Elks’Convention Special
The frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1954
FOUR-DAY ELKS' CONVENTION OPENS HERE
ENGINEER TO BEGIN
WORK ON NEW
TELEPHONE SYSTEM
The Matanuska Telephone As
sociation announced this week
that it has received approval j
from the Rural Electrification Ad
ministration of its consulting en
gineer. MTA’s attorney, John
Shaw, stated that REA has apt
proved the Alaska Engineering
Associates, an Anchorage firm, to
provide the necessary engineer
ing services. The firm will im
mediately begin its commercial
survey study.
Joseph W. Bauler, engineer as
sociated with the Anchorage firm.
. s currently working on a pro
. ect for the city of Seward. Prior
to his work in Alaska, Bauler was
with the Rural Electrification Ad
ministration in Washington. D.C.
The local Extension Service is
offering their assistance in get
ting the program under way by
excepting applications for MTA .
.membership, and the sale of j
equity stock in the association.
Officials of the telephone asso- '
ciation urge all prospective tele- 1
phone subscribers to contact them
to ensure design of an adequate
telephone system. This means j
that all persons who want tele
phone service m the Palmer,
Wasilla. Eagle River, Chugiak,
Jonesville and adjacent areas
should apply at once for tele
phone service—in person, or by
written application. Those who
have already purchased their
equity stock need not re-apply.
Officials pointed out the impor
tance of learning the total num
oer of subscribers there will be
m the combined areas. Unless
those who plan to subscribe to
the new dial system indicate their
plans it will not be possible for
the engineers to design an ade
quate system.
Voters of the City of Palmer,
on October 5, approved the sale
of the citv-owned telephone sys
tem and the granting of a fran
chise to the Matanuska Telephone
Association.
The automobile owned by Mrs.
Karla Duff, missing for over a
week, was reported as recovered
yesterday at Mile 111. It is believ
ed that the vehicle was not dam
aged, prior to its abandonment.
Mrs. Duff was attending a meet
ing at the time when it was stol
en.
CORSAGES
Telegraph Delivery Service
MATANUSKA VALLEY
GARDENS
Phone 32J11 Palmer
Detention Home in
Valley is Proposed
At Chamber Meeting
A1 Hagen spoke to Chamber
members on the possibility of the
valley becoming the site of a ju
venile home. He pointed out that
at the present time there is a con
siderable amount of work being
done by organizations and that
eventually there will be a deten
tion home somewhere in the terri
tory. He proposed that the Cham
ber take immediate steps to ac
quire approximately 20 acres of
land to be offered as a site, and
begin a campaign to get legisla
tive support to the project. Presi
dent Richard Jones announced
the proposal would be brought up
at the Chamber’s next executive
meeting and recommendations
wdl be presented at the Novem
ber 17 meeting.
M. D. Snodgrass suggested that
the Vocational Agriculture Col
lege project should be continued
by the Chamber before another is
started. Mr. Hagen pointed out
that although the college project
is laudible, it generates too much
conflict between cities. He said
he felt a detention home project
would receive mo,e support from
the political factors. r 5
Richard Jones, president-of
Matanuska Valley Chamlt. «.
Commerce, was named delegate
to the All Alaska Chamber of
Commerce convention to be held
! in Anchorage on November 12,
and 13. Alternates named were
; Jim Hurley, A1 Hagen, and L -♦* -
I Mears. Various resolutions to
1 offered by the local Chamber
! were discussed.
Holiday Lighting
Contest Set For
Palmer Area
Homemakers in Palmer area
better start checking their file
cases and scrap books for ideas
and suggestions for lighting and
decorations for the Christmas
j season, for there will be cash
j awards given to the winners of a
I Christmas lighting contest to be
1 staged this winter by the Palmer
Garden Club.
Mrs. Mildred Melby was nam
ed chairman of the club’s con
j test and will make an announce
ment of rules and regulations
j within a short time. Entry in the
contest will be done by registra
| tion to facilitate judging. There
will be no charge made for enter
ing the contest, and all homemak
: ers are urged to participate in the
j program.
Notice
First half of city real and personal property
tax payments are now delinquent.
Payments past due now carry 7]/2% penalty
plus 1% interest per delinquent month.
After February 1, 1955 penalty increases
to 15%.
REX EHRHART
Tax Assessor
City of Palmer
(Sportsmen to Sponsor :
Firearms Safety Course ;
All “juniors” in the Matan- /
uska Valley, from age 10 to
100, who are interested in i;
learning about guns and am- !;
munition and their care are I;
invited to attend the Junior !;
Instruction class being sponsor- !;
ed by the Matanuska Valley !;
Sportsmen on Saturday even- j
ing, November 6 at 7 p.m. j;
The meeting will be held in j;
the club’s rifle range, located
in the basement of the Co-Op ;!
Rec building and is open to the ;!
public. Ed Bellringer is chair
man of the project and will in- ;!
struct in all piiases of the safe ;!
use of firearms. The course is |!
being offered to assist parents ]j
in teaching the youngsters how
to handle guns in the proper |j
method. All adults who are in- !;
terested in learning the safety 1;
factors are also welcomf to
attend. !|
ELKS PARADE
BEGINS AT 1:30 P.M.
Among highlights of the Terri
torial Elks Association convention
plans will be the huge parade
planned for Saturday afternoon
at 1:30 p.m.
There will be several floats in
the parade, entered by area or
’ '■'anizations, along with the Pal
er School Band: Sisley’s kitchen
band, and others. Floats will be
entered by the Palmer Kiwanis,
M.V.F.C.A. Creamery, Teen-age
Rourdup club;'Beta Sigma Phi,
Arctic Trails Riding club, City of
Palmer fire department, and Pal
mer Moose lodge. Entries from
various Elks lodges are also ex
pected.
Marching will be representa
tives from the Territory's 12 Elk
lodges; color guards from the
American Legion post, members
of Boy Scout Troop 654 and vari
ous other groups. The parade
promises to be one of the most
. interesting ever put on in Pal
(Continued on Page 10)
Kiwanians Hear
Talk On Fire
Hall and Dept.
Guest speaker at the November
1 Palmer Kiwanis Club meeting
was Joseph Gallant, city fire
chief, who was invited to speak
on the new fire hall and the city
fire department.
The history of the fire depart
ment, started several years ago,
by A1 Hagen. Robert Peterson,
Hank Liebir.g. Ray Lancaster and
other valley men. was given, up
to the present construction of the
first permanent fire hall in the
city. Describing the building to
members, the fire chief pointed
out the important roll it will play
in proper housing of trucks and
working and training space for
the men. He made an appeal to
members to urge their employ
ees to volunteer for fire fighting
in the city’s department. "With
this new building, properly train
ed men and good equipment, I
have been told by insurance men
that the Fire Underwriters fire
rating in the city will probably be
lowered next year”, he said.
Business transacted at the meet
ing included the decision of the
organization to enter a float in
the Elks parade this Saturday.
Ciarct's Variety
Plans Move To
New Site Next Week
Work on many new counters
that will be needed to display a
greatly increased line of varieties
is going on now in tne new loca
tion of Clara’s Variety in the Ha
gen building. Over half a carload
of new merchandise was received
; this week and will be unpacked
[ and displayed for the grand open
j ing, tentatively set for Monday,
November 15.
A removal sale will be in pro
gress at the old location in the
! Shamrock building from Monday
through Thursday of next week.
On Friday the store will be clos
ed and not re-opened again until
. located in their new quarters.
ELKS NATIONAL FOUNDATION
ACTIVE IN CHARITABLE DEEDS
Charitable, benevolent and edu
cational activities of the Benevo
lent and Protective Order of Elks
are administered through the
Elks National Foundation. Con
tributions' from individual mem
bers and lodges are encouraged
through their slogan, “Though
I you can’t give a million, you can
| be one of a million to give”.
At the present time the foun
dation is working on a huge ven
ture in the field of humanitarian
service to bring hope and oppor
tunity to thousands of children
handicapped by cerebral palsy.
During the 1953 convention held
in Fairbanks, members of the Al
aska Territorial Elks association
pledged itself to raise from $60,
000 to S100,000, to aid in the cere
bral palsy program.
Their program includes the
erection of a modest building to
be used as a center for the some
200 afflicted Alaska children. The
center will be operated in con
junction with the Alaska Crippled
Childrens Association, or as a sep
erate unit.
Other activities of the national
foundation include student
awards, in which special scholar
ships are awarded to students ap
plying for Most Valuable Awards.
Students of the country who are
outstanding in scholarship at
tainment, character and citizen
ship and extra curricular activ
ities are eligible to become a can
didate for the awards.
Each state is eligible to receive
one or more Elks Foundation
scholarships. These scholarships,
amounting to $300 each, are avail
able for award to the students
selected by the State Association
for the purpose of enabling them
to enter or continue their college
courses.
In Chicago there is an Elks
National Memorial Building, or
iginally erected by the Order and
dedicated in July, 1926, as a
memorial to Elks who served in
World War I. In September, 1946,
it was rededicated to include all
those members of the Order who
served in World War II. Every
member of the Order contributed
equally to the original cost of
erection, furnishing, dedication
and rededication of the Memorial
building. It is claimed to be one
of the finest memorial buildings,
of that character, in the world.
City Council
Proceedings
Rex Erhart, tax assessor, ap
peared before members of the
city council during the Novem
ber 2 meeting and asked that part
of the Swanson property assess
ment be revised because much
of the property appearing on the
roll had been sold prior to the
first of the year. The adjustment
was authorized by members of
the city council. The penalty is
to be waived in this case, provid
ing full payment is paid by
February 2.
* * *
Correspondence read at the
meeting included a letter request
ing a meeting with city officials
in regard to the Department of
Aviation’s report on the Palmer
Airort. The meeting was held on
Tuesday afternoon and reported
following the reading of the let
ter. Herman Porter, director of
aviation, who attended the meet
ing, announced the aviation
board members have reversed
(Continued on page 4)
COMPLAINT FILED
' 4INST CITY
complaint was filed in U. S.
District Court in Anchorage on
November 3, naming Steve Ward
of P mer, plaintiff, vs City of
Pal.* r, defendant.
Tj;£ complaint states in part
t' Beginning in July, 1954 and
ec .muing since that time and to
the time of filing this complaint
the defendant has been construct
ing a building within its corporate
limits without any lawful author
ity; defendant’s actions are ultra
vires; its actions constitute an un
lawful expenditure of public
funds and an unlawful commit
ment to expend public funds in
direct violation of the statutes of
the Territory of Alaska and the
ordinances of the City of Pal
mer. Said construction has re
sulted, and will continue to result,
in the creation of a greater in
debtedness or liability for the
year 1954 than the current rev
enue of the defendant for that
year.”
The plaintiff asked that the
City of Palmer be restrained and
enjoined from continuing the de
i scribed construction; and it be
restrained and enjoined from pay
ing further sums on account of
the construction already complet
ed.
In support of motion for tem
porary restraining order and/or
preliminary' injunction the plain
tiff states that since June 22,
1954 the City of Palmer has been
incurring extensive costs in con
nection with the construction of
a fire hall and other matters with
out compliance with City Ordin
ances as set out. On October 12,
1954, the following payments,
among others, were authorized
for materials purchased by the
City without bids: to Steel Fabri
cators, Inc., S3,228.97; to Ketchi
kan Spruce Mills, SI,909.34; to
Armco Dranage, $2,215.50 and
others.
At noon today the complaint
had not yet been served on the
city.
IZ TfcKKITUKIAL
LODGES CONVERGE
.■OR 4-DAY AFFAIR
Reservations for the seventh
annual Territorial Elks conven
1 tion were still coming today, with
approximately 500 Elks and their
; ladies expected to be in the val
ley during the three-day conven
tion.
The convention was officially
opened at 9:30 this morning with
John H. Reed, exalted ruler of
Palmer B. P. O. Elks lodge No.
i 1842. giving the opening remarks,
followed by the introduction of
Associate Vice President, Orval
A. Thurman who. will preside in
the absence of Z. H. Tessendorf,
association president who was un
able to attend because of illness.
The opening prayer and bene
diction were offered by Rev. Wes
ley Lancaster of the Church of
God. William T. Zahradnicek,
member of the Palmer city coun
cil, made an address of welcome
to the many delegates, followed
by a response from Mr. Thurman.
The audience participated in
the pledge of allegiance to the
flag, which was led by M. E.
Monagle, and the singing of Am
erica.
The first business session was
open this morning at 10:00 a.m.
This is to be but one of the
may sessions planned throughout
the convention.
While the Elks are busy with
sessions, the women will be royally
entertained throughout their visit.
Each morning there will be con
ducted tours around the valley
and afternoon entertainment has
been planned for each day
at the 49 Club where Alaska’s
Favorite Game will be the favor
its past-time, and a skit show
on Friday.
Cocktail hours are on the pro
gram, along with dinners and
dancing for early and late even
<Continued on page 10)
City of Palmer
Still Without Mayor
Listed under old business on
the agenda of the November 2
city council meeting was “Elec
tion of Mayor”. For the third time,
in as many weeks, the controver
sial subject was brought up when
Councilman A1 V. Hagen nomin
ated a Palmer businessman to fill
the unexpired mayor’s term. With
no further nominations offered,
Acting Mayor Mears instructed
the city clerk to take the roll
call vote.
Councilmen A1 V. Hagen, Rob
ert Peterson and A1 J. DeJulio
voted yes, in favor of the nom
inee. Mrs. Mears abstained from
voting, as did Councilwoman Lu
i cille Mick. Councilman William
Zahradnicek stated “no vote”,
following which the acting mayor
declared the motion had failed.
Councilman Hagen objected to her
decision, stating that according to
Roberts Rules of Order, abstained
votes were counted as affirmative
votes and that therefore the vote
did carry.
In the absence of a Robert’s
rule book for reference, the
chair ruled the nomination fail
ed, following which Councilman
Hagen made a motion to appeal
the decision of the chair. Council
man Peterson offered a second to v
the motion and a roll call vote
was taken with Councilmen Pet
(Continued on page 10)
Veteran's Day Dance, Sat. Nov. 13
<«■«■<««« «■<■<«« ««< <■
PALMER HIGH
SCHOOL GYM
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