone a means
of obtaining high quality treat
ment which meets all of the
complex problems facing pat
ients with disabling, lifetime
disease conditions.
“Your dimes will help. Early
returns of this New March of
Dimes is encouraging and clear
ly shown the people of the
Valley DO CARE,” Wilson said.
:hoice was Homer and Palmer
was selected as their third
choice. Dr. Dearborn said he
felt the poll should be indica
tive to the Chamber that “ . . .if
we are doing something for the
tourist, what is it, and if we’re
not, what can we do?” It was
mentioned in the discussion
that the Matanuska Valley His
torical Society has requested
the local Chamber work with
an Anchorage group to seek es
tablishment of a trial to Lake
George as one of the area’s
leading tourist attractions.
Seeks Century 21 Post
Gerritt (Heinie) Snider, long
time valley resident, Alaskan,
and former member of both the
House and Senate, is hoping to
be named among personnel
who will be in charge of the
Alaskan exhibit at Seattle’s
World's Fair this spring.
Snider told Chamber mem
bers that he had applied for i
position through Governor Wil
liam Egan. The governor re
plied that many application:
are being made In citing som<
of his qualifications, Snide
pointed out that he served a:
the head of the guides anc
guards 4t the San Francisec
Exposition: served as a steward
for the Alaska Steamship Com
pany, as well as at one time foi
the Holland-American Line. He
has traveled all over Alaska ai
a prospector, was one of the
first to try farming; has visit
ed McKinley Park, many otliei
areas of Alaska and is versec
on subjects that will be of in
terest to persons attending the
exposition.
Attorney John Shaw statec
that until recently the loca
role in the exposition had no'
entered his mind, but that he
feels the Matanuska Valley
with it’s related industries
should be represented in Seat
tie. “I’m sure we all agree there
is no one better prepared tc
speak out in favor of Alask;
and the valley than Heinie,” he
(Continued on page 8)
UTILITIES ASK
CONFERENCE WITH;
HEAD OF REA
i Norman Clapp. REA admin
| istrator, has been requested to
| come to Alaska for a confer
ence with electric utilities in
terested in interim power pro
' grams, according to an announ
cement made this week.
All utilities between Seward
: Homer and Fairbanks, with the
i exception of Chugach Electric
i Association, have agreed the
| area approacch to the interim
! power question is highly desir
able. A joint committee for ac
tion. of which Phil O’Neill of
the MEA board of directors
was named chairman, has re
quested that Clapp come to Al
aska as soon as possible after ;
j the submission of reports be
1 ing prepared and confer with !
’ all utilities involved.
! A feasibility study by the
! Parsons Company is now be- j
I ing finalized. This study will i
\ tie the original Parson’s report
on generation and transmission i
I operation into the REA capabil
* ity to finance. CEA will have
| a separate report concerning
the Anchorage - Kenai area
• ready at about the same time,
it was announced.
|! The purpose of the meeting
‘ I with the REA administrator
, | would be to arrive at a firm
plan of action to implement the
area approach, if REA consid
i ers it feasible, Mason LaZelle.
j MEA manager said. “We as
sume that it will be feasible,
since it is in use in large sec
tions of the South 48," he said.
Kerttula Sees
Expedited Session
Generally speaking, it ap
pears that this session of the
State Legislature will be ex
pedited, according to word re
ceived from Representative
Jalmar Kerttula this week.
Representative Kerttula is in
Juneau where this week he has
been participating in meetings
of the Finance Committee
which met prior to the opening
of the session next week. Also
II on his schedule were meetings
! with the Departments of Edu
cation and Administration.
Kertlula To Present
Bill During Session
Directors of Alaska State
Fair, Inc. will ask this session
if the Legislature to designate
his area as the site of the offi- j
:ial Alaska State Fair. At the
present time thA'e is no desig- i
aate site for a state fair.
To this end. Representative
Jalmar Kerttula will offer a
Bill in the House during the
session which opens in Jun
eau next week.
Members of the local fair
board are urging complete
area-wide support of the pro
posal. One of the first organi
zations to back the move is the
Kiwanis Club of Palmer which
on Monday of this week, voted
the sum of $50 toward a fund
being raised to send a lobbiest
to Juneau when the Bill is
presented. The Board also hop
es to initiate a letter campaign
at the same time. Organizations
and interested individuals will
be asked to write the Legisla
tors, requesting their vote be
favorable to this area. Consid
erable activity is expected from
I other areas in the state inter
ested in securing the State Fait
■ for their locality.
A brochure has been pre
pared and printed th3t will
be distributed to all mem
bers of the House and Senate,
pointing out advantages the
Matanuska Valley offers as
the site of the official State
Fair.
In the brochure it is pointed
out that a “permanent home"
for the State Fair should be lo
cated where it is easily acces
sible to the people, but far
enough from their homes to
make a day at the Fair a real
vacation. Geographically rai
nier is centrally located, it is
pointed out.
Other points brought out in
the brochure include Palmer
being the largest agricultural
community in Alaska, acces
sible by the Glenn highway,
Alaska Railroad and Palmer
airport. Palmer is the home of
the Alaska Agricultural Ex
periment Station, the State Di
vision of Agriculture, the Ma
MEA Completing Unnlokleet Power System
The Matanuska Electric As- ;
sociation has nearly completed,
in the three weeks since Christ
mas, the installation of a dis
tribution and generation sys
tem at Unalakleet, it was an
nounced this week by Mason
LaZelle, MEA manager.
Unalakleet is fourth largest
I of the main centers of popula
; tion which have developed
| along the Western and North
i ern rim of Alaska. It’s popula
I tion of 600 is exceeded by
Nome, Barrow and Kotzebue. It
is slightly over one half the
i size of Homer or Cordova.
Power for the town was orig
i inally furnished by the North
j cm Commercial Company,
I then leased to a private opera
tor. On October 15 of last year
; the private operator was closed
i down. In 1958 and again in
{ 1961, the Rural Electric Ad
i ministration had investigated
the potential, and found Un
alaklet a feasible location for
a cooperative. Subsequent to
the cessation of the private op
eration, an election was held
and the voters decided to incor
porate as an REA cooperative.
John Shaw, MEA attorney,
provided legal counsel and gui
ded the Unalakleet Valley Elec
tric Cooperative into being as a
corporate entity, LaZelle said.
The firm of DeWild, Grant,
Reckert St Stevens of Rock
Rapids, Iowa, was retained to
accomplish engineering for a
REA loan application. This is
the same firm that had been re*
l
[.lined, in a similar capacity, by
the Matanuska Telephone As
sociation.
Without central station
power, LaZelle pointed out.
the two Bureau of Indian Af
fairs schools, the Swedish
Covenant Church high school,
two stores, the Unalakleet
Lodge, National Guard Ar
mory, various other commer
cial establishments and near
ly 100 residences were with
out a prime source of power
and were dependent on var
ious small, inadequate light
plants. No industrial expan
sion in the main industries
of fishing, reindeer meat pro
cessing or agriculture, was
possible, he said. Since the
one ship that stops at Unal
akleet must be spoken for.
load-wise, by May 28. it was
possible that nothing could
be installed in 1962 if the
REA loan was to be the only
solution to the area's power
problem.
While in Anchorage as a
member of the State Fisheries
Commission, Dale Friemering,
proprietor of the Unalakleet
Lodge, visited the MEA office
and asked MEA consider the
possibility of helping UVEC in
stall part of their needed dis
tribution system and if pos
sible, some generation to take
care of community service or
ganizations.
A preliminary estimate was
made of the cost of aid involv
ed and when it appeared with
in the financial capability of .
MEA, the board of directors
granted permission to start the
project under supervision of R.
Y. McCarthy, resident engineer
of MEA. Willard Johnson, MEA
chief engineer, coordinated
construction with UVEC con
sulting engineers to the end
that all construction perform
ed would be compatible with
overall plans developed for the
REA loan application.
Through agreement with the
IBEW, Local 1547, MEA key
construction personnel went to
Unalakleet to help install the
system. All other labor was
employed at the site, LaZelle
pointed out. The Town Coun
cil of Unalakleet cooperated
with MEA to the limit of it’s
finances. Other MEA personnel
who have provided skills not
available at Unalakleet are El
ton Aarstad, Lloyd Hansen,
and William Thornton, LaZelle
said.
The Town Council has giv
en UVEC a 35-year franchise
to operate their system. The
corporation has agreed to pay
the MEA expenditure out of
REA loan funds, or revenues,
whichever are first avail
able. MEA has been given a
free hand to operate the sys
tem until such repayment is
made. LaZelle pointed out
The original 60 KW Diesel
electric plant has been rented
to UVEC by the Northern Com
mercial Company. Kotzebue
Electric Association has agreed
to sell UVEC a 100KW Diesel -
electric unit, payment to be
made from KEA loan fuads.
A total of 68 residential con
sumers and service. All five
commercial establishments have
signed for services supplied by
MEA. such as engineering, ac
counting or management, will
be reimbursed.
"The consumer-members
should feel some pride in
Ihe fact that they have been
able to extend badly needed
aid to Unalakleet, at no loss
to themselves," LaZelle said
this week.
“There are many advantages
to be gained from this type of
operation,” he added. “The Es
kimo people comprise the bulk
of the population of Western
and Northern Alaska. They are
a very industrious people and
have begun to realize the op
portunity which they have not
previously exploited in their
part of Alaska.”
LaZelle stated that in No
vember a meeting of represen
tatives of all Eskimo tribes was
held in Barrow under the aus
pices of the Association on Am
erican Indian Affairs, Inc.
headquarters in New York.
The meeting signaled the start
of the emergence of the Eski
mo race consciousness, I be
lieve, LaZelle said. “They are
beginning to realize the in
fluence they may wield as i
body in a political sense ant
the power they can exert ir
their own behalf.
"MEA and the Matanuska
Valley will find that these
people remember those who
have aided them and that
there will be attentive ears
in our Legislature to listen to
our local problems.
“We will also find,” LaZelle
added, “that their eyes will
turn toward our area as a
source of supply, if we can ec
onomically solve the transpor
tation problem. Our area devel
opment planning will find
sympathetic understanding in
the future as we find ways to
provide needed supplies to this
area.
“L a s t, but certainly not
least,” the MEA manager said,
“as the living standards and
earning powers of these people
rises, partially with our help,
our own tax burden becomes a
little easier to bear.”
The Unalakleet operation
will provide a trial run for
projected service to remote
parts of MEA's own service
area. LaZelle pointed out.
This must be done, within
limits of REA feasibility, if
we are going to obtain de
velopment in our local area,
he said.
REA has given it’s “bless
ings” to the concept used in Un
alakleet, as a method of ex
tending benefits of the rural
REA program to areas in need
role of middleman in making
possible development n o w
which might otherwise have tc
wait for several years.
xanusKa valitry rcumcta
erating Association, Matanuska
Electric Association and Matan
uska Telephone Association, at
testing to the cooperative na
ture of Valley folk.
Accomodations at the fair
grounds, which are located on
the south end of the City of
Palmer, have grown with the
community since the first Ma
tanuska Valley Fair was held
in 1936. until presently there
is a large concrete-block ex
hibit building (Snodgrass
Building), a new large all
metal livestock exhibit build
ing; a new all-metal education
building; numerous other struc
tures and facilities, including
the only paved Go-Kart track
in Alaska; a quarter - mile
straight-away and a half-mile
oval horse racing track; grand
stand, concession booths and
room tor expansion.
Gate receipts have climbed
steadily over the years, reach
ing nearly $16,000 last year,
the Legislators will learn. At
the close of the 25th anniver
sary of the Matanuska Val
ley Fair. Alaska Slate Fair.
Inc. had fixed assets of over
S250.000.
Participation in the local
fairs has been invited irom
everyone in the State, with
over one-third of the gate re
ceipts last year being returned
to participants in the form of
1 premiums and prizes for ex
j hibits and displays.
M.V. Credit Union
Meeting Tonight
The annual meeting of the
1 Matanuska Valley Federal
Credit Union will be held at
eight o'clock tonight in Grange
hall.
Members are reminded that
annual reports will be present
ed at this meeting, the annual
i dividend announced, and elec
tion to fill vacancies on the
l*>ard and the credit commit
tee have named the following
candidates: George Crowther,
Bertran Curry, and Harriett
Bell, incumbent.
Harriett Bell, incumbent,
George Crowther and Bertram
Curry. The terms of Marvin
Slaughter and Walter Briggs,
! alorig with that of Mrs. Bell, •
■ are expiring. Briggs has been
| nominated for the credit com
j mittee, along with John Weis
enberger, incumbent. Further
nominations for the office will
; be accepted from the floor at
the meeting. Hold-over mem- -4
bers of the board are Lloyd ,
: Amans and Guy Woodings. Ro- 1
bert Pippel is a hold-over
member of the credit commit
tee.
Dr. Norma Godfrey
Appears on Popular
TV Panel Show
!
On Sunday, January 21, tele- :
' vision viewers will have an op- •
| oortunity to see Dr. Norma
i Godfrey, Palmer - Anchorage
chiropractor, stump the panel
i ists on tiie “What’s My Line?” t
i television show.
Dr. Godfrey appeared on the
j show, which emminates from
j New York City, a week ago
j this past Sunday and outwitted
! panelists Bennett Cerf, Dorothy
Kilgallen, Arlene Francis and
' the guest panelist, Richard
i Boone, better known as “Pala
I din”.
I As a momento of Alaska, Dr.
I Godfrey presented panel mem
bers and moderator John Dr.ly,
1 ivory DUiikins and m addition,
presented Daly with a can ol
“Fresh Alaska Air”.