THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
PIONEER
Published Weekly at Palmer, Alaska.
♦
JACK ALLMAN
Editor-Publisher.
__♦ _
Application made for entry as second class matter
at the p, st office at Palmer, Alaska.
Subscription Rate
One year by mail . .$3.50
A PREDICTION
If we may be permitted to make a prediction
we would say that thi railroad will resume oper
ation regardless of managerial attempts to keep it
closed as a lesson to those merchants, miners and
farmers who, because their incomes wouldn’t stand
the tariff, brazenly patronized competitors.
Shameful practice! It’s terrific competition too!
One little boat! If Heinie Berger’s boat had a two
hundred ton capacity they would probably scrap
the line from salt water to Fairbanks.
But that prediction! It is oased upon the
last paragraph of Delegate Dimond’s wire toC. L.
C dwallader, Gus Swanson and 0. G. Henning of
Wasiila. Dimond said: “Gen. Mgr. Ohlson advises
road cannot operate by reason of Jack of funds to
pay expenses of operation, but that emergency
will be talien care of.”
Alack ms wiio know our Delegate to Congress
also 1 :ow that he seldom makes a misstatement,
•and when he comes out cold and says “that
emergen ay will be taken care of,” lie no doubt
knows what he is talking about.
We are bettin . that the funds will be made
available, and shortly, too.
On Being Short Of Type
Critical readers no doubt found many wrong
font letters in our first issue. We knew they were
there, but couldn’t do anything about it. We
didn’t have enough of ce tain letters in the regu
lar 8 point .Roman to fill out the hand set stories.
!t reminds us of an apology appearing in the
first issue of a certain newspaper out West when
rhe country was new. It ran something like this:
“Iph our paper loocques phunny please excuse
it. Our outphit arrived without any ephphs or
rays among the type phonts, making it diphphi
cult t ' spell out the words, but iph the p, h, q, u
and e letters hold out we will macque them
phill the bill.”
And it’s a job getting the paper out on this
antique press we have. We don’t know exactly j
In w old it is, but Dan Kennedy of Anchorage j
fed it as a young fellow thirty years ago. We |
know that John Frame printed a lot of his po-!
titical dynamite on it, and on the bottom of some
or the type trays we have found the following
■ ,ipping legend: M. L.'Sherpy, Skagway, Alas
ka. via Tacoma wharf.
\Yh knows, the papers the writer sold in that
' :-roaring town as a boy may hve been printed
this same press! It would be interesting to
u'\v the history of the old machine from the
k e it was shipped into the country by Mr. Sher
until aim Yirdin took it on a gambling debt
at Ketchikan and afterwards .sold it to us.
You’ll Be Missed, “J.P.”
Northland radio list ners will be disappointed
to know that J P is no longer connected with sta
tion KFQD.
There are many who personally know more
people in Alaska than J P, but there is no one
better known to the territory’s inhabitants. For
years he has been sliding down antennaes into
isolated cabins, shortening the long winter eve
nings, and dispelling anxiety by getting impor
tant messages out where the mails might be
months in coming.
The other day while J P was visiting here we
had occasion to introduce him to “Deep Hole”
AlcGinnis, the driller. “So you’re J P.” said
Mac, then he launched into a story about
i he time he was asked to officiate at a christen
ing in a little Eskimo hut far up on the tundra
above Nome. “Aid they named the baby J P,”
lie saiil. J P bought a drink on that one.
J P is always get. mg letters. We have seen a
number and though they are from persons he
has never met yet, many of them are written
with all the intimacy of correspondence between
last and true friends.
A recent letter from a woman in the interior
.ncludcd something like this: “ We often wonder
vhat you are like, J P, and every night when
you sign off with: “This is J P of station KFQD
wishing you good night,” we try to guess what
our name might be. No doubt J P are your mi
nds, but I’ve been wondering how you would
sign off if your name were Paul Peterson.”
.IP... Hannon is the name . . . learned radio
n the navy. He built KFQD out,of a few sar
line cans and what purchased equipment he and
Ray McDonald could scrape together. He gave
entertainment to a people who needed it more
han anyone else in the world. His reward was
not in money. It’s knowing that he has done a
iot of people a lot of good.
The best in the world to you, J P. We’re go
ing to miss you.
Popularity Of Pioneer Proven
Little did we think when the PIONEER sus
pended publication owing to the installation of
press equipment that it would cause so much
consternation among valley residents. Many are
the complaints, though; the most common bassd
upon the unfortunate tact that the Fall editions
of the big mail order catalogues have been late
in arriving.
Why Not An Alaskan Stamp?
Stamps, by the very nature of their purpose,
find their way into every' corner of the globe.
They arc- a fine media for publicity. Why not an
Alaskan stamp, then? Talk it up. If enough
people are interested maybe we can get the
Postal Authorities to put out one. They’ve
covered about every tiling else with their special
I issues: Mt. Rainier, Boulder Dam, Fort Dearborn,
Crater Lake, Great Smoky Mountains, etc, etc.
Now, with Alaska in the lime light, what would
be finer than a stamp to keep reminding people
in other parts of the world that we are still here
.... residents of the greatest country on e^rth.
MOVIE NEWS
It has long been known that
doctors and lawyers have strict
codes of ethics, which forbids
their revealing anything told
them in confidence by a patient
or client.
Now it develops that florists,
too, have a code of ethics. For
example, suppose gay Mr. Who
sis h carrying on an affair with
his best friend’s wife and sends
her a bunch of orchids. He has
a right to expect that the florist
won’t run and tell Mrs. AVhosis
<■) he is sending flowers to,
•r that he will be betrayed to
h paramour’s husband.
T i • situation is the crux of
Fox Filin’s dramatic comedy,
“Orchid’s to You,” which will
be the picture at the commu
nity Hall Friday the. 6th.
John Boles, Jean Muir and
Charles Butterworth are in the
leading roles.
And the following Friday,
November 13, Fox Film’s fam
ous pictorial record of what war
is like will be shown at the Hall.
It is called “The First World
War,” and is made up from the
official films of the various na
tions which were engaged in that
: terrific four-year struggle.
Seeing this film will make
I you ask yourself: “Can it possi
bly happen again?” It is the
most powerful indictment of
mankind’s shame which has ever
been presented to the American
public.
Smoke}’ Joe Sheely proved his
right to the title of mascot to
the C.Y.F.D. by slinging his feet
and outselling everyone else
when it came to placing tickets
for the big masquerade ball Hal
loween night.
Ed La Valley, tract 18, now
J has the big chestnut stallion for
merly belonging to Walt Pippel.
Subscribe to the PIONEER
Winter Sports Assa.
Already At Work
The winter sports season has
started. The Palmer Athletic
Association had their first
meeting of the season recently at
which new officers were elected.
George Sund was elected Presi
dent, Fay Stoddard, Vice Presi
dent and Alice O’Neil, Secre
tary-Treasurer.
Basketball practice has start
ed with a very good turn out,
particularly with the boys. The
boys are working very hard so
that they may have a good club
in hopes of making the Fair
banks trip for the Ice Carnival.
With some more members, it ap
pears as though the girls would
be able to send a team up there
also.
The indoor baseball teams will
be started in the next week or
so. There will be four teams so
get your name in with either
Jake Rose, George Small, Jeff
Marley or John Jackovich. These
four will act as captains of the
teams. A schedule will be made
up within the next few days so
that you may know when you
are to play.
Indoor tennis and volley ball
will also be played. The schedule
will be made up a little later.
There is some new material in
town for the hockey team and
from all reports the team this
year should be a winner. These
boys are certainly pointing at
Fairbanks for the Carnival.
Knock! Knock! Who’s there?
Bruno. Bruno who? Bruno more
home brew until you’ve seen the
supply of yeast and malt at
Koslosky’s.
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JACK’S
BARBER SHOP
Ladies Haircutting a
Specialty
?*'■ tv
JACK COPE. PROP.
Dunklee Building
Palmer, Alaska
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