The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
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VOLUME 6 NO. 50
PALMER, ALASKA, THURSDAY. SEPT. 3
PRICE TEN CENTS
'53 Valley Fair Opens Saturday
“COLONY DAY” TO
BE CELEBRATED BY
SEVERAL HUNDRED
“Colony Day” at the Valley
Fair will be covered by the Na
tional Broadcasting Company
who will have a representative
present to interview members of
the original St. Mehiel group.
Newspapers have also indicated
their intention of covering the
first full-scale reunion of the orig
inal Matanuska Valley colonists.
Nearly all the photographs ap
pearing on this page are from
the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation
Corporation’s file. They are part
of the vast record of the colon
ization project from their arrival
in Seward aboard the transport
St. Mehiel on through the tem
porary housing and a few scenes
of their “city of Palmer” as the
colonists found it.
In the Fall of 1934, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt instructed
Federal Emergecy Relief Admin
istrator Harny Hopkins to pre
pare to send farm families to
Alaska for resettlement. Early
the following year, Don L. Ir
win, who had been in the Val
ley since 1934 as superintendent
of the Matanuska Experiment
Station, was selected as the first
general manager of the coloniza
tion project. In May of 1935, he
notified Washington he had pick
ed the Palmer siding as the site
for a model colony. The first of
200 families arrived in Palmer
aboard Alaska Railroad cars on
May 11.
V_/a L1AJ.O 51 wnu ai i 1 v mu u
year, 36 are still in the Valley.
A total of 91 live somewhere
else in the territory, according
to Pat Hemmer, one of the origin
al colonist and chairman of the
1953 “Colony Day” celebration.
Hemmer, announced this week
that they hope to have a com
mercial photographer present
who will take pictures of the
group and individuals for orders.
In making the announcement,
Hemmer urged all original col
onists to be sure and attend the
celebration and to register at the
headquarters tent to be set up
in the fairgrounds.
Cash prizes will be awarded in
various categories to colonists
who are in attendance. The first
prize of $100, donated by the Al
aska Rural Rehabilitation Cor
poration will be given to the col
onist still in the valley who has
contributed the most to the suc
cess of the colonization project.
This person will be selected by
the vote of each colonist and his
wife. The prize will be awarded
Sunday afternoon during the
ceremonies to be held at 3:00
p.m.
Other prizes will include a cash
award of $25 for the oldest colon
ist. This will be decided by ad
ding the ages of both man and
wife. Another $25 cash award
will go to the largest colonist
family living in the Valley, this
includes children, grand-children,
daughters-and son-in law. An
award of $15 will be given to the
youngest decendant of a colonist
who registers Sunday and is pres
ent at 3:00 p.m. A consolation
prize of $5 will be given to each
of the next two youngest colon
ist decendants.
STREET CONDITIONS
DEPEND ON WEATHER
Goerge Lilly, contractor in
stalling the Palmer water system,
said this week that if the weather
cooperates, he will have city
streets in good travel condition
before fair time, by bringing in
extra compacting equipment.
SCHOOL ENROLLMENT
GOES OVER 825 MARK
Student enrollment in the
Palmer school this year will go
over 825 it was indicated this
week as students and parents of
students registered for opening
day, September 8.
According to a schedule re
leased this week by William Zah
radnicek, school superintendent,
upon arrival at school on Tues
day pupils should report as fol
lows:
First grade: Rooms 205, 206 or
207. Second grade: Rooms 201,
202 or 301. Third grade: Rooms
305, 310 or 303. Fourth, Fifth and
sixth grades: Report to gymnasi
um at 9:00 a.m., where definite
assignments will be made. Sev
enth grade: Rooms 102 or 105.
Eighth grade: Rooms 101 or 107.
Students who do not register
before the opening day of school
are asked to wait until Wednes
day, September 9 to enroll, when
enrollment will be in the school
library, Room 216.
There will be three class
rooms conducted off the school
grounds until the new Swanson
School is completed. These will
be one class each in grades 4, 5
and 6 and will be conducted in
the Matanuska Lodge, and the
basements of the United Protes
tant Church and St. John’s Luth
eran Church. Pupils assigned to
these off-grounds classes will be
moved upon the completion of
Swanson school which will house
one class each in grades 1 through
6, Zahradnicek said.
OFFICIALS EXPECT
RECORD CROWDS
FOR GALA EVENT
Many treats are in store for
1953 Valley fair-goers, members
of the Matanuska Valley Fair
Association disclosed this week
when the full three-day program
was completed and announced.
Band Concert
In the line of entertainment
will be band concerts by the
popular 43rd Army Band under
the direction of Warrant Officer
Clapper. These concerts will be
presented on Sunday and Mon
day afternoons from 3:00 p. m.
to 4:00 p.m. in front of the grand
stand.
Horse Races
Each afternoon horse racing
fans will ha/e the seldom offered
opportunity of seeig relay and
standard horse races. Several
young girls of the valley will
prove their ability to not only stay
in their saddles, but turn in sur
prising performances. A num
ber of Anchorage entries have
been received and will join Val
ley horsemen in a prade around
the track just prior to the races.
To Select Queen
Saturday night one of the nine
Valley girls who entered the 1953
Valley Queen Contest will be
named to reign over the remain
ing two days and evenings of the
fair. The crowning will take
place at the Coronation Ball to
be held in the Palmer School
gymnasium.
Colony Day
Sunday wil be devoted to
“Colony Day” and all fair visi
tors are invited to register at the
original tent-house replica which
will be located just inside the
gates at the fair grounds. Dis
plays and information will ex
plain the way of living in the
early colony days.
There will be a baseball game
(Continued on page 8)
The first contingent of colonists arrive in the Malanuska
Valley in May, 1935
I3TH ANNUAL MATANUSKA VALLEY FAIR
September 5, 6, and 7, 1953
PROGRAM
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
JUDGING STARTS AT 9:00 A.M. FOR ALL
DEPARTMENTS IF POSSIBLE
12:00 NOON — GATES OPEN TO PUBLIC
1:00 P.M. — HORSE RACES
I 2:00 P.M. — BALL GAME
4:00 P.M. — HORSE RACES
9:00 P.M. — 1:00 A.M.—CORONATION BALL AT SCHOOL GY1
11:00 P.M. — QUEEN CORONATION followed by
VAL SETZ, Juggler
| 12:00 MIDNIGHT — FAIRGROUNDS CLOSE
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
GATES OPEN AT 10:00 A.M. — CLOSE AT MIDNIGHT
COLONY DAY CELEBRATION
BAND CONCERT
1:00 P.M. — HORSE RACES
2:00 P.M. — BALL GAME
3:30 P.M. — JUGGLER
4:00 P.M. — HORSE RACES
EVENING PERFORMANCE
7:30 P.M. — JUGGLER
8:00 P.M. — BAND CONCERT
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
GATES OPEN AT 10:00 A.M. — CLOSE AT MIDNIGHT
LABOR DAY CELEBRATION
BAND CONCERT
1:00 P.M. — HORSE RACES
2:00 P.M. — BALL GAME
3:30 P.M. — JUGGLER
4:00 P.M. — HORSE RACES
5:00 P.M. — QUEEN CONTEST PRIZES TO BE AWARDED
EVENING PERFORMANCE
7:30 P.M. — JUGGLER
8:00 P.M. — BAND CONCERT
9:00 P.M. — FIREWORKS
MAN SLIGHTLY INJURED WHEN HIT BY TRUCK
.Nick uskoiKOii, jy, oi Ancnor
age received injuries to his right
shoulder about 9:30 last night
when hit by a 1953 Chevrolet
pick up truck, driven by Earl
J. Nicholson of Anchorage.
Oskolkoll and his wife Kathe
ren were walking along the
Glenn highway near the Palmer
Cemetery when he suddenly ran
into the road in front of the
truck. Nicholson told Territorial
Police, who investigated the ac
cident, that he applied the brakes,
skidded about 90 feet but hit the
man with the right side of the
truck fender.
Oskolkoll was removed to the
Valley Hospital where he was
treated for injuries and late®
discharged.
TWO SCHOOL BOARD
VACANCIES TO BE
FILLED OCTOBER 6
Coinciding with the annual
city election October 6 will be
the school board election, it
was announced this week. Two
vacancies will be filled, one
for a term of four years and
one a five-year term. Candi
dates may get their names on
the ballot by signing a declar
ation of intention to run.
Forms are available at the
Palmer School office.
MEA GETS GO-AHEAD
ON NEW BUILDING
Plans and specifications for the
Matanuska Electric Association’s
new administration building were
approved this week by the Rural
Electric Administration in Wash
ington and a call for bids will
be made as soon as possible, Cy
Brewer, MEA manager announc
ed this week.
Edwin B. Crittenden, architect,
will have sets of plans and speci
fications in his Anchorage office
for those desiring to enter bids
on the building construction. One
set of complete plans will be
available for inspection at the
Palmer MEA office.
The first membership approval
for the erection of the new build
ing was given at an annual meet
ing two years ago. However,
plans were temporarily suspend
ed until the annual meeting this
past March, at which time the
membership voted to go ahead
with the construction plans.
“If we are able to get a satis
factory bid, we hope to start
construction this Fall,” Brewer
said this week.
This will be the third electric
association building under pres
ent construction in the Territory.
The Chugach Electric Association
of Anchorage and the Golden
Valley Electric at Fairbanks have
administraion buildings under
construction.
•
City Office Seekers
Must File Petition
The following is a sample of
the suggested form to be used by
those seeking nomination to a
city office in the forth-coming
city election to be held October
6.
Nominating Petition
“We, the undersigned twenty
five electors of the City of Pal
mer, Alaska, hereby nominate
and sponsor full name of nom
inee) whose residence is (street
or lot and block) for the office of
(name of office) to be voted for
the election to be held on the
sixth day of October, 1953; and
we individually certify that our
names presently appear on the
rolls of registered voters, that we
are qualified to vote for a can
didate for an elective municipal
office, and that we have not sign
ed any other nominating petition
for the particular office this can
didate seeks, except in case of
councilmen, where we understand
we can sign as many petitions as
there are vacancies for the posi
tion of councilmen.”
This form appears at the top
of nominating papers and those
signing add their names, street,
address, and date of signing. This
space is followed by the Accep
tance of Nomination, worded as
(Continued on page 8)
THIS YEAR’S EVENT
EXPECTED TO TOP
ALL OTHER FAIRS
Rain or not, the 1953 Matanus
ka Valley Fair is expected to top
all previously held fairs with
visitors expected from all over
the Territory and States when
the Fair opens Saturday, Sep
tember 5 for a three day run.
Proof of the fame of the Mat
anuska Valley vegetables will be
offered through club, group and
individual displays. Out-sized
cabbages, always a favorite sub
ject for camera fans, colorful dis
plays of carrots, beets, squash,
onions and many green vege
tables will fill display booths in
the vegetable section.
Four prizes will be offered in
the individual farm displays with
the first award winner to receive
$100. Second prize is $75; third
prize $50 and fourth prize, $25.
Each display that qualifies wilL
receive a $10 entry prize. To
qualify for these attractive priz
es, all products exhibited must
have been grown in the Valley
or have been made by the exhib
itor and his immediate family.
Displays will be scored separ
ately, with the judges rating like
products against like only ,but
total points will determine the
winner. In case of tie scoring,
a winner will be judged accord
ing to the ingenuity of the ar
ragement of the display.
Dislays will be arranged on a
six-foot frontage, six feet deep.
All displays are required to con
tain not less than 25 specimens,
nor more than 40, with each arti
cle to be correctly labelled.
Thrpe prizes, $5, $3, and $1 and
a grand champion ribbon will be
presented in potato displays.
All vegetables, except where
indicated in the 1953 Fair Book,
will be judged for table quality
with three prizes of $3, $1.50 and
75 cents offered 30 classifications.
One prize of $1.50 will be of
fered for the largest vegetable in
15 classes, including rhubarb and
strawberries. A grand champion
ribbon will be awarded to the
outstanding entry in the small
fruits class, as well as three cash
awards of $2, $1 and 50 cents.
Grain or seed crops will also
draw prizes and a champion rib
bon in nine classes and sheaf
forage crops and sheaf grains will
receive cash awards and ribbons.
FAULTY WIRING
BLAMED FOR TWO FIRES
Members of the Palmer volun
teer fire department were enjoy
ing a full-course turkey dinner
at the Palmer Fountain August
28 when they were politely in
terrupted by the restraurant
owner who told them he was sor
ry, but his father’s farm was on
fire. At the time firement were
being feted by the Matanuska
Valley Farmers Cooperating As
sociation for their work in saving
other CoOp buildings during the
power house fire August 9. Dam
ages at the Oscar Kertulla farm
amounted to approximately $350,
Fire Chief Rary Lancaster said
this week. Faulty wiring was
blamed for the fire.
The second fire within the
week was at the home of Mr.
and Mrs. Herman Huebcfr of
Valley Street last night where
approximately $3,000 damage waa
done to the one-family house. It
was believed hat this fire also
was caused from faulty wiring.