Thought of the Week:
Every man needs a wife—be
cause so many things go wrong
that you can't blame the gov
ernment.
ALASKA HISTORICAL '
0 * • ' » ' *" *
**• V — • - -
BOX 2051
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
VOLUME 14. NUMBER 38
PALMER, ALASKA, THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 1932
TEN PAGES
PRICE 15 CENTS
{Reporters—
NateUak
Mary Morgan, formerly of
Steamboat Springs, Colorado,
has taken the position of news
editor of the Frontiersman, va
cated by Virginia Gallant. Miss
Morgan, who has worked in
weekly newspaper offices in
Colorado, has spent the past
three months in Alaska, visit
ing several towns. She plans to
make her permanent home
here. Mrs. Gallant, whose place
has been filled by Millie John
son for the past three weeks,
is now employed by the Anch
orage Daily Times. She had
edited the Frontiersman for
the past ten years, and her ab
sence is clearly felt not only by
the newspaper staff and sub
scribers but also by her many
friends in the Matanuska Val
ley.
* * *
Mr. and Mrs. Wendell Lewis
(Janet Sherrod) flew to Seattle
last Thursday to spend a couple
of weeks. They will visit rela
tives and attend the Seattle
World’s Fair.
* * *
Dr. J. Ronald Brown of Cor
dova was a recent visitor in
Palmer, looking over the Val
ley area.
* * *
Robert W. Kotila, son of Mrs.
William Grow, Palmer, will be
among 75 seniors from the Uni
versity of Oregon Dental Sch
ool receiving doctor of dental
medicine degrees at Benson
Polytechnic school June 14. He
is a 1952 graduate of Wasilla
High school, and received his
predental background at Lewis
and Clark college in Portland
and at the University of Ore
gon at Eugene.
Peter Nelson, seaman, USN,
son of Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Nel
son of Star Route, Wasilla, is
serving aboard the heavy cruis
er USS Helena. He took part
in Exercise Pork Barrel, a 10
day Navy trainin j ~~ -ation
which began May 14 off the
coast of Southern California.
* * *
Stephen Luther, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Howard Luther, cele
brated his fourth birthday on
June 11 by climbing to the
top of Bodenburg Butte. With
him on the climb were his
mother, brothers Ted, Fred,
and Gregg, sister Cheryl, Mrs.
Jane Payne and Ronald, David,
Danny and Ricky Payne. Emily
Payne and Jim Luther, too
young to accompany the climb
ers, watched fi'om the window
of the Luther home on Falk’s
Lake.
* * *
Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Sandvik
have received word of the
birth of a grandson. His par
ents are Dr. and Mrs. William
Heideger of Seattle, Washing
ton. Young Clark William, born
May 11, weighed eight pounds
and eleven ounces.
WORD RECEIVED
OF DEATH OF
PIONEER FARMER
Charles Rex Monaghan, who
developed the second dairy
farm in the Matanuska Valley,
died on May 26 at Enumclaw,
Washington, according to a let
ter received at the Frontiers
man from his widow.
The Monaghan family was
one of the first six to be bx-ou
ght to the valley xn 1930 by
M. D. Snodgrass, at that time
agricultural development agent
for the Alaska Railroad. Others
in the group were the two King
families, the Frank Hurds, and
the Lamps.
The Monaghans first lived
east of King’s Lake, then near
Four Corners, and finally lo
cated on a farm on the Farm
Loop Road.
Mr. Snodgrass recalls Mr.
Monaghan as being a leader in
the community, active in es
tablishing the Grange the Fa'
airport, and sch^uxo. ti
served as U. S. Marshall for
one year.
Mr. and Mrs. Monaghan left
the valley in 1949, after 16
years of dairy farming here.
Mrs. Monaghan noted in her
letter that her husband had
subscribed to the Frontiersman
since it was first published in
1948.
Besides his widow, he is sur
vived by one son and one dau
ghter.
Construction Started On New
Matanuska Telephone Buildings
SMITH RECEIVES
SCOUTING AWARD
One of the highest awards an
adult member of the Boy
Scouts of America can receive
was recently given to Ed Smith
of Palmer, a veteran of 23
years in scouting. Smith receiv
ed the Silver Beaver award,
given on the basis of youth
work in general, as well as par
ticipation in scouting.
In the 52-vear history of
scouting in the United States,
Ed is the 326th person to re
ceive such an award.
Silver Beaver awards were
announced for Smith and for
Ray Peterson, president of
Northern Consolidated Air
lines, at the annual Scout Rec
ognition banquet held in An
chorage on May 5. Smith’s was
presented to him at the Cub
Scout campout on June 8 by
Don Hartley, commissioner for
the Chugach district. Mr.
Smith is at present assistant
commissioner.
Two higher awards are avail
able in adult scouting—the Sil
ver Antelope, given on the re
gional level, and the Silver
Buffalo, on the national level.
To be eligible for these awards,
the candidate must first receive
the Silver Beaver. Smith said.
EMERGENCY FUNDS
FDR RESEEDING
GRASS APPROVED
i •
Requests of the Agriculture
Soil and Conservation office
for emergency funds to replant
winter killed permanent grass
have been approved.
John Nash, Palmer County
ASC office manager, was no
tified Thursday mornnig by
Darrell Baird, Stale ASC,
that requests amounting to
$70,000 have been approved
by Secretary of Agriculture
Orville Freeman.
Nash said, “We request any
one who has had winter killed
grass and who has not already
filed an application with this
office to do so as soon as pos
sible so we may establish a
cost basis for assistance to
you.”
Present indications are that
cost sharing will be at a rate
of not less than $20 an acre,
Nash added.
CITATIONS
Citations issued during the
past week by the Palmer po
lice department include two
curfew violations, three expir
ed license plates, and ten
warnings for overparking.
Plant, Equipment
Bids, Due July 10.11
Construction was started last
week on the Matanuska Tele
phone Association headquart
ers building in Palmer, the ex
change and office building at
Eagle River, and the Big Lake
exchange building by Dundrie
Construction Co. of Spenard.
Max Clements, MTA manager,
said the contract for this first
part of the MTA expansion
program was awarded to Dun
drie Construction on the low
bid of $107,328.
The present central exchange
building at Palmer will be en
larged to provide office space
as well as the new dial equip
ment room. The Eagle River
building will house the dial
equipment and also provide of
fice space for both MTA and
Matanuska Electric Associa
tion. The Big Lake building
will be a new exchange only.
Completion of the three parts
of the contract is expe. ted with
in 90 days, Clements said.
Other contracts in the $1,
390,000 MTA expansion pro
gram will be awarded next
month. Bids will be opened
July 10 for the central office
dial equipment, and July 11 for
the outside plant.
The central exchange equip
ment, which must be custom
tailored for the individual in
stallation, should be completed
late this year or early next
year, Clements expects. The
outside plant, he said, will be
completed this year and will
include about 150 miles of new
lines and cables, some of it re
placement of existing lines, but
much entirely new construc
tion. All parts of MTA’s service
area are included in the plans
for expansion of the outside
plant.
The ten-year expansion and
improvement program, which
will be accomplished without
raising service rates, was ap
proved for the $1,390,000 REA
loan last fall after 400 new ap
plications were received for
service membership in the co
op.
Included in the program,
which anticipates extension of
facilities beyond Chickaloon
and into Nancy Lake and Mac
Kenzie Point areas, are im
provements of existing urban
service, improved dial service
between all exchanges, expand
ed trunk facilities, inclusion of
outlying areas not now served.
Extra services, such as a dial
mobile radio-telephone system,
may be provided if there is I
sufficient demand.
The engineering firm of De- ;
wild, Grant. Reckert and Ste
vens of Rock Rapids, Iowa, has |
drawn up plans and specifica- !
tions, staked the outside plant,
and will supervise construction
and installation.
Lloyd Severns of Palmer
submitted the second low bid
for the Palmer-Eagle River-Big
Lake construction, started last
week by the Dundrie company, j
His bid was $110,237. Other!
bidders were Corvi Construc
tion of Spenard and Curtis and
Hage of Anchorage.
PALMER PILOTS
HELP IN SEARCH
The Palmer unit of the Civil
Air Patrol has taken a very ac
tive part in the search for the
two Anchorage fliers missing
since June 3. Howard Campbell
of the local unit has reported.
Local planes have participat
ed in the search for the past
seven days, Campbell said yes
terday. A total of 26 Palmer
planes have taken to the air,
and have logged a total of 130
hours and 18 minutes of flying
time.
The spokesman stated that
all CAP units in the area have
helped in the search for the
men, Royce W. Yeager of 4906
Palmer Highway, and Glen
Shuff of Muldoon Road.
The search has spread in a
gigantic patern across the state
of Alaska. The Anchorage unit
is reported to have had 60
planes in the air on Sunday,
June 11.
Howard Luther, commander
of the Palmer unit, has expres
sed his thanks to all pilots who
have participated in the search,
as well as to the civilians who
have assisted.
CHAMBER ADOPTS
SUMMER SCHEDULE
A summer schedule will be
adopted by the Matanuska Val
ley Chamber of Commerce,
starting in July and extending
to September 15. It will in
clude only one luncheon meet
ing a month, tentatively sched
uled for the first Wednesday.
The decision was made at the
regular Chamber board meet
ing, held June 13.
Bridge Traffic
Checked by Radar
Traffic over the Knik River
bridge is now being checked by
radar, the office of the district
magistrate has announced. A j
ten mile per hour speed limit
over the bridge (one-way!
traffic) is being enforced, with j
an intensive check beginning i
June 13.
As of this morning, over
30 citations had been re
ceived in her office, Mrs.
Dorothy Saxton said.
The bridge suffered exten
sive damage on May 13 by a
truck pulling equipment with
out sufficient clearance.
BROCHURE SENT
TO WORLD'S FAIR
15.000 copies of a brochure
describing the Matanuska Val
ley have been sent to the Seat
tle World’s Fair by T. O
Schmidtke, publisher of the
Frontiersman. Other copies
have been given to the Matan
uska Valley Chamber of Com
merce for distribution.
The brochure, compiled by j
Virginia Gallant, former editor!
of the Frontiersman, lists tour
ist attractions such as the Fair.!
Lake George, hunting, fishing,
skiing, and photographic possi
bilities. It describes transporta
tion to the valley and accom
modations available here.
1963 (oa! Contracts
Increase Tonnage
Showing a considerable in
crease over last year’s procure
ment, coal contracts for U. S
Army and Air Force bases
south of the range have been
renewed with the Evan Jones
and Mrak Coal Companies, a
coal industry representative
said this week. The awards for
the 1963 fiscal year were made
by the U. S. Naval Department,
which will purchase 169,000
tons of coal from the Evan
Jones Coal Company and 62.000
tons from the Mrak Coal Com
pany.
Last year’s procurement was
for 130,000 tons from Evan
Jones and 45,000 tons from
Mrak, over 50,000 tons less
than this year’s total of 231.
000. Two years ago the military
purchased 228,000 tons of coal
from the local companies.
The Matanuska Valley coal
industry was threatened some
weeks ago when the U. S. Bud
get Bureau was considering
j an apportionment of funds to
j convert generation facilities at
military bases in the Anchorage
area from coal to natural gas.
Local residents staged a gi
gantic letter-writing campaign !
to government officials and ag- ■
encies concerned with the;
changeover, with the result
that the proposal was returned
to the Defense Department by
the Budget Bureau with a re-j
quest that it be given further i
study.
Coal industry representatives
expressed satisfaction over the
new contracts, stating that they
are very pleased with this
I year's allotments.
Council Starts Home
Rule With Sewer Study
With quiet informality Pal
mer became a home rule char
ter city when City Council offi
cially reorganized and institut
ed the recently adopted Char
ter at the council meeting
Tuesday evening. Progress on
the second major item before
the council—the sewer system
—was deflected to allow study
of an alternate proposal.
The city charter, voted in by
the June 5 election, became
the law of the community June j
11. with the incumbent city
officers continuing in office. |
Mayor Billy R. Miller and |
Councilmen E. J. B 1 o m, G.
Richard Geiwitz, Ralph C. |
Moore and Loyd Watts, with
City Attorney Burton C. Biss
and City Clerk Emilie St.
Pierre assisting, effected the
transition to the new charter
government. Councilman Jim
Pazaruski was absent.
Councilman Rex E. Ehrhart
resigned from the council by a
letter presented to the city
clerk shortly before the meet
ing. The council is to fill such
a vacancy by appointment
within 30 days, and the appoin
tee will serve until the next
regular election.
Advertisements to secure
applications for the newly
created position of city man
ager will be published in mu
nicipal affairs magazines.
Salary has been tentatively
set at S9,-SI 1,000 per year,
depending on qualifications,
as the council hopes to secure
a manager with civil engi- j
neering experience.
“This is one of the best char
ters I have seen,” Attorney
Biss commented. From his ex
perience with charters drafted
for several other Alaskan ci
ties, Biss said that the man
necessary compromises h a v
been worked into a well-balan
ced, clearly worded instrument
of government.
The difficulty of making pre
liminary estimates of sewef
line construction costs, as re
quired before making applica
tion for a federal agency loan,
plus the high figure ($850,000)
recently estimated by a con
suting engineering firm as the
maximum cost of a city-wide
sewer system led the council
to table the previously propos
ed plans and to seek alternate
solutions to the sewage dispos
al problem.
Councilman Geiwitz sum
marized the sewer commit
tee's findings: The $850,000
does not cover the ultimate
cost of a complete processing
plant but merely the primary
processing plant, which is re
quired to have the city sewer
system inspected and approv
ed by the Public Health de
partment, Advance planning
funds cannot be obtained
from the Housing and Home
Finance agency unless the
system is under Public Health
approval.
Substitution of a lagoon set
tling basin in place of the pro
cessing plant has been used in
other towns, and the council
decided to investigate this me
thod further. A suggestion that
financing might be available
under the Area Redevelopment
Plan will also be investigated.
As the city’s representative
on the Area Redevelopment
committee, Bill Hermann was
appointed to fill the vacancy
created by the resignation of
Mason LaZelle, and he was
(Continued on Page 10)
it X
MVFCA Manager
To Speak At
G of C Luncheon
Stuart A. Durrant. general
manager of the Matanuska Val
ley Cooperating Association,
will be guest speaker at the
Matanuska Valley Chamber of
Commerce luncheon meeting
on June 20 at 12 noon.
In observance ox National
Dairy Month, his topic will be.
“The Importance of the Dairy
Industry to the Matanuska Vai
lev.”
Durrant was general man
ager at the farm co-op from
1954 to 1957, returning here in
December, 1961. He has recent
ly brought his wife Leola and
two younger children to Pal
mer from their former home in
STEWART A. DURRANT
American Fork. Utah. Mary
Ann, 15, is a sophomore in high
school, and Stephen, 18, plans
;o attend Brigham Young Uni
versity this fall.
The Durrants have an older
daughter, Mrs. Thompson tVic
ki) of New York, and an older
son, C-lani (born in Hawaii), a
19(12 graduate of Brigham
Young University, who is now
employed in American Fork.
The MVFCA general mana
ger has had 25 years of experi
ence in the field of farm co
operatives.
All interested persons are in
vited to attend the luncheon,
the menu of which will be
planned around local dairy pro
ducts.
Local Officials Say Bradley Lake
Power Not Economical as Steam Plant
Approval by the U. S. Bur
eau of the Y idget of the Brad
ley Lake hydroelectric project
has aroused concern locally as
to what eiu.c. construction of
the Kenai peninsula dam would
have on plans for a Matan
uska Valley coal-fired steam
plant, many residents express
isg the opinion that the Corps
of Engineers project would
sound the death knell to con
struction of the Sutton power
■'“nerating unit.
Others take the stand that a
power dam on the lower end of
the Kenai peninsula will not
get power into Anchorage and
the Matanuska Valley because
of tru ismission problems, and
th-' ,'»cal needs will remain
unchanged. These point out,
however, that Bradley Lake is
a **r?tly project which may
mean more employment for
Kenai residents during the
construction period, but which
will not establish a mainten
ance payroll of any size
Mason LaZelle, Matanuska
Electric Association manager,
suggested thai Alaskans, both
on the Kenai peninsula and in
the Anchorage-Palmer area,
consider the following facts:
First, the estimated $47,000,
000 cost of Eradley Lake does
not include transmission to the
main load center in Anchorage,
which would bring the cost to
about $58,000,000 for the 64
megawatt dam, or $945 per
kilowatt. Using the annual
transmission cost figures quot
ed in the report, and escalated
for 1963, the cost of power
would be approximately ten
mills per kilowatt hour.
Second, the comprehensive
area-wide plan for furnishing
interim power contained in the
Parsons report would provide
25,000 more kilowatts than
Bradley Lake, at a cost of $460
per kilowatt. This plan pro
vides power for the Fairbanks
area as well as the Anchorage
Kenai area and at far less in
stalled cost, LaZelle said. Even
with Bradley Lake, some $15,
000,000 must still be spent in
the Fairbanks area to serve
future needs, he stated, adding |
that although composite costs
in the over-all Parsons Plan
are slightly higher, in the long
range view costs will average
nine mills or less.
Third, the use of our hydro
resources is reasonable only if
other sources of energy will
not provide greater economic
benefits. Thermal plants will
provide power at lower cost
and will return larger benefits
to the various communities
through payrolls and mainten
ance than small hydro projects
such as Bradly Lake.
“The Kenai people would do
well to consider a coal-fired
power generating plant of com
parable size,” LaZelle said. “A
plant of that size would em
ploy a maintenance staff of 40
people and would keep 100 to
200 persons employed on mine
payrolls.”
The MEA manager conclud
ed by saying that Rampart pro
ject is the only one in Alaska
which could produce indus
trially competitive power. ‘‘Let
us remember that the other 40
states will decide what hydro
projects we receive. Can a state
with a total population less
than that of Tacoma, Washing- i
ton, expect to receive $58,000,
000 in hydroelectric appropria-'
tions and then ask for and ex
pect to receive funding for the
development of a project cost
ing billions? In the final analy
sis we must decide whether we
want industrial power and are
willing to help ourselves in
the meantime, or whether we
want everything given to us.”
Jalmar Kerttula, state repre
sentative from District 7, said,
that the Alaska congressional
delegation, in introducing legis
lation which would approve the
construction of Bradley Lake,
are harboring the belief that
both dam and steam plant arc
needed and will act as levelers'
until Rampart can be con-'
structed.
Kerttula stated that he was i
the only legislator to actively
oppose the Bradley Lake reso-1
lutions sent from Juneau to
Congress during the last state;
session, and that he had done |
so on the basis of economics—
that it would not be possible
to deliver power to this area
from Bradley. He said he
doubted that the Bradley Lake
bill will be passed by Congress i
during this session.
At the Chamber of Com-!
merce board meeting held
June 13. members decided to
send letters to the conservative
bloc in Congress, asking them
to consider the economic feas
ibility of the Bradley project.